... and by that I mean my blog beings, not my travels! As those of you who know me will be well aware, I am already in South America working for Dragoman and have been since September last year. No, thanks to one of my passengers I have finally set this up for everyone to follow my adventures (cheers Bertie!).
So, where to start? I have already been lucky enough to traverse South America from West to East on two occasions, and now spent the last 3 months whiling away my time in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia which is where we start this journey.
I am currently midway through running a trip from Quito to Cartagena. It is a very small group of only 4 people, who fortunately are all lovely! My co-driver is Domingo, and my truck is called Gus. An awesome little team if I do say so myself!
We are currently staying at the Hacienda Venecia, just outside Manizales. I waved my group off to experience the city tour and see a local charity which Dragoman supports - the Sagrada Familia Charity. The charity supports 300 young children between the ages of 3 and 5 years from poor families and problem areas. These children come from communities where it is not safe for their parents to leave them as there may be bullets whizzing past. The charity provides these children a safe place to go so their parents can work, a decent breakfast and lunch, education and social interaction until they are old enough to attend school.
Anyway, while my passengers have been experiencing the delights on offer by Manizales which I was lucky enough to see on my last journey through Colombia, I have been sorting out bookings for the next trip, doing some research, updating notes for the next crew travelling through and... well, yes I will admit to having made the most of the swimming pool at midday when things just got too hot! I am earning my keep too - tonight Domingo and myself are cooking dinner for our passengers. Paella here we come!
Today we made the most of being able to relax and enjoy the Hacienda. We were supposed to go on a coffee plantation tour in the morning, but a group of 12 noisy Dutch lads meant I asked if we could change the time which meant we had a nice afternoon amble through the plantations.
After French toast for breakfast, we spent the morning relaxing in hammocks. I spent an hour giving the truck a clean, but having caught up on all of my paperwork and bookings yesterday it was good to chill out before hitting the road again tomorrow.
We set off for our coffee plantation tour at 3pm with our guide, Reuben, who is studying English and French at University. He has worked at the plantation for over two years improving his languages and learning to understand the different English accents which is a feat in itself! He is very knowledgeable and it was interesting listening to him and his approach as it was quite different to the guide we had here last time, though equally informative.
The plantation tour ended at the main house of the Hacienda, with stunning views out across the valley and lots of different hummingbirds. Native mammals to the area are armadillos, fox and agoutis (giant rat-like rodents), although the most exciting thing we saw was Terrence the tarantula - just a baby, he invited himself into the Hacienda for a brief stay.
Colombia is the fourth biggest producer of coffee in the world, mainly selling arabic coffee. We were treated to an inside view of the production process, from picking the coffee cherries, through to the roasting and drinking process, complete with an introduction to the different aromas and different tastes between high quality and inferior beans. Interestingly in Colombia they don't allow the coffee trees to grow too high as they can't reach (know the feeling) so they prune them to keep them more manageable. A coffee plant can be productive for up to 27 years, although usually they are at heir best for 3 years before requiring cutting back to improve their productivity again.
Incredibly the most expensive coffee in the world comes from Indonesia, called Kopi Luwak, and is assisted in the production process by a mammal, the Asian Palm Civet. The little animal eats the berries, but is unable to digest the bean. Apparently the digestion process enhances the flavour of the bean, so the faeces are sought after by the local to find the 'processed' cherries. Fortunately Colombian coffee doesn't go through the same processes!
After a very sociable start of 9am, we made our way up the winding track away from the Hacienda and headed out towards Medellin which we had to pass through en route to Guatape. The first part of the drive is fairly quick, paralleling the river as it winds along the valley floor. The scenery starts to change at this point, still staying mountainous, but with more banana plants and less of the rugged mountain passes.
We stopped in a small village for lunch and created a sensation. I'm not sure that they had ever seen anything quite like Gus before (she does attract a lot of attention) and the level of interest increased ten-fold when a bunch of white people hopped out. We became instant 'rock stars' with. locals coming up to have their photos taken with us. We only wanted pollo con papas (chicken with potatoes)! I think I finally finished them off when I hopped behind the drivers wheel and drove away - jaws literally dropped as they waved goodbye!
An hour later and we were making our way through Medellin which was surprisingly quiet, although it is a bank holiday in Colombia (they have 18 of them!) so everyone leaves the city. From Medellin it was a further two hours until we reached El Penol de Guatape - a giant granite monolith reaching 200m into the sky, strangely reminiscent of the sugar loaf mountian in Rio de Janeiro. Two-thirds of the rock is still below the surface. Anyway, as we are lovely to our passengers we made them climb the 740 steps to the top so they could admire the view, which in fairness is well worth the effort! As I then drove through Guatape to our hostel we again created a sensation, with cat calling, whistles, photos and waving as we drove along the lake front. Very entertaining!
We arrived just in time as the heavens opened with an impressive thunder storm, but we still had to brave the weather to go into town and find something to eat. Fish was on the menu as the lake is a major fishing area, and it was delicious!
After a lovely lie in (I do get them occasionally!) I finally got off my backside and went for a run. There is a beautiful loop from the hostel, which winds its way around the lake. Apparently it take a couple of hours to cycle, but I decided to run out to El Penol, then walk back from the rock. I don't know what they do when they are cycling, because it only took me two hours to run and walk it, although I did think I had bitten off more than I can chew, having not run more than half a dozen times since I've been out here. It was very undulating and I was having to dig deep as I gradually made my way to the rock. It would be an awesome training run if I'd been doing a bit more!
After a couple of hours to recover we headed down to the lake for a boat trip. The lake is man-made to create a hydro-electric plant, and in doing so they had to move the town of El Penol as the old site got flooded as the water levels rose. The boat trip took us across the lake where a cross marks the site of the old town, and to see a small museum with photos of the town before and after the creation of the hydro-electric plant. It was actually quite sad to see the old photos. More excitingly, the boat trip took us past Pablo Escobar's bombed summer mansion. It was bombed by his rival drug cartels, but you can still clearly see the shell and his own personal night club, plus his escape tunnel ready for when he needed to make a quick getaway.
We then headed back to the hostel for the evening to relax and eat. An incredible thunderstorm rolled in again - more dramatic lightening and thunder rolls. Impressive to see, especially from the slightly elevated position of the hostel.
Today was a paperwork day - very glamorous! Although to be fair I did spend a lot of time chatting to the receptionists, Andres and Juan Carlos and learning about some other amzing places to visit in Colombia. Some were already on my hit list which basically means I'm going to have to come back!
The afternoon involved a much better use of my time, visiting a Colombian sweet shop. Owned by a local family, we had a tour of the factory and got to try every type of Colombian sweet they make. Yummy!
The evening also became a taster evening, sampling the Colombian cane drink, Aguardiente. Very similar in taste to sambuca, I actually quite liked it! So we got happified whilst watching 'The life of Pi'.
After a well behaved start to the day, whereby I dragged myself out of bed with Terry's words of encouragement saying 'you can do it' ringing in my ears, I went for another run. I can't say I was doing it for long, half an hour to be precise, but at least I made an effort!
Anyway, we headed out of Hostel El Encuentro at 9.30am and explored a new road. It was actually the route I had run a couple of days ago, which I realised was big enough to fit the truck down. now, Dragoman trucks are all fitted with roof seats so as soon as we had negotiated some power cables we opened them up and let our passengers enjoy a ride in the worlds biggest convertible. Apart from having to shout 'duck' on occasion for some low flying trees the route worked well so that's a new one to add to the itinerary!
We reached Medellin by midday, and after a quick lunch we set off on our half day city tour. We needed to use the truck for the tour, and it had just started to thunder so the roads were quite chaotic! It wasn't a problem though and we made our way around Medellin city centre with our tour guide, Adriana who is exceptionally good and very informative. We made our way around different areas, including the Plaza Botera, where there are many Botera sculptures on display, the Parque de los Pies, a 'bared feet' park to help relaxation and well-being, the Parque de los deseos (science and education), and finally a ride on the cable car over the poorer favala regions. The fundamental difference between the favala areas here and those in Rio de Janeiro is that every house here has water, electricity, TV and internet if they want it. Teh turn around is incredible. Between 1992 and 2002 this was the most dangerous region in Medellin, and not even the police could enter. Over 600 people were killed in shoot outs during this time. 11 years later and you can safely ride a cable car over their heads, there is a new library and theatre, playing fields and recreational areas.
Today was surreal... very surreal. I had booked the group onto a morning tour about Pablo Escobar and went along to see if it was any good. It started as I had expected. We visited the derelict building which had served as the main HQ for the Medellin drug cartel, the most powerful cartel in the world at that time. It wasn't very exciting, but it is situated on the Golden mile of Medellin, now exclusively used for commercial enterprises. From there we carried on to the cemetery where we saw Pablo's grave. The guide was very good and gave us a lot of information, before putting on a DVD to cover some areas in more detail. From here things got a little bit bizarre...
We were taken to one of Pablo's old 'safe' houses which still has escape routes and hidden cupboards, and is now the home of his brother, Robert Escobar who was jailed for 10 years and was wanted for a reward of $10,000,000 in his heyday! What got even odder was finding myself introduced to Robert Escobar and having my photo taken next to him... rubbing shoulders with a member of one of the powerful drug cartels in history was not an experience I had ever expected to have! Anyway, the house was fascinating as it has a lot of family history of the Escobar's, plus hidden passages and a hidden cupboard. There was a desk where $4,000,000 could be stored at a time in a secret compartment. Robert Escobar was very welcoming and a very pleasant man - it was very difficult to imagine the elderly man stood in front of us was ever capable of such atrocities.
The tour gave us all plenty of food for thought and everyone was still talking about it during the evening. My job is nothing if not random!!
A long drive day today! We hit the road at 5am, and once it got light we enjoyed some more stunning views! It was slow going through the Andes, but eventually we made it to faster roads. Stopping for breakfast, we were wearing lots of layers and shivering. It was raining hard, with tropical style rain and it was cold! Something that I am now quite unaccustomed to! It didn't stay like that for long - within two hours we were sweltering in the heat and humidity as we had dropped out of the mountains and hit tropical climates.
We reached Covenas at 6.30pm, having test driven a different route which turned out to be a much better road. We had finally officially reached the Caribbean, being situated north of the Darien Gap. One beach barbeque later (with food brought from a random small shop en route), with steak, sausages, curried eggs, potato salad and more salad we were all stuffed! A quick late night swim later in water almost warm enough to bath in and I was ready for bed!
An awesome day today! We headed back on the road at 8am, with four passengers who were wilting in the heat and humidity. Four hours later and we had reached Cartagena, found the hotel and parked the truck. Having stashed our big bags in the hotel we headed out for a bite to eat before starting our journey on local transport to head to the Isla Baru and Playa Blanca - literally meaning 'white beach'.
The whole journey took about 2 hours, but it's great fun. The first part is jumping on a local 'Chiva bus' - the brightly decorated wooden buses used by all of the locals in Colombia. Apart from being stiflingly hot (they don't have air con!) they are pretty good fun. Stopping briefly at the main market in Cartagena we had street sellers hopping on and off the bus selling drinks, ice creams, and other foods. We also had shoppers jumping on board with items they had brought, randomly handed them to other passengers to look after and finding a seat with more items in their hands. At this point I became a POINT OF INTEREST. Apparently I look quite Colombian these days, and a lady next to me started trying to have a conversation, most of which I didn't understand! General excitement broke out when they found out I was from Ingleterra, even more so when I pointed out another 4 English speakers! I then had four people trying to talk to me - I struggle enough concentrating on one conversation in Spanish!!
From the bus, we had to take a 5 minute ferry ride across to the Isle Baru. One of my new friends, Alfonso, lives on the island so he came with us and helped point out a ferry. It turned out to be a car ferry but it was quicker than waiting for a pedestrian boat and cost the same! It got more entertaining when we got to the island. As we arrived so we were descended upon by two dozen moto-taxi drivers, all clamouring for our business. The lack of any other taxi meant we were limited for options, so we did a deal (started at 10,000COP, got it for 7,000 COP!!) and off we went. No helmets were available so I just prayed that no one would have an accident, and consoled myself with the thought that everyone on the island travels by moto-taxi!!
20 minutes later and we were finally at the beach, still with Alfonso in tow, who took us down the beach to a friend of his. 6 hammocks later, each for 6,000 pesos rather than the expected 10,000 pesos and we were sorted! 5 minutes later and we were in the sea!!
Domingo then set up his slackline - a bit like a tightrope but wider, and it is slung between two trees. Very good for developing balance and core strength - I was rubbish!!! Anyway, the locals were fascinated and we had a very pleasant evening mingling with the locals and trying to perfect our slackline techniques. Some of the locals were brilliant at it and put us all to shame, including Domingo! Things deteriorated further when we started drinking cocolocos - served in a coconut, it is rum, pina coloada, aguardiente and coconut milk with ice. Delicious but lethal - I was squiffy after one!! Falling asleep in the hammock that night didn't take me long!
There is nothing better than waking up in the morning, rolling out of your hammock in warm temperatures and trotting straight into the sea. Having all slept in our swimmers we didn't even need to get changed! After bobbing around for an hour, I mooched out of the sea and arranged for six large fruit bowls with fresh pineapple, mango, papaya, strawberries, grapes, watermelon and some dulce de leche (condensed milk) drizzled over the top. Delicious! It was then time to cool of again in the sea, for which I borrowed Domingo's snorkelling gear and went fish spotting. There were some pretty cool fish - silver and yellow, some with electric blues stripes, other with almost a leopard pattern amongst many more.
Once back out of the water I tried my hand at slack-lining again, and out new friend Alfonso had re-appeared putting everyone to shame again. Credit to him, he has a lot of patience as he tried to coach me on how to do it, but apparently laughing a lot doesn't help with my balance or concentration!! I did get a little bit better both nothing to get excited about. It's warm work trying to slackline, so I disappeared back to the sea to float around for another hour (I did a lot of this!) and this time I got to laugh at Alfonso trying to float - he just kept sinking like a rock.
Ceviche for lunch and then we arranged the boat trip back to Cartagena for mid afternoon, before once again disappearing into the sea to cool down. This time I found myself talking to another local who kept speaking far too fast and I didn't have a clue what he was going on about. He didn't seem to mind repeating himself half a dozen times on every sentence though! It was then time to make out way to the boat.
The boat was entertaining. First of all, it was half an hour late (South American time!). We then had to get on a small boat, which took us out to the big boat. It took three small boats to get everyone out there, and being typically British we let everyone else go first. Just as well because I realised I had left my flip flops by our hammocks and had to run back to get them! Once on the boat we settled back for the ride, and then we saw dolphins following us! Lovely to see! Things got slightly more bizarre again from this point. They were playing music and next minute a lady was up and dancing so got general applause for her efforts. Then a singer appeared and started singing songs and entertaining the boat, getting everyone clapping, dancing and singing along too. He even rolled out the Michael Jackson moves! You would never see that in the UK!
Anyway, tonight was the last night with my group as we are heading off on a long trip to Peru tomorrow and we only have six days to do it, so a goodbye meal later and I will be waving them goodbye on a city tour tomorrow morning! They have been my pequeno (small) group - just four, but they have all been lovely and two of them have enjoyed it so much they are booking another trip from Lima to La Paz in July! Adrian has just finished his loop having started in Rio back in February, so he heads home, and Karen is planning her next overland trip too. That's a job well done as far as I'm concerned!
Okay, so the title says it all. I waved my little group off on their city tour around Cartagena at 8am yesterday morning, and then Domingo and I collected Gus and hit the road. We started travelling North east towards Santa Marta, simply because the road is much flatter between the two ranges of the Andes and we could make better time. It paid off, and by the time we parked up we had reached a little place called La Dorada. We slept in the truck in a very glamorous petrol station, which did at least have toilets!
We were back on the road by 5.30am (it was meant to be 5am but we didn't stop driving until midnight so let ourselves have a mini lie-in!), heading to a place called Honda, and then travelling west across the Andes to Manizales. Things didn't go quite so smoothly today! Three hours in and an hour into the Andes we came across a landslide which had taken out the back garden of a house on it's way down. After a delay the road was cleared enough to squeeze through. We then had a frustrating stop an hour later - although we had plenty of diesel it had all run to the back of the tank going up the mountain roads so we were losing power, and we had to spend 40 minutes transferring diesel from the spare tank across to the main tank. We'd literally just said we were due for a top-up too! Problem solved, we reached Manizales, a petrol station and lunch.
Everything went more smoothly after that and we had an easy drive from Manizales, past Cali and finally reached Popayan at 7pm. We've treated ourselves to a hostel bed and a shower tonight - luxury! There is no chance of pushing on for another couple of hours. The next section from Popayan to Pasto is notorious for trouble at night. The coca fields are to the east of the range, and drug traffickers transport the goods over the Andes, using rivers to get to the coast. The region is fine to travel during the day, but there is a high military presence as night falls and we have been advised by the border officials, the police and other people not to use the rod after 9pm. It's as good a reason to have an early night as any other I've heard!
We set off early from Popayan, hoping to beat the many roadworks found along this stretch of road, and also a number of the incredibly slow moving trucks which are difficult to pass on the winding mountain roads. It worked! In fact, we were doing really well, including a smooth border crossing, until we hit Ecuador. Then Gus got sick... every time we went up anything with a gradient she was losing power and then started to die. Fortunately she restarted every time, but we knew something was up.
Stopping at the next petrol station we checked that we still had plenty of fuel. We also checked the fuel filters as sometimes when the truck has been run low on fuel, gunge from the bottom of the tank can clog up the filters and prevent enough diesel getting through, which is what was happening every time we needed more power. The main fuel filters were fine. Our next concern was that we had dropped a funnel into the fuel tank the day before, and that perhaps it was blocking the feeder tube for the diesel. A bit of manoeuvring later and I found myself up past my elbow in diesel, groping around the bottom of the tank trying to find the flipping funnel. It worked though, the funnel was successfully retrieved. Let me assure you, this is the less glamorous side of my job!!
We carried on feeling pleased with ourselves, until Gus started cutting out again and it was now dark. There was only one other place to look before things started to get serious. There is another filter in the fuel system which unfortunately we didn't have a spare for. Domingo worked his magic and bypassed the filter - and Gus was back to her best! It's not ideal as the filters stop the dirt getting through to the engine, but at least it meant diesel was getting through so we could keep going. Necessary under the circumstances and we were both aware that we were now behind schedule so kept driving. Taking it in turns to sleep, Domingo kept going until 3.30am, and I was up at 5.00am and back on the road.
Everything went well from there! It was a beautiful drive down through the Ecuadorian mountains, through the Peruvian border which again went smoothly and onto Punta Sal. We met another overland company at the border, South America Overland, who had just finished a trip. We've met on the road before, so Adam joined us for a ceviche dinner in Tumbes and then at Punta Sal for the night. We were on a tighter schedule than him though, so headed off ahead of him. It was another two days driving to get to Lima, with an overnight stop at Chimbote. We were into the Peruvian deserts which can be quite bleak in places, but they have dramatic moments with high sand dunes, incredible light, and steep drops down to the Pacific ocean.
Finally in Lima, with typical Lima traffic (horrendous!), we parked Gus and gave her a good clean ready for our trip to start. I'm supposed to be working with Steve on a different truck, but Manana is very sick (a cracked block which means the engine is dead) so I have Gus for a little bit longer. And Domingo for another day or to as he can accompany me to Nazca before heading on to meet his own trip in La Paz.
Tonight we met Steve, enjoyed a well-earned beer, found a PROPER Chinese (they are hard to find in South America!) and now I'm going to make the most of a comfortable bed for the night and a lie-in tomorrow!
After treating myself to a short lie in (hooray!) I ended up bumping into the first of my new group over breakfast. A lass called Gemma, who is very friendly and bubbly so fits my idea of a good overlander! She is with us all the way to Rio de Janeiro.
I spent the day getting things organised for the trip. With such a short turn around I had fortunately already done a lot of my trip preparation, but there was still printing to be done, restaurants to book and breakfast to buy. This was all made more complicated because it was a Sunday and it takes a while to find places which are open!! I also took the chance to make a quick call home.
At this stage I still wasn't sure who I was going to work with for the next trip, as the truck we were meant to use is very dead with a cracked engine block. Finally I had confirmation that I would be working with Steve rather than Domingo, but using Gus. Domingo will be using a different truck from La Paz.
At 6pm I met our new group who all seem lovely. After our pre-departure meeting we headed out to a restaurant where they sell a lot of local food. Ceviche, the National dish of Peru was on the menu - raw fish marinated in 'tiger juice' and served with sweet potato and sweetcorn and onion. It's delicious!
Leaving at 5am, this is possible the best day of any trip that we run! A four hour drive with a stop for breakfast empanadas (a bit like a pasty) we arrived at Paracas National Park, ready to wave my passengers off on a boat to the Ballestas Islands. The islands are incredible for wildlife with Humbolt penguins, sea lions, Inca terns, pelicans, and much more to see. They are situated in an area where the currents cross making it ideal for breeding. The two hours gave me the chance to catch up on some paperwork (boring!), whilst enjoying the sun sat at a table in a restaurant.
My passengers got back and we had lunch at the restaurant. Another chance to try traditional foods, this time I went for Parihuela. It is like a fish soup, but comes with an entire crab in teh middle of the bowl!
From Paracas we were back on the road and heading to Huacachina, a desert oasis. At Huacachina we have the chance to go sand boarding and dune buggying. Barring two, the whole group decided to give it a try and so we headed into the dunes for an adrenaline rush! After sand boarding our way down four dunes, we headed up a dune to watch the sunset, before another quick sand board and then our camp for the night in the middle of the dunes. With a barbeque, piscolas (pisco and coke) and music under the stars this is an amazing time for the group to get to know each other and a great introduction to overlanding. At night we simply rolled out our sleeping bags and snuggled down in the sand until morning.
Waking bright and early with the light, I clambered up a sand dune to watch the sunrise. We then all got back into our dune buggies and headed back to Huacachina for a shower and breakfast-. The shower is essential as sand literally gets EVERYWHERE!
From there we headed to the supermarket to do our first cook group shopping which is always good fun as groups get to grips with the budgets and the concept of cooking for 16 people! I had found out how to make pisco sours from the guides in the desert, so armed with a cocktail shaker I went ingredients shopping ready for our camp on the beach in a couple of days time.
Shopping done, we headed to Nazca and our campsite. We stopped at a viewing tour where you can see two of the Nazca lines - the tree and the hands. Only one of my passengers chose to do the flight, although I thoroughly recommend it as it is the only way you can truly see the scale of the lines. The Nazca lines are made of rock, and they are huge! tehy are all made in different shapes - the monkey, astronaut, condor, hummingbird, flamingo and much more. there is also a dinosaur which looks like Rex from Toy Story!
Most of the group spent the afternoon recovering from their desert hangovers, and we had a pleasant surprise that evening when Janssen, our guide for the next day, turned up with his guitar and got the group to have a sing-along. none of us are going to win X-factor but it was good fun!
Janssen joined us again the following morning, and we headed out into the desert to the Chaucilla cemetaries. They are amazing! It is a proper archeological site and they still have Nazca mummies in the graves, with just a cover over the pit. The mummies still have their hair and are really well preserved. They give archeologists a real insight into how the Nazca's lived and the layers of clay show how little rain the region receives. They have two hours of rain a year!! It is thought that the Nazca lines were made as an offering to the spirits to ask for rain, but unfortunately it didn't work! Janssen is a brilliant guide and has worked for National Geographic so he is fascinating to listen to.
From the cemetaries we headed on to the coast, with a midway stop at an olive town. It is slightly bizarre because the landscape is so barren, and then you drop down a samll dip into an olive grove. The olives are then sold all over Peru! Cheap to buy, we stocked up for our campsite that eveing.
Arriving at Puerto Inka we set up our camp on teh beach. Puerto Inka is very remote, being the only building for miles. It's a great little spot, and it is situated next to some more Inca ruins which was used as a fishing port. Fish from this settelement would then have been sent to Cusco.
We enjoyed a beach barbeque during the evening, and I practised making pisco sours which turned out to be very successful and well worth the experiement!
Today was a long drive day. We had a truck breakfast - leaving early means that we don't eat unitl a couple of hours into teh day. Our cook group treated us to porridge which I hate and only usually eat when I have a large amount of exercise to do, or when I'm being polite. Today's breakfast fell into the latter category!!
We followed the coast until lunchtime, after which we headed towards the mountains. This was our last view of the Pacific, and indeed the sea until we reach Buenos Aires. an hour in and we reached 'yogurt town' ' a series of inductrial units all producing yogurt wghich is then distributed all over Peru. It's a brilliant place, as you can try lots of different flavours, some of which you can't even find outside of Peru, and they cost less than a dollar for a large tub.
After a brief break we headed on up to Arequipa, the 'Ciudad Blanca' or 'white city' due to it's white washed walls. We had the best weather I have know here, as it is now May and the Peruvian winter. The air is colder, but the weather is much more settled. After such a long drive day, we finally arrived at nightfall so cheated and had pizza for dinner! The hotel is probably the best we stay in throughout South America, it is like a little village and they give us a welcoming pisco sour on arrival!
Later in the evening I met one of our local guides, Luis Angel, who lives in Arequipa and who is our guide for the Colca Canyon at Chivay. Luis is brilliant and a lot of fun, and I got a mini tour of the Arequipan bars where you just don't see another white person. I also got to sample a few different pisco drinks and practice my salsa, after which I was a bit squiffy! What was supposed to be a couple of drinks turned into a 3.30am finish, but those are always the best nights.
Having been to Arequipa, the Ciudad Blanca or ‘white city’ on two previous occasions and still knowing woefully little about it, this time I managed to arrange a half day city tour through one of my local guides. Although it was an optional tour al of my passengers we keen to give it a go so off we headed with Luis Angel.
The first stop was at Alpaca Mundo, or ‘World of alpaca’ where we learnt to identify different species of alpaca, including one sporting a rasta look – obviously a fan of Bob Marley! We also saw the process of shearing the alpacas and the processing of the wool, and weaving, right through to the finished product where most of my passengers were tempted by an item or two!
From there we continued to see the Cathedral which is only open for public viewing one hour every day, and then onto the Convent. The convent used to have a waiting list, but with an introductory period of one year spending 23 hours locked in a room to pray and study, followed by an hour of freedom, I can see why it’s popularity may have diminished somewhat! Nonetheless it was a very pretty ‘town within a town’, and very tranquil inside with none of the noise and bustle from the outside world getting through.
Continuing on we saw some Jesuit buildings, and then the local market where a few of my passengers were shocked to see a pigs head sat on a table looking at them! They also had the chance to try frog juice (you can even choose your frog!). It’s supposed to help you get pregnant so I gave that a miss!!!
Tour over we decided to head for some lunch at a local restaurant which serves local dishes such as guinea pig and pigs trotters. The dishes are huge and big enough for two to share, so we order half a dozen dishes and went buffet style. Ironically neither Steve nor myself could remember the name of the restaurant having been here on separate occasions but we were both thinking of the same place, which turned out to be the place which Luis had suggested. Three of us thinking of the same place was surely a good recommendation, and out passengers seemed to agree.
Fading from the excesses of the night before, and a large lunch, I headed back to do some accounts and promptly fell asleep. I am in Latin America so a siesta is allowed… right?
Having finally caught up on some sleep I woke up full of beans and ready to go again! I spent the morning doing all the things I had meant to do the previous afternoon (accounts!), before grabbing some lunch and being ready to leave at midday. We were giving Luis, our guide, a lift to Chivay which helps keep down costs. I have learnt always to tell a South American they need to be somewhere an hour before they need to be. That way they are on time, and it worked. I told Luis 12:30pm, and he arrived at 1:00pm when we were ready to go!
It is a short drive to Chivay, and takes us up over a mountain pass which is over 4,000m high. There is a great little café en route where we can get coca tea, and is a useful toilet stop. They also sell the best mani de dulce, or caramelised nuts. Great to munch on whilst driving!
The views over the pass were beautiful, and we arrived at Chivay just as it was getting dark. I dashed out to a restaurant to book a table for a group meal, then Luis showed us where a couple of decent local bars are for future reference (of course!).
Leaving Steve to sort out his accounts, I took Gus, Luis and the passengers out to the Colca Canyon to go Condor spotting. The condor is the National bird of Peru, and the Andes, and features on many flags. A vulture, the wing span can reach up to 3.6 metres so they are enormous birds. On previous occasions I have seen a condor in the mist, and then three circling within a couple of metres of our heads, so I was keeping my fingers crossed for good weather in the canyon. The Colca Canyon is over 4,000 deep, and is the deepest canyon in the world. It is also incredibly pretty, and we were lucky to enjoy the sight of condors coming up through the canyon.
In fact we were incredibly lucky. There happened to be a dead cow fairly close in location, and I counted 14 condors all putting on a show over our heads! My passengers just didn’t realise how lucky they were! The only draw back to the morning was when the exhaust fell off the manifest – Steve had been checking the exhaust brakes and the nuts had worked themselves loose on the dirt road. This meant I had to spend 15 minutes jacking the cab up and finding some more nuts and bolts in order to put it back together again, much to the fascination and delight of a number of Peruvian bus drivers who I don’t think had even witnessed such a thing in their life. Condor show over, we headed back (in a significantly quieter truck) to Chivay for an all-you-can-eat buffet lunch, stopping briefly for my passengers to try a Colca sour made with pisco sour and fruit from a cactus en route.
In the afternoon we headed out to the hot springs, only 3Km form our hotel. Much to me shock I realised that I hadn’t paid Luis and had to for-go the springs and walk back to Chivay to pay him before he caught his bus back to Arequipa!!
This day has been christened by my passengers as the Monumental Drive Day because things didn’t quite go to plan and turned out to be quite an adventure. There are two routes to Raqchi from Chivay. One follows the road, and is necessary in the wet season. The other is a dirt road, up over the Andes on a very remote road, which joins a mining road and the scenery is simply spectacular. Anyway, having established that the mountain road was open off we headed.
Everything was going well until I read the instructions which told us not to take the right fork at the unmarked junction because it would take us back to Arequipa. So we branched left and went down a tiny road to the village of Ticna. Things didn’t look quite right but it has been 6 months since I last did this route and I knew we passed through a couple of small villages so we pressed on. This is where things got more entertaining, as the road got narrower and more pot-holed, and then I caught a stone on the side wall of the tyre. My first blow out since I’ve been out here, we set to work changing it and half an hour later we were back on the incredibly bad road. Then the switch backs started. The turns were too tight to manage in one swing, so I was having to reverse back and do each turn in two attempts. This was particularly entertaining for Zoe and Gemma who were sat on the backseat which is further back than the rear wheels, and therefore found themselves suspended above the valley below!
Stopping for a quick bush wee, we hadn’t seen anyone in a very long time. Three of my passengers went for a bush wee, with which a scooter appeared around the corner to be faced with three white ladies with their trousers around their ankles!!
Steve and I had worked out that we should have taken a different left fork by this time, but finding a local llama shepherd we established that it would take longer to go back and get on the right road then it would be to continue on our adventure which was still going to get us to the same place.
A crazy lunch stop (I think the altitude was taking effect) where Monika and Gemma had everyone doing some ridiculous exercises in the most incredible surroundings, and we were back on the road for another two hours before finally reaching the town we should have been at three hours previously! With another two hours to go to Raqchi our passengers we starting to fade, and we eventually reached Raqchi at 8:00pm, 14 hours after setting off.
Raqchi is a Peruvian homestay where our Peruvian mummies were delighted to see us and we got whisked off in groups of four to their different houses and dinner. I was slightly concerned that there was no sign of my local guide but I was hoping he might appear in the morning!
I think I am a Peruvian mummy tart. This is my third visit to Raqchi and every time I have a different mummy! The morning started with a pottery demonstration after breakfast. Unfortunately my guide still hadn’t appeared and I was left with the job of translating the Peruvian mummies while they explained what they were doing. Not so easy with my ‘get-by’ Spanish but I managed and my passengers were very impressed! Raqchi pottery is famous in Peru and it can be found throughout the whole country. Made with local clay and volcanic ash, the pots are incredibly strong and durable. I had a go at making a pot and everything was going well until I tried to move my hand away. I don’t think pottery is a great thing to do for people with warm hands as it just sticks and that was the end of my pot!!
After the demo we went for a guided tour around the Raqchi ruins. The main wall stands at 12 metres high. The first 3 metres is stone, and the following 6 metres is made of pure adobe which is impressive to see. The complex of Raqchi would have been for nobility, and it also contains a high number of different storage rooms where food would have been layered between munja (a natural mint) to help store it. Again I needed to translate as I could only find a guide with limited English, but I was starting to get the hang of it by this point!
After lunch our Peruvian mummies dressed us up in traditional costume and whisked us off to a Pachamama ceremony. Pachamama is ‘mother earth’ and we all had to make a blessing to Pachamama and make a wish. The wish cannot be selfish, it has to be for the benefit of others. My wish was for a successful Inca trail for my passengers, and some good weather so they could enjoy the views!!
Visit over, we said goodbye and headed off to Cusco, the ultimate party town and indeed it was. I took some of my passengers out and met one of the local guides, Paul, for a drink and a lady from the office called Johanna. After a few drinks we ended up in a locals club called Las Vegas where there were no gringos except ourselves, and where we ended up bumping into our hotel receptionists! My passengers were stunned when they asked for a beer and got a 1.1 litre bottle to work their way through – it is a shock the first time that happens!! A fairly civilised first night (my passengers have no stamina) saw us leave the club at 2:00am, which is just as well as there is always a lot to do when we are in Cusco.
The day started with a good breakfast and followed by a meeting at 10am for my new joining passengers. We have an overlap between trips at Cusco because of the Inca Trail and I had 10 people joining my existing 14 passengers. Unfortunately four of them still hadn’t checked in, so I ran the briefing with the six who had arrived by which time the others had arrived. Two meetings later and I was well behind schedule with more complications to sort out as one of the passengers, Sienna, had contracted Dengue fever in Costa Rica. Although on the mend she wasn’t able to trek leaving seven people for the Classic Inca Trail, 16 for the Community Trek which we run for those who were unable to get a Classis permit, and Sienna who needed a place to stay for the week and transport to the ruins and Machu Picchu.
I dashed down to the office of Andina who we use to run our treks to pay, and also to buy Cusco Visitors tickets which enable out passengers admission to different attractions, museums and ruins for the time we are in Cusco. A quick trip to the market to buy some items for the truck, by the time I finally returned to the hotel it had gone 3pm and I decided not to go down to the truck. It is half an hour away, and I would need to come back at 5pm to get ready for our meeting with Andina, where they explain the route and equipment needed to our passengers. Instead I packed for the trek, and then one of our other trucks turned up!
It was Juergen who I haven’t seen since he came for his one week interview whilst I was training, and Amanda who I have never met but who seems very pleasant. Then another truck turned up – this time it was Domingo who I was so pleased to see!! He was joined by Yves, a trainee who has been in South America for the last couple of months and this was the first time I had met him too. They had a group of seven girls and I reflected that if I’d been booked on their trip I would have been a very happy girl as they are both gorgeous!
Meeting over, I joined Domingo and Yves on their group dinner. We arranged to meet Juergen, Amanada and Steve at a bar afterwards. Crew from a different company, Tucan and South America Overland were also around so they came to dinner too. I was planning a quiet night as I knew I was trekking in the morning, but with so many overland crew around it was never going to happen!
We went to two bars after the restaurant, Nortons and Paddys. We then determinedly set off back to the hotel, and were intercepted with a handful of free drink vouchers for Mythology, a nigh club. It would have been rude not to make the most of them, although by this time we were down to the hardcore Dragoman crew of myself, Domingo, Yves, Juergen and Amanda. Steve had never managed to find us. I was still wearing my Dragoman T-shirt so out single free drink doubled and we ended up with a whole tray of Cubra libres. We eventually ended up in yet another club – Mama Africas as it was busier.
Aa I ran up the steps to the hotel and to breakfast at 6.15am with Yves, I reflected that it might not have been the wisest start to a 4 day trek but we seldom have nights like that so no regrets. I had just enough time to eat, shower, grab my bag and jump on the bus to go!
There had been a slight amendment to our usual schedule as a bridge was down heading out to Pisac ruins, so instead we headed out to Chincera and Moray ruins. Our guides were Ralfi and Alberto, neither of whom I had trekked with before. Honestly, Chincera is not a patch on Sachsayhuaman or Pisac ruins, but Moray was fascinating. It is a series of rings cut into the hillside, and is thought to have been a experiment by the Incas as a method for growing crops or medicinal flowers. We stopped for an excellent buffet lunch, before heading to the start of the trek.
The bus the company were using struggled with the track to the start of the trek, and we all had to hop off so it had enough clearance to get to the start point. Unfortunately, towards the top it started raining and our lead guide, Ralfi, didn’t want to let us get back on as the start was ‘just around the corner’ which from experience I knew it wasn’t. One quick argument later and we were on the bus - I wasn’t looking after 16 cold and wet passengers for the sake of 2 minutes grabbing some waterproofs!! Sadly I think this upset him for the rest of the trek as he avoided me from this point on which was very frustrating because I like to work with my guides. In the end I just asked Alberto for everything, even though he was the assistant guide.
Anyway, we set off without further incident and enjoy a beautiful four hour trek up through the valley. The pace was a fraction slow, meaning we got to the small Peruvian village of Cancha Cancha and our camp just as night was falling and the temperature was plummeting, but everyone was comfortable and ready for the big days trek that was coming the following day. A three course meal of soup, chicken and rice, followed by hot corn jelly and I was ready for bed. Unfortunately, on the way to my tent I bumped into Paul – the guide I have had on this trek twice previously. He showed my some of the star constellations and images the Incas would have worshipped – a llama and a partridge, then invited me to their cook tent for a glass of wine. It was so warm in there I stayed for two!!
An early start with fabulous weather, we set off up the mountain for our first big walking day. A steady ascent of the valley at a controlled pace meant that the majority of the group were able to complete the task without too much trouble. We only had two people struggling with the altitude, but by teaching them ‘baby steps’ and approaching every ascent slowly we got them all to the top of the pass safely. It had been snowing the day before and the views were simply stunning, with the glaciers coming out to play.
The trek is difficult to describe as words simply do not do it justice. The scenery is breathtaking, with mountains, glaciers and lagoons along the way. The thinness of the air and the terrain makes the trekking a real challenge, especially for those who are not used to it. I think I am turning into a native now though – it is getting easier every time and it certainly isn’t the challenge that it used to be any more, despite of the lack of exercise that I get out here!
We got to our lunch stop just in time for the heavens to open and enjoyed the usual three course meal. We had guacamole entrees, soup and a yummy pasta dish to keep us going. It was only a short walk down to camp at Quishwarani where the locals were happy to supply us with beer as a rewards for the days efforts!
Another early start and we set off on what is my favourite day on the trek. It’s another long day, with roughly 2.5 – 3 hours of ascent in the morning, incredible views over the pass, and then after an initial steep section the descent is easy and relaxed. We pass more lakes, waterfalls and get regular sightings of wild chincillas on the way. We stop at a village called Cuncan for lunch, staying in our waiters house which was an honour, for yet more amazing food, before heading on down to the Lares hot springs for a well deserved soak!
The weather wasn’t quite so kind to us – we reached the pass just in time to enjoy the spectacular view before a cloud rolled in and we found ourselves in snow!! Amanda and Yves, my fellow crew, were a day behind on the trek with another group and they unfortunately missed all of the great views on day 2 as a result of the same snow storm.
Anyway, we all got down to the hot springs without incident and although I had a few very tired trekkers they were all elated to have completed the trek. The final night is traditionally a bit of a party night, but by 10pm the only ones left standing were myself and two lads, Tom & Jason so we finished the wine and dived back into the hot springs for a late night wallow. Most people only get the chance once, I just think myself lucky to have managed it four times in nine months!!
An easy morning and I was back in the hot springs before breakfast. We don’t tend to get the chance to have a bath out here, only showers, so any opportunity is gratefully received! Anyway, after pancakes for breakfast (our chefs are amazing!) the porters packed up camp and we did a little goodbye ceremony, saying our thanks and handing out tips. We then jumped onto the bus and headed back down into the sacred valley.
I always love the drive out of Lares, as the road twists and winds it’s away through the mountains. There are steep drops to the side, and steep sided mountains all around. Usually we do a beautiful 2 hour walk as we drop back down through the valley to the village of Calca, but sadly Ralfi decided not to do it this time, opting for a less pretty but flatter route along the sacred valley following the road. I didn’t get the chance to walk it as I needed to take the bus back to Cusco, knowing that we had a lot of work to do on the truck, but talking to my passengers afterwards it certainly hadn’t received the same response as the usual walk. Ralfi also then told me that he wasn’t going to accompany the group back form Machu Picchu to the hotel – I was NOT impressed!! He is paid to look after my passengers all the way back to the hotel so I was furious as if there had been a problem they would have been stuck out there on their own. I didn’t have time to go to the office when I got back to Cusco as it had closed for the day, but it was on the agenda for the following day.
Anyway, I got back to Cusco to find Steve moaning about the truck so I sat him down and had a word with him as he had been whinging about various things since Lima. I wasn’t in the best mood after my run in with Ralfi and Steve finished me off! I ‘politely’ told him to get his act together and that I wasn’t prepared to put up with it all the way to Rio, or having his attitude affecting the atmosphere of the trip. He sulked for 15 minutes then offered to get me a cup of tea so evidently got over it pretty quickly! This job is too demanding to be at odds with your co-driver and we need to be able to rely on each other and back each other up.
We went out to dinner with Juergen who was still in Cusco working on his truck and had a lovely evening. It was happy hour in a restaurant called Indigo, so Juergen and myself shared Pisco sours, Steve had a few G&T’s and we all had an excellent dinner. Alpaca teriyaki – yummy! Steve and I then had a proper chat when we got back to the hotel and sorted out a few things so hopefully it will be uphill all the way from here!!
When I call the day a ‘free day’ what I actually mean is a day of non-stop dashing around, booking a restaurant for a celebration meal for my passengers after they returned from Machu Picchu, getting things done ready for the next leg of the trip, de-briefing Andina on the trek, and going to the truck park to get things sorted out on the truck.
After printing off some paperwork and sorting out the restaurant booking, I popped down to Andina to report on the trip and to voice my concerns about the guide not returning to the hotel with my passengers. They got in touch with him straight away, and agreed never to send him on another trek with me! He just wasn’t up to the same standard as the other guides I have trekked with, and lacked the passion to share information. As I pointed out, if it was just about getting my passengers up a mountain then I’m capable of doing that myself. I want the guides to tell them things I don’t know about the area!
Anyway, all sorted I headed down to the truck park, and then armed with a list of parts to buy I went shopping. It took ages but it meant Steve could concentrate on the truck all afternoon. We got back to the hotel to find Yves had returned from his trek, which although they only had 9 people hadn’t gone as smoothly as mine had. They had experienced a lot more problems with altitude sickness and generally unfit people, plus bad weather on day 2 meant they hadn’t seen some of the stunning views from the top of the pass. It’s just luck on the day in the mountains.
Anyway, my passengers returned and we had a lovely dinner at The Fallen Angel, before heading to Paddy’s to meet Juergen and Yves. From there we headed out to find a club to help some of my passengers achieve the 24 hour challenge. This is for people of the Classic trek. They get up at 3.30 am to trek to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu for sunrise. The challenge is to stay awake for a full 24 hours, which is not easy after four days trekking and a day looking around Machu Picchu. As we crossed the plaza so we got bombarded with people trying to get us into their clubs and handing out free drinks vouchers – so we started at the closest bar (I can’t even remember it’s name now!), then went on to Mythology and finished at Mama Africa’s. It was an excellent night and we all had a ridiculous amount of free alcohol and free entry to every establishment. Dragoman crew are made of tough stuff – it was only myself, Domingo and Yves left standing at 4.30am.
Amazingly after the excesses of the previous night I was awake by 9am, although I duidn't actualyl drag myself out of bed unitl gone 10am. Heaven!! I seldom get a lie in, and strictly speaking I should have been up earlier than I was but occasionally it's nice to have a small luxury.
Having finally dragged myself out of bed I finished some printing for the next trip, then went pots and pans shopping as some of our kitchen equipment is sorely in need of replacement. Heading on the the truck park I then spent the afternoon completing small odd jobs like fitting new seatbelts, paying bills, sorting out our cooking equipment and fixing 'little' things which always seem to take twice as long as they should. By late afternoon it was evident that Gus was not going to be ready to start the trip teh following day. Fortuantely Domingo is transiting Cameron to Lima to start a new trip, and a large part of his route is the same as the one we are taking so we are able to borrow his truck in the morning.
At 6:30pm I was back in the hotel to brief my passengers on the next stage of the trip, before heading out for dinner with Yves and Domingo. After a fair bit of aimless drifting and wandering as the restaurant we were headed for was closed we ended up with burgers!! Done partying, we headed 'home' to the hotel and had an early night.
The day did not start well. Everyone was on time and ready to go, and I was waiting for Domingo to arrive with Cameron... and waiting... and waiting. I checked with Yves who he was sharing with, who confirmed that Domingo had left in plenty of time, so we knew there was a problem. then teh phone rang... it turned out that teh truck park was still oocked and Domigo couldn't get in to get Cameron. Nightmare! We were supposed to leave at 6:30am - by this time it was already 7:00am and I had told the truck park manager the time we would be there the day before. Some frantic ringing around and I got hold of Nilo, the manager, had a few short words and things started to happen. My passengers were all quite happy to have another hour in bed so it wasn't the end of the world!
8:00am and we were finally on the road and waving Yves goodbye - he is flying to Cartagena in a couple of days , but he looked quite gutted to see his old truck driving off down the road. I know the feeling - it's amazing how attacheed you get to the trucks, but they are your home for months at a time and all have their own personalities.
Domingo and I got on witht he job, not wasting any time. We missed a couple of good view points where we woudl usually stop for that perfect 'kodak' moment, but we had a guide to meet. Stopping for 30 minutes in Pucara for a set menu lunch, we were back on the road and arrived at Sillustani ruins only half an hour late.
Sillustani ruins are pre-Incan funerary towers or chullpas and were used to bury the dead. They are quite impressive to see, and situated in a remote landscape overlooking a lake. I wasn't going to go up to see them again as I was feeling the effects of Cusco, plus the days drice, but Norma our local guide is vey persuasive and I figured the fresh air would do me good.
Unfortunately Norma also had bad news. The following day we were supposed to be visiting the Uros reed islands, but the boat men were striking. We had the choice of seeing the Uros Islands that afternoon, but due to our late arrival we wouldn't have been at the Uros islands in daylight. I spoke to the passengers, but we decided the sensible thing was to visit Sillustani ruins and take our chances the folliwng day.
This is where things got more entertaining. Arriving in Puno, Norma got a call from her boss telling her off for not taking us to the islands, so I went to the office with her to explain that it had been our decision not to go. I then had to put together a quick information sheet for my passengers for the following morning so they could see what else there was to do in Puno - mainly churches and museums but useful information to have. Then Steve got in touch - he had experienced further problems with Gus so wasn't leaving Cusco until the following day. Not good news as I now needed to arrange local transport for 21 people across the Peruvian/Bolivian border to Copacabana for the following day. It was too late to do any bookings that evenig so that was another job for the morning. Not the smoothest day I've had by any stretch of the imagination!!
9am I got on the phone to the agency we use to book the Uros Islands to find out the best bus to use to get to Copacabana and the times it leaves. They confirmed there is a bus at 2:30pm and agreed to sort out the tickets for me. Domingo kindly hung on in case we couldn't get the tickets. As I was sorting the tickets so they also told me there was a chance that we might get to the Uros Islands. By 9:30 they had confirmed so I frantically dashed around telling all of my passengers to be ready to go for 10am!
Having waved them all off in tuk-tuks to the islands, I finally got confirmation that we had our bus tickets so Domingo and I went to find a last ceviche lunch together and get the truck from the truck park. I think teh reality hit both of us then - after 3 months of working together we were heading in differnet directions and we don't know when we will see each other again. After the stress of the past couple of days I got really upset saying goodbye! He is my friend and confidante and we had a great time working together - I'm really going to miss him!
I had pulled myself together by the time my passengers returned. They had just enough time for lunch before we made out way to the bus station and jumped on a bus to Bolivia! Incredibly everything was falling into place and we crossed the border without incident. The bus even dropped us right outside our hotel door!
I had booked a group dinner for that evening as it was one of my passengers birthdays. We went to a little place called Cafe Bistrot, owned by the contact we use to book trips to the Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca. Fatima is amazing - she helps us out on a regular basis so it's nice to be able to put some business her way when we reach Copacabana. She also looks after crew incredibly well! All well fed, we stopped in a bar for a quick drink. I was more than ready to crash in my bed after the last couple of days!
A very easy day for me today!! I sent all of my passengers off to the Isle del Sol on Lake Titicaca which is an incredibly pretty place which feels remarkably like being in teh Mediterranean. I then headed over to Cafe Bistrot to make the most of the WIFI and an awesome breakfast! I spent the day catching up on paperwork, doing bookings and generally feeling a little bit zombie-like after the previous couple of days and Cusco. Sometimes a day off would be amazing, but they just don't happen in this job.
Anyway, I was delighted when Steve finally arrived with Gus at 4:30pm, shortly before my passengers got back from the Island. Giving her a quick inspection I discovered there was a LOT of cleaning to be done before setting off in the morning, and a seatbelt still to be fitted. I got on with the seatbelt, while one of my passengers had a go at tidying the library. The cleaning had to wait until morning!!
Steve and I popped back round to see Fatima for a last dinner then I got an early night!!
An early staret required, just to finish cleaning Gus, and then we were back on the road. I missed my little truck!! Mind you, my passengers appreciated her like they never had before and were just as happy to be back!
Steve took her across the ferry crossing, and I drove her on to La Paz from there. We had been told that there were strikes at the ferry crossing, but we got through without a problem. Everything was going well unitl we reached El Alto on the outskirts of La Paz, where we first found some roadworks which diverted us down some tiny streets through the town. A van did think I'd fit, but it was never going to happen so I just smiled sweetly and waved until he reversed (very badly) and got out of the way. Taking the chance to head back to the main road we promptly ran into a protest, with bricks and bottles across the road, and a couple of small fire pyres. It all added to the excitement, although within 5 minutes another vehicle had driven over the bricks and bottles. The protesters seemed very half-hearted and gave up at this point so we got through without a problem. It actually helped us as El Alto is usually complete chaso, but this time it was relatively quiet and took a lot less time to fight our way through!
After a brief stop at a wonderful lookout over the city with Illimani mountain behind, we got to teh hotel and got my passengers checked it. From there we had to find our new truck park. ON teh map it looked easy. The reality was market stalls, one way systems and tiny narrow streets with low overhead cables. I was glad on more than one occasion that I was in Gus and not Yana who is a lot higher and longer. We would have got stuck!
The truck park belongs to the company we use for cycling the Worlds Most Dangerous Road, and it's a great little truck park! It has concrete and everything! Anyway, we couldn't get the swing to get in as there was a car opposite the entrance, so we parked up and headed back to the city centre to grab some lunch. Heading back to the truck park at 5:00pm we were able to park. Our contact, Jill, then invited us to her flat where we enjoyed a beer and the most incredible view of Mt Illimani!! It was beautiful in the sunset and I finally understand why some people chose to live in La Paz! We all headed back to the hotel to sign up passengers for the bike ride the following day. With 11 takers I was sorry not to be going again, but after breaking my shoulder on the last attempt and with a lot of work to do I decided it would be prudent not to!
We headed out for a goodbye meal as some passengers were leaving the following day. A trip to 'Star of India' proved entertaining as they really aren't geared for 22 people appearing in one go, even with an advance booking!
A Sunday in La Paz - this basically means that everything is closed! So Steve & I spent most of teh day soirting out our acocunts. I finished my trip perp for the next leg from La Paz to Buenos Aires, with background information, itineraries and double checking my bookings.
Then Tim turned up. Tim is another member of crew for Dragoman, who I last saw in hospital in Quito with suspected dengue fever. Fortunately he didn't have it! Anyway, it was good to see him looking so well again, and it turned out he had been sent up to us with Manana - teh truck we were supposed to have for this trip. Luca, my boss, basically told me to look at both of them and take whichever truck was best kitted out for the trip. We didn't have time before meeting my new passengers so we decided it could wait until the following morning.
After briefing my new passengers we popped out for a welcome meal to get to know them a little better. They all seemed lovely, although we were missing one so I was hoping she would appear the following day!
I need to clarify this point - truck shopping in La Paz!! First thing Tim, Steve and I headed up to the old train station where Manana was parked to have a look at her and decide whether she was better to take on the next trip than Gus. With plywood seats covered with two inches of foam, no headrests and a really annoying ladder to get in and out, AND no tents the reponse was simple. No. Gus it is, all the way to Buenos Aires!! I was so happy! Steve and I then headed over to Gus to get her clean and ready for the new trip, before finding Tim again and grabbing some lunch.
We then headed up to El alto to buy some truck parts. Steve was nearly pick-pocketed, but being wise to the scams he fended them off admirably well! I had another briefing with my existing passengers who had been biking the previous day and couldn't come to the meeting. Generally good except three of them didn't bother to turn up - as I was collecting kitty money for the next leg and I had actually spoken to them earlier I was FUMING! So I lef ttehm a note telling them if they didn't pay in full they were not going to be allowed on the truck in the morning. I don't really see why I should wait in the hotel for them to show up at their convenience - I have enough to do!!
We headed to a Mexican for dinner which was really good, and I returned to find three apologetic passengers promising never to let it happen again!
An early start and we were back on the road. Our guide, Pablo, for the Bolivian homestay met us at the hotel and we gave him a lift for the 8 hour drive to Livichenko. He proved to be very useful. Bolivian petrol stations are a unique experience. The prices for Bolivians is usually around 3 BOB per litre. For gringos it is 9 BOB per litre. If you agree not to have a receipt it is 6 BOB per litre. On this occasion we got it for 3 BOB per litre plus a 200BOB tip - it saved us a HUGE amount of money!
Anyway, we were nearly at our lunch stop at Oruru when we came across a police road block. Not sure what was going on we hopped out to investigate and it turned out that they had closed a major arterial road from La Paz to Oruru for an hour to hold a wheelchair race. Even better, it turned out to be a one man wheelchair race!!!
Finally back underway, we had a slightly later lunch than planned, and headed on to Livichenko. To get to Livichenko we have to drive for 50 minutes down a dirt track - the village is incredibly remote and currenlty it is only Dragoman groups which visit it. It isn't even shown on any roadmaps! the village is in a beautiful location though, and the Aymaran people are always delighted to see us.
On arrival they showed us a shearing and weaving demonstration, still all done by hand with no electrical tools. I had a go at shearing the sheep and I wouldn't fancy clipping a horse using the same equipment! They also show us how they spin, dye, wash and prepare the wool for weaving. The whole process is completey natural. The weaving demonstration is fascinating and the skill in their work is incredible.
After a very good dinner we were then shown a Aymaran Pachmama ceremony to worship mother earth. The head of the village carries out the Ceremony. Very interesting but it was freezing!! We are in the middle of winter and the village is at 4,200m so it was COLD!! Anyway, it didn't last long and we were allowed to escape back to the warmth of our eating quarters. He then came and did coca leaf readings for us which were really good fun.
Apparently I have a fantastic job (agreed). I will return to the village one more time (this is true). I have a boyfriend who is in another country at the moment (news to me! A liasion maybe?). I am going to borrow some money and start a very successful business (unlikely, but you never know), and I will get married one day bnut not for a very long time!!
After the coca leaf readings we then had a small party with traditional dancing and music before heading off to bed under the biggest pile of blankets imaginable - they were needed though!!
A reasonable start and after breakfast we split inot two groups. One to see the local school, and teh other to trek up a mountain. In view of the small oçamount of exercise I get on these trips I decided to head up the mountain, as last time I had joined in the games with the school kids as I was wrapped in a cast. Not good for trekking!!
The view from the top was stunning, and there was a really great boulder up there which was perfect for a spot of bouldering! Pablo and I had a great time while the others just thought we were mad!
Heading back to the village, we spotted wild gerbils, and wild guines pigs. This is one of only two places I have ever seen wild guinea pigs, the other being at Sillustani ruins in Peru. There was also the usual scattering of llamas and alpacas - as common as seeing sheep in the UK!
After lunch (llama meat - yummy!) we set off for Potosi. Potosi is a mining town. It used to be one of the richest cities in the world as the mountain behind it 'Cerro Rico' (rich mountain) was full of silver. After being extensively mined there is very little silver left now, and it is mostly tin that is mined. Anyway, it is a lovely drive to Potosi and we got there just before dark. A trip to the restuarant 4060m sorted out dinner, and I arranged trips to the silver mines for the following day.
I waved all of my passengers off to the silver mines and settled down to do some paperwork - I needed to finish my accounts as Steve had handed me a wad of receipts. I also needed to finish my trip report for the last leg to La Paz which had obviously not gone too smoothly! Anyway, I thought I had problems unitl Daniele, another member of Dragoman crew, showed up. He was driving Elle, another truck, from Buenos Aires to La Paz and the engine had just blown up 40Km outside Potosi. Steve took Gus and helped Daniele collect any valuables from Elle.
Leaving Steve to teh rescue mission, I found out the time for an English speaking tour around the old Bolivian mint - I went to both this and the silver mines on my first trip to Potosi and both are worth doing. the silver mines has a significant lack of western health and safety, relying on a good dose of common sense. Basically, when the guide says 'mine shaft to the left' they expect everyone to walk on the right. Strangely enough, it works! You also visit the miners market and can buy miners cigarettes as presents for the miners, dynamite, fuses, coca leaves and 97% alcohol. It all gets used!!
I was going to head out for dinner with some of my passengers, but I ended up being fed wine from another passenger and then moving on to some beers. In the end Steve and I admitted defeat, ordered takeaway and enjoyed a few more drinks!!
We had a fairly relaxed start as it is less than a 5 hour drive to Uyuni. The scenery is amazing, with canyons and gorges along the route - very different to anything we see up until this point. It was a comfortable drive and we arrived in Uyuni at 1:30pm, just in time for lunch.
Steve and I headed off to an Italian restaurant which we have been to before, and where the waitress is so miserable that it is actually worth going just to see if anyone can make her smile!! Three of our passengers found us, and one very kindly treated us to lunch!
On my return to the hotel I received some bad news. There had been a lot of snow out on the Bolivian altiplano, and the road to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, was blocked. Steve and I looked at possible alternatives, but the best result would still have added two days on the drive and we would have missed the altiplano. I made the decision to cancel San Pedro and found an alternative route to Salta in Argentina. This was going to require us to retrace our steps a little, but at least we would be in Salta on time. I frantically started emailing hotels to see if they had availability for 23 people at short notice and waited for a response.
We ate in the hotel that evening - as crew we get looked after very well there and the lady makes very good pizza. It's supposed to be the highest pizza restaurant in the world, although Uyuni is lower than Potosi and you can definitely get pizza there! After dinner we dragged the group out to a local bar, the Extreme Fun Pub. This is the venue of an Extreme Drinking Challenge which I completed on my first visit and will never do again! My name is on the wall, complete with my time so I am exempt!! None of my passengers were brave enough to try, but we do get them a couple of free drinks served in extremely phallic cups which causes great entertainment!
Salt flats day!! Always great fun!!
We piled into the jeeps and headed out onto the salt flats, stopping in a tiny village en route to see how they process the salts to make it ready for eating. Very interesting as they still do it all by hand. Even more interesting as they spoke no English and it was left to my slightly dubious Spanish to make the translation - muddled through it!
From there we headed to the middle of the salt flats to get some of the iconic perspective shots. I became official photographer for the day - strangely the most wanted shot was to be climbing a bottle of wine...
We headed on to Isle de Pescado 'Fish Island' - the island is completely made of coral, and covered in cacti which grow 1cm per year. Some of the cacti on the island must be over 500 years old! We had lunch here, before heading back across the salt flats to the train graveyard. The old rail service have simply abandoned trains here and left them to rust. It's possible to climb along them and we watch the most incredible sunset sat on the top of an old train.
Collecting our local guide Braulio, we set off at 8am to head across the Bolivian altiplano - a land of vast barren landscapes, unusual rock formations, beautifully coloured lakes, flamingos and geysers. On departure Steve unfortunately just caught the hotel sign with the truck and Hotel Tonito became 'Hotel Ton o'!!! With a quick apology, and knowing we were returning in two days to settle any costs we headed off.
As we left Steve let me know that he hadn't filled the truck with diesel the day before... this posed a problem as it was a Sunday and the petrol stations in Uyuni were all closed. I knew that the spare tank was full, but I had a sneaking suspicion that we wouldn't have enough diesel to cope with two days driving across the altiplano, although Steve was adamant that we would be fine. With feelings of misgiving, we headed out into the wilderness. An hour into our journey Gus stopped... she had run out of diesel from the main tank already and so we spent half a hour siphoning diesel out of the spare tank and transferring it across to the main tank. Gargling diesel is never ranks highly on my
'to do' list, but all of my passengers then thought we were amazing! Still not worth it... While we were faffing we did see a wild rhea, a fox and some alpacas passing by so at least my passengers had something to keep them entertained!
Having bled the engine we were back on our way, with a first stop at the Valle de la Roche or 'Valley of the Rocks'. This is a huge rock and boulder field, created by a volcanic explosion and then eroded into weird and wonderful shapes over time - great for scrambling and exploring. We headed on to Ville Mar, a tiny village in the middle of the altiplano, to have our lunch. This has more fantastic rocks for some bouldering, and for interest there is also the tail wing of a plane buried in amongst them. The wing can actually be found on the top of the hill opposite!
We headed off to the Laguna Colorada after lunch. This lake is usually a deep red in colour as a result of the minerals from the land, and it is normally the home to thousands of flamingos. Not this time! It was so cold the lake was frozen, and there wasn't a flamingo to be seen. It gave the lake an incredibly desolate feel. our hostel was located on the shores of the lake, and we arrived at nightfall. With the temperatures being so low (it reached -20 degrees that night) we had already added anti-gel to the diesel, and we also covered Gus' engine in blankets to help keep her warm enough to start the following morning.
Braulio helped us to organise a bonfire and we sat around it eating our dinner. It then started to snow. We're a tough lot though and it was quite good fun sitting around in the middle of a snow storm!! I will admit to taking my sleeping bag into my bed and not taking off a single item of clothing that night though!
The day welcomed us with a carpet of snow covering the mountains and road. It was beautiful!! But posed a potential problem as it was already starting to drift. We have snow chains on Gus but fortunately they weren't necessary. Heading off across the altiplano, we left the dirt road where the snow had drifted and I had to chance to do some REAL off-roading, picking my way from one patch of dirt to the next and avoiding the snow wherever possible. It was great fun! We did have two hills where so emergency digging was required to move enough snow in order to get up the inclines, and I will admit that after two hours I was ready for a break. It's hard work concentrating for so long in those conditions, and it was still bitterly cold!
We stopped at a famous rock called La Piedra which looks like a tree. Everyone piled out, realised it was flipping freezing so took a quick picture and piled back in again! We don't usually use this route so it was fun to see something different. Continuing onwards we passed some lakes and finally saw two species of flamingo - the Andean and the James. We also saw a lot of vicuna (wild animals from the alpaca family).
It was a long days drive. We stopped briefly for lunch when we realised the torsion bar under the truck had snapped - probably as a result of the terrain we had been travelling over. Closer inspection showed it had been welded at some point and therefore had a weak spot which had failed. Gus was still travelling well so we continued and finally reached the road to return to Uyuni. At which point we ran out of diesel again. We weren't far from the small village of Ville Aylota, and having siphoned a further two jerry cans of diesel across we knew we could get that far, but not back to Uyuni. Reaching Ville Aylota, Braulio made some enquiries and we went to the best petrol station EVER. It was a large drum of diesel which they siphoned into a gallon bucket, then transferred into the truck. Personally I didn't care how they did it, I was just happy to see the diesel going in and it certainly lightened the mood on the truck - my passengers were cold and tired and looking forward to getting back to a hotel. Overlanders aren't made like they used to be!!
Driving back to Uyuni in the dark, I did have one scary moment. On of my passengers had asked for a bush wee. We were on a long straight piece of road, with verges, so I slowed down, pulled onto the verge which was also gravel and the truck promptly sank! I was worried for a moment that she was going to roll, but I had enough moment to pull her back up on to the road without incident. It had my heart racing though!!! I had been using the gravel verge to avoid oncoming vehicles for the past two days without issue so had no warning that it was so soft - it was not an experience I'm in a rush to repeat though!
It was a tough start – I knew we had at least 12 hours of driving ahead of us, and yet we couldn’t get on the road until 8:00am as that was when the petrol stations open in Uyuni. Typically there was a queue when we arrived. Braulio, bless him, met us first thing in order to help us get a local rate. It didn’t save us much, but every little helps.
By 8:45 am we were finally on the road and heading for Potosi – not our original plan but with a snapped torsion bar this was by far the best option. It was a little bit further, but the road is much better. 4.5 hours drive saw us arrive at Potosi by 1.15pm – I spoke to all of my passengers and stressed that we only had half an hour to grab some lunch. I even pointed out some places they could quickly get some street food. I then dashed to an internet café to catch up on some last emails before heading back to the truck. On arrival at 1:45pm one of my other passengers told me that the usual trouble makers had sat down in a restaurant for dinner. They were annoyed because they knew there was no way they would be done in time. I waited for 5 minutes before heading up there to find them. Lucy unfortunately bore the weight of my wrath as I saw her coming down the hill. I advised her to tell the others to pull their fingers out or else I would leave them behind. We couldn’t afford to be late with a border crossing to contend with later that day. They arrived within two minutes of me getting back to Gus. After navigating Steve out of Potosi I went to see them in the truck and had ‘words’. They didn’t like it, but I think they got the message. It’s not just me and Steve it affects – it’s the rest of the group and they have a complete lack of manners and courtesy towards everyone on the trip. I wasn’t prepared to put up with it anymore – I have already tried the reasonable approach but this time I was furious, especially as I had spelled it out to them how important it was to be back on the truck in time!!
Anyway, things settled down after I had confronted them. The afternoon drive was simply beautiful. It was a completely different landscape to any we had seen to this point, and It was lovely being able to drive a new route and see a bit more of Bolivia. The land is very ‘wild west’ with dry gullies, canyons, cacti and scrub-like bushes along the way. Steve & I both agreed that it would make an amazing bush camping spot, as the views across the terrain were amazing and there were some ideal locations. Sadly we were on a time limit of two days to get to Salta. We stopped at Tupiza en route to the border to get some dinner – just for half an hour and this time EVERYONE was back on time so my earlier talk had obviously sunk in. Sadly, in spite of out best efforts, we arrived at the border at 10.10pm – 10 minutes after it had closed. This poised us a problem. Our hotel was in La Quiaca in Argentina – the opposite side of the bridge from Villezon which is in Bolivia. The immigration officials sent us back in to Villezon to find accommodation , but after trying three places with no availability I decided to see if we could wing it at the border and get to the hostel I had booked. Amazingly the immigration official on the Argentina side went with it. We could only take a day pack, but at least we had a bed to sleep in – it’s not easy to find 22 beds at short notice! He didn’t even check our passports. I know it is possible to walk across during the day but at night it is a whole different matter. The hostel was amazing. My taxi arrived last as I was the only person who had Argentinian pesos – as it drew up I was greeted by a building site. My heart sank. Walking in through a corrugated iron door, my next view was of a half built reception and a huge hole in the middle of the floor. I was already wondering what on earth my passengers must be thinking!! Things were set to improve however – walking around the corner I saw an beautifully laid out hostel and a very smiley manager. He had ushered all of my passengers into the ‘breakfast room’ (complete with a chapel where most of my passengers were trying to marry off Gemma and Jason – incidentally they are NOT a couple!!) and proceeded to give me a tour of the premises. The rooms were warm and cosy – finally something was going right! I t was too late to get a beer to recover from the day, so I settled for tea and a good chat with two of my passengers until the early hours of the morning.
An early start – earlier because of the time zone change in Argentina, meant that we were up by 7:30 and back at the border by 8:00am. I did not want to get up!! Self-inflicted, but not with alcohol!! Anyway, all was going well until our two American girls realised they didn’t have their Argentine entrance tax so had to dash to an internet café to sort it out. We couldn’t get the truck through until they had it as they were mentioned on the passenger list and immigration refused to even look at the truck until the American girls were stamped into the country. Problem sorted, at 10am we were ready to go, and promptly stopped at a panaderia to get some breakfast!!
Finally legally in Argentina, we headed South towards Salta. The road was fantastic, and the scenery was very pretty, driving down through vast landscapes and gorges, with different colours of striated rock towering either side of us. We stopped at Tucara for an hour for lunch, and to give my passengers chance to get some pesos. Tucara is overlooked by the ‘mountain of seven colours’ – striated rock in incredible different colours.
Steve took over the driving and I ended up in the back of the truck with my passengers. It was one of the American girls’ Birthdays, and they were keen for me to join in the fun and games!! I had to go for the sober version, which included a ‘cartel name’ of Volcano (a result of the previous days explosion!) after successfully completing an initiation of eating six crackers at the same time. We all had to complete the initiation, and by the time we had reached Salta I had sorted out the room list with everyone’s cartel names in place.
Arriving at Salta I dashed out to book the best steak restaurant on the planet – Viajo Jacks. It is simple amazing! If been looking forward to it since I found out I was doing this trip again and it didn’t let me down!!
An exciting day - I slept in. I also forgot that we had a time change so I missed breakfast. Not a problem - I popped out to find a cambio man on a street corner to see if I could get a better exchange rate than the official 5.3 Argentine pesos to the dollar, and managed to get 8 for $100 and $50 bills, and 7.5 for $20 bills. A worthwhile exercise! I grabbed some breakfast while IO was looking, and then managed to find a mobile repair shop. My mobile had decided to stop charging. A quick check revealed that it was a faulty charger but I left my mobile to get it unlocked. I then needed to spend an hour in an internet cafe as my netbook refused to connect to the hotel wifi - I had four days to catch up and I also needed to report the incident from a couple of days ago.
Meeting Steve for lunch - we found a great little empanada place, we then headed down to the truck park and started looking around to see if we could get a new torsion bar for Gus. We eventually found one for roughly $850 so emailed the office to see if we could get the go-ahead. We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning Gus and getting her ready to head back out on the road.
The incredible title says it all!! Our tents were in need of a good scrub and so I spent the day doing just that!! Steve brought the torsion bar, ready to fit when we got to the estancia, then grudgingly came back and helped clean tents too. It was a good chance to see which ones needed running repairs too, which we will try to get done during our week in Rio. I had booked Gus into a truck wash too and they were taking their time, so I had to leave Steve looking after her while I dashed back to meet my group to sort out cook group shopping in the local market. It was great - I'd found it the day before and our money went so much further than it ever does in supermarkets. It also 'spreads the love' amongst different traders - a much better way to shop. I had heard about another restaurant for dinner, so a small group of us wandered a few blocks to find it for future reference. It wasn't as good as Jacks but we still had a nice meal. I was having a good day too - my problem group had planned from the start to head off to Mendoza, so they had left during the early hours of the morning. I knew I had four days off and I was looking forward to not having to deal with them during that time.
We had a very civilised start. Knowing we only had a 5 hour drive we had a leisurely breakfast before hitting the road. I always enjoy this drive day - we head down through the mountains, along a really beautiful valley. Stopping for a quick comfort break I found a mate thermos flask. It's a very Argentine tradition to drink mate, which is a herb drink. You simply add water and drink it through a straw, sharing it with your co-driver. Domingo had one and I had been missing my mate in the mornings!
We stopped for lunch at an amazing rock formation along the valley, known as the Devils throat and the amphitheatre. They are great clefts in the rock - similar in appearance to Petra. They aren't volcanic so must have been formed through earthquakes, but they are incredible to see. There is more scrambling for me to enjoy here so it's the perfect lunch stop as far as I'm concerned!
Heading on to Cafayate we discovered that the vineyards all close at midday on a Saturday... There are seven vine yards, and after checking six we got lucky and found a small family run organic vineyard which was still running tours, called Nanni. It's a really lovely little vine yard and it's located within walking distance of the campsite. We tried four wines - the local wine Torrentes is a white wine and actually very good. We also tried a Melbec, a Tannin and finally a desert wine. For me it's the Malbec all the way, although the Tannin was also very easy to drink. and After the tour and wine tasting I took the group to the plaza, and showed them where they can get 'flower pots' of wine, and also a place where they can try red wine ice cream. It was then back to the campsite for a barbeque, where I discovered my cook group had enough food to feed the whole town - it actually lasted us for three meals!!
We left Cafayate at 7.00am, much to the disgust of my passengers, but we had a long drive day ahead of us and I would always rather leave early and then get to a campsite while it is still light. At 8.30am we arrived at the Quilmes ruins, just as the sun was rising so it was incredibly beautiful! We spent half an hour looking around teh ruins.
The Quilmes tribe was Pre-Incan and resisted their attempts to take the territory, eventually only being defeated by the Spanish conquistadors. Much of the site has been restored, and it heavily interspersed with cacti which gives the region a very unique appearance.
Driving on we headed up over the pass, past a small town called Taffe en las Valle, situated on the edge of a pretty lake. The road twists and winds down the other side of the mountain, past a moment to 'El Indio' in tribute to the Quilmes tribes. We stopped for lunch at the bottom of the valley, and then headed out onto farm land. We had left the Andes behind us and were heading South.
A few hours later we were in Recreo. Driving in I was racking my brains to remember how to get to the campsite as Steve had misplaced the directions momentarily. Fortunately he found them as I had taken one turn too early so we had a mini unofficial Dragoman town tour of Recreo! Arriving at the campsite in daylight, we set up tents and got dinner underway. It was an excellent dinner - a traditional South African dish which rapidly disappeared! Then we enjoyed some wine, before climbing a chimney (?). Knowing I had another days drive the following day I left the group to their shennanigans and as the weather was so warm I clambered onto the roof of the truck to get a good nights sleep.
Heading off at a civilised time of 8am, we had some long and boring driving to do through farmland areas. Things were spiced up an hour into the drive when we were pulled over for a police check. Steve hopped out and they pointed out that a back bulb had gone - they were working first thing because we had checked them! Anyway, a quick bulb change and they wanted to fine us. You get fined for EVERYTHING in Argentina. Steve wandered over to the police hut, and I shimmied across to the drivers seat. The police man then came over for a chat - it was limited as he had a strong regional accent I couldn't understand him! I smiled a lot though. He walked back tot he hut and told Steve I was very beautiful, to which Steve replied that I was single so why didn't he try his luck!! We didn't get fined though...
A quick stop for lunch at a service station, and we reached the estancia. We only got a bit lost once - I had fallen asleep and rather than waking me up Steve tried navigating himself there. Didn't work. I woke up and found a grumpy Steve... once I'd worked out where we were it was easy to get us back on track.
Arriving at the Los Petreros estancia, which is a large cattle ranch just outside a place called Rio Cebellos, we were met by the owner, Kevin and a member of his staff, Kate. A nice cup of tea while he briefed us and we settled in. Dragoman crew are given our own little house here - literally just two rooms but it's lovely to have our own space! Our passengers are able to choose between camping and dorms.
All sorted, our cook group had dinner underway and we were invited into Kevin's house for introductions, wine and cheese tasting. I love this evening, it's great fun! Kevin just fills up the glasses, we eat too much cheese and generally have a good time, before retiring up to the 'games room' to finish the rest of the wine. It's great! Three of my troublesome four returned at 10.30pm, but they had all had a personality transplant whilst away, and it left me wondering how much of a bad influence Augusta had on the group...
We woke up to a gale blowing outside! It was so windy that they actually had to cancel the riding for the day. One of my passengers got blown over, a gust was so strong! Anyway, it meant we spent the morning relaxing, and I did my accounts. Steve worked on changing the torsion bar on the truck.
After lunch our guide for the riding offered to take us out for a walk. Grateful for the chance to stretch our legs, most of the group decided to join in, and we enjoyed a three hour walk to a waterfall. I have swum here in the past, but as the weather was cold I decided against it this time - the water was freezing last time but at least it was warm when I got out! One of my pax decided to get in though, so in he leapt. Bit of a girly scream and 20 seconds later he was back on the shore!
Steve ran an empanada making course for dinner, so everyone could make their own empanadas and choose their fillings. It's good fun! Combined with some extra wine sent down as an apology for not being able to ride, we then headed to the games room where they had arranged some local entertainment for us - singing and dancing. The musicians, Willie and Jose, are hilarious and ended up staying until 1.30am so it was a great night!
The wind had died down so we were able to go riding! I was in the second group, so we walked out to the cattle station while the first group were riding, during which time one of my pax had an asthma attack and was promptly driven back to the dorms! Once there we had our lunch and then tried our hand at roping a bullock or two. We get to practice on a log first. Last time I tried I caught the log twice... this time I didn't manage it at all! I redeemed myself when I caught a bullock though!!
Anyway, we headed out for a two hour ride in the afternoon, making our way across the ranch. It is very slow as we have a group of complete beginners, but it was nice to be back on a horse, and able to just enjoy the scenery and relax.
Getting back, we had time for a shower and then we had a barbeque, organised by the ranch. All of the cattle on the ranch are organic and the beef tastes amazing! I will admit that more red wine was involved, and then the gauchos joined us for some table football (I swear they are addicted but my team won 3 games to two!), and a bit of dancing. It was a good night, albeit a bit later than I had originally intended!
We left the estancia at 10am. It is only a two hour drive to Cordoba, so we weren't in any rush. It was just as well as we were pulled over by the police again, this time because I wasn't wearing my seat belt. There is a good reason for this - we replaced the seat belts in Cusco because they weren't brilliant. The trouble is Peruvians are quite short and the seat belts aren't long enough for me to wear and have the seat far enough forward to reach the pedals when I'm driving... yes, I really am that short! My Spanish is improving but it's not good enough to explain that to a police man so I prepared myself for the fine. The police man came back and asked me to get out of the cab with a clipboard in his hand. I hopped out and went to the front of the truck and gave him my best winning smile - I knew I'd been naughty! He smiled back. He then tried to explain what I had done wrong, so I nodded a lot and smiled a lot. He then gave me a blank piece of paper, no fine!! Result!
Arriving in Cordoba at lunchtime, we parked up and I settled down to get a head start on my trip report which had plenty to be included!! I also dashed out to get breakfast for the following morning as we had a long drive day to get to Buenos Aires.
It was a relaxed afternoon - I did try to phone home as I had received news that mum had broken her leg on her SAGA holiday (SAGA Lout - too much dancing on tables!!) but there was no one home. I was slightly disconcerted that I had to think for a few minutes to remember the home number!! Maybe I need to call home a bit more often?
Steve and I went out investigating to find somewhere to eat, and found a really nice restaurant. It was a little pricey but we hadn't spent anything on food since Salta so we decided to treat ourselves and it was actually very good!
We left at 6am and headed out for a long drive to Buenos Aires. I have never managed to get out of Cordoba without taking a wrong turn somewhere and this time was no exception, a matter not helped by the South American aversion to directional roadsigns!! As soon as we'd taken the wrong road we saw the sign for the right one... a quick turn around and we were heading in the right direction.
We arrived in Buenos Aires just after 4pm, so we had made really good time. This gave me chance to change some money and book a restaurant while Steve parked the truck. I also found out times and prices for a Tango show for some of my passengers.
Dinner was fantastic. It is a set menu, but there food is incredible,and the quantities are simply ridiculous. Argentina is not the place to come for anyone on a diet! We all had a really good evening and it was sad to say some goodbyes but I would be lying if I said I wasn't glad this particular trip was over!!! It had been particularly troublesome and stressful, but sometimes that is what overlanding is all about and I still wouldn't change it for my old job!
Steve and I decided we had earned an easy day!! We still had to meet our new passengers that evening, so there was preparation to be done, but we both decided to let Gus have a day off and relax. There isn't much opportunity for downtime in this job so occasionally it's necessary to have a few hours. I finished my trip report and as much of the accounts as I could - we still had some receipts in the truck so I couldn't get them completed, but I had time to catch up with myself a little bit.
At 6pm we met our new passengers who all seem lovely! We went out for dinner after the meeting, to a place called La Cabrera, which is a steak house (again) and although it seemed pricey the meals are big enough to share. We had so much food it was ridiculous!! Another night of good red wine and general over-eating!
From an easy day to a busy day! I spent the morning putting together background information for the trip. I usually do this during the previous trip, but wifi had been so bad that I hadn't really had the chance. It was good to be able to settle down and get it all done, although being a Sunday all of the internet cafes were closed so I couldn't print anything... I eventually found an open internet cafe at 7pm!! It was also the Wimbledon final so I was able to watch Andy Murray win the tournament whilst doing my work - perfect!!
One of my passengers came out with me during the afternoon to change money. I had a lot to change and I don't like doing that one my own so she accompanied me and then treated me to lunch as a thank you for the trip since Lima which was lovely of her!
Steve had gone down to the truck park to sort out Gus and to bring her back to make life easier in the morning as we had a 6pm departure. On his return we joined the group for dinner, mainly because we were saying goodbye to a couple of our old pax. There was one in particular two I wanted to say cheerio to - Priscilla, a DJ from Malaysia who is great fun! She had dashed over to Uruguay for the day with Kari so it was nice to have a drink and say our goodbyes.
Leaving Buenos Aires at 6am, we hit the road prepared for a long drive. It is essentially two long days driving to get to the Iguazu falls, passing through Argentine farmland as the landscapes get progressively more jungle-like as we head north.
The group did well for their first morning – everyone was on the truck and ready to go at 6am so it was a good start! We made good progress, reaching Yapeyu before nightfall, and set up camp. Yapeyu is a great little campsite, situated on the banks of the river Uruguay, views views across to Brasil. The town is an old Jesuit town, situated at the Southern-most point of the Jesuit missions. The Jesuit missionaries led the local Guarani tribes, offering them protection form slavery in the sugar cane industry and education, whilst preaching evangelical views. Starting in the 1600's, these communities ran for 150 years until the Spanish intervened and disbanded them.
We had an easier day today. I was hoping to drive straight up to Puerto Iguazu from Yapeyu, but the hostel we usually stay in didn't have any availability so we stopped overnight in San Ignacio de Mini. This is a good lunch stop for us anyway, as we visit the Jesuit ruins here. They are the best preserved ruins in South America. It is the first time I have gone in to see the ruins, and they were really interesting and our guide was very informative. the sun came out and for the first time we had reached T-shirt and shorts weather - it was warm!
After the ruins we found our campsite. As we had a 6am start the following day I made the decision to put everyone in cabins so we wouldn't need to break camp in the morning. It proved to be a very popular decision!! I went back to teh ruins that evening as they run a sound and light show about the history of the ruins. I was a touch skeptical but it was actually very well done, and they used a lot of hologram images, but shining light through a fine mist of water.
An early 6am start meant we were on the road while it was still dark. I opted for first drive, as I knew I needed to organise things in the daylight before we reached the falls. The best laid plans don't always quite work out though, as two hours into the drive I discovered that there were no petrol stations for a further 45 minutes!! It wasn't a problem though - a coffee and breakfast stop and Steve then drove the last hour to the falls. Arriving just after 10am we had made good time and I sent different pax to pay with the tickets. My information showed that groups under 10 people don't need a park guide, which is completely unnecessary, so I got some tickets and so did another pax as we have 15 people. Unfortunately I was wearing my Dragoman T-shirt and that opened a can of worms. It has never been a problem before, but they were insisting that I needed to pay to get in unless I had a minimum of 15 people, and that I needed a park guide. I agreed to pay for myself, but not for a guide as well as we have never needed one before!
Anyway, the guide followed me into the park at which point I told him he could follow me all day if he wanted to but we really didn't need him as everyone was going to do different things once we had done the speedboat ride! He did give up at that point and that was the last I heard about it, although I did borrow a spare top from Linda (one of my pax) to walk back out through the entrance!
Anyway, having organised speedboat rides for all of my pax and getting them a time slot, two of my pax wanted to do a 'bigger trip' with a jeep ride, the speedboat up through the gorge and then to the bottom of the falls. As I had 15 people doing activities they offered me a free trip on the 'big' trip which was great!! We had so much fun. The jeep ride was okay, but I am used to a better view from driving ;-) I enjoyed the boat ride up the gorge as it was an area of the park that I haven't seen before, but the best bit was still going in under the falls!
We got some lunch and then headed out on the upper boardwalks to get some good photos. It was a lovely afternoon. Unfortunately the boardwalk to the Devils Throat was closed as they had a lot of rain last week and it wasn't safe to go, but the amount of water going over the falls was really impressive!!
We left the park at 4.30pm and headed across the border to Brasil and our campsite for the night. I was shattered so rolled into bed early as I was struggling to keep my eyes open!
Finally in Brazil! I had a lovely lie in, and managed to get up just in time for breakfast. I had heard about a traditional music and dancing show from some other crew, so I made some investigations and my whole group wanted to go so I arranged tickets and transport for that evening. We headed into town as we needed some local currency. The cambio we usually use outside the falls has shut which is very inconvenient, as we had to go into the town centre. I sent the group to do their cook group shopping while I headed into town with Steve to find a money exchange. It took longer than expected but we found one so I went back and reported to the group.
One of the girls, Megan, was keen to visit Itaipu Dam, the second largest hydro-electric plant in the world so I had agreed to go with her. Itaipu is a Guarani word which means “The rock that sings” – named for the sound of water against a rock island which used to be where the dam has been built. Anyway, after an entertaining bus ride we got there just in time and joined the trip. It was really interesting, and they had the sluice gates open to release the excess water which was impressive to see – there was a large plume of spray at the bottom of the sluice which was doing it’s best to rival Iguazu! We were taken inside the plant which is massive! Half of the plant belongs to Brazil and provides them with 70% of their electricity. The other half belongs to Paraguay, who only use 9% of their supply to power 70% of the whole country – apparently this matches the electricity usage in Sao Paulo alone!! The remaining electricity is sold to Brazil. There is a line in the middle of the plant, so we got some silly photos with a leg in each country, just for fun!
Back at the campsite we got ready for the evening. Four of the group were leaving us at this point – they were supposed to finish in Buenos Aires but had extended to stay with us for the falls, so the Churrascuria Rafrain Show was a good way to have a goodbye group meal. Prior to leaving the bar I introduced the group to the National drink of caipirinhas which went down well. A buffet was included in the price. We arrived an hour ahead to time to eat and it was seriously good. We all over-ate – a common theme on these trips!! The show was also very good, including traditional music from all over South America, with a typically Brazilian flair and panache, and incredible Carnaval-style costumes – very little fabric but lots of feathers an sequins!!
An earlier start today as we had to take the group out to the Brazil side of the falls. Steve then took Gus to a workshop in Foz while I treated myself to a helicopter trip over the falls. I decided to go for it as the falls were really impressive with so much water going over them. Three of my passengers joined me and we had a great time! It was worth the expense – the panoramas were simply incredible, and it’s always fun to have a helicopter ride! I then headed back to the campsite to get some work done and to enjoy the peace of no passengers – it can be really difficult to get some down time so I made the most of it. Unfortunately Steve was delayed at the workshop with the truck which had everyone’s dinner in it! We gave up and ordered from the bar. I was getting worried on case he had a serious problem, and even phoned the workshop to be told the truck wasn’t there. Turns out that it was there, it was a security guy who said it was all locked and hadn’t even looked!! Fortunately everything was okay, so we loaded our gear back into Gus on her return ready for a 5am departure the following day.
Super long drive day!! And I mean, super long. We left at 5am and 14 hours later we eventually rolled into Bonito. It was a good drive though, although I had one very hairy moment when a large red truck came thundering round a blind corner on my side of the road, overtaking another truck! Strangely I wasn’t scared although I knew I would never stop in time. I just braked to reduce momentum and then used a small hard shoulder to dive out of his way. More than one member of the group saw their life flash before their eyes at that point though!! The group were very good on all of the breaks and had a fast lunch stop which meant we made good time.
Arriving at the HI hostel in Bonito, I sorted out upgrades and activities while the group set up tents and got dinner going. It's a really cool little hostel, and the staff remembered me even though I hadn't been for six months - I'm not sure whether that is a good thing or not!! It was an early night for all of us.
We had a nice relaxed start to the day. The group were booked in to go snorkeling in the Rio de Prata - a beautiful fresh spring water river where you can see native fish such as the dorado and pacu, caimen, anacondas and giant otter which I was lucky enough to see on my first trip down the river. Unfortunately there was no spare space so Steve and I couldn't go this time, although we have both been twice before so I can't complain! We still took the group down there and enjoyed an amazing buffet lunch.
As I couldn't go snorkeling I pulled on my trainers and went running for an hour. The ranch is situated at the end of a lovely long dirt track, so I simply ran back to the road, with herds of cows looking on in astonishment! I did see road runners, parakeets and a rhea.
Getting back to the truck, Steve and I attacked the cab and gave her a good sort out. Our passengers returned with big smiles, and we headed back to Bonito. On arrival at the hostel one of the guys met us and confirmed that three of us had managed to get spaces to visit Abismo Anhumas - an underground water-filled cave where you need to rappel 72m down to reach the water, and can then go snorkelling and have a boat ride. We needed to go for training to learn how to use the equipment, so Nick, Sanne and myself did a rapid turn around and headed to the climbing wall in town.
We all got a thorough briefing and met another guy who was staying at the hostel called Leonardo who I agreed could hitch a lift with us the next day. We then needed to be fitted for wet suits. Once sorted we headed to a bar in town for a couple of drinks, before getting an early night ready for the following day.
I was so excited to be going on the trip to see Abismo Anhumas! We set off early with Gus and made our way out to the cave. There was a little bit of rain which made the drive more entertaining when we reached the dirt roads - I could feel the rear axle losing traction and sliding on more than one occasion which made it fun to drive! We got 300m from the start point and I had to squeeze Gus up a tiny track - she only just fit! Low hanging branches and wonky tree trunks left me just a couple of inches room on either side but we made it, to find the smallest turning space with some strategically placed trees to add to the challenge. I'm glad I know her so well as I managed to turn her and get parked without incident.
Heading to the starting point, we met our guides who had done our training the day before. They quickly got us kitted out and before we knew it we were rappelling 72m down into the abyss. We had to go down in pairs. Nick and Sanne went down first, followed by myself and Leonardo. I loved it! The others haven't done any abseiling before so they jumped in at the deep end (literally) on this excursion. The light filtering into the cave threw the most amazing shadows, and the water was an incredible clear blue colour where the light hit it. Amazingly there were even fish in the lake!
Only 18 people a day get to do the excursion. We were in the last group so we got down there to find the first group already snorkeling. We wriggled into our wet suits while we were waiting, and I managed to get some photos. The snorkeling was amazing! The cave is the only open cave in Brazil where you can swim amongst cornices - great calcium carbonate structures which reach up to 20m in height. Stalactites and stalagmites are also everywhere, and of course, the little fish. It was an amazing experience. We surfaced to see the first group starting their ascent back up the rope to the entrance. It took them forever, and it was very clear that the hard work was all ahead of us!
We got changed, and then we were taken out in a rubber dingy for a guided tour around the cave, to investigate some of the structures in more detail. It was beautiful, and also a good way to kill some time while we were waiting for our chance to climb back out again. Leonardo and myself were the last to go again. It was really tough and my arms were aching by the time we got to the top! It was amazing though and well worth seeing.
Driving back out, the track had dried so it was a much easier journey. As soon as we were out of the trees I opened the roof seats so Nick, Sanne and Leonardo could ride in the worlds biggest convertible and spot parakeets. It was a very popular decision as they all loved it.
I had booked a restaurant called the Pantanal Grill for the evening. They serve local food including caimen, pecary and capybara. This time I opted for the caimen which was actually very tasty! We rolled across the road to the best bar in Bonito afterwards to enjoy some well-earned caipirinhas. A couple of the guys who run the hostel were there and invited us to join them so we had a very pleasant evening. A quiet spot of matchmaking later and I had one happy hostel lad, and one very happy passenger too!
We had a lovely civilised start to the day - a leisurely breakfast before heading off to San Francisco ranch at 10am. It only takes a couple of hours to get there, so we took our time and opened the roof seats so our passengers could go toucan spotting as we drove along. We spotted three so it was well worth it!
We arrived at the ranch at lunchtime as planned. After briefing my pax and meeting my guide, Alyson who has been my guide here previously, we enjoyed a great buffet lunch. They always have different cuts of beef from their own cattle and it is delicious! I saw some of the cowboys from my previous visits too - Julian, Jonas and Elmo (not joking, and no he isn't a muppet!).
We spent the afternoon on a photo safari with Roberta who is an excellent wildlife spotter and incredibly enthusiastic about everything. The ranch didn't disappoint. The first animal we saw was a jaguarari - not as big as a jaguar but still a big cat and very unusual to see in daylight. Sadly I didn't have time to get a photo! We also saw a lot of marsh deer, capybara, caiman, storks, hawks, egrets, heron, ibis, parrots, macaws and a giant anteater. It was a good spotting afternoon!
After dinner we went on a night safari. We never see so much at night, but we saw another giant anteater, some owls and a tapir! I have never seen a tapir before, and he was just walking along the bank of one of the drainage ditches so we got a really good view! Unfortunately my camera isn't up to the job of night time photography at that distance, but at least I got to enjoy the moment.
We had an early start to have breakfast, and then to wave my passengers off on a boat trip where they get the chance to go piranha fishing and see some of the river wildlife. Steve and I set to work on Gus. Her seat adjuster had died the previous day which meant I couldn't reach the wheel or the pedals so I had the task of taking out the drivers seat and investigating, while Steve worked on fitting the stereo. Seat successfully out, I discovered that the mechanism had slipped over one of the runners and got stuck. It didn't take much to sort it out, and then a generous application of grease had it working well again so I could refit the seat. A couple of running repairs to our storage boxes and a quick lick of paint and my work was done - just in time to meet my passengers returning from their boat trip to find me with streaks of grease across my face. I am incapable of staying clean the second grease makes an appearance!
After lunch I decided to join half my group for the horse riding. I was in two minds as the horses can be a bit donkey-like but I was suffering withdrawal symptoms! Alyson, Jonas and Elmo were our guides. It is literally just a walk across the ranch but it was a lovely afternoon, and my horse was actually capable of walking out when asked so it was a pleasant afternoon. We got back to the stables and I offered to help untack, at which point I was handed Alyson's horse and asked to join Jonas to return it to the cowboys. Bonus! The horse, Estrella (means Star) was fantastic. Most of the horses used for tourists are retired from working life with the cattle at the age of 10, but Estrella was a bit younger and much more fun to ride. We untacked them, and Jonas gave me a lift back to the ranch on the back of his motorbike. I cooled off by jumping in the pool, before getting ready for the evenings barbeque and party which they always put on for us.
It was a fun evening. They always do a demonstration of traditional cowboy dancing - a bit like a hill-billy tango but not as difficult - and then they take everyone up for a dance too. I ended up dancing with Jonas a couple of times, and successfully convinced him to let me keep his cowboy hat (Pantaneria) to use as my new driving hat as Steve had sat on my red Panama and it simply hasn't been the same since! A few caipirinhas and we all had a great time. The barbeque is in a field a little way from the main ranch so we were free to make a noise without disturbing anyone, and ended up seeing a crab eating fox and a wolf!
Another early start, and I opted to go horse riding again. To be honest it was a mistake as the horse I was riding was incredibly lazy and I made the cowboys PROMISE never to put me on it again! We went over different parts of the ranch though which I hadn't seen before so it was still a nice morning. We stopped for some mate - known is Brasil as Tercera. Same herb, different name! As we ambled back to the stables we saw four nine-ringed armadillos, and Julian also spotted some rather large jaguar tracks.
We had our lunch and hit the road. Steve and I knew we had two and a half days of driving ahead of us. We drove unitl 7pm when we reached a service station which as a nice area at the back to set up tents. It has good facilities - toilets, showers and free coffee in the morning! Mind you, I nicknamed the group the 'Princess Overlanders' because they were complaining about the toilets. I went to have a look and it turned out that there was some toilet paper on the floor and no toilet seats, but they were clean and didn't smell. They need to appreciate Brazilian toilets - or maybe I just need to send them for a look at some Bolivian ones with no running water and a hole in the ground??
Sometimes things just don't quite go to plan. Armed with my free coffee, we set off at 6am and I did the first drive. We were making really good time when a truck passed us and I smelt diesel. Thinking it was the other truck I kept driving, but the smell didn't go away... Steve and I looked at each other, and as soon as I could I pulled over at the side of the road. We weren't even two hours into the journey! Jacking the cab up, we had a look and saw that one of the injector lines had snapped which was why we could smell diesel - it also meant Gus was running on 5 lungs instead of 6. Fortunately we had spares. Unfortunately whoever had got the spares had brought them for a different engine and they didn't fit... Three hours of modification (drilling, hammering, more drilling) and a heavy rain storm later and we were back on the road! The rain had come straight in the top of the open cab and the drivers seat was saturated, so when we stopped for diesel I did look like I'd had an accident! Fortunately there were showers so I took the opportunity to clean myself up a bit while we were there.
We kept driving. The group were fantastic - they stayed really upbeat about the delay and were just happy that we had managed to fix the problem. They also did a really good job at being quick at all of the toilet breaks, and for our lunch stop. Having a good group on difficult days really does make all the difference. Unfortunately it was dark when we arrived at Brotas, so it was a case of setting up tents and making dinner. They have good wifi at the campsite so I took the opportunity to catch up on some emails - not very exciting but necessary!
Another 6am departure and another long drive day, but this one is much more scenic, and it was much less eventful! It takes 11 hours to reach Parati from Brotas, but it is good roads for most of the trip and we found ourselves travelling through wooded hills, with beautiful lakes and rivers along the route.
With the exception of a delay for road works we made really good time. We had out last cook group lunch and I got the group to clean all of the boxes before we left. It's a big job for just Steve and myself to do, and takes a fraction of the time if everyone pitches in. Also, everyone wants to get to our destination so they are keen to help and save time!
We reached Parati in daylight and I got everyone checked in to the hostel. It is a beautiful location, and the guys in the hostel are always really helpful. They had live music playing, so we settled down for some dinner and a couple of happy hour caipirinhas. Four later and the final four of us decided to go for a night time wander down the beach, which soon turned into a paddle. Within 5 minutes we were having a great time skinny dipping - it had to be done once on the trip!!
The Parati boat trip... Always dangerous, I nearly didn't go because I knew I had a lot to do and that I'd be good for nothing the following day, but the moment I mentioned to the passengers that I may just send them with Steve they all objected! I ended up going, and I was glad I had when we got out on the water. It is lovely out in the bay but the free caipirinhas are just dangerous!! Anyway, we stopped in the first bay and I led the way by jumping off the top deck of the boat, hotly pursued by my passengers! We swam to shore to investigate, before returning to the boat and heading to the next bay which also had rocks to climb! I was happy!
As I feared I did end up drinking too much caipirinha though - they are very easy to drink and incredibly strong. It was a very early night for me and I will admit to being a little bit ill!! Still a fun day though, but I really do need to decide whether it's worth doing it again!!
I did well - I woke up early and made it to breakfast. I was absolutely good for nothing all morning though. I did have a good chat with Anki, my new operations manager for South America, and found out that I will be working with Daniele from Lima to do the whole lop again. I have a few reservations as he didn't work well with Michaela who I got on with extremely well, but I think they just had a personality clash. He has said he doesn't want to work with women though so I may have my work cut out. Anki was cool though - she asked if I was concerned as she knows the history. I get on with most people so we will give it a go and see what happens!
Steve and I wandered into town for lunch and to change some money. A blue cheese and bacon burger with chips put me back on track and I was capable of sitting down to do my accounts and trip report during the afternoon. Result! I will admit to having had an incredibly easy day though! Next stop, Rio baby!!!
We set off immediately after breakfast at 9:00am in order to arrive in Rio for a late lunch. Knowing the Pope was in town both Steve and I anticipated long delays - however I inadvertently managed to get myself into a bus lane and stayed there. It was a good choice - down a four lane road there was gridlock across the other three lanes and we simply cruised on by. Fortunately no police men stopped us either so we avoided a long delay!
Unfortunately it was raining so we couldn't see the big JC (Christ the Redeemer) on his hill overlooking the city - he was hiding behind a cloud. A couple of my passengers leave in the morning so tried to see if they could get there during the afternoon, but the lady in the ticket sales office advised them against it. While they were trying to sight see, I settled down and completed my accounts and end of trip report so I don't need to worry about it during my five days off. I'm looking forward to a break for a few days and having just a truck to worry about! I love my passengers, but occasionally it's nice to have some time off.
We went out for our 'goodbye meal'. I had learned of a fantastic grill and all you can eat buffet while I was here for Carnaval, so we set off on the metro to Ipanema. Unfortunately because the pope is in town we had to get off three stops earlier than planned, and resort to taxis. I'm not feeling the love for him at the moment, just cursing the inconvenience! Anyway, dinner was amazing and proved to be very popular with all of our passengers. I have managed to pick up a bit of a cold so decided to head back to the hotel to chill out - and I have an excuse. I've been in Rio twice before! Amazingly though, with the exception of two, my passengers also decided to come back to the hotel. Not what I expect from the last night of a trip in Rio!
After a lie in and strawberries & cream for breakfast ('m not even joking), Steve & I decided it was time to do a runner and head back out of Rio. Rio is really expensive for living and it was going to cost us $77 a night in the hotel - our combined living allowance is only $100 a day while we are here and $23 was never going to cover lunch and dinner for the two of us. We said a final farewell to our passengers and headed back to Parati where we know we can find things to work on the truck, and the hostel at Sereia Do Mar are really friendly and helpful. As we left, so the heavens opened. We did get a brief look at the big JC (Kristo de Redontor), but he was surrounded by clouds so I think my passengers are going to be out of luck.
We took our time making our way back down, stopping for a blue cheese and bacon burger in town en route to the hostel. The hostel owner, Nico, was a little surprised to see us again so soon but we explained the madness with the Pope. I think he is quite pleased that we decided to come back here to be honest. We spent the rest of the day researching our new trip from Rio to Cusco, and trying to find suitable campsites en route. We have no idea what the roads are going to be like so we have to identify a few different options. There are going to be a lot of 700-800Km drive days on the trip, and a lot of 5am starts from the look of things. It is a brand new route for part of the trip - it's quite exciting to be trailblazers but it obviously adds to the work load.
Okay, when I say poorly I actually mean we both have colds, but for Steve there is a danger of man flu... We both woke up sniffing and coughing - typical relaxation snuffles!! We were also both wandering around like zombies for the better part of the day. Having said that, we have been relatively productive!
We took Gus into town to have a wash, and then hit some of the hardware shops to get some odds and ends (also a pharmacy for Steve's developing man flu). We stopped for a snack and headed back to collect Gus who is looking very shiny and pretty now, rather than covered in red dust and dirt - a legacy from Bonito and the Pantanal!
We got back to the hostel and the receptionist, a Peruvian called Pepe, invited us for lunch as a thank you as we had helped him out when we were here a couple of days ago. Really lovely of him! I needed a siesta after lunch and crashed out until dark - I must have been tired! Then it was more research and sorting out the last details for my next trip as there are a few things which still need clarifying.
After another lie in (I could get used to this but it won't be long until we're on the 5am starts!) I got up and felt much better than yesterday. Sometimes a good sleep makes all the difference! I checked a few emails, then headed out to start cleaning and de-cluttering the truck. Passengers always end up leaving things behind after their trip, so you can imagine that there was a lot left after 3.5 months!! I could practically have a whole new wardrobe if the clothes actually fit me.
Steve was happy pottering around sorting out his tool boxes, while I cleaned the interior and the cab. Gus is gleaming now! I also took out on of the tables as we need to replace a window winder tomorrow, but it's quite a big job as we need to take off internal panels - not something to start late afternoon!
Having missed lunch we headed out into Parati to find an early dinner. The main drawback of Brasil is the price of everything - it's expensive!! I've drawn the conclusion that it is impossible to eat for less than $15.00 so tomorrow we are actually going shopping as the hostel has kitchen facilities. We did finish our meal with a 'make your own' ice cream where you take what you want and then pay for it my weight - it's great!
I spent the rest of the evening chilling out in the hostel where they were playing live music, and doing some more background research for the upcoming trip. It's nearly all done now!!
Yes, my day really was that exciting! To be honest it started well with another lie in. Steve & I then took Gus into town to do some more shopping, for all the odds and ends which we had forgotten when we were both wandering around like zombies. A quick coffee stop and some shopping for the next few nights dinner, and we headed back to the hostel to get some work done on Gus.
First job for me: the broken window winder in the main body. This involved taking out a table, removing panels and finally discovering the window winder had obviously broken in the past and been repaired or 'propped up' with a block of wood... nice! I dismantled the wooden bodge and took out the window winder, sorted out some rust and then got Steve to give me a hand to juggle the new window winder in place - it involves holding up the glass whilst winding the winder and holding the mechanism in place. I would need the same number of limbs as an octopus to do it by myself! It took me all afternoon but job done, and working I just had to reconstruct the truck.
The hostel has an oven so we made cottage pie for dinner - it's the small things and you just don't get it out here so it was a bit of a treat for both of us. We are both Brits after all! I spent the rest of the evening typing up teh itinerary and checking details for the trip (like directions to the starting hotel!). Just a bit of background info left to complete and we're good to go!
Gus has a leak - actually she has a few! We discovered just how many in the heavy rain we had a few days ago. In fairness she isn't as bad as she was because I blitzed some sealing back in Ecuador so it was actually useful to see which parts were still leaking. the result was that after another lie in (I'm making the most of them before my next trip starts!) I was sat on the roof removing sealant. It is never as straight forward as cutting it out and sticking some new sealant in. You have to remove ALL of the sealant or the new sealant doesn't work properly. You then have to remove any rust which may have crept in behind the sealant, use an anti-corrosive paint, let it all dry and then reseal it. I can happily say sealant is removed, rust treated and the roof is prepped ready for sealing in the morning - and I'm hoping it won't rain over night! Anyone who thinks my job is glamorous can think again - I ended up covered in dust, grease, oil, paint and tomorrow it will be sealant. It wasn't all bad though, I was able to strip down to my bikini top and enjoy the view out to the bay while I was working.
I had another exciting evening doing nothing but background information. Trouble is, the more I look into it the more interesting things I find to write about. I have to stop soon or I'll never get it all done!
Today is my last day without passengers - so I made the most of my last lie in for a while, although I was up by 8:30am. I had a lot of loose ends to tidy up today, the first of which was proof reading my background information and putting it on a memory stick ready to print. I headed into town at 11:00am to get the printing done, but some more rivets and try to find some other odds and ends. En route I got distracted by a rather nice pair of boots... anyone who knows me at home will know I rather like boots and I've been deprived of them for nearly twelve months now. I couldn't resist - I have no idea when I am going to wear them, but they are very nice boots!! Printing and shopping done, I headed back to the hostel to wield a sealant gun and fill in all the gaps I had made yesterday on Gus' roof so at least she shouldn't leak if it rains! A thorough clean later and we were done for the day. Steve made a steak and ale pie for dinner - slightly odd as the only still ale I could find in town had chocolate and coffee undertones... it still tasted good though!
A Tucan truck had arrived at the hostel so it was a bit busier. The crew are lovely though and it is always good to see other crew on the road, even if they are from a rival company. I think the only people who can appreciate quite what this job is like are other crew, and it's great to have a catch up about news on the road.
Next stop: Rio (again)!!!
The last lie in!! And only a short one today, but I still enjoyed it! We loaded the truck, I gave her a quick sweep and a mop, filled the drinking water, got some food supplies and hit the road. The weather was beautiful and the coastal road was simply stunning. We had a lovely relaxed drive. Crossing the bridge from Rio to Niteroi, I was trying to take some photos of Sugarloaf and the big JC out of the window when a truck accelerated next to us waving and smiling, and indicating that I should take a photo - so I did. Two minutes later they caught up with us again and took a photo of us with their iphone - it was very funny!
We arrived at Niteroi and finding the hotel at 4pm. I had a quick chat at reception to find out the best place to park the truck, and we headed out to find it. An hour later with no success we gave up and went back to the hotel. The manager came with us and pointed out a taxi rank - not suitable for overnight parking!! Steve dropped me back at the hotel as we were running out of time and we realised that we were going to have to take the truck to a park 20 minutes away. I had a meeting with my new passengers at 6pm and knew that we would never make it back in time. Getting abck to reception I discovered that a room hadn't been booked for us - this booking is made through an agent and they had remembered our passengers but not Steve and myself! Fortunately they had enough room to squeeze us in - it was the tiniest room in existence but it had a bed and a bathroom, and I had just enough time for a shower before meeting my passengers.
The new group seem lovely! There are only 7 of them, one of them Megan was on the trip from BA to Rio and she is a lot of fun. I put a photo of Steve on my lap top to introduce him and hoped that he might catch up with us soon! One lady, Tanya, hadn't arrived, and I got a call saying she was looking after someone in hospital but was hoping to be able to leave with us in the morning! Fortunately she caught up with us later in the evening.
We took the group out to a buffet, where you pay by weight. It's a great way to try local foods, but you need to be careful as if you get carried away it can be quite pricey!!
We left the hotel at 7:00am, heading to Ouro Preto. We got out of Niteroi without a problem, and crossed the longest bridge in the world, measuring 3Km, to reach Rio, and head North to Ouro Preto. Soon after leaving the outskirts of the city we drove through a National Park and the scenery was simply stunning! The whole drive was lovely. We stopped for lunch at a service station - they make them slightly differently in Brazil. The 'shop' tends to be a proper store with a built in restaurant, and this one had a bull tethered outside! He was very friendly (just as well) and entertained my group for a ridiculous length of time! There was also a guy riding a bull randomly around the car park...
We arrived in Ouro Preto late afternoon. It is a beautiful town, which was once the base for gold mining. Following the directions we had, we stopped Gus at the top of a steep narrow cobbled road. I didn't want to risk getting stuck, so jumped out and ran down the hill to find the hostel - there was no sign of it! I asked directions and spent 20 minutes trying to find out where we were meant to be. It was one plaza further over, so we headed down to the main plaza, and we could see the road, but the police wouldn't let us down the road we needed to get there. Giving up, we returned back to where we started we got taxis to the hostel. The drivers tried to rip us off, but they gave up when I actually laughed at the price the quoted!!
Everyone had a free evening. I went into town with Steve and two of our passengers, Roger and Tanya to find something to eat. Within ten minutes the rest of the group had appeared, so we ended up having a group meal which I had been trying to avoid - it's always a nightmare when it comes to sorting out the bill! I had to meet our guide for the gold mining tour at 9pm, so I left my money with Steve and headed back to the hostel. The guide, Jono, was late (typically Latin American!), wandered in and chatted a bit before drifting off again - slightly random and I was left wandering how professional he was going to be.
I got up and had breakfast on a lovely terrace overlooking the town. There were some trees in front of the terrace and a little monkey appeared, warming himself up in the sun. He didn't stay there long enough for me to get my camera though!!
Jono arrived on time for the tour, and we headed our to the Mina de Passagem, the gold mine. It is no longer a working gold mine, but it was well worth the visit. We got in a trolley which took us down into the mine. After a tour around some of the passages, we arrived at an underground lake where we were able to go for a swim. The lake is up to 240ft deep, and similar to Bonito in that is was beautifully clear. It was 19 degrees too so a little chilly but no by British standards!! Swimming in a gold mine was a new one for me! Back on the surface we had a gold panning demonstration, after which we headed back into town.
Jono took us to a local all you can eat restaurant for only R$15.00 (about $7.00!) - cheap by Brazilian standards. We then went to see the slave prison. Brazil was the last South American country to abolish slavery in 1888. It was interesting to see. A Casa de Moneda museum (Mint) was also on site, but we got distracted by a photo shoot going out outside in the garden. They had a lady dressed like a Brazilian Princess Leah, with a lace curtain draped over the top of her... very random! It took a lot of discussion for us to decide that she was actually a woman!
End of tour and a bit of paperwork later (after a cheeky beer en route to the hostel!), I sorted out the cook groups and meals for the coming days. At 5pm the group set forth on a shopping mission! In fairness they did well!
I didn't want any dinner after the buffet lunch, but Tanya and I had spotted a chocolate shop with chocolate fondue... so that became dinner. Best choice, ever!
It's official! Today we became real life intrepid explorers! We were travelling a road that no other Dragoman crew or trucks have yet encountered and it proved to be a fantastic drive! on the whole the road was excellent quality and we nipped along a a really good pace.
We left at 5am, much to my passengers dismay. We had a serious amount of distance to cover though, and we didn't know what the roads would be like so there was no time for hanging around. I only had one incident at breakfast time. We had stopped for a brief comfort break due to heavy traffic at Belo Horizonte before heading on to a breakfast stop. One of my passengers lives in a world of her own, and although we were there for 15 minutes she decided she wanted to get something from the shop just as I was starting the engine. she then sulked when I told her we didn't have time, and when we stopped in a much more pleasant spot 15 minutes later she walked away from the truck without helping to set up breakfast. I can cope with sulking, but I can't cope with laziness so I shouted across to her (early morning pre-coffee crankiness on my part!). She came back and helped(ish) but then went off in another sulk. I left her to it and to be fair she hasn't done it again so it worked!
We stopped for the day at 4pm when we saw an amazing bush camp spot on the River Araguai. It was great - there was a hidden track down to flat level piece of ground, and some hardcore for the truck where it looks like locals have used the area to launch boats on to the river. It gave us enough daylight to set up our first camp, for our passengers to learn how to do everything and we still had time for a swim! We were 40Km short of our ideal stopping point, but bush camps like that don't come along very often so we decided to make the sacrifice.
We had an epic drive day. It took a bit longer than we had anticipated, and was complicated by trouble in finding our campsite at the finishing point of Rondonopolis, which then turned out to be closed!!
Anyway, we set off at 5:30am to give everyone chance to learn how to break camp and we got away on time. We made good time again, zipping along the roads through beautiful countryside (I saw a toucan!) and some farmland. As a general rule, overtaking was quite straight forward and there were only a couple of sections where we really got stuck behind some trucks. En route we spotted a fantastic potential bush camp but it was four hours before Rondonopolis. The bush camp was on a plateau, overlooking plains below and it was beautiful! I was tempted, but knowing we had to meet a guide in the afternoon the following day, and not knowing what the roads were like I decided not to chance it so we pushed on to the campsite.
We had a small incident in the afternoon. Steve drove over a bump (fortunately slowly) but hit it quite hard - hard enough for the elastic on our roof tarp to snap and release the poles for our cook tent off the side of the truck. Pulling over, Steve ran back to get them and I climbed onto the roof to sort out damage control, replacing tents and poles where they should be and re-securing the tarp. I was however wearing a dress - it wasn't a flashing dress by any means but I don't think the passing truck drivers had ever seen a woman in a dress on the top of a truck, and my passengers were thoroughly enjoying the response I was receiving!
Finally arriving at Rondonopolis we spent half an hour driving up and down the road trying to find our campsite and asking for directions, only to find it was closed. Really frustrating! So we headed to a roadside restaurant with a patch of grass beside it and they kindly let us camp there. As it was nearly 10pm we decided to eat in the restaurant, rather than worrying about a cook group. A popular decision!
knowing that we had broken the back of the journey, we set off a little later this morning. The restaurant opened at 6am so we grabbed a coffee first, and on my way back to the truck an owl moth flew up to me and landed on the crotch of my khaki coloured shorts - I think it thought I was a tree! Anyway, I had to stay still for my passengers to take a photo as they had never seen an owl moth - and it was absolutely hilarious! It wouldn't move either, so I had to do a weird cyber-man style walk back to the truck until it decided to fly away.
We arrived at Chapada dos Guimaraes at 11:00am, easily finding the campsite. I had heard no updates from the guide about the time he was meeting us, and I was hoping to have an email on arrival. No such luck - my office had emailed me telling me his name was Sergio and he was meeting us in the main plaza. Big problem - firstly there is nowhere to park the truck there (it's only two blocks from the campsite so I'm not sure why it was a problem to come here!), there was no time and I had no direct contact information to get hold of Sergio. Not great! I also couldn't get hold of the office the guide was from, and being a Sunday I couldn't call Anki in the UK. We do have an emergency number, but this didn't classify as an emergency, and she wouldn't have had any extra information anyway.
Anyway, I sorted out the budgets for cook group shopping to see us through the next few days and took the group up to town so they could get lunch and so the shopping. While they were occupying themselves I looked for the agency office (which they don't have) and got credit on my mobile so I could leave a message at their office. I was having a sense of humour failure by this point! Steve and I got some lunch and I moved on to Plan B. We knew where the Mirante viewpoint was located as we had passed it on the drive in, so I decided to take the group there at 5pm for sunset so we still got to see it.
At 4pm the guide appeared at the campsite 0- I was very happy top see him and that he had enough initiative to find us at the campsite. He had the same problem as me - most of the details but no time and no contact information - not useful for either of us, but the problem was solved.
We headed out to the Mirante, and it is beautiful. There are amazing views from the plateau to the lower lands below and it was well worth a visit. There were also a few crags which were just begging to be climbed, so myself and another passenger who climbs, Megan, had a great time scrambling and scaring Sergio who was certain we were going to die!
A quick breakfast and we set off to explore the Chapada dos Guimaraes National Park, on the waterfall trail. It was stunning!! We walked for about 20 minutes until we reached the ‘Stone house’, a rock shelter which gave us a brief respite from the sun and was fun to scramble around. Form there we had another 15 minutes walking to the first waterfall, with a lovely pool at the foot of it. I was straight in! It was quite shallow, but still lovely, and you could get right in under the falls.
Another 20 minutes walking took us to the next falls which were even more beautiful. Again it was possible to swim behind the waterfall, and the plunge pool area was much deeper – unsurprising as they were over 10 metres in height. It was stunning! We continued to another two falls, eating our lunch intermittently on the way, enjoying the sun, cool waters and beautiful surroundings. Some of the pools were deep enough that ewe were able to jump and dive into – all were good fro scrambling around and sitting behind the veil of water. I really wished I had an underwater camera at that point!
A short walk back to the truck and we headed off to the Veu de Novia, or Bridal Veil waterfall. It is an 87m waterfall which comes straight off the top of the plateau of the Chapada and it is very pretty. Not quite as into the wild as the walk – for the walk you can only access that part of the park with a guide so it was incredibly quiet. Anywhere else would have been much busier but we saw less than 10 other people all day!
At the Bridal Veil waterfall they were selling coconuts for the milk which is really refreshing and hydrating – it was great. They chop the top off and stick a straw in it – best way to drink it!
We headed back towards town, stopping at another view point called Alto do Ceu (high in the Sky). It was very similar to the Mirante from yesterday, but it is more remote and there is a small fee to get in so we had the whole place to ourselves for sunset which was fantastic, and we had more incredible views. We also started to be a little bit silly – Meg decided to do a photo shoot of all of us so we had to come up with some ridiculous poses. I will always now be her friend as she has too much blackmail material against me!!
We headed in to the park again at 8:30am, this time to Dino Valley. It got its name from two palaeontology sites, rather than shapes in rock formations - I had to ask about as we visit so many Andean sites where we need to use a good dose of Andean imagination!! The temperature was hot as were made our way steadily up the track – it wasn’t too steep and Sergio, our guide, stopped for regular breaks to show us interesting rock formations where the sandstone has been sculpted by the wind and the rain. He also explained that the trees which are slow growing and don’t get too tall to survive the environment are protected by a cork bark. If a fire comes through the bark doesn’t burn, simply charcoals and within 10 days they regenerate their leaves. Really interesting! He also showed us different plants which are used for their natural latex, and seeds which are used (and sold) to sooth a sore throat.
We reached a mirante (viewpoint) which overlooked the cliffs dropping down form the top of the plateau – the views were stunning. The cliffs are 350m high, and all sandstone with a high iron content so they are an amazing red colour, and they literally fall away to flat bottomed valley below. We enjoyed the scenery in front of us, before heading back down and setting off to another waterfall for lunch and a siesta – it was essential. Sergio is Brazilian after all! The waterfall is known as Cascada Cristal, and it really did have crystal clear water. It is four metres high and has the most amazing plunge pool at the foot of it which must have been five or six metres deep – I couldn’t get to the bottom! It meant we were safe to climb up and jump in, and also get right behind the falls again. Sergio also had a snorkel with him, and whish was great to do some fish spotting. It was very refreshing and a real treat to cool off after the heat of the morning. The site is actually so nice that I enquired about camping there for a night next time we come through, and it is possible so I’m going to include it for the last night on my next trip through this region. It’s part of the fun of exploring a new route – finding hidden gems along the way.
We stayed for two hours, then headed off to Rio Claro (clear river). It was much shallower, and had mini rapids rather than waterfalls, plus lots of little fish that like to come up and eat any dead skin they can find except they really pinch when they nibble you!! A few of my passengers enjoyed having their feet sorted out – like they said, it would cost them £20 at home!
We returned to Chapada in the late afternoon and headed into town to find an ice cream shop. They are great in Brazil. You get a bowl, help yourself to different ice creams and toppings, then pay for it by weight at the end. Great fun and a good way of identifying a few unknown Portuguese words too!
We were up early and ready to hit the road to the Pantanal by 8:30am. It was a pretty drive down through the park, although I used the opportunity to update my trip report. As it’s such a new trip I am trying to put together my report every day so I don’t forget key things. It’s important for the office and for any crew who may follow us doing this trip.
We reached Pocone, the jumping off platform for the Pantanal, by midday. It should have taken us about an hour to drive to the ranch from there, but we opened up the roof seats for the pax and wildlife spotted our way down the Transpantaneria highway. Sergio came with us as he is our guide for the Pantanal too, and very good on identifying birds so I learnt a lot from listening to him. Amazingly we saw a yellow anaconda!! It was only a small one, about 3 metres in length. They can grow to sizes over 10 metres long but I was happy just to have finally seen one!
The fazenda we are staying at is great. It feels really remote, and we saw a ridiculous amount of wildlife on the way in. I saw more caiman in one area then I ever thought possible, plus a lot of different birds, capybaras, red brocket deer, and then we found the dead caiman. Well, Steve and I couldn’t resist stopping the truck for a closer look. Within about 30 seconds of examining the carcass we were giving it a prod and then pretending to have dancing lesson with it… All of our pax declined the chance to do the same, which I think just proves that it takes a very special kind of person to be a Dragoman leader!
We finally got to the Fazenda at 2pm to have our lunch – a little later than planned due to the number of photo stop we had ended up making. Lunch was really good, a typical buffet style dinner, after which we had some siesta time. I’m not very good at siestas so I was wandering around and saw a tagu lizard, and a pair of hyacinth macaws amongst other birds. Hyacinth macaws are endangered, but they are the most beautiful shade of blue so it was really special to see them. I have only had a fleeting glance of them before when they flew across a road in front of the truck, so it was really nice to get a better look.
At 4:30pm we set off on a wildlife spotting walk, and to watch the sunset. The toucans came out to play for us on this one. Again, we saw a lot of birdlife, caiman and capybaras, and the most incredible sunset! We got back in time for dinner, then headed out on a night safari. Unfortunately we didn’t see very much – caiman, capybara families and rabbit, until we got back to the ranch when we saw a pair of crab eating fox!!
Early morning wildlife spotting walk – saw lots of birds, caiman (very active), a coati and capybara. Really fascinating watching the animals waking up and finding their breakfast! After our own breakfast we headed out of the Fazenda and saw a red brocket deer, and a crab eating fox curled up in a hollow at the side of the road, sunbathing. He wasn’t at all concerned that we were there and we got some great photos of him.
We carried on down the Transpantaneira highway looking for wildlife. Trees are a little closer to the road along this stretch so it was harder to spot animals, but we still saw coati, and a lot of birds. There are a number of wooden bridges along this road built to alow water to flow through during the wet season. Being the dry season some of the bridges are broken and therefore have an alternative route around them which is fine because there is very little water around. We spotted a potential problem spot and Steve hopped out, found a stick and prodded the puddles and examined the area. He deemed it fit to drive over if I went wide, so I did and promptly got bogged as the top crust broke under the weight of Gus and we were bogged halfway up the wheels in clay soil on the right hand side, with a pond complete with a caiman to our left. Not ideal!
There is nothing quite like getting stuck for team bonding, and everyone got stuck in helping to dig away the mud, collect rocks and gravel, and built a temporary road. It takes a while as you build the road and then rock the truck onto it by driving forward and backwards. Then you have to repeat the process, working our way out of the mud 12-18 inches at a time. Another truck pulled up and offered to tow us out. We gratefully accepted, hitched her up and… disaster as the other truck had too much weight on already and couldn’t cope with the slight slope and extra weight of Gus and the leyshaft snapped, leaving them even more stuck than we were. I gave the two guys a beer as a thank you and we went back to digging while they phoned for help!
We were nearly out when another truck pulled up, and this time successfully towed us out. The other truck was rescued at the same time. It was a short bogging for once – only 1.5 hours. Enough time to get covered in mud and give everyone another tale to tell when they get home, but not long enough for them to get bored and lose interest.
We headed straight for the ranch and had lunch. This ranch had a swimming pool so I jumped in to cool off, and found mud in my hair which I hadn’t even known was there! We had a bit of time to relax and recover before heading out onto the Rio Claro for a boat trip. It was a good one and we spotted howler monkeys, caiman, toucans, different herons, kingfishers, anhingas and much more. The boat guide had obviously done this before and had some piranhas at the ready. Throwing them into the water he enticed a black collared hawk, a kingfisher, a Cocoi heron and two caiman to put on a show for us. We then got the chance to catch some piranhas for ourselves, although I spent my time having the bait eaten off the end of my hook!!
It was an early start… again. 5am to go wildlife spotting and I was starting to question my sanity, although as I am lucky enough to be able to visit these fabulous places I figured that I ought to make the most of it. We were rewarded with a howler monkeys, an agouti, a hummingbird and a beautiful sunrise. After breakfast we headed out to the next lodge, Piuval Lodge, spotting more caiman, capybaras, water buffalo and numerous birds on the drive.
The lodge was quite luxurious for a Dragoman trip, although I felt better once I realised the door handle fell off every time I tried to close the door! We relaxed for a couple of hours, went swimming and met our new guide, Leen, who was taking over form Sergio for the next few days.
The afternoon activity was horse riding, which I was in two minds about as sometimes the horses tend to be lazy and not a pleasant ride, but I wanted to see what the area was like. Fortunately my little chap turned out to have plenty of life and he was well trained, so even though the pace was slow he was an enjoyable ride. The area around the lodge was beautiful, and was saw more hyacinth macaws and capuchin monkeys as we were riding through the wooded areas. Entertainingly we also saw a crab eating fox being hotly persued by a calf!
After dinner we went out on a night safari in Gus. The temperature had dropped and we didn’t see much – just a crab eating fox, an armadillo, and a caiman. That’s the luck of wildlife spotting, and to be fair we had seen a lot during our time in the Pantanal.
We had breakfast and immediately headed off on an eight hour drive to Vila Bela de Santissma Trindade, situated only 40Km from the Bolivian border. We stopped briefly in Pocone to buy food for the next couple of days and had an easy drive to the town, stopping briefly for lunch along the way.
On arrival we had a town tour, although that is putting it quite strongly as the town literally has one square, with the remains of a sandstone cathedral in the middle, now covered by a roof to prevent further erosion. We did discover Kingingin though – an African aphrodisiac drink which was ridiculously sweet and absolutely lethal!! I don’t know about aphrodisiac properties but it was fun to try.
Leen used to work and do research in Vila Bela, so we had an invite to a house party with one of her friends. Mario evidently likes having a party, as we arrived and a steady stream of locals kept coming in to join us. Piranha was on the menu, which is delicious, and the Brazilians tried to teach us how to dance funk with varying success – I just don’t think white people are physically capable of doing it without looking ridiculous. Either that or Brazilians simply are able to dislocate a vertebrae to do it!
This was a fabulous day out – we went on a boat trip down the Guapore river in the hope of spotting more wildlife. Vila Bela is on the border of the Amazon basin so we started to see a change in the bird life, with species like the hoatzin becoming abundant. Incredibly we also saw pink dolphins! I have never seen one before and we saw them twice in the same day.
We stopped for lunch at the home of a Maroon family. The Maroon tribes exist as a result of the slave trade from Africa to farm sugar cane, where the slaves rebelled and hid in the rain forest, setting up their own communities. Generations later, they are still in their own communities, one of which was discovered as recently at the late 1980’s. Anyway, the whole family was home and they had killed a sheep which was being barbequed, while its skin (legs still attached) was hung over a tree branch drying in the sun, presumably to see its future life as a rug or belt. It didn’t die in vain as it tasted delicious! We were given a guided tour around the house and made to feel incredibly welcome, before being involved in more dancing. South Americans like to dance!!
We finally left a couple of hours later to see the habitat of more macaws. It was absolutely stunning, although I will admit I was having trouble keeping my eyes open after a large lunch and then sitting in the sun on a boat. We spotted a spider monkey though which woke me up a bit!
The only thing that slightly marred the day was a puppy we had seen in the morning which was adorable. He came bouncing up to us and some of the passengers were making a fuss of him when they spotted a gash in his neck. Then they said it was the other side as well. I went to take a look and he had a 1cm deep line all the way around his neck – I immediately started looking across the top of his head, and sure enough someone had put a rubber band around his head. As he had grown so it had simply cut into his flesh and it wasn’t even visible around his neck, just on the top of his head where there is much less skin. Fortunately I had my penknife on me so I was able to cut it off. Quite why anyone would do something like that to an animal I don’t know. I had a job to get my passengers to put him down again afterwards as they didn’t want the same thing to happen to him again!
Okay, so the road wasn't really winding but today was all about putting in some miles. I tried to leave at 6am this morning, except my passengers were a little disorganised – I think they are out of practice after a few nights in a lodge and not having to break camp every morning, so I told them we would need to leave earlier tomorrow to make sure we left on time! It was a long drive day to Ouro Preto de Oeste, and it took us 14 hours. The roads were good though, and the scenery is beautiful so it wasn’t a huge problem. We stopped at a little place called Pimenta Bueno to do supermarket shopping and to buy lunch, including some undercover shopping for one of the girls who has her 19th Birthday tomorrow.
We got to the campsite at 8pm to find the owners had changed and were a little bemused when a large orange and white truck rolled up! Nonetheless they were happy to let us camp, and gave us a room to use as the bathroom and toilet facilities were out of order. It looked like a really nice place, but I never saw it in daylight to know for sure!
We left at 5:30am as the group had been so bad at leaving on time the previous day. They got the message, everyone was on the truck and ready to go on time today! We had another long drive day ahead of us, although looking at the map and information I’m not sure why we have two bush camps before being scheduled to arrive at Xapuri. The roads have been really good on the whole and we have been making good time, with the exception of the road works which held us up at the end of the day yesterday. After stopping for breakfast at a nice little lanchonete at the side of the road, Steve drove the next section. I was contemplating taking a break at Porto Velho as we had been making really good time, and then one of my passengers asked us to stop as she needed to be sick! Decision made, after stopping for Louise we drove for another 15 minutes and found the centre of Porto Velho so everyone could have an hour off the truck and to give Louise chance to feel better.
There is not much to see in Porto Velho, but the town is situated on the Rio Madeira which is the longest tributary in the Amazon basin. It also has three phallic military water towers – you know there isn’t much to say about a place when a guide book drags up a fact like that one! The stop gave us chance to have a drink and stretch our legs a little which everyone was better for doing. It is getting seriously hot now, and the humidity has really increased, and this is the winter…
I drove on for another 1.5 hours before stopping for a late lunch at 2pm, and to refuel. We generated the usual interest from the locals – my understanding of Portugese is improving as I can answer them with the right answers now! Steve continued and we started looking out for suitable bush camps. At 3:45pm the road paralleled the Rio Madeira so we started looking down different tracks to find a good spot with great success! We found a great little spot, out of sight of the road in a clearing next to the river, down a stone track so we won’t get stuck if it rains (had enough of that for one trip!). The last crew to come through told us that there were no bush camps along here – we’ve decided that they weren’t as good at finding them as we are. It was also Lucy’s birthday so it’s a much better spot than next to a service station!
I consulted my passengers – we could either look for another bush camp or we could head straight to Xapuri and have an extra night there to give them all a day of the truck, but they would need to put in some extra money to cover the second night. Bush camps are free, hostels sadly are not! It was unanimous, they all wanted to have a day to relax and get simple things like laundry done so we simply pushed on.
During the drive we saw active deforestation, not simply the end result of farmland. It was sad to see, as the logging isn’t sustainable. The Brazilian government just don’t seem to care that once the habitats are gone then that’s the end of it. Land is cheap and farmers buy it in vast quantities. We did have a ferry crossing to get to Xapuri, and evidence of deforestation was much less after we had done the crossing. The roads were all much quieter too, but not so well maintained as a result. A few sections had some serious potholes but nothing too bad, although it wasn’t a section that I would want to drive at night as you could do some serious damage if you hit them too hard.
We reach Xapuri late afternoon and squeezed into two dorm rooms. There were two resident red and green macaws on site who evidently enjoyed posing for us. Within an hour my passengers had hand-washed nearly all of their clothes and the site resembled a Chinese laundry. Necessary after the Pantanal and the last few days driving!
We relaxed and enjoyed a free day in Xapuri, and I managed to catch up on some work as we have another team of crew starting the trip in a couple of days so I need to give them as much feedback as possible before they leave Rio.
Xapuri is a funny little place. It is quite remote, although it was the home a rubber tapper called Chico Mendes who is famous for fighting against deforestation of the surrounding area for farming. He did it for purely selfish reasons, as by chopping down the trees it endangered his livelihood, however, it resulted in the introduction of new conservation laws in the area too. Ironically the matter reached global attention when he was assassinated by a farmer, thereby securing the conservation laws. The farmer was found and charged with murder. The house of Chico Mendes in now famous and is kept as an attraction in Xapuri.
The biggest employer in Xapuri is Natex condom factory, and I managed to arrange a visit in the afternoon to go and see it – one of the more random excursions I have been on! It didn’t last long as they only spoke Portugese, but we watched a video which showed the process from the rubber collection from tapping the trees, through to delivery to the factory and the processes used. We were then shown around the non-sterile areas of the factory – it was interesting for the headache involved in booking the trip it really wasn’t worth it!
We set off straight after breakfast and made our way towards the Peruvian border. I was really looking forward to getting back to Peru – Brazil has been amazing but I love that country!! On our way we passed through a little town called Brasiliea, and just 6Km outside we discovered a campsite with a little river beach. Next time through I’m stopping there rather than Xapuri, it was lovely!!
Arriving at the border we had a very relaxed border procedure which is always a bonus! The Brazilian police just stamped everything, including the truck carnet after a little encouragement as they don’t have a truck passport in Brazil – ironic how relaxed some borders are compared to others who insist of making a big deal out of it. We drove across a bridge over a river and we were back in Peru!
Heading to Puerto Maldonado, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for a two course meal with drinks for 6 soles, which is just over two dollars. It was a bowl of chicken soup, followed by fish or chicken with rice. Simple but tasty, and my passengers couldn’t believe how much food they got for so little in comparison to Brazil. They all thought Brazil was cheap so Peru is a complete revelation to them.
We reached Puerto Maldonado late afternoon and found the lodge despite a left turn being missed out form our directions – we simply enquired at a petrol station and quickly got back on track. The lodge is amazing!! It is like a proper jungle lodge, very comfortable and surrounded by mosquito net so you feel like you are sleeping in the jungle but without being eaten alive! In fairness the mosquitos haven’t been too bad, helped by a cold snap the previous week. Walking around the lodge there were bald Peruvian dos which belong to the owners, Wadee and Donald, and half a dozen howler monkeys. The monkeys are taken to Wadee to look after if their mothers are shot in the wild. She looks after the babies and then reintroduces them to the wild. They were fun to see around the lodge at close quarters.
I dashed next door to Rainforest expeditions to find out the departure time and pick up points for the rainforest trip starting the following day. Despite being 4pm there was no one at reception. Fortunately a guide appeared and made a call for me, although the lady said she couldn’t talk to me. I had to get grumpy and insist on having a time for the following day. Grudgingly she told me midday – I’m not sure why it was such a problem but I will admit to being a bit concerned about the excursion after a welcome like that!
Steve and I headed into town to stock up on bug spray, sun cream and so I could buy a new Peruvian SIM card for my phone. Steve was craving pizza so we found a good restaurant on the plaza which did surprisingly good pizza. We both enjoyed having some time out from our passengers which hasn’t been an option at all on this trip. I love working with people, but it is great to have a bit of space too.
I had a lie in. It was lovely!! I still woke up quite early as the lodge was so open, but it was great not having to be on the road for an early start again. After breakfast I paid for the rooms, and on my way back I was followed by a baby howler monkey, who promptly ran up my leg and nestled into my arm. Fair enough – I was hugging a howler, something I never expected to do! I walked back to my lodge to discover I was being followed by a slightly bigger howler. Every time I stopped he pretended to be doing something else, but started following again as soon as I moved. Next thing he had also run up my leg and sat himself on my shoulder like a parrot! They were great but I had no idea how I was going to put them down. I found Steve and managed to pass one on to him, before hunting out a passenger to see if I could lose the other one. It didn’t take long until my mission was accomplished, which had the added bonus of entertaining my passengers for the next hour!
At 11.20 we got a phone call from Rainforest Expeditions asking where we were as they were ready to go. Brilliant. I was not happy! I explained that I had been told midday the previous day, and my passengers were all getting ready. Great receptionist the previous day!! I don’t understand how these companies can have such poor customer service, especially with a customer like Dragoman which is going to bring 10 trucks full of passengers through to them every year – that’s a lot of business and there are other lodges along the river who would love that sort of regular business. Fortunately it was just the receptionist as everything else was amazing.
We had a short bus ride to the river, complete with a box of snacks. Plantain crisps and sugared brazil nuts. As soon as we got on the boat we were given lunch, a Chinese style rice wrapped in a leaf. This is my sort of trip – lots of good food to enjoy! The lodge is fantastic, a real piece of luxury to enjoy at the end of the trip. The rooms are very open, but there are mosquito nets around the beds. It’s lovely because you are literally sleeping with the wildlife!
Anyway, we had a bit of time to rest and relax before a short walk up to a viewing tower, 38m high, where we could just chill out and enjoy the views out to the Tambopata river, see the different canopy layers of the rainforest and spot a few parrots, a pendulum bird and a couple of macaws. We watched the sunset and headed back to the lodge for a jungle cocktail or two and dinner.
We had an early start to the day as we were heading out to an oxbow lake to go wildlife spotting. A family of giant otter live on the lake but unfortunately we didn't see them. For conservation reasons they take one large boat onto the lake with about 40 people to minimise disturbance, but it seems impossible for 40 people to be quiet enough to ever spot wildlife! We saw a few black caiman and a lot of birds though.
We returned to the lodge and had breakfast, before heading across to the macaw clay licks. This was not our day as no parrots or macaws had come down to the wall. We did see a tribe of howler monkeys, a tarantula and a squirrel though.
After lunch we had a siesta, and I just enjoyed reading a book whilst swinging in a hammock. While I was there I saw two agoutis, lizards and some tamarin monkeys! I never even needed to move.
We were back on the river that afternoon, heading off to meet the Infernio medicine man and see his garden. It was great! From quinine, to cats claw, natural anaesthic which made our mouths go numb, to pura pura which is a natural viagra. The tree leaves are amazing, you scrunch them up and they straighten themselves out again. Amazing!
It was another early start to walk back out to the clay licks in the hope of seeing parrots and macaws. After a short wait we were lucky and the birds started to gather in the surrounding trees, before feeding on the clay. We saw three species of macaw and four variety of parrots, but there were hundreds of them! It was a real spectacal to see.
Back for breakfast and we headed out to a local plantation to see the crops that the Infernio tribe grow. Papaya, sugar cane, lemon grass, pineapples, fruits which I can't remember the names of... It was really interesting. One done we had he chance to swim in the Tambopata river which was great. There was a lot of mud on the river banks so Steve turned himself into a mud monster - hilarious!
We had time to relax again, back in the hammocks for another siesta. Tough life! Just before dinner we headed out to see a large Kapok tree which stands over 60m high. It quickly got dark and we did a night walk on the way back. I did see my first paca, a type of rodent, on our way back, and some huge fireflies, spiders and another two tarantulas.
We had a more leisurely morning, leaving the lodge after breakfast and making our way back up the river to Puerto Maldonado. We were back by 11.00 so we got staight in to the truck and headed to Quince Mil on our way to Cusco. We found a lovely roadside restaurant for lunch. I had soup and fish for 6 soles, about 2 dollars. So cheap and really good! You have to like rice though!
We drove on to Quince Mil, making it in five hours so a good time. The lodge is lovely, it's like an old farmhouse. We ate there and then Steve and I had a film evening to relax before the big drive day ahead.
We had breakfast at the lodge and got straight on the road to Cusco. The scenery was stunning as we climbed from approx 1,000m to 4,700m over the highest pass, with views of mountains and glaciers all around. My passengers had their first sightings of llamas and alpacas. Fortunately they all coped with the height increase well and everyone was able to enjoy the drive.
We stopped for lunch in a little town called Urcos, which is typically Peruvian, before driving the last hour to Cusco. It's always good to be back in Cusco! I booked a group meal in Fallen Angel, and then we headed out to the bars and clubs, ending up back at the hotel at 6am. Normal for a Cusco night out!
True to form after a night out in Cusco, I wasn't on top form for the early part of the day!! I said goodbye to my little group and Gus, met up with Daniele who is my new co-driver for the next few trips, and went for lunch with him and Steve. I needed to get a new charger for my camera battery, and some new headphones so we got that sorted and then Daniele and I hit the road! We have 3 days to drive to Lima to meet our new group, so a little bit of time to get to know each other. Obviously I warned him that I can be a bit of a diva unitl I've had my first coffee of the morning!!
I have met Daniele a couple of times before - once in Quito when I was taking on his trip, and the other time at Carnival. He is a very flamboyant Italian with a heart of gold! Far too much energy though!
We transited my new truck, Eva, west over the Andes, a differttn route to the one we take with passengers. The scenery was breathtaking! Eva is very easy to drive, similar to Gus in her handling. We stoppped in a small village to get some dinner and kept driving until 11pm before pulling over at the side of the road next to some services to get some sleep.
We got up early, grabbed some breakfast and got straight back on the road. The road twists and winds it's way to Nazca, up over the Peruvan altiplano as we crossed the Andes. We even saw some flamingos!
It was a long drive but very pretty. We stopped for lunch in a small village, grabbed a cheese roll and headed on again. I was very pleased to see the sand dunes that surround Nazca ahead of us. Once we reached Nazca we stopped for some proper lunch, and found a set menu restaurant with chicken and rice on the menu - very normal cuisine for Peru!! We headed to the hotel and campsite that we use when we have trips and spokenicely to the receptionist who gave us a free room for the night. Working for Dragoman does occasionally come with extra bonuses! I then had a very boring evening, simply settling down to do my accounts for the previous trip. Boring but necessary!!
We had a leisurely start to the day before heading to Huacachina, stopping en route to visit another viewing tower where it is possible to see Paracas lines on a hillside. The Paracas era is older than the Nazca era, and we investigated it to see if it was worth doing with our passengers. They were pretty cool, but very similar to the Nazca lines viewing tower. We carried on to Ica to get Eva washed and greased ready for the trip to start tomorrow. While she was being cleaned we headed into town and found a cevicheria - I have been looking forward to ceviche for days so I was very happy to finally find some! We also took the chance to stock up on cleaning supplies.
Once Eva was ready we headed to the oasis in the desert, which is Huacachina. The staff at the hostal we use were really pleased to see us and gave us a free dorm bed each. One of the guys, Jesus, who usually takes us out into the desert then joined us for a drink. Now I like to have a drink, but I didn't even try to keep up with Jesus and Daniele!! They were like machines! It was a fun evening though and good to be back.
We left Huacachina fairly early, getting on the road by 8am. There is an Inca ruin a short detour away from the route to Lima which we wanted to explore as a potential stopping point. We dont have time on a southbound trip, but northbound we can fit it in. The ruins were really lovely to see.and we spent an hour exploring them.
We headed back to the main road, stopping for lunch on the way, and heading on inot Lima. For some reason it felt like it took forever for us to get there, but we arrived with two hours to spare before we had to meet our passengers. I had emailed a room list in advance so the hotel knew where to put everyone, and then I dashed out to print off itineraries ready for the meeting.
We had our pre-departure meeting and took the group to a local restaurant called El Altar for dinner. They always give us a free pisco sour as a welcome drink, and it is a great chance for everyone to try local dishes. The group seem really nice and I have my first two Japanese passengers, who aren't actually travelling together but who were delighted to find another passenger who speaks the same language!
We left the hotel at 5am and headed out to Paracas National Park for the boat trip out to the Ballestas Islands, where my passengers could go penguin, pelican and seal spotting. The islands are great, but I had to do some printing so I waved them off and got on with some work. They returned at midday having had a fantastic time. The islands are situated in a place where four current cross, and it provides an incredible breeding ground for bird life. It is amazing to see.
Anyway, we had lunch in a local restaurant on the sea front, before heading on to Huacachina ready for the sandboarding. This is the best first night of a trip that we do - everyone piles into sand buggies for some high adrenaline fun across the sand dunes, before whizzing down the dunes on our sandboards. From there we watch the sunset before heading to a bowl in the dunes which is really sheltered, to enjoy a barbeque and piscolas with some music and dancing, before falling asleep in our sleeping bags under the stars. It's brilliant and the group absolutely loved it!!! Jesus was our driver and guide, although he was much more sober than two nights previous!
We woke up in desert fog, and whizzed along in the dune buggies back to Huacachina where we showered and had breakfast, before heading into Ica to do some cook group shopping. The shopping didn't take long, but the check out took nearly an hour!! Sometimes I wonder how the supermarkets over here cope when it's busy as there were literally only a couple of people in front of my groups!
We headed out of Ica towards Nazca, stopping at the viewing tower so my passengers could see the tree and the hands. Four of them decided that they were going to do the flights so I got them booked in for the following morning. We had lunch and Janssen, our local archeologist guide arrived to take us out to the aqueducts, still used to provide water to the loacl area, and the Cahuchi pyramid. Daniele popped into Nazca to buy some parts, and I drove Eva out across the desert with my passengers. I have never been to see the aqueducts or the pyramid, and they were both well worth the visit. We arrived at the pyramid at sunset and it was absolutely stunning!!
On our return to the truck I noticed a puddle of water underneath her engine - never a good sign. A closer inspection revealed that one of the radiator hoses had come loose and was leaking water. Having only been on Eva for a few days I wasn't yet familiar with her tool lockers, and it was dark. I dug out my headtorch and made a quick call to Daniele to find out where theings were kept, before jacking the cab and setting to work on fixing the problem. We were 17Km away from the road, in the middle of the desert and there was no one else around so I rolled up my sleeves and got on with it. Armed with a jubilee clip, a screwdriver and some PTFE tape I managed to stop the leak. Result!! It took a while to refill her water, but we were soon moving again. A couple of quick checks on the way back to the main road didn't reveal any further problems. Happy Days!!
My four passengers headed off early to do their flights over the Nazca lines, and got back just in time for breakfast. I only had one lady who felt sick, but I always try to book the flights for the morning as it tends to be more turbulent in the afternoon. They all enjoyed the experience - more or less!!
After breakfast I drove out to the Chauchilla cemetaries to visit the mummies again. They are absolutely fascinating to see, and it's incredible that they are just left in their graves in the open desert with a little shelter over the top to protect them from the sun. Archeologists have discovered a lot about the Nazcas from the mummies, and it is interesting to see that they were buried with their belongings - including a guinea pig, in a similar way to the Eygptians.
We left Janssen at the cemetaries and headed towards Puerto Inka, stopping briefly to stock up on olives in olive town. En route to Puerto Inca Daniele remembered that he has put the meat for the barbecue in the hotel fridge and had forgotten to pick it up again. This was potentially an embarrasing situation as Puerto Inka is in the middle of nowhere without any supermarkets to restock. Plan A - We phoned the hotel and asked them to stop a passing truck driver to see if they could deliver it. While we waited to hear back we enjoyed some lunch and then my passengers went for a walk or a swim, just enjoying the bay which is absolutely beautiful! We were lucky, the hotel managed to find a van, and amazingly we got our meat back!! Better than any courier service in the UK, until you actually pay money for it, then it will never arrive!!
A brief game of volleyball and it was time for a very successful barbecue!
We left Puerto Inka early and headed along the coastal road, which is a beautiful drive with dramatic scenery - the edge of the road simply falls away to the ocean below, and the landscape is rocky desert. Really spectacular! We stopped at a ghost town for lunch, just before the road heads inland, and went for a paddle as it is the last chance to go in the ocean until we reach teh Atlantic in a couple of months time. The ghost town used to be a thriving beach resort, until a storm brought large waves crashing over it and it has been relatively abandoned ever since. There is even an old waterpark!
After lunch we headed inland, stopping briefly to stock up on Peruvian yogurts. 2 soles for a litre! And it's really good yogurt too, with lots of local flavours which can only be found in Peru. We arrived in Arequipa, known as the white city for it's white walled buildings, late afternoon, and found ourselves sat in the city centre traffic for another half an hour before arriving at our hotel. La Casa de mi Abuela literally translates into the house of my grandmother, but it is one of the best hotels we stay in anywhere in South America.
We took the group out for a meal at a restaurant called ZigZag, where I had steak, alpaca and pork on a hot stone. We were all given bibs to wear so the meat didn't get grease on our clothes, and we managed to acquire a spare one to use as the new 'truck punishment' for calling Eva a 'bus'. One of the lads promptly called her a bus, and found himself wearing it all evening - entertaining as we went to a bar and club after dinner!!
Our local guide, Luis, came out to join us later in the evening and we had a great time!
Incredibly I managed to get up for breakfast, having not got in until 4am. I was feeling relatively with it too! Anyway, after giving my passengers some information about Arequipa I wandered into town to make a couple of calls home to the UK. I needed to exchange some money and do some photocopying so I got all of that finished, then I passed a shop which I know sells Canon cameras... I was tempted. I've wanted a decent camera for a LONG time and checking the prices I realised I could get it cheaper here than in Argentina which is the only other place I've been where I have seen them. Thinking about it I returned to the hotel, and within an hour I was back in the shop treating myself to a very extravagent early birthday present!! I was so excited!! nd I am now the proud owner of a Canon EOS Rebel T3i. Now I just have to work out how to use it!!
Daniele and I decided to get an early night. We wandered down to a Chifa, which is a Chinese, and shared a couple of dishes which was remarkably good. They tend to be quite hit and miss out here! We then tried to watch a film, which refused to play for longer than half an hour!
We had a morning to relax in Arequipa before heading off to Chivay, so I took the chance to stock up on last minute essentials like suncream. Luis met us at midday and we headed off to Chivay. I always enjoy the drive because it is a beautiful road, and it is often the first chance our passengers get to see llamas, alpacas and vicunas. We stopped at a great little restaurant to drink mate de coca, which is basically coca tea and helps with the acclimatisation process. Chivay is 3600m above sea level, and Arequipa is approximately 2000 meters above sea level so we have quite a stiff ascent to make.
The views from the pass were stunning - snow capped mountains were visible in the distance, and there was a smattering of snow around our stopping point. Daniele and I coudln't resist - we had to have a snowball fight, which left Luis worrying that we would collapse with altitude sickness!! Fortunately I'm pretty used to altitude now, and so is Daniele. I certainly don't feel the effect of thin air as noticeably as I used to.
We arrived in Chivay at 5pm, and I left Daniele to take the pax to the hot springs for an hour while I sorted out the room list and then Luis helped me to book a restuarant where there is local food and traditional music and dancing. A big religious celebration was taking place in the main plaza, with traditional costumes, and dancing. The archbishop of Arequipa was there, which is practically as exciting for the locals as having the pope come to visit! It was fun to watch the dancing before going back to meet my passengers and heading out to dinner.
Dinner was an experience. During every dance someone was grabbed by the dancers to give it a try. I found myself handed an orange and then slung over a dancers shoulder, before being laid on the floor and whipped!! Not a usual experience for me! Apparently the dance is supposed to be related to the time they had malaria in the valley - I'm not sure how the whipping comes into it but there you go! Another one of my passengers, Sam, was taken up and then dressed in traditional attire for a dance used at weddings - except they dressed him as a woman!! It was very funny and a good night which everyone enjoyed.
I let Daniele have a lie in and took my passengers out to the Colca Canyon at 5am by myself. It takes nearly two hours to get to the Canyon, and we have to arrive early because they tend to fly as the thermals are rising up through the valley. I was looking foward to test driving my new camera and it didn't let me down - neither did the condors. We saw twelve of them!! They are really impressive to see, especially when they fly close to the look out points and you can see their size in comparison to people. The wingspan of a condor can reach over 4m so they are seriously big birds. We spent over an hour watching them, before Luis took my passengers for a walk and I drove Eva down the road to teh end point, before walking back to meet them. The valley is simply stunning!
We headed back to Chivay for a buffet lunch, where Luis had managed to organise a guinea pig for everyone to try. I quite like guinea pig, but I just never think it's worth eating as there is so little on them! The food at the restaurant is amazing though, it's all you can eat and has a variety of different Andean foods. No music, danicng and whipping today though!!
We had a couple of hours free time and then we were planning to return to the hot springs, but I didn't quite make it. I fell asleep and really didn't want to move at 5pm! Daniele had agreed to drive our passengers out there so I caught up on some sleep while he sorted them out, and I just popped out for some street food later in the evening.
I love this drive day - it covers some of the most beautiful and spectacular scenery that I have seen in South America, and most crew tend to use the long way around on tarmac roads. I perfer to use the dirt roads and head straight up and over the pass if conditions are suitable, which fortunately they were. The road winds it's way into the mountains and over a couple of passes. Last time through, Steve and I took a wrong turn and it took us three hours longer than it should have done. This time, surprisingly, the road was in really good condition and we went the right way so we made really good time, despite having a half hour delay for a roadside repair when Eva started leaking water from her radiator hose again. We took a brief stop at a dam, which is the second biggest dam in Peru. The sluice gate was open so it was quite impressive to see.
We reached Espinar for our lunch stop at 11.30am, I was expecting to be there at least an hour later! Espinar is a funny little town - it is a fair size as there is a mine situated fairly close to it, but it isn't marked on ANY Peru road maps. Technically it shouldn't exist! We walked through the market and a number of my passengers found the stares from the locals quite disconcerting. They aren't so used to tourism in this area and there was a bunch of WHITE people walking through the middle of their town! That's the beauty of overlanding - it gets you off the beaten track and we visit places where other toursits simply never get the chance to visit.
One of my passengers, Sakai, wasn't feeling very well and I was a bit concerned about him, but he insisted he was okay. We headed on to Raqchi, with a broef stop for some coca tea en route, where we found a rasta llama - he literally had dreadlocks!
Arriving at Raqchi in good time,we split into three groups for our homestays and headed out to our Peruvian mummies houses. Sakai was definitely struggling, even though we had dropped 200m in altitude since Chivay. He was un-coordinated and not feeling well. It turned out he had been asleep all afternoon and not drinking, so Daniele was staying in the same house and I made him promise to make Sakai drink, not let him sleep but force him to rest. If he didn't start to improve in the next couple fo hours I was all set to take him to hospital. Fortunately he picked up a little bit and felt well enough to eat some dinner.
We had a hour to explore so took a walk up to the viewpoint to watch sunset, before heading back to our houses for dinner. My mummy was called Ambrosia and she was an awesome cook! We had a lovely conversation with her, before being dressed up and taken out to our Pachamama cermony. Daniele had made some sangria so that helped to get the party going!
We had breakfast before enjoying the pottery demonstration. It always fascinates me how good they are at producing high quality pottery with very basic tools - it would never happen in the UK! Sakai was fortunately feeling a bit better, and he was able to join us for the tour around the ruins after the pottery demonstration. I was relieved to see that he was considerably less wobbly. Everyone had time to do a bit of shopping before we had a lunch of alpaca steak, and hitting the road to Cusco! We stopped briefly at the Inca gate en route, and arrived at Cusco mid afternoon.
I got Daniele to drop me off in town en route to the hotel, having already sorted out the room list for him, so I could buy the visitors tickets for my passengers which give them access to a number of different archeological sites and museums in Cusco and the surrounding area. I booked a restaurant that I hadn't been to before, but heard good reports about and hoped for the best!
While we were getting ready for the evening we relaised that there were four other members of Drago crew at teh hotel - Amanda, Juergen, Kevin and Ricky. It turned out that Amanda had literally just finished her contract and they were drinking champagne ot celebrate, so we had to join them for a glass or two! Arranging to meet up with them later we headed out that evening, ready for a typical Cusquenian night on the town. We started at the Pisco museum where you can enjoy pisco in many different forms. Unfortuantely Sakai wasn't feeling well enough to stay, so I walked him back to the hotel and made him promise to let me know if he wasn't feeling any better in the morning so we could get a doctor to check him over. He desperately wanted to trek but there was no way I was letting him start a trek as he was!
Returning to the group I quickly drank my cocktail before we headed to the restaurant for dinner. The restauarnt was a good choice and everyone enjoyed their dinner, before hitting the bars and clubs. We bumped into the other Drago crew in Mythology and continued to party until 4am, visiting differnt clubs at Inca Team, Temple and Mama Africa along the way. I only had one slightly painful moment when Juergen jumped on my foot by mistake - it hurt!! Not too bad though, I think I had an alcohol blanket by then!
Free day in Cusco! Or at least it was meant to be. I had to meet my new group, but I left their visitors tickets in their pigeon holes and a note on reception asking to meet at 5.30pm, with an Inca trail kit list. I still got a call from reception at 9am, at which point I wandered out to meet them still wearing my pyjamas and made an unofficial introduction. The last time I arranged a morning meeting half the people hadn’t turned up and I had to do it twice, so I thought this would be easier. I was wrong! It did mean I was up in time for breakfast though.
Kevin, Amanda and Ricky were all there so we had a catch up and then I took Kevin for a guided tour around Eva as he needed to take her to Ecuador to meet his group. By the time we were finished it was lunchtime. I saw Sakai having a wander and he was looking okay. Anyway, I woke up Daniele who wished me a good morning until I pointed out that it was 2.30pm! We piled into a taxi with Kevin and went to get ceviche and some more coolant to top up Eva. Kevin had never tried ceviche or chicharron, so we made sure we introduced him so he knows what he is talking about when he brings his group to Peru!
On our return to the hotel, I was greeted with the news that Sakai had fallen over in the bathroom and been taken to hospital. I jumped in a taxi and went straight down there with Daniele. They had done an x-ray and he had developed pulmonary oedema, fluid in the lungs as a result of altitude. It was occurring due to a complication with some sort of mass in his right lung, his left lung was fine, but it meant his blood oxygen level was at 50% instead of 90%. I was kicking myself for not following my gut instinct and having him checked out the day before, but he hadn’t wanted to see a medic and as he is an adult I can’t force him to see someone. I could make the decision to take him off the trip though – he was asking me if he could still go to Machu Picchu as he realised that he couldn’t walk, but he thought he would be alright on the train. I told him if he risked that then he risked dying and I couldn’t let him go. Satisfied that he was in good hands in hospital, we returned to the hotel to try the insurance company, phone the office and have the pre-departure meeting.
On starting the meeting my computer refused to start. At all. The situation didn’t look good for it’s life expectancy. I decided not to worry about it for the time being, and simply asked Daniele if he could drop it into a computer shop the next day. I was half way through my meeting when the phone rang from the UK for an update on the situation. Things never quite go to plan!! Alberto, the guide from Andina, then arrived so I got him briefing my passengers while I sorted out details with Sakai. We took the group for dinner at an Italian restaurant which Daniele loves, before I returned to the hospital with my other Japanese passenger, Sachie. We phoned the insurance company while we were there, and I was glad I had Sachie as it was all in Japanese!! We tried Sakai’s wife too, but there was no reply so I left that one with Daniele to chase up in the morning while I took the group on the trek. It was a long day!!
Trekking day!! We had a 6. 30am start, and Smithy was our guide. I have been to Raqchi with Smithy before, but I have never had him as my guide on the Inca trail so I was interested to see if he was as good as his reputation, not that I really had any doubts. Passengers always seem to love him. We headed to Sachsayhuaman first, and took a trip around the ruin. Smithy then asked if I’d ever been to the slide or the tunnel, I hadn’t heard of either and I’ve been there four times before! The first is a natural slide in the rock, which you can scramble up to and whizz back down. Great fun! The only problem was that whilst scrambling up I felt something click in the toe hat Juergen had stepped on which really hurt!! I tried to ignore it – it hadn’t really hurt up to that point so I figured it would probably settle down. I hobbled to the tunnel. This tunnel is fine as there is only one way through it, although it is small and very dark. Fun to explore though. There is a network on tunnels under the ruins, and a story about them. Two students had decided to explore the tunnels, so tied a rope around their waists and ventured into the labyrinth. Somehow the rope became untied and they became hopelessly lost. One student never made it out alive, but the other was discovered a week later down in the city of Cusco, where the tunnel finally came out at the Sun Temple. The tunnels are still largely unexplored.
We got back on the bus and headed to Pisac, stopping at a viewpoint down the sacred valley on the way. I love Pisac ruins, they are one of my favourites. Smithy took us round a part that I hadn’t seen before – I prefer the area I have seen previously but it was still really interesting and I enjoyed the chance to see something different. From the ruins we headed into town and had lunch. I took the chance to grab a plastic poncho as they are big enough to fit over a rucksack and stop everything getting wet if it did decide to rain. AS I have always had every type of weather on the trail I was happier to be safe than sorry. The weather stayed good for us though and our first afternoon trekking was comfortable. Smithy did notice me limping, and I explained that it was just because someone had trodden on my foot. I was okay though, and didn’t really notice it while I was walking uphill. The group did really well as a whole – those who had been on the trip since Lima fared better than those who had joined as Cusco which is completely normal with the extra time they have had to acclimatise. It was a quiet first night though, with everyone going to bed at 8.30pm! With no one left to chat to I did the same.
I woke up to find my foot had swollen up and I had difficulty in getting my walking boot on. In the end I left it until the last possible minute and just got on with the trek. I was definitely limping today!! Again, once we hit a gradient I was fine and I was able to walk almost normally, although I couldn’t take any big steps. As that is difficult to do at altitude anyway I figured I was going to be fine. This was definitely as ‘do as I say, not as I do’ moment as if it had been any of my passengers I would have insisted they take the mule, or go down and get their foot checked out because of the potential problems it could cause later on. I knew we had a mule though, and I also know that I can trek the route comfortably so I was confident I could do it even with a poorly foot.
My two new girls struggled a lot more on the second day, but they both reached the summit at 4,700m under their own steam with plenty of rest breaks. Getting people to pace themselves when they are at the back is really difficult as they just want to be with the front group all of the time, so I walked in front of them with baby steps to teach them how to pace themselves so they could enjoy the trek. It’s not a race and we have plenty of time. At the top of the pass we celebrated with a shot of rum and an offering to Pachamama, mother earth. The weather had been fantastic all the way to the top, and then we got snow! Fortunately only a light smattering, but it highlighted how quickly weather conditions can change in the mountains. One of my passengers also had the most dramatic backdrop anyone has ever had to receive his exam results – incredibly it is one of only two points where you can get mobile reception and I’m relieved to say that he passed!
We descended to our lunch. Going down a steep hill was definitely more painful and I was glad to get to lunch. I decided against taking off my boot though as I was concerned I might not get it on again!! It is only another hour from our lunch stop to the village of Quishwarani and our camp. On our way in we came across a double Peruvian wedding. The whole group was ushered in and given food and drink – we were already stuffed but didn’t want to appear rude so forced down what we could, before making our escape to camp. Smithy, myself and two other girls decided to return to the wedding once we were all set up. I had put my flip flops on – heaven as there was no pressure on my toe and foot which had turned purple!! Smithy was quite alarmed when he saw it!
The wedding became an event. We had been invited back and to take photos, so up we went, and they were throwing the bouquet. We hid at the back and watch as both the bride and groom throw a bouquet in these celebrations. It was funny to watch because the groom had to throw the bouquet six times before once of the other guys finally put his hands out to catch it! We were then taken to the top table and sat down next to the happy couples, even though we had never met them before and didn’t even know their names!! After half an hour we started wondering when it was polite to leave, and how we were going to leave as we couldn’t exactly disappear off to the side. Smithy asked a few questions and got permission for us to go, and told us to take a track directly ahead by the house. We said our goodbyes and scarpered…. Straight into a field with no gate. And it was dark. Head torches on, we walked around the perimeter until we found some barbed wire we could duck under, and made our way across the mountain, over a stream, until we found a place to drop back down into the village to our campsite!
Third day trekking, and again I had to ease my foot into my walking boot. Again, once on it wasn’t coming back off!! We set off up the mountain – it is a few hours trek to the pass at 4,400m. We had a mini race up the final section – Dan raced off at a strong pace. I knew what was coming so I just kept going at my usual pace, taking baby steps up the steep sections and just not stopping. I found Dan two-thirds of the way up sat on a rock recovering! He was pole-axed which commonly happens when your body suddenly realises it can’t physically get up the mountain at that pace with no oxygen! Experience won out, and I reached the pass a comfortable five minutes before the rest of the group, then cheered them on from the top, handing out more rum when they got there. The weather was perfect and the views from that pass are amongst the best you will ever see. We had a full 360 panorama to enjoy. Once everyone had caught up we had a quick group photo and headed down the other side of the pass, spotting viscatchas, wild chincillas, on the way. The weather was changing, and we arrived at Cancha Cancha and our lunch stop just as the heavens opened. Fortunately one of our porters had let us use his house again, so we stayed nice and dry. By the time we were ready to go the rain had stopped and we enjoyed lovely weather all the way down to the hot springs in Lares.
The hot springs were as awesome as ever, and everyone enjoyed soaking themselves for a couple of hours. For the first time we didn’t manage to get any alcohol into the hot springs so it was a quiet celebration night. We literally had one carton of red wine, but this group haven’t really been a party crowd anyway so I couldn’t imagine any high-spirited antics taking place. Smithy, Dan and myself were made of sterner stuff. Smithy had heard of a fiesta in Lares, a 2 minute walk away. The three of us headed down into town to see what was happening, managing to find some beers on the way. We got the wrong venue on our first attempt – it was another wedding!! The proper party was taking place outside a church. It is actually a religious festival and indigenous people from the neighbouring villages had all come down to Lares, dressed in their village colours, each one if different. They were singing and dancing, it was great! We watched for a while, before heading back to the hot springs to get some sleep.
A lie in! I was planning to get up early to sit in the hot springs, but my battery died so I just woke up with our usual wake up call. Never mind! A good breakfast, and the porters packed up camp while I collected tips for the group. We did a little presentation, before jumping on the bus and heading back down to Lares. The party was still going on so we stopped for half an hour to enjoy the celebrations, and to let the rest of the group see the fiesta.
From there we had a hours drive to a short two hour walk through one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen. This is my favourite walk in South America. It actually follows an old Inca road, and passes by some Inca graves, which we can see as they have been looted by grave robbers. The valley becomes a steep sided canyon, following a river. It’s just stunning.
From there were continued to Ollayantaytambo, and as the bus wasn’t returning to Cusco I had to find alternative transport. I wanted to make sure everything was sorted out with Sakai, so I said goodbye to the group and headed back to Cusco. Arriving in Cusco there were more fiestas, and it was impossible to get to the hotel, so the taxi dropped me off two blocks away and I made my way back to the hotel. Daniele was meeting a friend so we had a quick catch up on Sakai who had been flown to Lima the day before, then I headed to a restaurant to find some more ceviche – I think I’m getting addicted! I spent the evening doing paperwork and chatting to the receptionist – not very exciting but a good way to relax after the trek.
Daniele and I went shopping. We had breakfast and headed to the truck park, listed all of the missing tools on Yana of which there were many, and spent some of the boss’s money. I can’t believe that the last crew were able to run a trip for as long as they did without half of the tools that you need when you are on the road. Yana did spend a considerable amount of time in different workshops earlier this year having her engine replaced after a drowning incident and a lot of her tools must have walked during this time because she had a full set last November, but she has been back on the road for the last three months. There really is no excuse for it. Anyway, she is now nearly fully restocked with the exception of a couple of items that we couldn’t find.
Yana also needs four new tyres and springs so we got the workshop on the case. Daniele had wanted to make a start on this earlier in the week, except our company cards wouldn’t give out any money – a problem with Travelex. Fortunately it was sorted out so we could pay the bill!
We headed back to the hotel, via the computer shop as my hard drive had died on my computer and Daniele had managed to get it replaced. It meant I will able to do some work again, and get my trip prep sorted out for the next leg. Unfortunately they hadn’t managed to recover the information from my dead hard drive. I had some of it backed up, but unfortunately not all of it. Not good!! I have emailed a lot of the information to other crew though so I sent out a request to see if they can return the info to me!
My passengers arrived back at 8.30pm. One of them was really unwell, so I called a doctor for her and she ended up being taken to hospital for blood tests and an overnight stay. All of my passengers were all tired as it is a long day, but there were a few up for the 24 hour challenge. We decided to postpone the celebratory meal until the following night and simply went for a drink instead. I grabbed a burger at Paddy’s Irish bar, and Paul the guide for the Classic Trial came out and joined us. He always likes to have a party! In my opinion he is also the best guide that Andina have so I’m glad that half of my group got to trek with him.
From Paddy’s we ended up doing the usual rounds of the bars – Mythology and Mama Africa. Four of my passengers successfully completed the 24 hour challenge – the challenge being to stay awake for a full 24 hours, after four days trekking and a day at Machu Picchu. It’s not easy so fair play to them!!
I got up fairly early, despite the 4am finish the night before. Cusco is always guaranteed to wear me out! We just have so much to do while we’re there. Daniele kindly volunteered to sort out the truck so I could get all of my trip preparation re-done, and start to redo my accounts. I needed to redo all of the kitty payments, so I could sort out everyone’s refunds before they left. I received a call from Cara, my sick passenger. They had put her on a drip as she had salmonella! Fortunately she was allowed out later that morning.
I had to pop into town to buy some cleaning products for Yana as she had so little on board. I also went in to Andina to give them a report on the trek, and then to book a restaurant for the evening. While I was there Daniele phoned needing money for the truck repairs. I found myself running around withdrawing dollars and then finding the best rate for exchange to soles before heading down to the truck park to give him the money. From there it was another mad dash back to the hotel for an evening meeting with my passengers to brief them on the next leg before taking them out to dinner! After dinner I caught up with a friend for a quick drink before heading back to get some sleep before the long drive ahead.
We set off at 7am, introducing all of my passengers to Yana. She is a bit posher than Eva was - much better to do it this way around than the other! Unfortunately her gears aren't working properly and we don't have a low ratio on any of them - not helpful! She's still driveable but it makes it hard work! It is a full days drive to Puno, but we stop at some lovely view points along the way. We also stopped for a traditional lunch of lamb which is roasted in brown paper, served with potatoes. It's really good!
We reached Sillustani ruins just after 3pm, to meet Norma our guide. She is excellent. Having been around the ruins with her on two previous occasions, this time I opted to stay with the truck and sort out the first aid kit for which I had needed to replace a number of items that were out of date, or close to it. Not very exciting but necessary!
The group returned about an hour later and we headed on to Puno. Daniele knew of a good restaurant here, so we all went out for dinner together. I made the most of my final chance for ceviche and pisco sour!! Luis, our guide for the Colca Canyon was guiding a group in Puno, so after dinner I met up with him for a drink. He tried to get me to try some Anis tea but it was disgusting!!! Just not the same as a Pisco sour!
I waved all of my passengers off on their tricycle taxis to the Uros Islands, which are the floating reed islands. It was my Japanese lady's birthday so I contacted Fatima at the restaurant we were using and asked to to make a cake for Sachie. Daniele took Yana to be washed as she was covered in dust from the truck park in Cusco, and I took another look at redoing my work and information, and got some printing done.
Daniele and I took Yana down to the port to meet our passengers and to have some lunch, before returning to the hotel to load bags and head off to Bolivia! We stopped en route to take photos of the giant Inca head, and also at the Stargate, and oddly shaped rock with a closed door which is supposed to be the gateway to the next life. They broke up the drive nicely, although we did have an unexpected stop to allow one of my passengers to be sick. This trip seems to be full of sick people!!
We arrived at the Peruvian border and completed all of the paperwork without issue. I drove Yana across to the Bolivian border while my passengers took a short walk, it's only about 100m so I wasn't being mean to them!! There was no problelm getting all of our passports signed, but when I took the paperowrk to get the truck signed in it was a whole different matter. The customs official tried to tell me that I couldn't take the truck in as it was for business and I wasn't a tourist, and that I needed an official letter from the governement. I was not impressed - the same truck had only come out of the country ten days earlier at the same border! After asking nicely with no result I asked to borrow his phone to call a friend. He knew exactly who I was calling - Fatima. She is a legend and regularly has to help us out with this border as the guy is simply ignorant. He didn't like it but he let me call, and sure enough within an hour, although it shoudl take 5 minutes, everything was stamped and done.
We carried on to Copacabana and I confirmed the time for dinner with Fatima. The views from the hotel are stunning - they look out over Lake Titicaca. The electrics in the shower are another matter. The simple rule is 'just don't touch!'. We headed out to dinner and Sachie had asked me to organise a welcome drink for everyone so we had singuani sours, made with the Bolivian national drink. Dinner was great and everyone had a good time. The cake went down brilliantly too, to the point that Sachie said it was her best birthday EVER! Very pleasd to oblige!
After dinner we headed to a bar and I had a couple of pina coladas. We got chatting to some locals, and went on to a night club where there was no one dancing, but more locals to chat too! It was a good night!
I got up in time to drag myself out of bed - too many cocktails last night - and down to the reception to take my passengers to the dock to catch their boat to the Isla del Sol. I was tempted to join them but my toe is still really sore and I haven't worn anything except flipflops since the Inca trail as shoes are just too painful. Poorly toe!! So I went to Fatima's bistro for breakfast and to do some more paperwork. I guess I've always done my trip prep well in advance and as I've gone along, so I don't like this catch up business!! It's no fun!
I caught up on some sleep during the afternoon, and finally saw Daniele for the first time all day at about 5pm!! It was no problem went back to Fatima's for dinner. She does proper home cooked style food which we don't get out here very often so I made the most of it. She is also a complete star and helps us out so much. I don't know quite how she has so much clout out here but it works!!
It’s my birthday!! Having successfully survived 34 years on the planet, Daniele and I started the day by walking to the market to get doughnuts for breakfast. We got some extras for our passengers, and left the hotel at 9am in order to get to La Paz for lunch time. We did the usual ferry crossing at Tiquina without incident, which was a relief as there had been strikes there the previous day, and as we made our way to La Paz the road blocks of roads strewn across the road were still evident.
Once in La Paz we dropped off our passengers and immediately went to park the truck at Gravity Downhill biking, before returning to Olivers for a lunch of sausage and mash. It doesn’t usually exist out here so it was a bit of a treat! I spent the afternoon finishing off some paperwork and working out kitty refunds, mainly because I was fairly confident that I wouldn’t be in a fit state to do it the following day, and I let Daniele organise the evening.
We went out to a traditional music and dance venue for dinner, and it was a really good evening! AND Daniele had managed to get me a cake, with my name written on it, and the band played Happy Birthday to me in English and Spanish. We rounded off the evening with a shot of singani, for which the bottle was then placed on the table complete with an anaconda inside it. Not what we were expecting! Jill from Gravity joined us and we returned to Olivers, this time for a few more drinks. Amazingly we were the only ones there, but the staff entered into the spirit of the occasion and before we knew it we were dancing on the bar and doing some free shots. We continued to a club which I can’t even remember the name of anymore. I know I moved on to water at this point! It was a fantastic night!
I woke up convinced that it was about 1pm and was very disappointed to realise that it was 1.30am!! I so wanted a ridiculously long teenager style lie in!! I felt remarkably good though, and Daniele went for a recovery coffee and pancakes at a local café called Tia Gladys. I went for a wander around La Paz looking for a new kitty pouch and a birthday present for my brother, not that he will get it on time but at least the thought is there! That was about the extent of my activity for the afternoon – being a Sunday a lot of places are closed anyway. In the evening I met my new passengers who all seem lovely, and we went to a Mexican restaurant for a group meal to get to know each other. All in all a quiet day!
Our final day in La Paz and a much more productive one! I actually sat down and finally got my accounts finished. I also changed up enough dollars to Bolivianos for the days ahead, and stocked up on stationary. I have always meant to get some photos of the witches market while I am here and I have never got around to it, so I finally just did it! The stalls are unique, with dried llama foetuses on display – they are thought to be good luck and are burnt at celebrations, or buried in the foundations of a new house. There are all sorts of other good luck charms and trinkets, it’s really fascinating.
I had to sort out the truck insurance for two trucks during the afternoon – not very exciting but very necessary! It was a boring but productive day! The evening proved to be more entertaining. Daniele and another guy on the trip, Dan, had both heard about the world’s hottest curry. Basically if you can eat it you get a free T-shirt. The Indian is good anyway, so I joined them to watch the fun. I felt quite smug as my relatively mild curry arrived, and they were each presented with a bowl of curry containing 4 chillies. They both started well, but Dan soon ran out of rice and admitted defeat. Incredibly Daniele kept going and successfully ate the whole thing! They both said it was the hottest thing they have ever tried – I declined to taste it as I hate hot food. Their reaction as enough to put me off! Unfortunately Daniele suffered the consequences and ended up in the bathroom 11 times during the night!
Daniele was still suffering in the morning so I went and collected Yana from the truck park. Fortunately he was feeling a bit better by the time we left and chose to do the first drive though. He didn’t look well though! We met our guide, Pablo, before we left and headed off to Livichuco, stopping at Oruru en route for lunch. This time through we weren’t held up by any one man wheelchair races!! We arrived at our Livichuco homestay late afternoon, and were immediately shown a weaving demonstration, except for Daniele who headed straight to bed. A brief game of football against the local school children who were all under 10 proved that we really can’t cope in altitude as we were annihilated. It was good fun trying though. We were then shown a Pachamama ceremony, before having coca leaf readings. I had mine done last time so opted out of it this time around. After dinner we had some traditional music and dancing, before all getting an early night.
We had a little bit of a lie in, with breakfast at 8am, before going to the Presidents home to see some of the traditional tools and costumes from the village. We then had two choices, one being a three hour walk to a view point, and the other being to visit the local school. My toe still isn’t great, although improving, and I did the walk last time. I also had one passenger who wanted to visit the school, and she speaks no Spanish so I decided to see the local school with her and attempt to translate. The school was brilliant, although I think the teachers were more fascinated by us than the children. They asked us lots of questions, and when we asked if we could get a photo they arranged an entire school photo with the Bolivian and Andean flag. I showed a couple of children the photo on my camera, and before I knew it I was buried in a pile of Bolivian children!!
We headed back to our accommodation for lunch before heading to Potosi, the silver mining town. I arranged a group meal at a good restaurant called 46m there which proved to be incredibly popular, but they do have chocolate fondue on the menu! After dinner we stopped at a pub called La Casona, where you can buy a yard of ale and simply pour it off into your glass. A bit of a novelty, it went down well with the group!
I waved my group off on their mining tour and spent the day tidying up all the little jobs which never seem to get done. I managed to get some printing done by visiting three different internet cafes. The first one, internet wasn’t working. The second one had working internet, but no printing, only photocopying. The third one had internet and printing, but to then photocopy my information I had to return to the second internet café. It all gets very complicated in Potosi but I got there in the end!! The joys of Bolivia! Returning to the hotel I tried to learn a bit more Spanish using a free online course which is actually very good. My Spanish is getting better, but sometimes it’s useful to have structured learning to take it to the next level and I found I am using it in conversation already so it must be working.
Daniele and I got diesel in the afternoon – there is always a risk of diesel shortages when there are strikes on and at the moment there are a number on the road from Sucre to Potosi, one of the main access roads. We didn’t want to leave it too late and be short of diesel at Uyuni where they often run out even when there aren’t strikes on!
We left Potosi at 9am as it is just a half days drive to Uyuni, the jumping off point to the salt flats. I had received notice of strikes on route 5 which is the road we were taking, but I suspected that they were still on the Sucre to Potosi road, not on to Uyuni. Fortunately I was right!! It is a beautiful drive and we arrived for lunchtime. There was diesel in the fuel stations, so Daniele and I dropped off our passengers at the hotel and went to top up straight away.
We stopped at a local restaurant for lunch, and enjoyed a free afternoon. I had to try two different internet cafes before getting a connection that was reasonable. I spent an hour finally catching up on the last of my paperwork – an amazing feeling! From now on I am backing up EVERYTHING as it is much more difficult to catch up when already on a trip!
We went to the Extreme Fun Pub in the evening as one of my passengers wanted to see if he could complete the Extreme drinking challenge, and beat mine and Daniele’s time. I was slightly smug when he didn’t beat my time, but fair play, he was still standing and making sense at the end of the night which is a first!!
The Salar de Uyuni! Better known as the salt flats. We didn’t have Braulio, our usual guide, but Ishmael did a good job. Taking two jeeps, we headed to the salt factory where we discovered that they didn’t have any props for photos. Leaving Daniele to do the translation at the factory, I dashed around the small stalls available and brought some props to use. We continued on to Isla de Pescada, or Fish Island. A coral island, it is covered in cacti which grow at a rate of 1cm per year. Some of the cacti are over 4 metres tall – that’s an old cactus! The island used to be a resting point for Inkas crossing the salt flats whilst travelling to and from Argentina. We had lunch at the island, before heading off to do the silly photos. I became chief photographer for the group although I did feature in one photo stood on a stick of dynamite about to be ‘blown up’ by Daniele! We continued on to the train graveyard – by this point the wind had picked up and we found ourselves driving through the middle of a dust storm. The train graveyard was still good. The trains there have been abandoned for over fifty years, just left to rust since the railway was decommissioned from Uyuni to Argentina.
Returning to Uyuni, I took my passengers cook group shopping in preparation for the next couple of days on the altiplano. I had another pizza for dinner – apparently it is the highest pizza in the world, although we can also get pizza in Potosi which is a higher altitude than Uyuni! Small matter!
The first day on the altiplano. We left at 10.30am with our usual guide, Braulio, and headed out on the dirt roads, stopping for lunch before leaving the main road and doing some proper off-roading! This section is great fun to drive as they are small dirt roads, with a number of river crossings until we reach Valle de la Roche. Valle de la Roche has a number of rock formations which has been shaped by the wind, and is a really great place to go scrambling. I love it here as it’s one of the only chances I get to do any rock climbing.
We continued on to Ville Mar, our overnight stop, taking a small detour en route to see a Laguna with flamingos, and some more rock formations. I think Braulio was humouring me as he has worked out how much I enjoy rock climbing! We arrived at Ville Mar late afternoon and got the kitchen set up and rooms sorted out. I gave Yana’s windows a quick wash as they were covered in dust and you could hardly see out of the left hand side windows at all!! It was an entertaining evening – some of our best nights happen when everyone is stuck together with no wifi, even without alcohol and this was one of them!
We were up early and left at 8am, heading out to Laguna Colorado, the red lake which gets its colour from micro-plankton and in which three species of flamingo can be found – Andean, Chilean and James. The photos at this lake are simply stunning with the contrast in colours, and the lake was the reddest I have ever seen it.
We continued on to our high point at 5020 metres above sea level where we stamp the truck out of Bolivia, before heading out to the geysers. The geysers always go down well with our passengers, and they are impressive to see. We then headed to some hot springs for lunch. These have to be the most beautiful hot springs I have ever seen, with crystal clear water and incredible views across the altiplano.
After lunch we headed on South towards the Bolivian border, passing through the ** de Dali, a Spanish painter who painted a mountain scene from imagination having never seen it before, only to find it was almost an exact replica of this area of the altiplano. We also visited Laguna Verde, or the green lake. This is a semi-toxic lake, deriving it’s colour from a mix of minerals, including magnesium and arsenic. Opposite Laguna Verde is Laguna Blanco, the white lake, which is coloured by calcium. Flamingos can live in this lake!
We passed through the border without incident, dropping down into Chile and San Pedro de Atacama and pass through their border control. It took a little while as Yana is now on French plates due to a delay getting her carnet on her English plates, so although she has been in and out of Chile numerous times, this is the first record they have of her on this registration plate. Mission accomplished, we found the camp site without trouble and I dashed out to confirm star gazing for the group. Fortunately they had held the spaces – usually you need to pay by 3pm and of course we were still on the altiplano.
We had an hour to set up camp, grab some food, and head out to the star gazing. During this time I had some trouble with the receptionist at Takha Takha, our camp site who told me I hadn’t booked. I knew I had – it had been confirmed TWICE! Although they had space and tents were already set up she told me that I hadn’t done my job!! I was not impressed! Strangely enough, once given my email address they found the entire record of the booking I had made, by which point I had lost my patience and asked her who was incapable of doing their job now? Not always helpful, it put her into a sulk, but I can do without being told I am incompetent when we are paying customers, potentially bringing more than ten trucks a year through their establishment and having done everything at my end correctly. Problem solved, we were collected in a bus for the star gazing, and driven out to the astronomers’ house, where he has ten telescopes set up to see different stars and galaxies. It was excellent! I know more about the Southern hemisphere stars than I will probably ever find out about the northern hemisphere!
Great little town!! I had a little bit of a lie in before going to find some breakfast and to do a littel bit of clothes shopping as half of my clothes have decided to disintegrate at the same time. I don't know what they put in the detergents out here!!
We headed out ot some salt lakes in the afternoon, just a small group of us. They are great fun! It's the first time I've been as I didn't know about them on my first trip to San Pedro, and on my second trip I had my broken shoulder and was sporting my ful body cast - not so good for swimming! Anyway, the lakes are brilliant because you can literally just float, so we bobbed around for a while. They were a bit chilly though so none of us stayed in for too long!
Returning to the campsite we discovered the rest of the group around the swimming pool drinking wine. Daiele promptly threw me into the water, and I dropped the key on the way in. Unfortuantely there is decking and holes between the slats so the key disappeared down a hole and we couldn't reach it to get it back! I sent Daniele to reception to get a spare - the receptionist already has a disliking for me so I decided not to push the matter!!
We headed out to the Valle de la Luna, Valley of the Moon, at 5pm. We took the passengers up to the top of the highest sand dune to see the landscape which apparently looks just like the surface of the moon... funny that! We continued in the truck to see an interesting rock feature known as the Three Sisters, before heading up to a beautiful view point to watch the sunset with a bottle of wine.
We got up early and headed to the border for 7am so we would be at the head of the queue when it opened at 8am. It was unusually quiet while we were having breakfast, and after half an hour Daniele spotted a TINY notice telling us about a new border procedure for travelling to argentina. Usually we stamp out in San Pedro and drive for two hours to Paso Jama to stamp into Argentina. It's changed. Now it all happens at Paso Jama! Packing up, we hit the road and headed for the new border. It made it all much easier, except that I kept being sent from one building to another to have the truck signed out of Chile. Not helpful! After walking backwards and forwards between teh two buildings on four occasions I refused to move until someone came with me and showed me where I was supposed to go. The official came with me, had a discussion with the other official and then took me to a completely differnt place from where either had been sending me! Patience required!! We had lunch at the border and then drove on to Salta, arriving in daylight hours.
On arrival, I called the best steak restautant ever and booked a table, before taking the truck with DAniele to the truck park. We headed back to the hotel for a quick turn around, before heading out with the group to help them change money and find ATM's. Dinner went down well as always, and Daniele convinced everyone to try fernet which is disgusting stuff - the National drink of Argentina made with Venezuelan river herbs. It is NOT pleasant! We headed out to some bars afterwards as a coupel fo my passengers were desperate to have a dance. The trouble with Argentina is that nothing gets going unitl 2am so we had to have another couple of cocktails to fill in the time...
A busy day was in fact a really busy day. Despite having got in at 4am I was up early to sort out my laundry, grab some breakfast and take my computer to a cafe with WIFI to try and catch up on some work. I had an hour catching up, before heading off to find a cambio to change some pennies for kitty and for Dragoman.
Back at the hotel I found Daniele and we headed off to the truck park. We had to get Yana to a Mercedes garage as the splitter on her gears isn't working and she needs linking to a computer. unfortuantely it turned out that it is an Argentine National Holiday and everything was closed! There was a chap in the office who booked her in for first thing in the morning - this gave me a new problem as were supposed to be using her to take the group white water rafting in the morning. I phoned the company and arranged for local transport to take us to the venue, so Daniele coudl take Yana to the workshop and meet us at lunchtime.
We gave Yana a good clean and I headed back to the hotel to meet the passengers as we needed to go cook group shopping, complicated by the National hliday and the closure of some usual venues. Only a few stalls were open in the market and the usual supermarket I use was closed too. We managed, but why are thigns never straght forward? Salta rafting had also contacted me to confirm the transport, but I needed to pay for that too, so I foudn myself dashing across the centre of the city to sort that out. I bunped into Daniele and Dan on my way back and found myself having dinner with them before heading to bed for an ealrier night. Four trips to Salta and I STILL haven't managed to go up the cable car!
It's taken me twelve months but I have finally managed to go white water rafting out here! I did wonder whether I would be able to go though as Daniele rolled in at 4am. My alarm went off at 6am as Daniele was supposed to be collecting the truck from the truck park, but unsurprisingly he didn't wake up, and I couldn't wake him up either! I gave up and jumped in a taxi to collect Yana. Getting her back to the hotel on time for everyone to load their main bags, I finally managed to move Daniele enough to take Yana to the Mercedes garage while I sorted out the gorup to take them white water rafting.
It was great fun! I haven't been for a couple of years and we all had a great time. Our guide stuck twigs on our heads to camouflage us - it was actually to tell out raft from the others but camouflage sounds better! They are only grade 3 rapids so nothing technical and they were good to have fun on. We had an awesome barbeque afterwards, and fortunately Daniele turned up with Yana just in time for lunch.
We left just after 2pm and headed to Cafayate and the wine region! There are a couple of fantastic rock formations which are worth stopping at en route - the Devils throat and the amphitheatre. I convinced Dan to take his drum to the amphitheatre as the natural acoustics there are amazing, and we found a chap playing a guitar. The two started playing together and it sounded amazing!
We had a leisurely breakfast before heading out to do some wine tasting at 10am!! Early, but a lot of the vine yards close early on a Saturday. And never too earlier for some Argentine wine!
The first vineyard we visited was closed for another half an hour, but conveniently another vineyard was located just across the road, so we started there instead. It is the oldest vineyard in Cafayate, and has these incredibly large barrels which you can actually climb into, like a massive dog kennel! A small sample of wine later, complete with a couple of purchases, and we were back across the road to Etcharts vineyard. There was a slight delay here while we waited for an English speaking guide to arrive, but we were shown to a beautiful coffee shop, complete with swimming pool and an insight to ‘how the other half live’. This is why I love my job so much – strictly speaking this was not quite overlanding, but we do get treated to the most amazing places on occasion!
Having done the furthest flung vineyards, I dropped my pax off in teh town cetnre before taking Yana back to the campsite and heading into town myself to stock up on yet more red wine... it has to be done!!
One of our slightly less exciting days on the trip, a long drive day to an overnight stop en route to the estancia. We set off early, stopping an hour into the journey to explore the Quilmes ruins. We managed to get a local guide this time – it can be a bit hit and miss depending on whether they have turned up for work by the time we arrive! He was very good and informative, although I was glad to have Daniele who is fluent in Spanish, as opposed to my understanding and filling in the gaps!! The Quilmes tribe fought off the Incas and the Spanish for a long time, before finally being defeated by the Spanish.
Driving over the last mountains in the Andes before hitting the flat farmland of Argentina, we passed through a little village called Tafi de la Valle, where we stopped for coffee and cake. It was a passengers birthday so we managed to get a birthday cake for her at the same time. We continued down the valley, stopping briefly to look at a huge Gaucho Gil shrine (long story, will over it another time) and a statue of El Indio which is a tribute to the Quilmes tribes.
We had a late lunch, stopping at a roadside restaurant where we ended up with goat for lunch. Really tasty!! An afternoon of driving got us to the campsite where we celebrated Laura’s birthday by playing… musical chairs!! It is the worst campsite that we stay at on this leg of the trip, but we had a great time anyway.
Up a little later than normal, we headed into town to do some cook group shopping in preparation for the estancia, then made our way southeast towards Cordoba. The estancia is a couple of hours away from Cordoba. We were making good time, so rather than stopping in the Costa del Service Station for lunch we just cracked on and got to the estancia early, having a late lunch there instead.
I saw the owner, Kevin, driving out as we made our way down the track, who assured me that his wife, Lou, was waiting to greet us. We did the usual introductions and had our lunch, before enjoying a little bit of time to relax. On Kevin’s return we were invited for some wine and cheese tasting – this is always a good night and enjoyed by everyone, not least because it is really lovely wine which soon got finished off!!
We had a leisurely start to the day , not being picked up to go riding until 10am – heaven! The riding is very basic as it has to cater for complete beginners, but also the terrain that we ride over is very rocky and not suitable for fast work anyway. It is still a lovely ride, up to the high point of the property which they know as the ‘Top of the World’. We returned to the main house (the posh part!) for lunch and then to have a go at lassoing. I am definitely getting worse with practice – previously I have caught a dead tree and a bullock. This time, nothing!! After lunch we walked the 15 minute stroll back to our accommodation, and enjoyed an easy evening listening to Daniele and Dan play drums. Dan was in a band and Daniele just happens to be very good at playing the drums so it was a good evening!
Another easy start to the day, this time to ride out to a beautiful waterfall. I did go ‘swimming’ in the loosest sense of the word as it was freezing! Straight in and straight out, very refreshing though!! After lunch the more experienced riders had the chance to go for a canter, but it was still fairly reserved. Necessary for the standard, but so frustrating as I was riding a good polo pony who would have been awesome given the chance!
It was our last evening at the estancia so we enjoyed the usual asado, or barbeque. It really is excellent, with copious amounts of wine and home reared organic beef. Love it! I was finished off with a music night, two local musicians coming down, Willie and Jose. They are always brilliant and get everyone in a party mood, tonight being no exception. Music playing over, Jose and I became undisputed champions of table football, a hidden talent that I never realised I had! Result!!
We left the estancia at 10.30am and it was an easy drive to Cordoba – I let Daniele drive. He owed me one after Salta!! There is no wifi at the estancia, so I spent the afternoon in Cordoba catching up on emails, and making a quick call home to wish my brother a Happy slightly late-by –a-day birthday! One of my passengers then dropped a bomb shell. She is from Japan and doesn’t have her visa for Brazil – looking in to it, the application process takes seven days to obtain a visa and we can’t apply until we reach Buenos Aires, meaning we don’t have time to get the visa before leaving on the next leg of the trip. Not great news, but there was nothing I could do about it untiI we get to Buenos Aires where I can at least see if they can fast track her application. Shelving the problem temporarily, I went out with the girls for a quick bite to eat in the evening, before having an early night as the next drive day is a BIG one! Went out with the girls for dinner. Early night as a 5am start.
Big drive day to Buenos Aires! We made good time, having left at 5am we arrived in Buenos Aires at 4pm. I literally got the room list sorted, before taking Sachie and heading to the Japanese embassy, then onto the Brazilian embassy to sort out her visa. Unfortunately it was Friday afternoon and they refused to do anything until Monday morning! Sadly it is impossible to argue with an embassy, so it was back to the drawing board on visa applications, although they did say they could issue it in 3 days, rather than the original seven days. Too late to leave with the trip, but it meant that Sachie could catch up with us later if necessary.
Returning to the hotel, I dashed out again to make a restaurant booking for the evening, before sorting out the kitty refunds for my passengers. The food that evening was excellent and I enjoyed the usual half a cow!
Took Sachie to bus station to book her ticket to Puerto Iguazu to get her visa and made sure she knew which platform she needed to be at, printed and photocopied her visa application forms and printed off my itinerary for the next trip. As with all well laid plans, this took longer than originally anticipated! Upon my return to the hotel, I discovered that my new trainee had arrived! He is called John and he seems lovely – he brought hobnobs and crunchies with him so that makes him the perfect trainee as far as I’m concerned. The first impression the poor chap has of me is a block of blue cheese melting onto the bedside table though!! It is difficult to find out here, so I had brought a piece with the intention of taking to the truck park. The room was a bit warm, and he beat me there first or I would have sorted it out before his arrival – what an awesome way to be greeted!! I took him into the centre for a quick introduction to the city, Dragoman style. This means we needed to book tango show tickets, change money at the cambios, buy a new camera lense and have lunch. It is not your typical sight-seeing tour. Went headed down to the truck park so I could introduce him to Yana, before heading back to hotel for the pre-departure meeting to meet my new passengers, and headed out to La Cabrera for dinner. Having been told it would be another half an hour for a table on three occasions we gave up and went somewhere else! Ate another cow – no such thing as small portions in Argentina!
Sorted out more tango show tickets, and general paperwork. Ran through different things with John to start his training and handed over the responsibility of running the kitty to him, under supervision of course! Changed kitty money, had lunch. Back to truck park to clean Yana ready for the drive tomorrow, before returning to the hotel to meet the group ready for the tango show. After the tango show are Gran Cafe Tortoni we headed out to dinner – back to the first nights restaurant which had been really popular and ate… half a cow! Also convinced John to update his facebook status to ‘Katie’s slave’ – not sure how I convinced him to do that but it is now official!
We were up at 3.40am to head down to the truck park and collect Yana. I always wonder why I get up so early as it is 24 hour attendance, but it was a good job we did as the attendant was asleep. 10 minutes of ringing the bell eventually roused him and we were in! Daily checks later, we headed into Buenos Aires and John had his first real taste of Yana on the road. I’m not mean enough to make him have his first drive there though!! Reaching the hotel, I dashed a couple of blocks back down the road where I had seen an open shop to buy COFFEE!! Necessary at that time, otherwise I turn into a diva. The group were excellent and we left the hotel on time at 5am – we have over 700Km to travel so it is necessary to get an early start.
We stopped for breakfast at a service station, and while everyone was eating I went to fill up just to find out they had no diesel. I let everyone know and left them eating while I tracked down another fuel station, which took me for an amazing guided tour around the local town, under lots of power lines which Yana only just squeezed under and down some narrow streets. Yana is not the best truck to have to do this in as she is just so big, but I found one and got back to the group without incident. John then got to have his first drive and he did very well. He found the tramlines on the road a little bit daunting, and they are not the most comfortable things to drive in as they pull the truck from side to side, but he was fine. He’ll soon get used to South American roads!!
We arrived at the campsite at the little town of Yapeyu at 6pm, and I did a demonstration of how to put up tents for my new guys, and so John can see how we run a campsite. Next time he gets to do it, if he can remember how! I helped our new guys to put up their tents - if they learn the right way the first time then it makes it so easy for later campsites so it’s worth taking the extra time. The whole group then helped to set up the kitchen for the cook group, while I took John to the office to pay for the tents. Everyone crashed out early, except for the crew and my die hard passengers, Dan and Buzz who joined us for a post-drive drink!
We set off at 7am and headed to San Ignacio de Mini to visit the Jesuit ruins. The drive took 5 hours, so relatively short! I picked up an email from the office asking me to get Yana to Foz du Iguacu a day early to allow time to get some work done at the workshop there. It is possible to do by crossing the border a night early to Brazil, and then arranging a trip for our passengers back across the border to visit the Argentine side of Iguazu falls. This meant it was all systems go for me – the plan had been to eat in a restaurant but there aren’t any in Iguazu so I dash to the supermarket to buy some food, getting there just before they closed for siesta. I then made sure lunch was ready for my passengers return and updated them on the change of plan.
We were back on the road by 2.00pm and making good time – it is a four hour drive to the border, and then we hit a diversion. Half an hour of bumpy side roads and dirt tracks later we finally rejoined the main road about 5Km further along the main road from the point we had left. Not ideal! We still made it to the border in plenty of time and crossed without a problem. My Japanese lady hadn’t man
Aged to pick up her visa so I arranged for John to meet her at lunchtime the following day at the waterfalls to give me chance to get Yana into the workshop. Having sorted out the accommodation at the workshop I enlisted the help of all of my passengers to prepare dinner. Very easy – macaroni cheese and salad, with an omlette for my non-pasta eating passenger. This is a very unusual event, I usually avoid group cooking like the plague! Everyone really enjoyed it though.
I had an exciting day. Waving goodbye to my passengers and sending them off with John to the Argentine side of Iguazu falls, I took Yana to the workshop, So Diesel in Foz du Iguacu to get a new sensor to allow us to change gears using the splitter between high and low ratio again – currently it hasn’t been working since we picked her up in Cusco and she is stuck on high ratio. As she is a new fangled electronic toy, unfortunately when one of her sensors decides to pack up then things just don’t happen at all, even if there isn’t actually a problem. Technology these days!!
Anyway, the guys got to work on her, and I pottered around catching up on a number of small jobs that still needed doing, like trying to replace locker locks which turned out to be the wrong size sent over form the UK, so I then had to re-install all of the old ones I had taken out… I got the wiring checked on the stereo as it can be really temperamental through to the back speakers. I had to get a new modem installed, and new rear speakers but they were working perfectly afterwards.
By the end of the day the gear box was being reinstalled (they had to take the whole thing out to replace the sensor), but I had run out of time so left them to it. I had to dash in to the supermarket on the way back to the campsite in order to buy dinner as I knew the group wouldn’t be back until after 7pm. Stuffed peppers with potato salad was on the menu and I got to work preparing the dinner for the group. Twice in two days is a bit keen as far as I’m concerned, but I quite enjoyed myself and made the most of having some free time until their return. They were all raving about the falls and were equally thrilled to find dinner was nearly ready!
The original plan was to let everyone have a free day and do some cook group shopping, but the weather forecast wasn’t great for the following day so I arrange for the hostel to take everyone to the Brazilian side of Iguazu falls, while I headed back to the truck park, where I found them replacing a seal on the water pump, another job that was needed as Yana was losing a very small amount of water every day. While they were working on that, I continued to potter around, cleaning her headlights, inspecting the casing on her rear lights which Daniele has cracked reversing into a lamp post to see if I could glue it back together – I couldn’t. It needs replacing, but that is a job to be done in Cusco. I then set about giving her a bit of a clean on the inside and settled down to get my last trip accounts done. It was a constructive day, but I still left the workshop without my truck that night, so I was very relieved to have taken the decision to amend the schedule and have three full days there.
Getting back to the campsite, I joined the group and we all headed out to an all-you-can-eat buffet and traditional dance show for the evening. It went down well with the group – the buffet is excellent with everything from sushi, to salads, different meats, pasta, rice, sauces, soups… and at least twelve different puddings. The show is a bit cheesy bit good fun and everyone enjoyed themselves.
Yet another day down at the workshop… I did get a slightly different start to the day though, by taking the group cook group shopping in Foz du Iguacu, and then on into town to change money as most of them still only had dollars or Argie pesos. Once done, I headed back to So Diesel with John, where we discovered that on test driving Yana the splitter switch still wasn’t working, and for some reason her computer wouldn’t link back into the Mercedes system to diagnose the fault. Not good!! They worked hard all day to fit a jump into the electric system to enable us to change the gear ratio via the clutch, which fortunately worked. It got to 5.30pm and she still wasn’t quite ready so I sent John back to the campsite to organized the evening meal, while I waited for Yana. All of the original problems were now sorted out, but whilst taking her for a late test drive I noticed a new error code flashing up on her electric screen, basically telling me that she couldn’t read the engine temperature. The guys had a look at it for me and checked the water systems, which were all working fine, but we couldn’t trace the source of the error code. Out of time, I paid up and got diesel on the way back to the campsite. During the drive I worked out that it was simply a fault with the temperature gauge – she usually runs at 80 degrees, but it refused to move form 40 degrees so at least I wasn’t quite so concerned about the problem!
A long drive day to Bonito, and we set off only to find that Yana would not change into 5th or 6th gear, in spite of having had the hydraulics on her gears bled and having been working perfectly the day before. After ten minutes she suddenly started changing gear again – just as well, because otherwise it would have taken us two days to get to Bonito! After every stop she insisted on doing the same thing which was incredibly frustrating, and we weren’t sure what was causing it. We doubled checked her engine and prop shaft after having had so much work done, and apart from having to tighten a jubilee clip on one of the hoses to the radiator everything was looking good.
The drive day passed remarkably quickly and we made good time, arriving in Bonito just before 7pm. The hostel staff made some introductions and gave a talk on the different activities available. We ate in the restaurant, and then I headed out to a house party with one of the receptionists, Sidney. I really like returning to places as I know a few people now and it’s nice to get invited out without passengers in tow and have a little bit of free time. A number of staff from the hostel were at the party so I had a good time.
An early start today! We had to leave at 6am to take the passengers snorkeling in the Rio Prata. Due to small numbers, only one free crew place was offered, so I let John take it. Unfortunately when we arrived there was thunder and lightning, and visibility was poor so departure was delayed. I didn’t mind too much, I had a book and chilled out in a hammock while they were out on the river, and enjoyed a buffet lunch with them on their return. Then a funny thing happened. The group collected up a small tip for the guide, but none of them could recognize him without his wetsuit and snorkel on. Having finally spotted him, Dan went up to give him the tip, only to discover that it was the wrong person and have to grab it back again! Five minute later the right man was successfully tipped.
We returned to Bonito, and John had his first go at off-road driving. It had been raining quite heavily so when it got a bit more difficult he was happy to swap. It was a good confidence building drive for him though, and the trucks do handle very differently on a muddy surface. He has plenty of time to develop those skills while he is out here.
We went out into town for the evening. While we had been out another overland company had arrived at the hostel, Mike and Beth from Tucan travel. They are both lovely, but the usual rivalry between the overland companies (or more to the point, between the passengers!) was definitely there. A wooden toucan was purchased by one of my passengers who shall not be named, with the grand plan of setting up a facebook page with the toucan doing ‘bad things’. This caused a lot of fun after a few caipirinhas, as we found some ridiculous poses for the toucan to be involved in.
I had my first argument with John later though. He has a bad habit of arguing every point as a form of banter, which is fine when you are with friends, but really not good in front of passengers where you need to have a united front. He just pushed it too far and when we got back to the hostel I had to sit him down and basically tell him I wasn’t prepared to work like that, so he either sorted it out or I would be having words with the office. He is such a sweet guy, he was mortified that it had caused a problem which I was almost more concerned about as he hadn’t noticed the effect it was having on passengers! Anyway, he has promised faithfully not to do it again so watch this space!
A second day in Bonito and I work up with a hangover!! Caipirinhas have a tendency to do that to me, and apparently all of my passengers too! I had a lie in, got up for breakfast which I discovered I had missed by half an hour, so found coffee before going for a wander to find something to eat.
After lunch I drove out to the Sao Miguel caves with a group of passengers. I hadn’t been before so they were interesting to see, although not one of the highlights of the area. There wasn’t an English speaking guide so I had to do some translation for the group – I impressed myself with the level of translation I managed! We opened up the roof seats on the return journey to do some toucan spotting, and I got John to drive back to get some more off-road practice. I did manage to get bitten by an ant while I was at teh caves though, and my whole foot swelled up - lovely!!
We went into town again that evening, this time to the Pantanal Grill to try caiman, capybara and peccary. Having tried them all before, this time I opted for the local fish, Pacu, which was really tasty. We then dashed across the street as it was raining really hard, and had another caipirinha before heading back to the hostel where we proceeded to cable tie the wooden toucan to the front of the Tucan truck… sadly the wifi hadn’t been good enough for the facebook page, so Dan just scribbled a message on the back.
Pantanal day!! We had breakfast, and I did the daily check on Yana, started her up and heard a bang followed by a large release of air from the exhaust brake pedal… not good. Jacking her forwards, we investigated and ended up having to remove the floor panels from the drivers’ side to find out what the problem was. Basically the airlines for the exhaust brake had been run over a metal plate with a lip on it. Every time we used the clutch pedal we were putting pressure on the air line at the point of the lip, and it had worm a hole in the line. Fortunately we had some spare line, so with the use of some trusty jubilee clips and some lagging to stop the problem occurring again, we had the problem fixed within the hour and were on our way. Karma maybe for the joke we had played on Tucan??
I didn’t hang around. Usually I would open up the roof seats here and take my time, but fortunately it is raining so I had a good excuse to crack on to the Pantanal as we needed to get there for lunch time. Our guide, Alyson, came with us. On our way to the Pantanal a toucan flew into the side of the truck… that really was karma!! I have no idea whether it was okay or not, I’m guessing it probably wasn’t too clever – hopefully just a tad concussed!!
We managed to see capybara, caiman, rhea and a giant anteater from a distance on our drive into the ranch, so it was a good start on the wildlife front before we even got going. Whilst waiting for the room keys we spotted an armadillo wandering past – I love the Pantanal!! We had lunch and went kayaking during the afternoon, spotting some capuchin monkeys, cocuy heron, three species of kingfisher (ringed, amazon and green), black collared hawk and cormorants, amongst others.
After dinner we headed out for our night safari, which was fairly quiet on the whole, although we were lucky enough to see a giant anteater at close quarters!
We went out riding across the ranch in the morning, and fortunately this time I had a horse called Estrella who was at least responsive! A big improvement on the last time I rode here. It was a nice ride, spotting different wildlife – Jabarou storks on their nest, more armadillos, burrowing owls and another giant anteater. It was probably the same one we saw last night, but it was a field away so it was difficult to tell.
We had a bit of time to relax, so John and I checked over Yana to make sure our running repairs were still holding, grease her, check the water connections and generally make sure everything was more or less as it should be. It was hot though so once done we had lunch, then I jumped into the pool to cool off a bit! The afternoon itinerary involved a boat trip out on the river which I was very tempted to miss so I could catch up on some bookings ready for Rio Carnival, but my passengers persuaded me otherwise so along I went for a spot of piranha fishing. It was lovely but the bugs decided I tasted really good today so I was soon regretting my decision as Deet bug spray just wasn’t doing its job properly! It’s official, there is only one brand of bug spray which actually works for me and I can only get it in Peru. I soon forgot to feel sorry for myself though, as the guides threw the caught piranhas into the river to encourage a kingfisher, black collared hawk and a cocuy heron to some down and catch them – I got some awesome photos as a result!
When we got back I wandered down the track to get some photos of the sunset and spotted the cowboys practicing their roping on the bullocks, in preparation for rodeos, so I sat and watched them for a while. It just made me want to get on a horse and have a go! The evening involved our usual barbeque and party which was good fun as always. This night is a little dependent on the group we have, and on this occasion it involved spotting a lasso and roping each other!!
We had a morning wildlife safari tour, where we saw… a giant anteater! I swear my passengers just think that they are common place now, yet this is only the second time I have seen them properly (as in, not two fields away). We then had the heads up that there had been a jaguar spotting elsewhere on the ranch, so high-tailed it to the other side of the farm. Sadly the jaguar was long gone, but we continued our safari and saw a tagu lizard, caiman lizard, burrowing owls and more caiman and capybaras amongst a lot of bird life.
After lunch we hit the road, stopping briefly in Miranda to go cook group shopping ready for the long 2.5 day drive to the coast. We made good time, arriving at the Costa del Service Station around 7.30pm. It’s not glamorous but we really have no choice on this leg and at least it is free!
We were back on the road at 5am and headed towards Brotas, stopping en route for breakfast. We made really good time, arriving in Brotas for a late lunch just after 2pm. This was great as it meant I could show John the town, and where different hardwear stores can be found. We managed to get some basic essentials, including a solder iron to finish fixing the exhaust brake issue, before I showed him the Cachaca museum. It’s a great little shop. You can try all different flavours of cachaca, cheeses, salamis and proper coffee, so we did and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! We then headed back to Yana – I fixed some stools, while John did some soldering, both finishing in time for dinner.
I got co-driver Lou sorted with full instructions to take the pax to Iguazu Falls, and where to take them on arrival. Two pax had forgotten or lost their reciprocity fee (necessary for Australians and Canadians) in order to get inot Argentina. Considering they came form there last night I did find this slightly exasperating!! Anyway, we spoke nicely to the bus driver and managed to smuggle them both across so they could see the falls.
I headed to the workshop to see if I could get Yana's new computer module fitted. There were another couple of small jobs and general maintenance to be done, but the computer was the big job. They got to work and I crossed my fingers. By siesta time most of teh small job had been done, but her new computer wasn't playing ball. Apparently it is programmed for a truck with a key containing a chip - Yana doesn't have a chip. This was causing any number of complications. I got to the point where I asked them to re-instal the old module because at least she would start with that, but not any more. The module simply blocked the programming and she refused to start with that too. By the end of the day I had a truck with more issues than she had gone in with, and there was no guarantee that the mercedes guy would come out and do the work on a Saturday. Not a good finish to the day!
I hitched a lift back in another overland truck belonging to Tucan. There were a few of us around! By the time I got back to the campsite we had two Tucan driver, two Oasis crew, another Oasis crew and truck on site, plus another two Drago trucks. In total,14 crew... and a pool with a bar... and a tough day... plus 100 passengers (more or less!). Needless to say, it was a good night!!
Day 2 in the workshop... Having agreed to head down there with Neill, another Dragoman driver, he forgot there had been a time change and was late. I wasn't complaining about the late start after last night, but I was anxious to see if the Mercedes computer guy was at the workshop, and find out if there was any hope that I may have Yana for the drive on Monday... We got there. He was!! I gave the workshop manager a MASSIVE hug - we were in with a chance of leaving on time.
I busied myself sanding wheel rims and prepping them ready for a respray. The computer guy was playing electrics... I moved onto prepping some of Yana's black bits. The computer guy reached for his phone... it wasn't looking good. Reinfocements arrived in the form of the manager of Mercedes... It was midday and the workshop was supposed to be closing. The manager of So Diesel told me there were BIG problems with programming the new computer to Yana. I started looking for other transport to get my pax to Bonito - a mere 15 hour drive day with bad public transport. It really WASN'T looking good!!
A quote of $1000 USD and alternatives of sharing my pax between three other trucks, plus four on public transport later, and a miracle happened. She started... I was practically jumping up and down in excitement. Unitl they told me they may still need to send the module and the key away for four days to be programmed... fortunately it wasn't necessary. They worked for another two hours, I was fed barbequed lamb by the workshop lads, and finally she was good to go. I was so happy!! And relieved!
Returning to the campsite, I found a hugely excited group of passengers, absolutely delighted to see Yana and relieved that they wouldn't have to be hitching lifts between other trucks. It's lovely when they appreciate the effort you've gone to!
We celebrated that evening with an all you can eat buffet and traditional dance show - it was great fun, and the food was awesome. A good taster for carnival!
The ultimate recovery day!! A massive lie-in (unheard of recently), a bite of breakfast and then into town with teh group to do a spot of food shopping ready for tomorrows drive day. On return we checked to see if Yana' diff lock was working (its not) and tested her shocks (they are working) - by this point it was registering 33.5 degrees on her thermometer, so we topped up teh drinking water and then heading for the pool for a siesta... admittedly it has bene a very long siesta, and included a quick skpe home to catch up with the folks. Seeing as I haven't done that since... Cuenca in Ecaudor, it was long over due! Gotta love Brazil (when we don't have tropical storms anyway, and even they are quite good fun).
Early start and a long drive (full on 15 hours) to Bonito tomorrow, and a land of no wifi... not to worry. Batteries are now fully recharged, work is fully caught up and Yana's computer is fully functioning again. Happy Days!!!
We left Ushuaia at 6.30am and it was snowing! Making our way in the dark over the mountain pass, snow was settling across the road and getting heavier. I was a little concerned that it may get worse, but we persevered and soon dropped down to lower levels where not only did it stop snowing, but it wasn’t raining either. We cracked on the Rio Grande where we stopped to do some cook group shopping for three meals, two with no fresh produce as a result of having to cross in to Chile. Options were limited, but they managed. Lou and I topped up diesel while the passengers were shopping to save some time. Less than an hour later we were back on the road, heading to the first of our border crossings.
We passed out of Argentina without difficulty, stopping for lunch before tackling the Chilean border. The pax made a sausage, pasta and tomato soup which was very tasty, filling and great to warm up a bit. This border took us a bit longer as having managed to get everything stamped we needed to unload and scan our bags. For the first time we had a sniffer dog on the truck, who unfortunately discovered an apple core and banana peel in the recycling bin, buried under flat packed bottles. Fortunately we got away without a fine, but it’s not a great way to keep officials happy! We also managed to successfully smuggle a locker full of firewood across the border - not saying anything abou tthat one!
Scarpering as quickly as we could we drove for another couple of hours before reaching the ferry crossing, back across the Magellan strait. They are so efficient! Literally, the last vehicle boards and it leaves, no waiting. Very un-South American but great for us. We didn’t see any dolphins this time, but it is a lovely crossing. On reaching the shore, it was a half hour drive to the next border crossing. Unfortunately Rachel and Neill just beat us to it and we had to wait for their truck to go through immigration before they would even start to stamp our guys out of the country. The officials were lovely though, and all of them flirted with us – immigration, aduana and customs. They were very friendly, played music and were generally very friendly for immigration officials.
We headed ten minutes down the road to our bush camp to find that any spots with shelter had been taken by the other truck. The site is next to a volcano crater, and it is beautiful, but the wind was picking up. I also have a couple of ‘glampers’ on the truck who aren’t big on camping. We were an hour from the next town, so despite being 7.50pm the decision was made to continue and see if we could find a hostel in Rio Gallagos on a Friday night. Not the easiest mission, but after a bit of running around we found one hotel to sleep 16 passengers, and then another hotel half a block away had a suite for $2 more per person with a matrimonial and twin room – done!! I despatched everyone to get their own dinner and to make sure they got lunch for the following day, before heading for dinner with Lou, Roland and Lynn to find some food ourselves. It was nearly midnight before we got to bed but it was nice to be in a heated room and out of the wind – temperatures dropped below freezing overnight so it was a good call!
Having saved an hour yesterday evening, we had a relative lie-in, getting up at 7am. Lynn and Roland had already gone down to breakfast, so leaving Lou to get ready I made my way down and was mildly surprised to find that they weren’t in the breakfast room. Assuming that they had gone to Yana, I settled down for breakfast and to do a quick check on my emails, before heading back to the room to grab my bags. Lynn knocked on the door – it turned out that they had been ushered in to a different room with the ‘Saga group’ for their breakfast, rather than the usual breakfast room which we all found hilarious!
Hitting the road at 8am (and still not admitting how much nicer our hotel room had been… we stopped for diesel before starting the days drive to El Chalten. We made really good time, found a lovely hotel and restaurant for lunch, before heading towards the town. The weather was fantastic on our approach, with clear views of Cerro Fitz Roy for the entire drive. The views were spectacular as we approached the mountains, but even travelling through the bleak Patagonian Steppe there is a something very endearing about seeing the odd herd of guanaco and flocks of rhea (usually doing runner from Yana with their little white under-feathers flapping like petticoats). Drivers out here are also very friendly, probably as a result of there being so much time between seeing other vehicles. They all flash their lights and wave.
Arriving at the campsite the temperature still hadn’t risen above 2.5 degrees all day and everyone promptly opted for dorms and cabinas for some extra warmth against the elements. Not a bad idea, as the weather is set to change over the next couple of days, which is a real shame but we have been incredibly lucky to this point.
Lou was not on top form today, so I left her chilling in the cabina and ran around sorting out cook groups, and booking activities for the next couple of days, and finding route maps for the park. For some reason it seemed to take forever, but finally we were sorted, ATM had been located and we settled in the communal kitchen for dinner and some wine. Booking some horse riding for passengers and myself I found myself ushered into the very lovely house of Adrian, the owner or the campsite, and being offered an aperitif made from a local berry. It was like Christmas in a bottle, really lovely and not too alcoholic tasting which means it’s probably lethal! With a roaring open log fire it was tempting to stay longer, but I didn’t want to intrude. If my conversational Spanish was better then I think it may have been more difficult to drag myself away!
I got up early, planning to walk out to Laguna Torres. Some of the group came with me, but after a fair amount of faffing I gave up waiting and in the end it was only four of us heading into the mountains, with a slower group opting to take a different route. Debbie ‘Oh!’, Emma ‘Captain’, and Andrea ‘The Viking’ made up our small posse. The views were stunning, although we changed our plans as there was a cloud sat right above the lake we were heading for. Diverting, we headed east towards views of Fitz Roy which amazing came out to play. Encourage by the good visibility we kept going and headed to Tres Lagoas, tackling a short but steep climb to get incredible views of Cerro Fitz Roy. During the walk back to camp the views of the mountains and autumn colours were absolutely incredible, and the weather was perfect!
I had an easier day today! I spent the morning giving Yana a well-deserved clean and weekly check, spotting that one of her shocks was leaking slightly. Not a problem, but something to keep an eye on. During the afternoon I went horse riding with two pax – Mark and Johanna. I wasn’t entirely convinced by the riding. My horse was incredibly lazy (which I hate!) but the scenery was beautiful. On the return trip we did do a fair bit of cantering, although unfortunately two people fell off one of whom was Johanna, although fortunately neither were hurt.
We ventured into town that evening and discovered a wine bar, complete with two Oasis overland crew, Kate and Kyle, and some of their passengers. Of course this resulted in some more drinks – happy days!
Ice climbing on the Viedma glacier! This was absolutely awesome!! I was rubbish on the glacier trekking though, evidently I’m just not heavy enough on my feet to walk safely on very compact ice. Basically, the bluer the ice the more compact it is, and the viedma glacier has a lot of deep blue streaks through it. Having walked on glaciers more than once in my time, and having used crampons a few times, I found it mildly disconcerting to be walking along the top of a crevasse without feeling my crampons were truly working as they should! I was much more comfortable when confronted with an ice wall and handed some ice axes. The climbing was fantastic, especially when we got to abseil down into a crevasse and climb our way back out. We finished the day with a celebratory alcoholic drink over glacier ice – yummy! The guides were great fun – a bit serious at the start of the day but they started having a laugh with us as the day went on, especially as they got good at being ready to catch me at the bottom of every slope as I was being seriously special at going down!!
We had a Patagonian lamb barbeque for dinner, prepared by Adrian, which was delicious! He just kept bringing it up to us until we couldn’t manage any more. It was so good! Adrian then told us about a music evening across the road from the campsite, so we headed over to find nothing very much happening. As I had a four day drive starting the next day I decided to head to bed – it turned out the music didn’t even start until 1am!!
We left early, I was very sad to leave El Chalten as it is a great place. Although it has been built solely for tourism, it didn’t have the same touristy feel to it as El Calafate. This is definitely a place I would like to return to.
We made good time, simply cracking on and stopping en route for breakfast and lunch. We made it to the Cave of hands late afternoon, perfect timing! We took a tour – the cave of hands is actually a rock wall with numerous hand prints dating back centuries. They are all different colours, taken from natural sources like berries, the earth, leaves and flowers, and were fixed using a mix of guanaco fat and urine. Really interesting to see, some of the colours are still very vivid. Making our way back to the main road, we took a different route which dropped down into a stunning canyon with a very undulating road!
Continuing, we reached the town of Perito Moreno and found the municipal campsite for our overnight stop. Dropping off our pax and camping equipment, Lou and myself headed into town with Yana to refuel.
Mum and I were up and away to the airport at 6am - holidays were beckoning! We arrived at the Galapagos at 1pm, met our guide and were escorted to our boat for lunch. The boat, the Yate Darwin, can hold 16 passengers but we only had a total of 8, and two of them didn't join us until the evening so it was a really lovely little group. Everyone was really friendly too.
Before we had even left the bay we had spotted a large pod of dolphins who gave us an escort towards the open waters. Stopping at a sand bar, we were taken out in a dingy where we were met by dozens of sea lions, all lying along the beach or swimming in the sea. Just walking along it was possible to get to within a few feet of them, unbelievable!! I also got my first introduction to marine iguanas, completely black they like to position themselves over a rock and do nothing for the entire day. They feed in the morning they sunbath - what a life!
Having thoroughly explored the sand bar, I put on my wet suit and snorkel and hit the waters. I was happily minding my own business when suddenly a sea lion appeared beside me - bit of a shock as they are pretty big and I had this whiskery face coming and peering at me! It wasn't long before the family had joined in and I found myself surrounded by mum, dad and pups - the pups having a great time dive bombing me and generally playing. It was incredible! Back on shore the pups came to be nosey. They are so confident, one of them actually went up to another lass on the trip and put his flipper on her leg! It was an amazing way to start the trip!
We headed back to the Darwin and around to the canal between Santa Cruz and Baltra for the crew to restock the boat and our last passengers to join us. Mum enjoyed herself spotting pelicans feeding, and I got chatted up by a member of crew from another boat, trying to convince me to go and join them! Entertaining for 10 minutes! We had our dinner and were advised to go to sleep before we hit the open water where it was likely to be a rough crossing, as this helps to avoid sea sickness. Thankfully I have the stomach of a concrete elephant in these conditions, so I ended up staying up and chatting to crew as everyone else had disappeared to bed by 8.30pm!
Okay, so there are lots of boobies in the Galapagos, and for those of you who aren't familiar with it, they are not on womens chests, but a species of bird. There are three species - the Nazca, blue-footed and red-footed boobies.
After a night crossing over open water where I needed to jam my hand down the side of the mattress to stop myself rolling out of the bunk, we headed onto the island of San Cristobal. Landing on a beach with more sea lions and marine iguanas, we started to make our way inland up a steep and rocky path. Mum took her time and needed her inhaler but she got there!! It was worth the climb and we got to see some nesting red-footed boobies at close proximity.
Heading back down to the beach, we had time to do a bit more snorkelling and playing with sea lions. I saw a manta ray, plus numerous variety of brightly coloured fish which I have no idea what they are called!
Back on the boat after lunch I discovered a quiet spot at the front of the boat, away from the sun loungers and other passengers. As lovely as they are, it is a bit of a treat not having to look after anyone else and not having to socialise! I was enjoying the sun, the view and had a chat with the odd member of crew who passed. It was lovely!
We headed to another beach that afternoon, mum opting to stay on the boat as she had fallen asleep in the sun and managed to get a bit of sunburn. There was no shade on the beach so she made the right choice, and the boat really isn't such a shabby place to stay! The beach was cool though - more iguanas, sea lions and Galapagos crabs, plus I spotted sea turtle nests and a blue-footed booby diving for fish. I tried a bit of snorkelling, but the water was a bit too cloudy and visibility was really poor. Not a problem, we'd had good snorkelling up to this point and teh beach was beautiful!
After dinner I headed back to the front of the boat as the stars were out and as there is no light pollution they looked amazing! A couple of the crew found me - golden rule: Always make friends with the crew. Before I knew it they were sharing a bottle of red wine with me and having a chat. Happy days!
After a good nights sleep (always!) the Yate Darwin headed over to Kicker Rock, where we prepared to go snorkelling. We saw another pod of dolphins, again so close it was fantastic! Sadly they didn't hang around long enough for us to go swimming with them, so we headed back to the rock and instead found ourselves swimming with sea turtles, Galapagos sharks and eagles rays which have amazing leopard spot markings, absoutely beautiful. It was really great to get so close to them, and all along the rock there are different corals and types of fish, and the odd random sea lion for good measure!
We got back onto the boat and headed to Sea Lion island, which ironically had fewer sea lions than we had seen anywhere to this point! Again, we were back in the water for our last snorkelling session, and this time we spotted the marine iguanas under the water swimming and feeding. It looks so wrong to see them under the water! We enjoyed our last swim with the sea lions, before geting back on the boat for an early lunch.
to allow us time to digest our food before hitting the open sea from San Cristobal to Santa Cruz, our guide took us on to sea lion island where we saw blue-footed boobies nesting. They are so relaxed, they just aren't bothered by people at all. We walked around the island, spotting a Galapagos snake, and a family of iguanas and more pelicans. We also saw the superior frigate bird with his red neck bloated - show off!
Back on the boat we headed to Santa Cruz and the sea got quite rough, and mum did her impression of a ball in a pinball machine, ending up on the engineers knee. Any excuse!! The captain came and sat her down on a chair so she couldn't get herself into any more trouble!
We arrived at the island just before 8pm, and it was finally calm enough for us to eat dinner without plates sliding off the table! We headed into the town of Puerto Ayura to stretch our legs after dinner, and to have drink, before heading back to the boat.
We were up early in order to have breakfast before heading out to the Charles Darwin Centre to see the breeding program for the giant tortoises. It is a good scheme and it has really helped to stabilise tortoise numbers on the Galapagos - the first of the species is now stable enough that they have been able to discontinue the breeding program as numbers are successfully increasing in the wild. Great news!
We were then collected by a taxi and taken to the boat crossing from Santa Cruz to Baltra, which was an enjoyable little trip, before the bus to the airport. Arriving at the airport we had some time to kill, so I checked us in and grabbed a hideously over-priced coffee which we enjoyed whilst sat in the sun outside. While we were doing so a large land iguana came strolling past... not sure if he was planning on catching a flight, but it's the first time I've ever seen wildlife in an airport before!
We eventually arrived back in Quito, after a brief stop over in Guayaquil. An hour back to the hotel and we discovered that Tom was still there!! Great news, so I left him a message and as soon as he was back from the truck park he came to find us. I had a bottle of champagne that needed drinking, so we opened it for a final evening drink together. Good job I had it as you can't buy alcohol in Ecuador on a Sunday! Mum then took us both out for dinner which was a nice treat for our final evening.
Mum and I found Tom, and we headed off for breakfast - back to the Magic Bean, or the Monkey Nut as mum renamed it! Mum said her goodbyes to Tom as he was heading off to the truck park to spend some quality time with Yana. Mum and I jumped in a cab and headed off to the cable car which goes up Pichincha Volcano from where you get amazing views over Quito. The weather was good too.
Heading back to the hotel, I moved my bags across to Tom's room (keeps costs down to share!) and then joined mum on the trip to the airport to make sure she got checked in, had a coffee and waved her off. I was sad to see her go, it's been lovely having her around for the last month! We had a lot of fun.
On my way back to the hotel I stopped at the hospital to see my friend Steve, who is in with a badly broken leg. As the food there is terrible I got him a Big Mac, only to discover they were taking him inot surgery that evening and he wasn't allowed to eat! Poor guy, I just added to the torture!
There is no easy way to describe just how nice it is to wake up in a cloud forest, with jungle outside the window and the sounds of different birds and wildlife all around. It's fantastic! And peaceful... I love it at Mark and Sue's and feel very lucky to have been invited back to stay for a few days.
I got up and gave Sue a hand to get things sorted as they have a Tucan truck arriving from the jungle at some point today - typically even when I'm not working it seems impossible to escape from the day job completely! Mark also showed me some wildlife films he has been putting togther, and the filming on them is actually very good! It's worth having a watch - here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/user/biodiversityshorts They are worth a subscription!
Having managed to get everything sorted we took the dogs, Tasha and Pinga, for a walk down into Rio Verde and to get some empanadas for lunch. We contuned the walk after lunch and within 5 minutes we managed to lose Tasha who had managed to get distracted playing with some other dogs and lost sight of us. We split up and I spotted her at the top of the road on her way home - so I sprinted after her but four legs are definitely better than two and seven though I was calling her she just wasn't stopping. This was the point when I realised I really have got to start running again as by the time I reached the main road I was dying inside and I had only been going for about 5 minutes! Anyway, Tasha was gone, so I headed back to collect Sue and we returned with Pinga, reching the gate just as Mark was leaving in the jeep to find out if we were okay, Tasha safely beside him. Panic over!
The Tucan truck arrived late afternoon, the driver being Jono who used to work for Dragoman, and Ninca was leading. I'd never met Ninca before but she seems really nice, which is typical for crew on the road.
I had my first proper lie-in since finishing my contract - heaven! Although I woke up at 6.30am I finally dragged myself out of bed at 9am which was fantastic. Sue and I headed into town in the morning, and I went for a massage to try and loosen up my shoulders. Months of driving Yana and her tricky gearbox has left it's legacy and this was a follow up treat to a massage I had in the same place a couple of weeks ago. It's a novelty to be able to stretch again!
We headed back for a bite to lunch, before setting off to Rio Verde with the two Tucan drivers, Jono and Ninca, to watch the World Cup. Sue is Brazilian and Brazil were playing. South Americans LOVE their football so needless to say she was quite excited! We went to a small restaurant run by a Venezuelan family, who lost everything they owned a few months ago in a flooding on the coast. Not wanting to stay by the coast they relocated and ended up in Rio Verde, with the support from the community. They are a lovely family, and it was great as more of the Tucan group came to join us, and had lunch and drinks so helping to support the family. Brazil won - Sue was ecstatic! We celebrated with banana and chocolate empandadas on the way home - so good!!
After another lazy morning in Pequeno Parasio (I dragged myself out of bed at 9am for the second day in a row), I decided it was about time that I actually started making tracks or I may never leave. I was lovely spending some time with friends, without having to look after a truck load of passengers, but I have more things to see and only a limited time in which to do it.
Mark kindly gave me a lift into Banos in the afternoon, and I caught a bus to Riobamba. The trip didn't take long. As soon as I got in I jumped in a cab to my hotel (only a dollar! Got to love prices out here) and then made my way to an agency to discuss mountain climbing options.
Basically I now have a date with Chimborazo, an inactive volcano and the highest mountain in Ecuador, standing at 6,268m. Big enough to command serious respect and this will be my first attempt at a peak standing over 6,000m. Interstingly, due to the curvature of the Earth the summit of Chimborazo is further from the Earth's core than if I were to stand on the top of Everest - and it costs a fraction of the price to attempt it and doesn't need supplementary oxygen. So many bonuses! I can't wait! Bring on Monday! I will keep you all posted.
Okay, so this has to span two days as I spent the night up a mountain! I had planned on an easy day, doing as little as possible except eating and trying to sleep in the afternoon (impossible after a morning of doing nothing!) in order to be fully rested for the overnight summit attempt. However, I received news from home that my brother was in hospital having a life-saving operation having suffered a perforated bowel!! I still did as little as possible, but made sure I was in close contact with the interent for any updates, and he very thankfully received the all-clear before I was due to start climbing, so I was good to go.
At 8pm I met my guide at the agency office and we headed up to the starting point, the refugia at 4,800m. The summit is actually 6,310m (the mountain has a false summit of 6,268m - my bad!). It is snow-capped so in order to climb it in relative safely it needs to be climbed overnight. If sun hits the snow then it can soften and there is a higher risk of avalanche, and needless to say, at that altitude at night everything freezes... normally. However, on this occasion we were greeted by a snow storm and by 5,400m we were trudging our way up a very steep slope with 18 inches of soft powder snow which was settled on hard ice - classic avalanche conditions. The snow combined with a lack of oxygen is hard work to contend with - at 5,000m there is half the anount of oxygen that you get at sea level, and the air only continues to get thinner. Combined with a severe risk of avalanche and deteriorating weather conditions my guide, Alberto, plus two other guides on the mountain that night, made the wise decision to turn back. A summit isn't worth dying for and the mountain isn't going anywhere. None the less my body's ability to cope with a lack of oxygen never ceases to amaze me. Technically I should be like superwoman at sea level as I was feeling good at 5,400m in spite of the deep snow, but somehow it never quite seems to work out like that!
Surprisingly I did have a second guide with me for my summit attempt - a hairy scruffy white dog, imaginatively nicknamed 'Mountain Dog'. She was fantastic - except when she would stop in the track in front of me to have some fuss and I couldn't get around her. What she is doing living in a refugia at 4,800m and helping hapless tourists go trekking to the summit every night I'm not quite sure, but she was great to have along for the trip!
We returned to the refugia. With myself and my guide, plus two other groups there were nine people in total, and only four mattresses to share, so we wriggled into our sleeping bags and didn't have any choice but to huddle for warmth - I wasn't complaining. It was seriously cold! Patagonia and the Bolivian altiplano had nothing on this night in the middle of a snow storm. The refugia really wasn't that weather proof either - by morning we had a number of small piles of snow inside the refugia! The vehicle that was supposed to be collecting us also couldn't get through the snow to the refugia so we had to walk for half an hour down the dirt track to find it.
Back in Riobamab earlier than expected I decided to forego sleeping and another night in Riobamba, instead (after a quick shower) jumping on a bus and heading to the warmer coastal climate of Guayaquil. I've never been to Guayaquil, so as soon as I arrived I had a quick explore as this is the only chance I am going to get. My hotel was central to the city, the largest in Ecuador. Heading to the Malecon 2000, a 2.5Km boardwalk situated along the Guayas river, I enjoyed the views and exploring until it got dark. By this time I was really tired, having not had the best nights sleep on the mountain, so grabbed some dinner and headed to bed.
I'd set my alarm for early... I changed my mind when it went off!! The last two days had cuaght up with me a little bit, and as I had all day I made the decision to catch a later bus to Puerto Lopez, further up the Ecuadorian coast line.
A couple of hours later I got myself into gear, feeling much more energetic, grabbed some breakfast and headed to the bus station. It is a four hour drive to Puerto Lopez, and apart from having to swat an elderly gentleman who kept trying to put his hand on my leg, it was an uneventful journey. I didn't have anywhere to stay when I got to my destination, but managed to find a useful 'fixer' called Alejandro who was able to recommend a hostal, flag down a tuk tuk and recommend a sort out a company to go humpback whale spotting tomorrow, which is the reason I'm here at all. He saved me a lot of work!!
I headed one whole block down to the sea front to find some food - as it's coastal I made the most of the ceviche. The beach here is lovely and I spent the afternoon drinking a beer on a hut on the beach with some locals whilst watching Argentina make the finals of the world cup on a TV with terrible reception - it had a habit of cutting out every time something interesting was happening which was hilarious. After the match I wandered down the beach enjoying the sunset and kicking myself for leaving my camera in the hostal! Not to worry, I'm here for another evening so I'll get some photos then.
After finding myself a typically South American breakfast (should have taken half an hour, took an hour) I set off whale watching. Just before boarding the boat the fisherman were all at work on the shores of the beach, bringing in their catch. It was a hive of activity, carrying in the fish, pacing them with ice and with frigate birds, boobies, herons and pelicans all congregating in hope of an extra morsel and free breakfast. One of the fish that was brought in was easily more than 3m long - impressive to see, and they didn't waste any time in dividing it up with a machete, right there on the beach!
We set out on the boat, and within 5 minutes of leaving the port we spotted a humpback in the distance - result! I was already happy, but it just got better. We managed to see half a dozen different humpbacks throughout the morning, literally swimming and blowing right next to the boat. They were huge! It was an amazing morning. I was incredibly lucky - I was sat on the roof of the boat, and then one of the crew gave me the chance to sit at the bow of the boat because he'd seen my camera and wanted to give me the chance to get a good photo. It was an amazing spot, and I didn't need to dodge any heads, arms or other cameras being waved around for the whole trip - loved that guy! I got to stay there even after everyone else had been asked to get down from the roof, happy days!
We then got a chance to go snorkelling - there wasn't much to see but it was nice having a swim in such clear waters, until I got stung by a jelly fish! Fortunately it was tiny and didn't really hurt, it just tingled a lot! When it happened again I decided that was enough, and clambered back onto the boat. Heading back to shore we passed a cliff with hunderds of blue-footed boobies, herons and pelicans. We were lucky enough to see a humpback jumping in the distance - amazing to see! And we also saw a whole flock of blue-footed boobies diving at the same time, that was impressive to see although my camera battery died so I couldn't get a photo of it. That will teach me for not charging it before I go out!
Back in Puerto Lopez I bumped into some locals who had been watching the footie yesterday, and they offered to take me to a local beach 5Km away, Fiscali beach. I decided to do it, why not? And next thing I knew I was being given a lesson (in Spanish) on how to drive a motorbike. Having never driven one before I was slightly concerned that it could all end in disaster, but Luis sat behind me in order to correct me if I was getting too wayward! It was fun, and the beach was lovely - no jelly fish here!
I left Puerto Lopez early, catching a bus back to Guayaquil. From there I found an international bus to take me across the border to Peru – a mere 6 hour journey which turned out to be longer as the driver took an unexpected half hour break, typical of South America! Immigration all went smoothly and I am left with just enough space in my passport for the exit stamp from Peru, perfect! It was fun and games in Tumbes with dodgy moto-taxi drivers and finding the right bus, but eventually I found a collectivo which was going in the right direction for 20 soles, not 150 soles as one driver was trying to have me believe! I finally reached Waltako (the driver having overshot it despite saying he knew where it was) just after 11pm to find Daniel, the barman, the only person on site as Vanessa and Rodrigo had travelled to Guayaquil to collect a friend and were returning the next day. Daniel speaks no English at all so my Spanish was put to the test while we enjoyed a beer before I crashed out. Traveling on local buses is definitely more hassle than having a truck, especially where connections are concerned.
I did nothing, absolutely nothing, all day. Except get up early, lie in a hammock, go for a swim and then take photos of the sunset. It was amazing, mainly because I never do nothing. Vanessa and Rodrigo returned with their friend, Bernina, so we all had a chat and a catch up.
I had another day doing nothing – mainly because I discovered that I am actually quite tired! All this mountaineering, then dashing around whale spotting has worn me out! Vanessa mentioned that a Drago truck was coming through that evening, with Vikki and Julie, so I did join her and Bernina to Cancas and the local market to help buy food for dinner, just to have do something more constructive than lying in a hammock! It was great to see Julie and Vikki and have a catch up. My intention was to hit the road the following day, but Julie mentioned they were heading to El Nuro, a pier the opposite side of Mancora, to go swimming with the sea turtles. I heard about this the last time we travelled through, but too late to arrange a trip there so I decided to hang on for another day and see if it was any good.
A leisurely start and we headed down past Mancora to El Nuro for a spot of sea turtle spotting. We spotted quite a few from the pier, then I joined the passengers and Julie in the water to go for a swim with them. A small amount of luck is required to get a good spot when you are in the water, especially as we didn’t have any snorkels with us, but I got lucky. Turning around I discovered a large turtle just sticking his head up for air right beside me, less than a foot away. As he then went back under so he swam underneath me, brushing my feet on the way. Another two turtles came close for a good spotting opportunity too. For 5 soles (less than 2 dollars) it was definitely worth the trip. Heading back to Mancora, we stopped for lunch and had an hour in town so I quickly changed some money and booked my bus ticket to Huaraz for tomorrow. Enough of this lazing around, time to see some mountains again! We got back to Waltako and Julie, Vikki and I enjoyed a few cuba libres whilst watching the sunset. Vikki then got the group doing some team building exercises before we had a few too many drinks – typical of a crew get-together but not a problem when there is no driving the next day.
Amazingly I didn’t have a hangover, but I did get up late! I went for swim, and did a bit more relaxing in a hammock, before packing my bags and saying goodbye to the girls, ready to get the taxi to Mancora to catch the bus. I got to Mancora for 5pm as requested, waited for an hour for the bus (South American time!) then made myself comfortable for the long overnight journey to Cazma from where I needed to find a connection to Huaraz.
The bus arrived in Cazma at 7am, just after it had got light. Good timing as far as I was concerned. It wasn’t a problem to find transport to Huaraz though – I literally stepped off the bus and a local car transport company approached me. For 30 soles they would take me the 3 hour drive – perfect. I met an English guy also heading for Huaraz, so we both jumped into the car with two Peruvians. The drive up there was absolutely beautiful, especially from back in the day when Drago used to run trips there, so I headed to Jo’s Place, to discover a Tucan truck already installed and resident – it was Jono and Ninke who I had seen at Rio Verde. The manager, Vicky, offered me a room share with Jono, who was trekking at the time, as it was the only free bed in the place. I was cool with that, but I didn’t want to assume that he would be so I stored my bags until his return when I could ask him. I asked Vicky about the Santa Cruz trek, a four day trek supposedly with stunning views along the Santa Cruz river. A phone call later and I was booked onto the trip for the next morning – easy! Ninke was still at the hostel, so we arranged to meet for lunch, and I sorted out some boring tasks like a bus ticket to Lima for the evening I get back from the trek and sun cream. Ninke and I enjoyed lunch at Chili Heaven which was the best curry I have had for a long time, and then enjoyed a few passion fruit sours to wash it down. I stopped after four – I am trekking tomorrow after all! Jono returned and was happy for me to room share so I sorted my bags, joined him and Ninke for dinner and still didn’t manage to get an early night, in spite of my best intentions.
I was up early, packed and ready to set off on my four day Santa Cruz trek, which follows the Santa Cruz river through the Andes. There were a few other people on the mini bus when I was collected and they were a fairly subdued bunch until we got to breakfast. A coffee and some food later, everyone woke up and started chatting. It was a lovely groups with four other solo travellers - two were students, one Korean guy and a German lass who is doing an internship in Chiclayo (poor lass!). There was also a really lovely American couple travelling together. Our guide, Daniel, finished the group.
There were the usual delays at the start of the trek, while the mules were selected and loaded, before we set off up a steady ascent through a dramatic valley. It was a stunning start to the trek and the perfect ice breaker as we all chatted and got to know each other. The trek to camp took all afternoon, but we made good time and actually beat our mules to camp!
We had an early start - up at 5am. My new tent wife for the trip is a lass called Kristie, who turned out to be hilarious as she was unaccustomed to camping. A few hints and tips, she quickly cottoned on and was a pro by morning. We started trekking after breakfast and headed on up through the valley and a noticeably changeable landscape. A barren mountain camp, to sandy valleys and then a beautiful lake, cloud forest and hummingbirds, before heading higher for some stunning views, including a view of the Paramount film mountain! We eventually reached a glacial lake of a stunning turquoise blue, the glacier running down into the lake and ice bergs dispersed across the lake. It was beautiful, and the only place I have seen such a landscape outside of Patagonia. From there we headed to our camp - this time our mules had arrived before we did. It was a cold night - this was our highest camp and the most exposed but it still wasn’t bad and certainly was a to warmer than my night on Chimborazo so I wasn’t complaining!
Today was our ascent to the high pass at 4,750m. It was a steady ascent up the mountain and we were lucky for the most part with the weather, although it did start snowing at the top of the pass and that was the end of any photos! not to worry, we didn’t hang around for everyone to reach the pass together as it was quite exposed up there, so we walked for 15 minutes down the other side until we found a good spot to rest and wait, and it stopped snowing so we got to enjoy the views as well. The group reconvened and we headed on down the valley. It was easy walking and we bumped into a solo trekker who is from America but works as a lecturer in Lima. He has escaped the city chaos and come up to enjoy the mountains for his summer holidays, and we ended up offering him a lift back to Huaraz the following day so he became an honorary member of the group. It was another beautiful campsite and my last night in the Andes - a sad thought although I’m sure I’ll be back.
We had a half day walk down the valley, and through a small Quechuan village where they were busy farming the fields and harvesting their crops. There were large piles of corn stored in their houses, incredibly dirty small children running around asking for biscuits, and the usual congregation of dogs, sheep, pigs and cattle mingling together or wandering up the track. All of the families were really welcoming and they all greeted us as we wandered through their village.
We reached our collection point and enjoyed some chocho for lunch - this is a lupin ceviche and it’s delicious! Boarding the minibus we settled down for the long journey back to Huaraz. The views were incredible all the way back, and convinced me that this is an area which is definitely worth coming back to spend some more time in.
Arriving back at the hostel, I jumped in the shower, repacked my bags and grabbed a bite to eat, before heading to the bus station to get my overnight bus to Lima. I had treated myself to first class for the first time ever - but that was because it was only $4 more than standard and a lot more comfortable! Definitely worth the extra money for the chance to sleep.
I arrived in Lima at 5am and managed to get a taxi to the hotel who unfortunately hadn’t received my email but who fortunately had room for me! I fell into bed until 9am, even though I had slept reasonably well on the bus. Finally getting up, I dragged myself to the laundrette to sort out my trekking gear which, I’ll be honest, didn’t smell great, and also to get my down jacket a well overdue clean too. I printed my flight details and then managed to catch up with a friend who I met last year in North Peru but who lives in Lima. Went went for a drink and dinner, pretty cool as it meant I actually got a chance to see a different part of Lima. It was by the coast, but further south than Miraflores in an area known as Baranco and there were lots of really lovely little bars and restaurants, with great views of the coastline. I always say you can rely on the locals to find the best places!
Heading home! I had to be at the airport for 7am, so started my 14 hours of flying back to England, via Madrid. Much more reasonable than my trip out to South America which took more than 20 hours! That’s all I’m saying on the matter, except that it was very cool to see mum and a very excited small scruffy terrier at the other end!
Oh yes, I have my next contract lined up from the start of May 2015, and it’s a cracker. Collecting the truck from Debenham HQ I have to transit it through Europe to Istanbul, before collecting my passengers and heading east to Beijing. I then do the return trip, before heading South to Eygpt and working my way down the Nile to Ethiopia, the Ethiopia loop, the gorilla loop and then down to Cape Town. In a word… AWESOME!! I flipping love my job :)
Sam ran me into Ipswich so I could sort out my International Drivers Permit - the guy behind the counter found himself having a conversation about police bribes, small children in the boot of a taxi (not even joking, it happened in Cusco!) and earned himself a number of odd looks from his colleagues who could only hear his side of the conversation… All in a days work for us!
Off to Nepal! Sam (my new operations manager) ran me from the Barns to the train station for 8am and I commenced the usual long-winded travel which seems to be standard in this job! As can happen , the best laid plans didn’t quite run smoothly when I arrived at terminal 2 in Heathrow, only to discover there was an error on my booking info and I should have been at terminal 4. Fortunately I had allowed plenty of time, which is just as well as it took me 45 minutes to finally arrive at the right check in desk, but at least I didn’t have to queue to check my bags in - there was an element of swearing involved though!
I gave mum a quick ring before heading through security to get some lunch before boarding the plane. The trip, with Air India, was actually very pleasant and went quickly enough for an 8 hour flight. Arriving at Delhi I had a four hour wait between connecting flights, but it was still quite a novelty. For a start they have his and hers security gates - I didn’t realise and happily skipped my way through the mens security gate, only to be turned around and pointed in the right direction - in my defence, I still had to get my bag scanned on the mens side! Another novelty (and this will sound quite sad) is that they have lots of books hops with English books… I know this is normal for most people but it has been nearly two years since I had such a luxury of being able to waste time in transit looking at english speaking books. It’s the little things in life!
Sam ran me from the Barns to the train station for 8am and I commenced the usual long-winded travel which seems to be standard in this job! As can happen , the best laid plans didn’t quite run smoothly when I arrived at terminal 2 in Heathrow, only to discover there was an error on my booking info and I should have been at terminal 4. Fortunately I had allowed plenty of time, which is just as well as it took me 45 minutes to finally arrive at the right check in desk, but at least I didn’t have to queue to check my bags in - there was an element of swearing involved though!
I gave mum a quick ring before heading through security to get some lunch before boarding the plane. The trip, with Air India, was actually very pleasant and went quickly enough for an 8 hour flight. Arriving at Delhi I had a four hour wait between connecting flights, but it was still quite a novelty. For a start they have his and hers security gates - I didn’t realise and happily skipped my way through the mens security gate, only to be turned around and pointed in the right direction - in my defence, I still had to get my bag scanned on the mens side! Another novelty (and this will sound quite sad) is that they have lots of books hops with English books… I know this is normal for most people but it has been nearly two years since I had such a luxury of being able to waste time in transit looking at english speaking books. It’s the little things in life!
After a good breakfast we headed to Hotel Tibet to sort out the rooming list and to post the welcome letter for our new passengers. We then went down to the workshop to replace a gas bottle and collect Daisy so we could move her to a truck park closer to our new hotel, stopping to get fuel on the way. Raju, our driver, directed which was a big help, not least because we also needed diesel.
I left nick with Daisy as he had a couple of little things he wanted to finish off, and I headed back to Thamel with Raju to grab some lunch and to meet Bishnu who had helped to sort out two oxygen masks and recharge a fire extinguisher. I also needed to settle up for the truck insurance.
Returning to the hotel I did some last minute preparations in the Yeti bar (no Yeti's but a Yeti footprint with signatures from all residents who have summited Everest!). Nick and I met our new group - all four of them! They almost have a private trip! They all seem to be lovely - two Germans from Berlin, a mother and son, and two American sisters from California.
Having got teh necessary paperwork over and done with, we headed to a restaurant which Nick had spotted. It had a really nice atmosphere, and a lot of bamboo decoration! It's early days but teh group already seem to be coming together and they seem to be a lot of fun.
We set off after breakfast, introducing our new pax to Daisy. It was only a half day drive. Nick did the first stint out of Kathmandu, before we swapped and I did the run into Royal Beaach Camp. We missed the turn into the campground and ended traveling for another 10 minutes before we finally found a place big enough to turn Daisy. The road is a stunning winding mountain road, following the river along the valley, but it’s narrow! We eventually found out spot and found the camp which is beautiful! It completely surpassed my expectations, which admittedly are pretty low as then I can’t be disappointed!! It surpassed them by a long way. We got there in time for lunch. One of our pax, Erik, was keen to go white water rafting but didn’t want o go alone, so naturally Nick and I took one for the team and joined him. If it makes his holiday then it is worth it. The rapids were very small, but it was much cooler on the river than it was at camp, there was more of a breeze, and the valley is simply beautiful so it was worth it just as a boat trip, never mind the rafting. We got a chance to jump into the river for a swim, and the emergency kayak came over and told me to hang on to the front. He then proceeded to take me down some rapids while I hung on like a monkey - I did threaten him with bad things if he hit my bum on a rock but he did a great job of avoiding them!
We got back and I disappeared to the pool to stay cool, it was ridiculously hot and humid, but just right in the pool. We were served the god old dahl baht for dinner - it’s a good job it’s so tasty! For whatever resin it’s something you don’t seem to get bored of, mainly because there is so much selection in every meal.
Another half day drive, we headed away from Royal Beach Camp after breakfast, stopping for a break at Narayangard. only to discover that we had a flat rear tyre. Couldn’t feel it at all, and there is nothing obvious to show why it may be flat, it looks like it may just have dropped off the rim. Anyway, I sent the pax off to find toilets and snacks, while Nick and I hit action stations. Nick loosened wheel nuts, whileI set about jacking up Daisy. Reappearing form under the truck I realised we now had a dozen Napelaise men and one Nepalise lady gathered around watching with interest. It didn’t take long!! Anyway, nick got on with getting the spare off the back, where it turned out we didn’t have the right size socket to undo the nuts (only truck I’ve ever know where they are a different size to those not the wheels, not something we had anticipated!!). anyway the little lady dashed off and came back with a guy who had the right sized kit. I worked on taking off wheel nuts, and before I knew it I had a willing assistant - the same little lady dressed in a sari, complete with a cigarette hanging out of the corner of her mouth. Perfect! my pax came back to take photos and feed us drinks, but we were nearly done. Every time I tried to touch anything I had a Nepalise man stepping in to try and do it for me. On one hand it is very touching, on the other sometimes it would just be nice to be able to get on with the job as I’m more than capable, but it’s not the culture out her and thy were already dismayed that I had ever been under the truck doing the jacking and lifting off a tyre which is a lot easier than it looks. Nick was a superstar and kept everything else running smoothly.
Anyway, problem solved we piled back into the truck, the little lady came and gave us a bottel of frozen water to cool us down - so lovely! We headed to Chitwan and the Tharu village of Sauraha. nick only snagged one overhead line on the way out - quite an achievement as there were a lot of low lines. It really doesn’t seem to bother anyone out here and they just wave you on and put it back up so they must be used to it! We had two tolls to go through, both of whom tried to significantly overcharge us and when we questioned them the price miraculously decreased with an apology. It’s not a good thing as you end up questioning every person trying to charge you to make sure you are not being ripped off.
Arriving at the tiny village of Suaraha, we found Rhino Lodge without a problem. Amazing place! The rooms were fantastic, and the food was great too. Arriving in time for lunch again, we had time to relax and get settled before setting off for an afternoon ox and cart ride through the Tharu village to see their way of life. It was really interesting, and it was very relaxing being on the ox and cart, just a different pace of life. The ox man was as strong as nails - he was able to lift the cart with three of us sat in it up over the necks of two ox! And okay, I know the longer the lever the easier it is, but even so it looked impressive! It started to rain on our return journey and never stopped. Arriving back to the lodge the receptionist greeted us all with umbrellas which pretty much stayed with us for the rest of the stay. It was too hot for a coat, and too wet for nothing!
Our evening activity was heading off to see the traditional Tharu stick dancing. We were impressed. It was amazing to watch and it’s good to see that the village is keeping it’s traditional dances alive, even if tourism and money has a lot to do with it now! Tourism is a double-edged sword, and one that the word is not going to escape from. Having been lucky enough to see a number of traditional dances as a small group, just with Dragomn passengers, for me, the dance was too geared towards tourism. It was set like a concert theatre, rather than more traditional surroundings, but the dances themselves were well worth seeing and if tourism helps to keep that alive then it is worth having. Either which way, it was a fun evening and everyone had a good time which is the most important thing.
We were up early, and it was raining… hard… Nick had decided to have a day working on the truck, but I wanted to see what the jungle walk is like as I need to lead another trip through here and I’m also a wildlife fanatic. I wasn’t holding my breath - it was raining hard and wildlife doesn’t generally like to come out and and play in the rain. This proved to be the case, we didn’t see any crocodiles or alligators as we rapidly made out way down the river due to strong currents and high river levels. We disembarked and the weather abated for us for the walk through long elephant grass (so named because it is the same height as an elephant). It was a very different landscape to any I have ever walked in, so despite the lack of rhinos and elephants it was still well worth doing. We hit a wooded area and finally managed to see monkeys and a very large herd of spotted deer. Still no rhinos which the park is famous for… the guides tried another lake with no sucess, so we headed to the river bank to see if we could spot them in more open land. Again no luck, but a couple of us did manage to collect a couple of leeches en route, one of them I didn’t even know I had collected until I took off my shoes at the lodge and discovered it had managed to get not my shoe and bite me through my sock!! He didn’t live to see another day.
From the lodge we headed to watch the elephants bathing in the river. Again it was very touristy, but nice to watch the elephants. Tourists can get onto the back of an elephant and get sprayed by water while the elephant is washing (or rather deliberately spraying the tourists with water). This is something we don’t advocate on the Dragoman trip due to controversy over the conditions the elephants are kept in, and for safety reasons. It would hurt if an elephant sat on you!!
I gave the inside of the truck a quick clean before or afternoon activity, heading out to 20,000 lakes. Now, there aren’t 20,000 of them, but despite the rain starting again, we did see more monkeys, spotted deer, barking deer and an alligator. It was more wooded habitat and lakes, lovely to see but still no rhinos. Our guide finally came up with plan c. we headed back to the village and on the outskirts is an area of disused land put aside for an old rhino to come and chill out. He is wild, but the villagers look after him as he has been turfed out of his normal habitat by younger males. He goes to the river to feed, then returns to this small patch of land to relax. He used to only go there at night, but no stays during the day too - it’s almost a rhino nursing home for one!! My passengers were happy, they had finally seen a rhino.
We set off after breakfast, and made our way towards the Nepal-India border at Sunali. It is only 147Km in distance, but with the roads,traffic and toilet breaks it took us 5 hours - and it rained and it rained and it rained… not surprising really, the monsoon season has only just finished.
We ate lunch at the border. While Nick was finding a suitable restaurant and arranging a simple lunch I headed over to find immigration and to see if I could get away with getting everyone stamped out without having to make them queue. I could - but they all needed to fill in a departure slip. Slips in hand I headed back to the restaurant to find Nick and hurriedly ate my lunch while they completed them - my last dahl bhat for a while! It took a little while as no one seemed to be in a hurry, but the procedure was straightforward, as was the customs for the truck. I collected my passengers and we headed across to India in the mud - there is no tarmac at the border and it was still raining so there was mud everywhere! It all added to the experience. Crazy traffic, vehicles everywhere, street vendors and in the midst of it we found the tiny Indian immigration office hiding away. Immigration forms later and we were all in India, and I only had to get Daisy in which again took longer than anticipated as they were all at lunch! I got VIP treatment when I did get in though - sat down, a glass of water presented on a plate (?) and I wasn’t allowed to stand up to do anything, it all got brought over to me. Slightly ridiculous but quite entertaining.
Finally in India Nick took first drive and we headed for Gorakhpur. Everyone had told me the driving would be instantly worse and the roads were terrible. I have seen worse roads for sure, and the driving seems to be of a similar standard to Nepal, although perhaps a little more aggressive. An hour from Gorakhpur we switch drive and I took Daisy into the surprisingly large city. Traffic was crazy, but again I don’t think it was any worse than I had seen in Kathmandu - I think my time in South America has served me well and taught me to hold my line and stay relaxed whilst chaos reigns around me! The addition of cows lying in the road - even in the middle of the city, more cyclists and more pedestrians is the biggest difference that I noticed.
Finally arriving at the hotel, I discovered that they didn’t have my reservation despite my having email them three times (including yesterday) and them having confirmed. they then didn’t have the right room type so we got an upgrade, although none of the rooms had been cleaned, had towels or toilet roll. Lovely!! Two chase ups later and we finally had clean sheets and a basic but pleasant room to stay in.
A drive day to Varanasi, we set off from Gorokphur at 6am to beat the traffic, and hit the road to get to Varanasi. The roads were poor with many potholes, but we had been pre-warned so it wasn’t unexpected. The roads are still a novelty - wherever we drive there are pedestrian, cyclists, motorbikes, tuk tuks, rickshaws, cows, cars and trucks, all doing their own thing. It seriously doesn’t matter if you are on the wrong side of the road over here - the oncoming traffic just cross to the other side and keep on moving. Somehow it just works, although if you ever tried to pull a manoeuvre like this in England there would be chaos - here everyone just reacts to what is ahead of them and get on with it. Quite refreshing really!
We stopped for breakfast at a roadside restaurant. It was a cook group breakfast , but we did well to find a quiet spot off the road. We brought some chai (tea) from them as we had our own food, and the brother of the owner then ran everyone who needed the toilet to his house which was five minutes away, as they didn’t have a toilet on site. Only in India!
Our lunch stop was a road side stall selling samosas and other Indian wonders. It cost us less than two dollars to feed six people and it was really good. Well, Nick and I thought so! Our passengers have obviously heard too many horror stories so still reserved about about trying food they don’t know, but we persuaded our two American ladies to give it a go which they eventually did quite enthusiastically!
Arriving at the hotel we were in for real treat. It is an ex-Kaiser’s palace so very plush but still a reasonable price. Comfortable rooms with a balcony, a swimming pool on site, air conditioning (very essential at this time of year) and really lovely helpful staff, it was a total contrast to our previous night in Gorokphur. We ate in the restaurant which was really good food, although the price was a little on the high side for India, it was worth it.
We met our yuk yuk drivers at 5am to head down to the ghats to watch the pilgrims bathe in the Holy Waters on the Ganges. Sadly, due to an accident with one of the boats in the high river levels, no boat trips were running, so we could only visit by foot from the shores. This is the sort of thing that happens after monsoon season. It wasn’t really a problem, but I don’t think our passengers got the full experience. There is nothing to be done about it though, and it was interested to see, especially as areas of the Ganges are actually septic yet people are still happily washing in the ‘Holy water’!!
We were given little bowls of flowers and a candle to put into the river for good luck - of course this became competitive as everyone wanted their candle to stay afloat the longest.
From the ghats, we headed to a Hindu temple on the University site. It is a lovely temple, dedicated to the Hindu God, Shiva, and it was incredibly peaceful in what is a slightly chaotic city. Our tuk tuk driver was a legend - there were moments where I closed my eyes and just hoped for the best and wished for Daisy, but somehow he got us through it all unscathed.
We returned to the hotel for breakfast and to relax for an hour, before heading off to see the Mother of India Temple, which has a 3D map of India in it. A local guide gave us an explanation and showed us around, and I found a useful book with a summary of Hinduism and the main Gods (there are many!) which I really need to study. The more time I spend here, the more I realise just how little I understand about Hinduism, although I thought I had a good oversight about it. I really haven’t! It is so different and a massive subject to try to understand.
From the temple we headed to a silk factory, which turned out to be the absolute highlight of the entire day. Not expected! We were shown around different factories, watching the machines and men and work, how they make the patterns and how they do the more intricate work where they can only produce an inch of silk a day (I was even allowed to have a go, under strict guidance of course!). It was fascinating. We were then show to the sales room (of course) and shown different scarfs, pictures, wall hangings, and bed covers which were beautiful! I was dressed in a sari (which I ended up buying for no good reason whatsoever except that it is really pretty! Impulse buy!). We spent a lot of time there, before heading to a well known lassi shop (yogurt drink) where we all ended up with the seasonal special of pomegranate lassi. It was really good, but also very surreal. After a crazy walk through a packed street for 15 minutes, we were packed into a tiny space enjoying our lassis, when we would hear a chanting. Next moment a body covered in golds, oranges and reds, with orange flowers garlands, would be marched past, followed by the families, making their way to the burning ghats. Five of these went past in the time we were there.
We headed down to the burning ghats where the cremations take place. As we are not Hindu we couldn’t go to the burning area, but we were allowed access to one of the local sick houses, where people are waiting to die. It sounds morbid, it is morbid. Literally, the very sick stay in these houses for their last days, trying to raise money for the 110Kg wood so they can be cremated. The type of wood you have depends upon how wealthy you are. Watching the ghats, a guide gave us an explanation, and also about the ‘pure’ people who don’t get burned, but simply tipped off the end of a rowing boat into the Ganges (they are wrapped from head to toe in white cloth) - these people include pregnant women, children, lepers. One such boat headed out onto the river to perform this ceremony while we were there. Those who are cremated are left burning for 3 hours before the ashes are put into the river. All of this takes place within 24 hours of the person dying. The cloths of orange, red and gold are given to them by friends and family for the ceremony. They cannot be cremated with them due to pollution levels. At this ghat it is only people who have died from natural causes. Anyone who is murdered, or commits suicide are taken to another ghat. It was a humbling experience, and we headed back toe our hotel with plenty to think about.
As soon as we got back I headed back out to see if I could sort out a SIM card for my phone. Mission failed - I had passport photos, my passport, visa and phone at the ready, only to be told I needed headed paper from the place I was staying as proof of address… I gave up as I didn’t have time to return to the hotel and go back again, so I tried an internet cafe to make a couple of calls for accommodation and and to book my guide for the erotic temples (yes, you read that right!). That didn’t work either as his phone wouldn’t work!! I went back to the hotel and they made the calls for me from reception.
I had 40 minutes before meeting the group to return to the ghats for a ceremony and for dinner, so I raced to the pool for a quick refresh. The weather is so hit and humid, I’m getting used to it but those moments in a shower, swimming pool or air-conned room are heaven! I must have been swimming around smiling like an idiot, as an Indian guy came over to me while I was bobbing around and told me I had a lovely smile… slightly concerning as I hadn’t realised I as smiling! We had a nice chat for 5 minutes before I was off again, to get ready for the evening.
6pm and I was a passenger down. Erik had dihoerra and so his mum, Innes, also bowed out of the evenings activities. Mary had really struggling with the ghats earlier in the day, and her sister wasn’t fussed about seeing the ceremony so we decided to head straight to dinner and avoid the ghats this time. Nick and I will both be back. As it transpired, the restaurant we ate in had amazing views over the Ganges and we could see a lot of the ceremony from the balcony. It looked amazing and I definitely won’t miss it next time.
It was a bit of a walk to the restaurant, so heading back to our tuk tuk we ended up hiring rickshaws for our first rickshaw experience. It was really good fun! On our return journey to the hotel our yuk yuk driver, Mr Kaka, was being beeped by a guy behind him but he was passing a Holy Cow so had nowhere to go. He moved as soon as he could, but the guy on the bike behind him drew up and had a go, before slapping Mr Kaka on the back of the head! He immediately had Nick and I to deal with as we both jumped to Mr Kaka’s rescue - it is all to do with the Caste system. Mr Kaka serves people so he is relatively low down the social ranking. We figured the other guy was probably a Brahmin (upper class) and a bully, but he hadn't bargained on Mr Kaka’s bouncers and bak off as soon as we intervened with a sharp word. Horrible man, he won’t be coming back as a Holy cow that’s for sure!
Today was meant to be a 10 hour drive day… meant to be… it wasn’t. We left at 5am with a guide out of town from our tuk tuk driver, leaving the amazing luxurious bed and dragging ourselves out into the already hot and humid, albeit bearable temperatures to make our way through the streets of Varanasi while it was supposedly still quiet. The traffic definitely wasn’t quiet but it was better than it is during any normal time of day.
So we drove - initially it was good and the roads were good. Then we turned left and it was so so bad, we couldn’t get above 20 kph for the appalling potholes as they are rebuilding the road, but they have dug up ALL of it on one go, rather than completing a section before starting the next one. In five years it will be awesome! We stopped for lunch at a truck stop, which was a great little place. they had a proper tandoori oven, so we had paneer (cheese) and chicken in a hot tomato sauce with chapatis. Really tasty and so cheap! This Is India!!! We continued driving, and driving and driving… All of our passengers got a chance to sit in the cab for a stint to liven things up a bit which they really enjoyed, but progress was still incredibly slow. eventually we turned onto another road where we could travel at 40kph!!
So we were running a little late - more than 5 hours late as it turned out. We expected to be at camp by 5pm, instead it was nearly 10pm when we finally arrived, having always been told never to drive in India at night… one week in and guess what!! I now know why - there are pedestrians, cyclists, motorbikes and so many cows that have gone to bed in the middle of the road, all without a light or relatives so it is almost lie a computer game. I enlisted Nick’s help to target spot - not the easiest driving but fortunately the car, truck and bus drivers all seem to be very aware of the hazards and actually seem to drive better at night than they do during the day. To be completely honest, the driving is nowhere near as bad as I have been expecting it to be.
We finally arrived at the Ken River Lodge which is AMAZING!! Really welcoming, it reminds me of the lodges we stay in at the Amazon, all wooden, very conservational with lovely staff who can’t do enough to help. This included managing to find us three twin rooms at no notice so we didn’t need to worry about setting up camp - yay!! I had pre-arranged a meal as we hadn’t had chance to do a cook group shop and it was worth every extra penny. A thali (Indian Dahl ghat), it was really tasty and beat having to cook. Having said that, I’m really not sure that my passengers were anywhere near as excited about the lodge as Nick and I were - they have obviously had it far too easy on this trip so far!!
I woke up to the discovery that the lodge was even better than I had thought it was the night before. It’s location is A1, in a jungly wooded area, right on the banks of the Ken river. Simply beautiful, and very natural. We had a leisurely breakfast, provided by the lodge, before I wen to wait for the guide…and waited and waited. No sign of him, so I borrowed a phone and gave him a call to discover that although I’d said we were at Ken River Lodge, he was expecting to meet us at the erotic temples. Oops! Having stuck our bags in storage we headed off to Khajuraho to meet our guide, Raj. We got there and were greeted by a bunch of friendly locals - every single person in our group had their own escort to the Raja cafe where we were meeting our guide. They didn’t want money, they just wanted to talk and be friendly.
We found Raj, our guide, and after a quick drink we headed to the erotic temples. The carvings are incredible and it is all based around karma and tantra, hence the karma sutra. In the carvings of a happy life there is the odd carving of a woman giving a blow job, or a couple having sex. It is all about a greater spirituality, but whoever carved them has a sense of humour as is depicted by a laughing elephant distracted by an amorous couple rather than facing the front like all of the other elephants in the carving. Pure class! The setting of the temples is beautiful, and the atmosphere is very peaceful. this is something I already truly appreciate, even after less than a week in the full on Indian culture. There used to be over 80 but most of them are is severe states of disrepair as they are only carved from sandstone which weathers badly. The few on show are the best preserved and well worth the visit.
We gave the pax a couple of hours of free time to continue looking around the temples, and do some shopping and get lunch. I headed off on the back of the guides motorbike to get an Indian SIM card - this time I didn’t need anything! I just handed over my phone and they gave me a SIM card. Great guys! Returning to the cafe for a very un-Indian lunch of cheese rosti (it was amazing after so much curry and dahl baht!) and then went cook group shopping as we have two nights of camping ahead of us. The owner of the restaurant gave us a hand to find places - there are no supermarkets here so it is a case of knowing where to find the food you want.
The first stop was for chicken. Now, due to the hot climate and a relative lack of refrigeration when you get chicken it doesn’t come pre-pared. It literally comes as a live chicken, still squawking. If you are happy with the size, they weigh it and give you the price. If agreed the process of slaughter is incredibly quick,and the chicken doesn’t even touch a work bench before ebbing delivered in a little bag of breast, legs and wings, all ready for cooking, or in our case refrigerating. Chicken all sorted, we went around to get paneer (cheese), eggs, bread and various fruit and veg.
We returned to camp, this time using a different entry down an incredibly narrow track to get to the campsite. Nick nearly lost one of our locker catches on a gate, but fortunately spotted it just in time before it disappeared forever! We set up our campsite and I then spent a couple of hours making some phone calls and doing some bookings. I was also feeling the need to have some time out from the group as they are quite a needy bunch, definitely out of their comfort zone and sticking quite close, so it was nice to leave them in a ‘safe’ place, sit down and get some work done with a cold beer at the main lodge without interruptions. Nick sorted out dinner with the group which gave me time to settle up bills and get on top of a few things (including a blog entry or two!), before rejoining them for dinner and heading to bed.
We had an easy start to the day, having breakfast at 7.30am. Due to the small group size both Nick and I are pitching in the help with the cook groups - I was on breakfast duty so eggy bread it was! As it turned out 50% of our group had been struck down with illness overnight and were doing a tag team to the toilets so neither of them wanted breakfast. We dosed them up with rehydration salts and finished our breakfast. both Hattie and Erik were definitely out of action, laid out on the seats in Daisy so we were a little late leaving as it only left four of us to break camp. It wasn’t a problem, we didn’t have a big day ahead of us which was just as well. Hattie needed two emergency stops en route to Orchha, plus a standard stop for the rest of us. I called our guide who I had booked to see the palace and arranged for a doctor to be ready to great us. We had planned to stop for lunch en route but due to the sickly bunch we just pushed on and sorted out lunch when we got to the guest house. We are allowed to camp in their back garden normally, but everyone chose to upgrade so they could be close to a toilet!
After lunch we headed to see Orchha Palace. Nick stayed behind to get dinner going, and Hattie wasn’t well enough (both pax had gastroenteritis caused by dehydration and too much sun) so we were an even smaller group than normal!
The Palace was fantastic! There are four 15th and 16th century palaces within one complex and they are really beautiful, as is the surrounding area. One of the palaces was only used for a day - it took 22 years to build, was given as a present to a guy who used it once then died in Pakistan. In Hindu law they are unable to reclaim anything given away so it has never been used since! The other Palaces belonged to the King, and the Prince, and the final one belonged to a dancer who the Prince fell in love with. As she was from a much lower caste than him, he moved her into the Palace and then spent three years digging a secret tunnel from his Palace to her Palace so no one would spot him visiting her. The King gave him inspiration - he had six concubines, for each one he had a secret passage to their bed chambers, again so he couldn’t be seen.
Getting back to the hotel, I went to move our bags into the room. As is appearing to be standard there was no toilet paper or towels, and the bathroom light didn’t work. I went to reception to sort it out. Then I looked at the bed - the sheets blatantly hadn’t been changed, and when I peeled back the cover I discovered an empty condom wrapped under the blanket!! To be honest it was so bad it was funny, so I returned to reception and dragged the receptionist to the room to see what I was talking about as his English is not good. I swear he smirked when he saw it! Anyway, it was enough to get them to change our room and we got it for free.
Nick and I then headed back to the Palace to check out a light and sound show that they hold every day - it was pretty cool, and livened up by the appearance of a few bats and an owl, plus two power cuts and a little man sprinting across the courtyard area to sort out the generator and get the show going again. Class! There is a hotel in the grounds, so we decided to go and have a look as the top room there is 5,000 Indian rupees a night ($100 plus taxes). The room wasn’t occupied so we told them we were investigating accommodation for future trips and we got the guided tour, result! The rooms were lovely, and the Maharajah suite is in the Prince’s old Palace so you can imagine how grand it was.
We eventually returned to the hotel and I went to have a shower only to discover there was no water, so I went back to reception again. I was really glad we weren’t paying for the room, but it was so bad it was comical! But hey, THIS IS INDIA!!!
We left at 5am, having received warning that this was a long and difficult drive day. Karma was at work though - the road construction had been finished and it took us less than 8 hours, rather than the anticipated 12 hours! Amazing what a bit of good tarmac can do, and how time literally seems to fly when you can travel over 20kph.
We discovered our first dual carriageway here and it is the oddest road system (no surprises there). Cyclist, motorbikes and pedestrians all wander along in the slow lane. All of the trucks sit in the fast lane - I can only assume that this is so they don’t need to avoid the previously mentioned slow traffic. However, they drive along at about 40kph and won’t move over, so the only way to overtake is to beep your horn and undertake, making sure you avoid cyclists, motorbikes and pedestrians… novel. It’s a bit like playing a computer game but the stakes are much higher if you get it wrong!! Like everything else on the road out here, it all seems to work and just flow. It would never work anywhere else in the world!
We arrived in Agra in time for lunch which was fantastic. The hotel is really lovely! Our local fixer, Ali, had come to meet us and guide us in as the GPS will direct us down too many narrow streets and there are better ways in. We had lunch in the restaurant, and then Ali took me out to show me the marble factory and jewellery shop. The wifi wasn’t working in the hotel, so the manager of the jewellery shop kindly let me use their computer to do some trip bookings, while the three of us shared a few beers. Everyone is really friendly and keen to help. I did get the sales pitch on the sapphire rings, and the Stars on India - these are three different semi-precious gemstones found in Agra, and they are used to decorate the Taj Mahal to make the mausoleum glitter in the sun. Each gem shows either a four point or six point star due to the composition of the gem. I might treat myself next time round!
I ended up joining both Ali and Jeetu for some more drinks in the evening, before they ran me back to the hotel. A nice time out from looking after my passengers who have all been sticking very close!
We were up early, and ready to leave the hotel at 5.10am in order to get to the Taj Mahal for sunrise. We piled into the tuk tuks and got to the entrance before opening, so waited at the head of the queue. It was worth arriving early as within a very short time the queue was massive! Inside the grounds I managed to find a local guide, Mr Khan, to show us around. It was a good call - he was informative and knew some really good photos spots so I grabbed his number for future reference.
The Taj Mahal is beautiful. The work and carvings that has gone into it is absolutely amazing. Seems a bit of a waste that it was built for someone after she had already died so she never got to see it, but it’s an incredible memorial. We stayed for a couple of hours, then headed to breakfast at our fixer’s house, so it was a proper traditional breakfast and it was great, although I was really thirsty (maybe too much beer last night?) so I spent most of it drinking water, fruit juice and coffee to rehydrate. Must remember not to drink so much next time so I can make the most of it, although it should be cooler by then… happy days!
From breakfast we headed to Agra Fort, which is predominantly closed off for military use, but the public are allowed access to a small portion. There are some beautiful views out over the river to the Taj Mahal, and a great old cannon ball hole - fired by a Brit from a bridge (slightly embarrassing) it bounced off the black marble seat used by the King, and embedded itself into adjacent wall. they weren’t even trying to hit anyone, just another eccentric Brit!!
From the Fort we headed to a marble factory to see how they prepare the marble and inlay the precious and semi-precious stones. Really fascinating to watch, the workers are really skilled. Only men within a family are allowed to learn the skill, as if daughters learn then they could teach the art to another family once they are married. They have some master pieces on display which have taken them over 15 years to make!! Those are not for sale. A few souvenirs were purchased and we headed back to the hotel for lunch.
Later afternoon we headed out again. Nick was sorting out our flat tyre and out two American ladies decided to avoid the heat and relax, so it was just myself and my two German passengers who are up for seeing everything! We went to see the Baby Taj - another mausoleum built before the Taj Mahal, the Baby Taj provided the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. Again, made of intricately carved and inlayed marble, it is an incredible piece of work. It was also really peaceful - situated on the river banks there were no tourists around so we were able to wander at leisure. We then headed to a good viewing point to see the Taj Mahal from across the river and to get some optical illusion shots - always a bit of fun!
We had the luxury of a later start! Time for breakfast before leaving at 8am, although my body clock has set itself to India time now and I was awake at 5am. Not so cool! We headed out of Agra with the help of Ali to guide us so the GPS didn’t take us down any narrow streets. Unfortunately a road was closed so we ended up on a bit of an adventure anyway, and it took us to our first level crossing where the barriers were down. This was brilliant as we were waiting for nearly 10 minutes to see the train and in this time every cyclist and motorcyclist were ducking under the barriers and walking their transport across the railway line. In the mean time we had accrued our usual audience of a dozen Indians, all wanting to have a chat or just see what was going on. I think that maybe they are the most curious nation in the world! The train finally passed and the barriers lifted, before one promptly dropped again and nearly landed on the bonnet of a very new car… we proceeded with caution and fortunately without incident.
Slightly delayed, we arrived at the city of Fatephur Sikri, an old mogul city built in the 16th century. Our guide, Zahid, was waiting to meet us. The city was impressive, and an interesting mix of religions featured on site. The maharaja had married 3 wives (4 were allowed under the Islam religion) - one Hindu, one Christian and one Jain, and the architecture of the three religions are combined throughout the city. There is also a mosque, and the predominate religion in the area is muslim. It is an impressive city to see, all carved out of sandstone, although all of the painting and jewels that used to be in the city are long gone.
The temperatures were incredibly hot again, I swear it gets hotter everyday although it does seem to be turning into a drier heat. My two American ladies were both wilting and losing the will to live, in spite of the fact we had been dashing from one patch of shade to the next. The heat here at this time of year is intense.
We finished the tour and returned to the car park area where there were stalls for lunch, and some stores for my pax to do a little bit of shopping if they so wished. As per usual the group stuck pretty close and we all ate lunch together. We left at 1.30pm, ready for a 4-5 hour drive to Jaipur, the Pink city where all of the walls were painted pink before a visit from the British King/Queen, and have stayed that way ever since. It also helps to task poor building materials used for the construction.
We made good time, arriving in Jaipur after four hours, but with one slight hitch in proceedings. I had arranged for our guide, Ajay, to meet us on the way in to town to give us a guide to the hotel as there are a number of roadworks taking place at the moment. Unfortunately my new Sim decided it was no longer registered and I couldn’t call him, so I had to do some frantic last minute investigating to see whether I could locate the hotel to navigate us in. Confident we could do it, we cracked on and it was all going brilliantly until we got to a roundabout just before the road down to the hotel, which was completely blocked off. Rubbish. We went on to plan B which is essentially keep driving until you find a road big enough to squeeze down!! Half an hour later we successfully arrived at the hotel which is an ex-Maharaja’s palace and it’s lovely! Maybe a little tired around the edges, but that adds to it’s charm. I checked in the pax and then phoned Ajay to let him know we had arrived safely, and so he could make his way over and we could discuss the following day. He can talk! We gathered our pax so they could ask any questions and so we could give the the itinerary for the following day, and then they had chance to chat to Ajay. He really knows his stuff, but he got a little technical and my pax were fading fast - time for dinner!
Today was our chance to explore the Pink City of Jaipur! The walls were all painted pink in a bid to cover the poor quality building materials before a visit from the British Royal family, and they have remained that way ever since. It is actually a very pretty city as a result.
Anyway, we had breakfast at 7am (good buffet!) and headed off to the Amber Palace in tuk tuks. En route we visited the Palace of the winds, so named as it is a facade of a building, only a few inches thick, designed to allow the woman from the palace a place to sit and watch the city life without being seen themselves.
The first views of the Amber Palace are impressive. Sat high on a hill above a lake, overlooking the city with a surrounding wall which is reminiscent of the Great Wall of China. Decanted out of our tuk tusk we piled into a Mahindra (jeep) to make our way to the Palace entrance and it only got better. They do run elephant safaris up to the Palace entrance, but due to some controversy over the welfare conditions of safari elephants the company doesn’t endorse the use of them. Come on India! Sort it out and then we can go for elephants rides again!!
The views from the Palace were stunning, with a procession of brightly decorated elephants making their way up the Palace drive against a backdrop of trees, the lake, the mini ‘Great wall’ and the city behind. The Palace is one of the most accessible in terms of walking around that we have seen. This is pre-dominantly because the Queens were often married as young as 12 years old, and would be pregnant by the time they were 14. They were then dressed in gowns that weighed over 60Kg, and didn’t have the strength to walk unaided, so there are a number of slopes where they would have been transported in wheelchairs around the Palace. the Palace is beautifully decorated, including a hall of mirrors, and some pretty ornamental gardens.
From the Palace we headed to the Observatory, which was fascinating. With large scale equipment to measure tim e - two massive sun dials, the zodiac, and many more apects of astronomy, this complex was well ahead of its time when it was first built. By this time the day was incredibly hot and we were melting. I gave my passengers the choice of visiting the City Palace, or as they were wilting, the chance to return to the hotel. none of them would make a decision, and as it is included in the trip I made the decision that we would go, but only for a short visit. On the short walk I passed my first snake charmer, happily playing tunes to his black cobra. I know they remove the fangs, but they snakes can still be bad tempered so that was one guy that I wasn’t in a hurry to get too close to!
The City Palace was interesting, with a selection of the old Maharaja’s clothes, a selection of weaponry and different handicrafts. The most excitement came from two models on a photo shoot, and this was a perfect example of why India is brilliant. they tape off the whole area to keep the crowds out, and everyone who passes promptly ducks under the tape and goes to have a look at what is going on, yet all courteous enough to make sure they don’t stand behind the models and ruin the pictures. Fantastic! The other piece of excitement was one of my American ladies not spotting the no photography sign and being threatened with a fine unless she deleted it. A hilarious five minutes followed as she didn’t know where to find the delete button!
We returned to the hotel, and Nick and I dashed out as quickly as possible to have a lunch minus passengers for a bit of time out. As lovely as they are, sometimes you just need your own space! This job tends to attract people who are incredibly independent and who like their own space, and yet we end up spending 24 hours a day., 7 days a week in someone’s company. Ironic! Lunch was great - chicken curry and rotis. On our way back to the hotel we stopped to buy some hand wash bowls, a new brush and a new bin, plus a very important coffee pot! I had managed to get some fresh coffee when we had stopped for a drink at the Amber Palace ready for our cook group breakfasts as a bit of a treat from Nescafe.
In the evening we had a puppet show organised. It was less than dollar per person so i ran it for kitty to make sure everyone would be there, ad it was great fun. they were proper Rajastahan puppets, with local music and a good dose of humour involved. We all had the chance to have a go too which was hilarous!
We had a slightly more relaxed start today - I’m getting a reputation for liking 5am and I’m feeling the need to explode that myth! We had time for breakfast at the hotel before heading off on our final drive day to Delhi. In fairness, I gave my passengers the option of leaving at 5am to avoid too much driving in the heat, and to allow them more to to explore once they arrived at Delhi, or an 8am departure. they all opted for the latter start so I think we’ve worn them out!
The roads were good all the way to Delhi, mainly dual carriageway with quite a lot of traffic which wasn’t unexpected. Although it was good to get some actually distance covered, the drive wasn’t anywhere near as pleasant as some of the other roads that we have travelled along in the past couple of weeks.
We stopped at a roadside Dhaba (truck stop) for lunch - they are great. They serve some of the best food that we have eaten in India, and this was no exception. Best butter naan so far! It was only another hour to the hotel from there, for which we needed to create a Dragoman traffic jam in order to unload our passengers and bags - obviously a great way to endear ourselves to the locals! Good job we only had four passengers. Nick then tried to find a place to park the truck, while I walked our pax to the hotel which was hiding down a market street. It is a lovely hotel and the staff were really welcoming.
I spent the rest of the afternoon completing my trip report and sorting out kitty refunds, before we went for a final group dinner with the group. They all said they have had a fantastic time which is great news.
First day of our next trip! And I spent most of the day doing paperwork - very unexciting. Nick went to clean Daisy so I didn’t even have that to break my day up! I did get to pop out and do some photocopying and printing, but to be honest I had a lot to do and it was good to settle down and concentrate on the next trip itinerary.
We had our pre-departure meeting at 6pm, followed by dinner to get to know each other and all of our new joiners seem really lovely. It should be a good trip!
We left at 5.30am and headed for Bikaner. having directed Nick out of Delhi with instructions to stay not the road for 129Km I had a little sleep, only to wake up and discover he had taken as earlier turning off the road as per the GPS. Not a problem, but it turned out that the second road was much slower - we just didn’t know it at that point. It was a beautiful drive though, passing through small towns and past camels pulling their carts - brilliant! This is whet I love about overlanding. We don’t just end up in the tourist highlights, we actually get to see a bit of the real India, the towns, people and way of life. Can’t beat it!
Anyway, after a brief breakfast and lunch stop we continued onwards with the realisation that the day was taking a lot longer than anticipated. Arriving in a town called Fatehpur, we followed our route notes and the GPS on the most direct route into town… evidently this route had be done with a much smaller truck which doesn’t have the same overall height as Daisy! I successfully negotiated the streets, squeezed my way though the town market and arrived at a ninety degree bend. now, it was possible to get around it with a bit of shunting, but we had a couple of people waving at us to stop as apparently the road gets even narrower up ahead. Nick jumped out to have a quick look as the last thing we wanted to do was get stuck. Light was fading fast and I was worried that if he didn’t hurry up then I would be reversing back down the same streets in the dark - those streets are not easy when you can see and travelling forwards, let alone when it’s dark and travelling backwards! Sure enough, Nick came back pretty quickly with the news that there were really low power lines and we wouldn’t get under them all, although he reckoned we would just about fit Daisy through if it was a bit quieter. Decision made, the reversing commenced! One of my pax, Sam, grabbed the broom and started clearing the road of people. Nick directed, I went backwards and hoped for the best! Incredibly we made it backdown the market street without hitting anything or anyone, managed to turn, by which point we had a self-appointed local guide to lead us to a better road out of town. Stopping to say goodbye he congratulated me on my driving and told me that I had re-educated a lot of the men in the town who hadn’t thought I would be able to do it. I have to say I hadn’t been entirely sure myself but I trust Nick and I know my truck. I was just relieved it wasn’t Yana!
An hour lost, we headed on to Bikaner, finally arriving at 10pm!! I had turned into a much longer day than expected, but the hotel were fantastic. We had phoned ahead and they had cheese and tomato toasted sandwiches ready for us - amazing!
We had a lie in after yesterdays drive! I went for breakfast at 7.30am and caught up with a couple of emails, as the wifi was slow but working. Nick and I were ready to go and be on the road at 9am, our passengers were still eating breakfast. I’m going to tell them all a time half an hour before I actually want to leave from now on! We only have three people, but that doesn’t mean I want to arrive everywhere en the dark and we still have a lot to fit in!
We headed to to Karni Mata, the rat temple. So it is told, Goddess Karni’s son died back int eh fourteenth century, and she asked Lord Yama (God of Death) to revive him. Lord Yama told her that it wasn’t possible, but Karni was a descendant from one of the God’s and was able to bring her son back to life. From that day she decreed that none of her family would die again, but be reincarnated as rats. The rats are all worshipped and protected - there are supposedly 20,000 of them in the temple, which fortunately doesn’t look like it has 20,000 rats in it. You have to enter barefoot, as is normal out here, and then pick your way around rat faeces. There are rats in the corners, and hanging in over door knobs and railings, but they are not swarming all over the floor (good thing!). They are also a lot small than the rats I have seen in England, despite being fed every day, and given offerings from visitors. I think horse feed is more fattening for rats than the readily available chickpeas which can be purchased from the stalls surrounding the entrance!
Ratted out, we washed and disinfected or feet before jumping back into the truck and heading to Jaisalmer. Apparently this is a 5.5 hour drive, but today is the first day of a festival where literally tens of thousands of people walk to Jaisalmer along the main road so we were stuck travelling at half the pace we were supposed to be travelling. nick and I resigned ourselves to our fate, but our passengers were brilliant and just too it in their stride. It was quite a spectacle - lines of people walking, dancing, resting, drinking at water stops, carrying flags. The atmosphere was great (when were weren’t trying to avoid them and oncoming buses that is). We stopped for lunch at a local dhabar (truck stop) and immediately attracted a large crowd. Managing to arrange for some Thali, we had people coming up to us for photos, and an audience when we were trying to eat - a little off putting, especially when you are trying to eat with one hand an not cause offence! They were all really lovely and very welcoming - for experience it was our best lunch stop yet.
Continuing onwards, I did the afternoon drive while Nick grabbed some much needed sleep, so Sam came to join me in the cab. He’s a good lad - goes with the flow and he’s really helpful, plus a lot of fun. He couldn’t get over the whole atmosphere of the place and was great at interacting with passers by. When we stopped for refreshments and a snack a guy came up to me and told me I was a very good driver, but truck driving is a man’s work, but I was very good (admittedly coming from an indian driver…!!). A roundabout compliment but he definitely meant it that way, especially as he insisted on shaking my hand too, happy days!
We arrived in Jaisalmer just before 9pm and I checked the rooms before unloading as we were in a different hotel due to renovation works taking place. the hotel isn’t great, but the rooms had been cleaned which was the important thing. Basic is fine, dirty is not. Anyway, the owner is going to show me the other hotel tomorrow so I wil make the comparison then.
I spent the remainder of my evening trying to work out how to lose a day on the itinerary as two of my group need to fly home a day before the trip ends, and they still want to see the sights. Good job we only have a small group. After a bit of head scratching I got it sorted out - fingers crossed that we can pull it off!
I got up and had breakfast before joining Ghazi, the owner of Golden City Hotel, to see Golden Haveli where we were supposed to be staying. Fair enough, it is a building site at the moment, but it is going to look amazing! I was treated to a cup of the customary chai and a very pleasant conversation, before Ghazi ran me back to Golden City.
I headed into Jaisalmer to withdraw some money from the ATM and to get my bearings. Unfortunately, as I made my way up the road the strap on my bag broke, however the very next shop was a handicraft shop. they saw my problem, and promptly invited me in and fixed my bag, complete with more chai. In return I helped the owner send a request to Trip Advisor to list his business. They were really lovely and didn’t even try to sell me anything, but gave me a small money purse as a thank you - and I thought they had done me a favour, but he was quite offend when I tried to decline so I accepted it without further argument. I spent another half an hour having a quick look around Jaisalmer, although I didn’t quite manage to get to the Fort before having to head back to the hotel to get ready to take the group on the overnight camel safari in the Thar desert. The hotel were very organised, got everything arranged and we just needed to take an overnight bag with us.
My camel was called Rocket - he was most un-rocket like but actually very comfortable and very friendly. Cool camel! I was also allowed to ride him without being led. Slightly disconcerting a it isn’t anything like riding a horse but he was very good. It was really lovely wandering through the desert, past the dunes. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite the night under the stars that was planned as a storm rolled in. You could see it coming! We ended up squeezed into a small desert hut, until they started cooking dinner - no chimneys, so we were huddled against a wall outside singing camel safari songs! In the end it did clear up and we did manage to get out into the dunes to sleep.
I was woken up with a very welcome cup of chai in the middle of the sand dunes, in time to watch the sun rise. We had a quick breakfast, then it was back on the camels for our ride back to the road. Rocket was once again very well behaved, and we passed some huts (sure they were tourist huts but they looked pretty cool), and a gypsy camp which was much more interesting to see.
Back in Jaisalmer I had a shower before heading to the Golden Fort (named for it’s colour, it is made of sandstone) to have a quick explore. This time I actually got there! Inside the Fort there are some beautiful Jain temples which were well worth seeing. The Fort is the last ‘living’ Fort in India with people actually living and working inside it. I ended up with a guide, even though I told him I didn’t want a guide - I used the trip leader excuse. At that he said he would guide me for free and maybe next time I would use him for my group - a fair trade and he was very knowledgeable so I’ll use him as an option for pax next time through. Always useful to have a contact! He also took me out to see the Haveli’s which are beautiful old mansions and interesting to see. He was all set to take me to see the rest of the city, but I had to get back to the hotel. We had heard about a Lord Ganesha Festival in the desert and I had arranged for a jeep to take the group of us.
The festival was fantastic and incredibly random! There is a Lord Ganesha statue in the middle of a (currently) dry monsoon river bed. There were carpets, lights and decoration all leading the way to the statue from the car parking. The atmosphere was amazing as many local people make their way out to the festival to pay respect to the God. There was also a ferris wheel… in the middle of nowhere. It had to be done, we all piled on and enjoyed the ride which was hilarious! We received the usual curiousity form the locals, all trying to work out why we were there but equally very welcoming and pleased to see us and share their celebrations with us. It was a very random experience but one I’m very glad we got to experience.
Heading back towards the hotel, our driver stopped at a beautiful Jain temple for us to look at at sunset. It was stunning, and seriously one of the prettiest temples we have sen which is saying a lot! Definitely one for us to remember for the next trip.
Arriving back at the hotel, I had been invited for dinner by the hotel owner, so I headed out to the Golden Haveli and ate dinner with an amazing view of the Golden Fort which gets lit up at night and looked absolutely stunning! I think it was also the quietest place in India as there were no people around which was a real treat. It’s almost sad to think that next time I’m here the hotel will be finished so there will be people everywhere and my quiet spot will be gone!
We had a full day heading to the city of Jodhpur, also known as the Blue City. The roads were good, and they were free of pilgrims so it was much easier driving! We also spotted a wild peacock which crossed the road in front of us - excellent! About an hour before Jodhpur we had a scheduled stop to see the Sambhali Trust, which is basically a school designed to provide a better education to women and children who want more control over their lives and more opportunities. Located in a relatively rural area, many of the women have not had a proper education to start, and usually have arranged marriages. The education provides them different skills in order to get work and have more control over their future. We arrived during a childrens class, which resulted in song singing with an Australian who didn’t know the words to Waltzing Matilda… Old McDonald came to the rescue! We also had a turban tying competition, a tug of war, some henna painting, and one of our passengers stole the show when he started sketching the childrens portraits - made our life a bit easier! We stayed for lunch before heading on to Jodhpur.
The drive into Jodhpur was quite entertaining, largely because the police pulled us over and told us we weren’t able to take the normal route in as there was a time restriction on heavy vehicles… As we weren’t entirely sure of our end point this posed a slight problem, but we roughly worked it out and after an entertaining reversing manoeuvre, we headed off in another direction. Everything was going well until I took a right turn and got stopped by another policeman telling me I couldn’t follow the road due to time restrictions… This time we were completely blocking the road with a dozen cars behind us all wanting to get through. Three policemen and a fair bit of whistle blowing later, they had cleared the road and we were able to turn, drive straight across a busy junction on the wrong side of the road (the police just wanted us out of the way by this point) and finally make our way to the guest house. The drama wasn’t quite over though - we ended up going down the road at the back of the guest house, all electronic equipment showing a turn at the end which simply didn’t exist. Yet another entertaining reversing manoeuvre ensued (this time with no police!) and we finally got the right road. Result!
The guesthouse is lovely. Really beautiful rooms. I headed out to see a couple of temples with Claire and Andrew as they are supposed to be great to see at the time of the evening chanting and prayers. We didn’t see anyone there chanting or praying! There were two temples, one the temple of Shiva, and the other is the temple of Krishna. Both had some beautiful artwork, which Jodhpur is famous for and it was interesting to see - especially the Las Vegas style decoration inside the Temple of Krishna and a man wearing a tiger print loin cloth performing a religious ritual of some description but we have no idea what! To be honest, he was the most fascinating thing we saw. Returning to the guest house, we all ended up eating in the restaurant that night - enough of the drama and tiger print loin cloths for one day!
Nick took the group to the Meherangar Fort in Jodhpur while I sorted out the homestay. there had been some confusion over the place we were staying so I just wanted to make sure everything really was organised for us. The first homestay I looked at is the one we are staying at and belongs to the great grandson of a maharaja! Chandra was very welcoming and it is a lovely place. I was able to get the rooms sorted out ready for the evening so at least I knew everything was done! I then visited Sajjan at the other homestay, just for future reference as much as anything. He is really lovely and really was really keen to show me around and help in any way he could. Good to know for future reference. He ended up dropping me into the centre of Jodhpur so I could look a round the market and get some lunch. I decided against rushing to see the fort as time was passing and I didn’t want to rush. I have to keep something to see for the next time I come through after all!! There are also ziplines there and I want to have a go on them too, so something else to look forward to next time.
At 5pm we headed off the the homestay. It felt quite formal to start as i is quite a posh house, but Chandra and his wife came to talk and it all started to feel more comfortable. Dinner was really good and Chandra has a lot of interesting stories. Turns out that he is the grandson of a Maharaja!! Little wonder that the place was lovely!
We headed towards Udaipur, which initially was a very good and fast road. True to form though, it didn’t last as we needed to take a deviation off the main road to make a visit to Ranakpur Temple en route. We arrived and Sam promptly got mugged for a banana by some macac monkeys which are obviously used to being fed and are now quite aggressive.
We entered the temple after all being told we were inappropriately dressed (clothes to ankles on this one, not just covering the knees) and being made to wear fetching nightie style garments, which the lads had to wear overtrousers. Of course it was still really hot so the extra layer was a bit of a killer! The temple was pretty, with many stone columns, but for the first time since we’ve been in Rajasthan the location was in beautiful hills and woodlands, not just desert. We ate lunch at the canteen on site as there was nothing else around. For 50 rupees we had a thali, and they just kept coming with the rice, chapatis and curries - the only rule was that we had to clear our plate. As we left the temple Claire got mugged by another macac for a chapati that she had taken to eat on the truck later. Two muggings in one day!! In South America it was always the coatis we had to watch, here it seems to be the monkeys!
I continued driving along a beautiful, narrow, winding mountain road. The views were stunning. It was entertaining passing oncoming vehicles in a couple of places, but we are bigger than most of them so it tends to sort itself out without argument! We stopped en route for a chai and a driver swop. The locals sat us down and within a matter of a couple of minutes we were surrounded by about 20 locals. The shop owner refused to let us pay him when we left!
We reached Udaipur late afternoon. It is impossible to get Daisy down to the hotel, so we found some truck parking and hired a couple of tuk tuks to take us. The hotel is on the lake overlooking a 7 star hotel as used in James Bond’s Octopussy. It is a beautiful location and we ate on in the restaurant on the roof terrace where we could enjoy the views.
I spent most of the day catching up on paperwork as wifi was good, so not very exciting!! All of my bookings are done until Christmas now though so it was well worth the effort. I did take a foray into the streets on an ATM run and to find a bite to eat but I really didn’t see anything of Udaipur. not too much of a problem as we have two full days here.
Our cook and navigator for the next stage of the trip, Rafik, came to meet me so we could run through the itinerary. Only one problem - he was asking for more food money than I have in my budget! I have no choice, I gave him my budgeted amount and it is really up to him to sort it out from there. It was more than enough for us on previous stages of the trip. We arranged to meet tomorrow to store the food into the truck.
By evening I was stir crazy so I headed out to explore the streets and to find something to eat. I crossed the bridge to the opposite side of the lake and was looking around when I bumped into a local who asked what I was looking for. Food, and not at tourist prices as Udaipur is unsurprisingly quite expensive around the lake. He kindly took me to the local market where the menus aren’t even in English (result!) and I had a really good dal with chapatis. Heading back he showed me a bar which turned out to be a Bob Marley bar - pictures of Bob everywhere. I had a beer before heading back to the hotel.
Today was supposed to be a bit of a sightseeing day. Nick and I got up and headed to the Palace on the hunt for breakfast, in spite of the fact that it was raining really hard!. We were too early and the Palace wasn’t open, so we went to coffee bar instead. I then tried an ayurvedic massage to loosen up my shoulders, before meeting Rafik who had done all of the food shopping for our next few days. We joined him for a chai before - trying the Palace again - success! It was open. It is an impressive Palace, although we had to repeat ourselves about 10 times fending off guides. Sometimes I prefer just to wander and look, and there were plenty of description boards all the way round. We went for lunch at the top of the hotel over the coffee shop which was good food with an amazing view. It was still raining so there was no point in visiting the observatory as we couldn’t see anything. We’re lucky enough to come back so we decided to forget sightseeing for the rest of the day. I spent the afternoon finishing the itinerary for next trip and finding some fun facts, and sorting out problem with kitty with Sam in the UK office.
In the evening Nick and I went to Bagore-ki-Haveli at 7pm for local Rajasthani folk music and dancing show. It was really cool! There were ladies dancing with pots of fire on their heads, stacks of pots almost as wide and tall as the lady dancing with them on her head, lots of bells, brights colours and some Rajasthani puppets too. It was still raining so we dashed to a restaurant for dinner. It was a really relaxed place with good lake views, very cool! We headed back to the hotel to find one of my pax has a kidney stone which he is expected to pass in 15 days (uh oh!), but he’s okay. I settled the bill and arranged a tuk tuk back to the truck ready for an early start in the morning.
We got up early to get our tuk tuks and meet Rafik at 5.30am in order to head out to Daisy. It was raining… hard! Unsurprisingly our tuk tuks weren’t there so we just got some other ones. We got on the road and Nick took first drive. Pushing on, we drove to the border of the next state, which was a bit of a fiasco. In trying to pass through as we normally would the officials started gesticulating and demanding our paperwork. We handed over a carnet and they still refused to let us through. In the end we got waved to the side, so I took Rafik to the office with me to find out what was going on. Turns out there is a new system in place and we simply had to get ridiculous piece of paper with Daisy’s registration number on it stamped - it wasn’t even a proper form, just a scrap of paper! They clearly had no idea what to make of our carnet, as per usual. I handed our scrap of paper to the office and they waved us through.
Taking on the drive after breakfast, we followed a good road, but slower than usual as it was still raining quite hard. It was largely an uneventful day. We stopped at a dhaba for lunch and then continued to our campsite which is on the lawn of a hotel. Extra bonus was that it had finally stopped raining!! Lovely lawn! Not so lovely hotel, although it isn’t bad. One of my pax has a dodgy tummy and so she upgraded with her husband. None the less, they came and watch my tent demo as they will both need to camp at our bush camp tomorrow. I settled down and sorted my accounts as Claire and Andrew have agreed to send my receipts to the office for me, and Rafik cooked dinner which was delicious! All in all, a productive evening. Then I had the pleasure of trying to have a shower which turned out to be the finest spray of water ever - the rain earlier in the day would have been more effective! I gave up and stuck my head under a tap.
We woke up to rain and a lot of it!! Only Sam and I had set up tents for camping, so as soon as there was a break in the weather we dashed around dropping the tents and getting them packed away. Fortunately they are being used again tonight so they will have chance to dry properly then, there was no chance this morning and the weather stayed that way ! Rafik took me to a road side shelter for chai while we waited for the others to get ready, and then we headed off towards Mandu Fort. The Fort is amazing!! It was really impressive to see. We also saw them preparing concrete mix for restoration purposes - they still use two ox and a concrete wheel in a large circular ditch to grind the mix. Out guide was entertaining and informative., and the tour was about the right length of time. We also saw another temple and Hoshang Shah’s mausoleum, upon which the Taj Mahal was based.
We got back in to the truck and drove to our bush camp, stopping en route for lunch in a roadside spot with a beautiful view. The campsite was like a different world, i that there was no one around! A little bit of luxury, it is based on a small hummock overlooking the Karwand Dam and it is a really lonely location. It was very nice to be bush camping again after so long! Our peace was briefly interrupted by the arrival of a Tata truck containing a lot of Indians celebrating another Ganesha festival. they were very curious although initially a little shy. They soon got over that and before they left Sam had been covered in red powder. Sam went to was in the dam and the rest of enjoyed a beer around the camp fire before dinner. Great evening!
We set off to Ajanta caves early, stopping for breakfast n route in a truck dhabar. Arriving at the caves mid-morning, we had to take a bus to the entrance. We went in to see the cave paintings, but didn’t really know what we were looking at so ended up hiring a guide. It was really interesting, and the caves are situated in a beautiful bend in a gorge. I think the scenery was almost better than the caves to be honest!
From Ajanta we drove to the restaurant belonging to Rafik’s brother for lunch. This is usually our campsite, but as our couple need to leave the trip early and fly from Arangabad in the morning we headed straight out that afternoon to Ellora caves. We arrived in Ellora with just an hour before the caves closed, so took Andrew and Claire straight there, and the rest of us decided to visit them in the morning. Ellora caves have more than 30 Buddhist, Jain and Hindu caves carved into them. Andrew and Claire came back saying it was well worth the visit, then had to head straight off to Arangabad to their hotel. That left us with a total of one passenger!! There was myself and Nick, plus Rafik and his son, Habib who had come to help his Dad. So Sam had a crew of four people - about right by Indian standards we all decided!
After a nice relaxed breakfast and a bit of monkey spotting (they were playing on the childrens climbing frames!) we headed up to Ellora caves. Starting at cave 1, the Buddhist caves, we worked our way round. I got as far as cave 10, which is the most impressive of all the caves, by which point I was feeling really tired and decided to head back to camp. I will be here again so I have time to see the rest then when I’m feeling a little more up to it! It had been entertaining though, as so many Indians wanted photos with us. Living the rock star life and not even famous!
I had a siesta after lunch, the last few weeks catching up with me a bit. I needed some recovery time! I spent the rest of the afternoon working on m accounts as I didn’t want to be doing them while I was in Mumbai. We enjoyed our last dinner with Rafik and Habib, and then it started to rain so we all took shelter in Daisy and played some silly games before bed time.
The final drive day of the trip, we headed off at 6am. Apart from the first section it is nearly motorway for the whole journey and it was fairly easy driving, apart form one truck who decided to pull to across both lanes of traffic - he was looking straight at us too!! I slammed on the brakes and narrowly avoided him, just catching the frame of the wing mirror against his side. So lucky it wasn’t more! I will admit to swearing at him - and he just remained stationary in the middle of the road with more traffic travelling at speed behind us. The road has a speed restriction of 8-0kph so I don’t really know what he was thinking - if he was even thinking at all!!
Arriving safely in Mumbai, we managed to time our entry with pre Lord Ganesha festival preparations. It took us an hour to drive 3 Km but they were a brilliant 3 Km. People were lining the roads waiting to see all of the Ganesha floats coming down the street, with the different families dancing with the processions. It a bit like Rio carnival without the feathers and a lot more clothes!! We received a lot of cheering and waving on our journey into the city, and with only Sam in the back I’m sure they thought he was a rockstar, Nick is his driver and I was his manager. Private truck for one, he had to be a VIP!
We got to the hotel and checked in, before heading out to the streets to see the processions. We were stood together watching one go past and dancing to the music, so they grabbed our hands (men to the front, ladies to the back) and included us in the actual procession. It was great fun and I was asked to pose for a lot of photos. They couldn’t get over the fact that white people wanted to join in their celebrations - obviously don’t know us very well as we’ll take any excuse to have a party! It was a fantastic evening and we all felt really honoured to be welcomed into such an important festival for them.
I had a nice long lie in and spent the rest of the day sorting out my admin and getting printing done. The train tickets form Mumbai to Goa still hadn’t arrived so I made some phone calls to find out what was happening, and was promised they would be at the hotel by 3pm… not quite, they arrived at 4pm but that was good enough for me! I wasn’t feeling brilliant (not a hangover, I hadn’t been drinking!) and our new group was starting the trip that evening so I just took it easy. Fortunately after an afternoon sleep I was feeling much more on form and we met our new group who seem to be a really good bunch. After the pre-departure meeting we took Daisy and headed out to the Delhi Dhabar for dinner. It didn’t take us long to find it, and the food proved to be really good!! The group were all mixing well and all seem to be up for having a good time, so hopefully it will be a good trip.
I got up and joined two of my passengers for breakfast before we all headed out on the Dharavi slum tour. Now I can honestly say that this tour completely changed my perception of slums. A slum is literally just buildings and businesses illegally built on Government land. 55% of Mumbai’s population live in the slums, and this includes 33% of Mumbai’s police force. There are over 30 different slum areas in Mumbai and we were visiting the largest, which was the one used in the filming of Slumdog Millionaire. This slum is split into two areas - the commercial slum, and the residential slum, which is divided into a muslim area and a Hindu area.
We headed out to the slum with our guide, Dinesh, passing through the red light district on the way where prostitutes could be seen looking for business, even at 9.00am. Most of them have come from the country, having been promised work opportunities then sold to the different houses.
From here we visited the largest open air laundry in Mumbai which was really impressive to see. There were workers beating the living daylights out of cloths and clothing, many concrete wash basins and rows upon rows of clothes hanging up to dry. This is the busiest laundry in Mumbai with most hotels and businesses sending their laundry here for cleaning.
From the laundry we arrived at the Commercial slum. This was really cool! There are a number of businesses involved in recycling - plastic collection and cardboard collections, soap recycling from the hotels (this doesn’t get used back in the hotels, but gets used for clothes washing, or sold in the markets to the locals), and many other industries including leather processing and pot making. Workers from outside the city come in to earn money, but they choose not to stay in the residential slums as it costs them money for electricity and water. Instead they will live above the business that they are employed in, which also provides the business owner free overnight security.
We crossed a busy road and entered the residential slum. Now, the thing that struck me most about this area is that even though there are huge numbers of people in a tiny living area (we counted 92 families in a three block stretch) the streets are kept clean and maintained. They are incredibly narrow - literally a shoulders width, and there is a general landfill area for waste which gets burnt at the end of the monsoon season. They do have a rat problem, which is unsurprising, and burning the refuse helps to reduce this problem. In the mean time, the rats have competition from the goats that inhabit the area. The living areas in the slum do not have toilets, but there is a communal shared bathroom (complete with a lady to maintain them). Interestingly the Government has built apartment blocks which provides free accommodation (they still need to pay for amenities), but most families prefer to remain in the slum with their community. Every house has electricity and it allowed 3 hours of water a day (normal in Mumbai due to shortages) so they store water in tanks for use throughout the day.
The tour was nearly at an end, and we had chance to see some of the different projects that Reality Tours give money to, and support to extra education, English classes, medical care, recreation facilities and more. They do a very good job.
Returning to the hotel, I called Om, our contact for the hotel and asked his advice about the train station as we take a train from Mumbai to Goa and I wanted to find out the travel times to the train station, and the recce the route in preparation for tomorrow. He offered to show me the right entrance and where to go - very helpful as it saved me a lot of time working out which entrance we needed, etc. He then offered to show me a bit of Mumbai which I gladly accepted as I had seen so little of the city (dancing through the city doesn’t count!). We went for a late lunch and ended up at eh cinema to watch a Bollywood movie, which turned out not to be very Bollywood, but the experience was still good fun. I couldn’t understand a word, but the acting was good enough that I could work out what was going on. Back at the hotel, I spent some time scanning and copying passports and sorting out paperwork and breakfast for the following day. Nick had already left with Daisy, so I got an early night ready for the following day, although I kept waking up in a panic that we would miss the train! I don’t have the best track record with trains when it is just me, so the prospect of getting a group there on time fills me with dread!
After an interrupted night (panicking that we might miss the train) I got up early, packed my last things and headed to reception to hand in my key and collect the breakfast bags. At 6.30am three of my pax still hadn’t appeared, so I called their rooms. One with no response and the other with a promise of being there in two minutes. Needless to say the two minutes was a little bit longer as their alarm hadn’t gone off and they had overslept! I was starting to think that my sleepless night wasn’t entirely unjustified!
Anyway, we piled into a couple of taxis and headed to the station. I had a departure time of 7.10am so I led the group through the station at a brisk pace, mentally giving myself a pat on the back for having recceed the station yesterday. Typically our railway line was one of the furthest away but we got there just before 7.00am, found our carriage and were promptly told were weren’t able to board as the train was being cleaned! Five minutes later they let us on and allowed us to rearrange our seat numbers so we could all sit together. The train was then 20 minutes late leaving the station, but I can guarantee if we were late then they would have left on time!
The train ride was really pleasant. We had second class sleeper carriages, and our own little cubicle area. We all shared stories and got to know each other, it was great! There was plenty of food and drink of offer, including chicken lollipops… none of us were quite brave enough to try those! The samosas were some of the best I have had out here though.
The train was 1.5 hours late arriving in Thivim (definitely not Swiss!). We piled into two taxis for our final half hour drive to the hotel in Vagator. The hotel is lovely!! Nick had already arrived and scouted the village, so we dropped off our bags and headed straight out to get some dinner. We ended up in an awesome little reggae bar which served good food and cheap drinks. Happy days!
We had a nice lie in, and then I joined two of my pax for a wander into the town. We ended up back at the Mango Tree for breakfast where we bumped into some more for the group. As we were leaving another member of the group arrived too. I’m not saying that we are creatures of habit, but…!
We headed on to see the beach. It was really choppy and they had warning flags out so we decided against swimming, just did some paddling and made our way up the hill to the Fort ruins to see the views which were lovely. By this time almost the whole group had found each other.
We returned to the town for lunch, then to the hotel for a swim. I did a bit of work in the afternoon, before joining the group again for dinner. We headed in the opposite direction and found a restaurant overlooking the beach. As it had started to rain we decided we had best enjoy a cocktail and our dinner before heading back and we were lucky enough that the rain had stopped for us to make a quick dash back.
We headed south towards Palolem beach, stopping en route at Old Goa to have a look around. there is a strong Portugese influence throughout this area, which is evident from the churches and buildings in the town. Everything is within a stones throw in Old Goa, and the buildings are beautiful. It only took a couple of hours to work our way around it and visit a museum - very interesting. We had lunch before heading down to South Goa. Half an hour into the drive the police stopped us and told us we weren’t allowed to cross the bridge ahead as Daisy is too heavy. Uh oh! It is the route on our route notes so we were a bit confused, but I hopped out with a map to discuss the best route with them. Good job, as they suddenly spotted our passengers and asked if she was a bus or a truck… I went with a bus, and miraculously we were allowed to cross the bridge even though Daisy had obviously not change in size or weight in the previous two minutes… It was closed to trucks only - I love having an interchangable vehicle!! It’s the same at road tolls - if it is cheaper as a bus then we are a bus. If it’s cheaper as a truck, we’re a truck!!
We continued to Palolem without incident until we arrived in the village. Evidently Daisy has never been here before as there are a number of very low power lines which we just didn’t fit under due to the sag in the wire. Not my favourite situation as they are live lines and therefore the potential to get fried is pretty high. With some strategic poking with a broom we managed to lift them over Daisy and made our way to the hotel, not without causing a fairly impressive traffic jam and a discussion with a local about the best place to park while we were waiting for space outside the hotel. He thought we should leave her blocking in five cars and the road. I thought we should move her to a piece of road into front of rough land, no shops where we weren’t blocking anyone but he was adamant the police would move us. We put her there anyway, and unsurprisingly didn’t have any trouble with the police.
The beach on Palolem is beautiful. White sand curving in a half moon arc, with palm trees and turquoise blue sea… so I went for a swim before hitting the bar for happy hour as a pre-birthday warm-up. It was well worth it, and a couple of hours into the evening we had the invite to learn how to dance Bollywood style on the beach. A group of Indians were at the same resort for a couple of days as it was also the birthday of one of teh girls. One of the guys, Bharat, turned out to be a Bollywood actor and dance instructor… it isn’t possible to make this sort of thing up. We were all having a go at Bollywood dancing and having a great time! One of my pax, Zoe, gave Bharat a run for his money, pulling out some of her best zumba moves and teaching him a new move or two. He was quite taken with her! When the bar closed we moved to the next bar down the beach and kept on drinking and dancing. At midnight I was invited to share a birthday cake on the beach, it was great!!
I kept partying until 4am, and ended up back in the house of one of the locals with his friends, just across the road form our resort. I disgraced myself and fell asleep on his sofa before they had even handed me my drink (but after they presented me a Terrys chocolate orange as a birthday present - amazing!). Evidently at 35 I have become the ultimate party animal!
I woke up early, about 8am which was nothing short of a minor miracle. After a quick cup of coffee, I said my goodbyes and headed back to the resort. Incredibly I wasn’t feeling hungover, just (unsurprisingly) really tired!
I spent the day relaxing, and chilling out in the sea. I had to move Daisy to a different parking space, which resulted in the usual demands for photos. Having had such a tough morning I treated myself to an afternoon siesta to recover from the previous nights partying. Getting up it was time to enjoy some proper birthday cocktails at happy hour! We went for dinner at a local restaurant which sells fresh fish. Nick got me a lobster, very tasty! And the group got me some presents and wrote me a lovely card. And a cake (all of my own this time!). And finally we lit a Chinese lantern to make a birthday wish. It wasn’t a late night though, all of our livers were still in recovery from last night!
We left at 7am, and just cracked on for a couple of hours before finding a local place to stop for breakfast - tried my first Indian dhosa (pancake) which is a common dish moving south. Very good! It was the first drive I’d had in Daisy for nearly a week (apart from car park incident yesterday) and it was good to be back behind the wheel. The landscape has totally changed again - it is very green, with rolling hills. We stopped for lunch in a restaurant with a fantastic name… Shetty Fish Place. We were all hoping they hadn’t spelt the first word wrong! The Food was great though - we had a veg Thali as they had it ready. That and a drink cost us 63 rupees each so a little over a dollar. Amazing, and so much food!
We continued driving on to Hampi. Incredibly the last 15Km took nearly an hour, the road was so tiny and pot-holed! We had to follow an amazing track past old ruined bridge to get to our guest house, through incredible landscapes - large boulders and hills, all scattered with ruins. Very surreal and different to any part of India that we have seen so far.
Fantastic day today - another day when you know you are in India. I had arranged to meet our guide in Hampi (which locally is pronounced ‘Humpy’ - brilliant!). To get to our meeting place we had to use the local ferry to cross a river. We arrived at the boat crossing to find the boat men hadn’t turned up yet, but we had the option of using what looked like giant floating baskets (or jaffa cakes as one of my passengers described them) to cross the river. The only thing was that the current was quite strong and the guy was struggling to keep it along the side of the river, let alone in the main river so we declined. Within 20 minutes the boatmen had arrived with their motors in hand, used the jaffa cake to get to their boats and fit the motor, then came down to collect their passengers. this was great, but within 30 seconds of leaving the bank the motor cut out and we were carried rapidly downstream by the current, whilst a little Indian man jumped into the river and frantically diverted the boat into a reed island while they tried to fix the motor. Turned out they were out of fuel… the problem was quickly remedied and we were on our way across the river, finally reaching the opposite bank.
We met our guide, Banu, who was laughing at the general debacle we had endured to reach Hampi centre, and we piled into tuk tuks to take us to the first ruin… only to discover it was a 30 second drive up the hill which we could easily have walked. At this point you have got to remember that Indians don’t walk anywhere unless they have to, including a 30 second tuk tuk ride which we find ridiculous, but why walk when you can afford to pay someone to take you? A very different mentality, and reminiscent of the caste system which is fortunately now against the law, although still very evident in different places in India.. The temple was worth the 30 second tuk tuk ride. With a three -headed bull (for luck) and a lot of Lord Vishnu (Hindu temples are either dedicated to Vishnu or Shiva - only one to Lord Brahma as he married incestuously) Vishnu’s wife on display, there was plenty to look at - not least the puppies and monkeys that meander throughout the temple. Ironically we have to take our shoes off and step over a lintel (it is back luck to stand on it), but dogs and monkeys can wander freely dig their own doggy or monkey thing, including swinging off sacred statues.
We headed onto another temple, which was impressive to see and had quite a Chinese influence running throughout. We were basically rock stars at this point, as a while trip of Indians who had come to see the temple spent more time watching us and approaching us for photos than they did looking at the temple. There was a cool little alcove where bats were nesting - it smelt like mice, but I guess bats are really only flying mice so it figures. From the temple we headed to the Queen’s baths - an old building where royal women could bathe in peace, before heading back to the town centre via a couple of large statues and the Queens palace with the elephant stables where elephants were stabled for procession and festivals.. Hampi is full of impressive ruins and we only visit a fraction of them. The landscape is an intriguing mix of countryside, rocks and boulders (great for climbing) and old ruins scattered everywhere. You could easily spend at least a week here exploring.
We stopped in the centre for lunch, I enjoyed a thali. Thalis are great - they are usually the cheapest thing on the menu, the shortest waiting time as everything is already prepared, and really filling as there is so much of it with rice, chapattis, and a variety of curries, usually including lentils and chickpeas. After lunch I left the group to their own devices and did a spot of photocopying, before returning across the river (much less eventful) and heading back to the guest house to do some paperwork. All was going well until as storm with a large amount of thunder and lightening set in, and the hotel needed o switch off the wifi. the perfect excuse to stop working, I had my dinner and headed to bed!!
It was a long drive day, so we set off at 5am. one of the most memorable parts of this drive was approaching a local village and seeing a long line of locals squatting in a long line along the side of the road. Open defeacation is still widespread in India,especially in rural communities, but it has never been quite so amusing as when all the men are illuminated in the headlights… by all means call us infantile (we’ll probably agree) but it was a highlight of the day. Interestingly though, we didn’t see any ladies doing the same…
Finally leaving the small village road, we hit a good road which we were able to follow all the way to Mysore, stopping en route for a quick lunch for some roadside wraps which were delicious and ridiculously cheap. Arriving in Mysore we all took advantage of the swimming pool which turned out to be pretty chilly but refreshing after the drive. Heading out together for dinner and to do a little exploring, we passed one of the entrances to Mysore palace which was lit up and beautiful to see.
It was a late start today - usually we are supposed to take the passengers out to Mysore palace, but as we are approaching a festival it doesn’t open to the public until the afternoon, so we moved on to plan B and let everyone have a free morning. Nick took Daisy to get some work done, and I joined Zoe and Joelle to explore the city. We found a tuk tuk driver to show us around, including a visit to show us how incense sticks are made. Mysore is famous for it’s silk and incense, and it was interesting to watch them being made. We carried on to a local market which was really cool! We are in the middle of another Ganesh festival and celebrations were underway in the market - we were invited to join and even handed a free lunch. Not only a bonus, it tasted really good!!
Returning to the hotel, I met the rest of the passengers and we walked around to the Palace entrance. The Palace was beautiful, and we used in audio tour to go around which was really informative and not too long - that translates into ‘I didn’t get bored’! I had an easy evening, eating in the hotel restaurant and catching up on some paperwork.
We had a drive day to our homestay at Wayanad. It is a great road to Sultan’s Battery where we met the guide. On the way passed through a nature reserve where we spotted our first wild elephant having a dust bath at the side of the road! We also saw bonnet macacs (monkeys) which are very cute, and spotted deer. We had lunch at Sultan’s Battery before heading to Edekal caves with a brief stop en route at a 13th Century Jain temple where the sultan used to store his weaponry. Very simplistic and modest, it made a refreshing change!
The caves were great, mainly because it was a steep walk up and the views from the top were stunning. There was some amazing rock around which just made me want to get my rock shoes on and a rope. Sadly it is prohibited, although there would have been some fantastic routes. The caves have petroglyphs dating back to 6000BC which were really interesting. Heading back to Daisy we found half a dozen Indian guys literally draping themselves across her for photos, that’s how cool she is!
We headed to homestay which has an awkward drive to negotiate, but it is an amazing place! The owner, Babu, runs coffee plantations and it has the most incredible view. The food was awesome too, although they did admit they made it less spicy for our delicate Western palates! They helped me arrange an itinerary for tomorrow - fortunately a walk to Chembra peak is doable. Earlier in the year it was closed due to terrorists, but it’s safe again now, just restricted areas for nesting birds.
My first chance to do some decent exercise for what feels like months! Okay, so it’s not quite that long but opportunities to do walking out here do seem to be few and far between. Eight of us squeezed into a seven seater jeep (no worries!) and we headed off to Chembra Peak. The weather was overcast but it was perfect for trekking, not too hot. We weren’t able to summit the peak as a rare species of bird is nesting at the moment and they don’t want to disturb them, so we could walk as far as a heart shaped lake, appropriately named ‘Love Lake’. Our guide took us into some woods to see if we cold spot the rare nilgiri legur monkey which can only be found in this area, but all we found were a lot of leeches! We didn’t hang around and all did and extensive leech check, although not extensive enough, I found a leech bite fortunately minus the leech when I took my shoes off at the end of the day. It had bitten me through my walking sock! We had lunch on rocky ledge overlooking a beautiful view where we did manage to see the monkeys, before heading back down the mountain.
From there we headed to a waterfall, stopping for a chai break on the way. The waterfall was beautiful and worth the walk down - I’m sure that the next time I come through it will be a poor imitation of what we have seen this time as it is the end of rainy season and therefore the best time to be looking at waterfalls now.
From the waterfalls we headed back towards the homestay, stopping en route to visit the tea and coffee plantation. Our guide also showed us cardamon plants, birds eye chillies, and pepper plants. Very interesting, but also a little disconcerting when he told us black cobras, King cobras and crates can be found in the plantations and snake bites are a common injury to sustain by worked in the plantations, especially when he showed us the snake holes in the bank.
We got back to the homestay just in time for sunset which was great as it has the most awesome view out towards the mountains. After coffee and cake a couple of headed into the village to try the impossible task of buying presents for Zoe for her birthday which falls tomorrow. We ended up with a pashmina, a flower accessory for her hair, stick on bindis for everyone, and a pair of mens underpants which we are going to pretend are from Mr Bollywood… Once again dinner was amazing - sometimes I truly can’t believe the places my job brings me.
Zoe’s birthday! We started the day with an amazing breakfast of Kerala bread (basically pancakes) which you sprinkle with sugar and then pour coconut milk over the top. Really yummy! Complete with fresh pineapple, pomegranate and papaya, and fresh home grown coffee - happy days!
The drive out of Wayanad and down to the coast was spectacular and we attracted the normal attention - I’m in danger of getting complacent about extra attention at which point every other country in the world will seem positively boring to drive in. We found a chai stop with an awesome view. Doing our best for Zoe’s birthday!
Hitting the coastal road the traffic suddenly got very ‘North India’ again, with some perfect examples of how not to dive. Survival instincts kicked in with patient zen-like driving required. We found a little restaurant which was serving dhosas with curry, chutney and a white sauce which seemed a bit hummus-like but we’re not sure what it was and the owners didn’t speak good enough English to understand when we asked. Not a problem, it was delicious! And it cost 30 rupees for two - that’s 50 cents which is incredible.
Arriving at Ernakalum, things started to go a little bit wrong. Nick was driving in when a van tried to squeeze between us and a motorbike, despite me waving at him telling him to wait. He was driving like an idiot (putting it very politely!!). Fortunately he didn’t hit the bike, but he did manage to impale the side of his van on our bull bars and create two huge dents. He disappeared and we thought that was the end of it, so continued to our guest house. Just before we arrived he reappeared and indicated that we should pull over. As we were only a block from the guest house we carried on so at least I could sort out our passengers while Nick spoke to the guy who basically wanted money.
Before long the police were involved and Nick disappeared to the police station to sort it out. As it was Zoe’s birthday I took the group to a local restaurant, and left directions for Nick to catch us up. He never managed to. I got a phone call from him just as we were returning to the truck to say he was still at the police station and they had despatched a tow truck to take away Daisy!! I got in touch with the office straight away - the guy was basically asking for $250 which is cheeky as it was his own fault that he had the accident, but if Daisy got towed then we won’t see her again for weeks or months! It was negotiation time. Four policemen and the guy who caused the accident turned up with a toy tow truck that was only fit for a car, the police obviously hadn’t worked out the scale they were working with. I argued the point that the guy was driving really badly and we had four witnesses to testify, but they kept telling me that we were the largest vehicle so it was our fault - craziness but I had been warned about this previously when I was in Jaisalmer so it wasn’t unexpected. I was more surprised that the police didn’t want the money themselves - this is what happens after two years in South America! After half an hour of arguing we compromised on $145 and that was the end of it, although I very reluctantly handed the money over.
I woke up tired, a bit stressed and grumpy as a result of the late night sorting out the van driver yesterday, but did my best not to take it out on my passengers as we were heading across the water to Fort Cochin form Ernakalum. We used the Indian ferry rather than the tourist one which was fun although we did get stared at (nothing new there then!). Arriving at Fort Cochin, everyone was free to split up. Phil and Andreas jumped in a tuk tuk, Sam hired a bike and I joined the girls walking down to the Chinese fishing nets which are still used for fishing here. We had been there watching for about two minutes when we were invited to have a go ourselves - easier than it initially looked (either that or we’re incredibly strong). I’m still not sure that I would want to do it all day. I’m sure it would be a much better work out if I did though. We had a measly catch, apparently due to high river levels although the fishermen may have just been trying to make us feel better!! We explored Fort Cochin for a while, wandering the small streets, and watching a coconut collection, and a team building a house. This involved mixing cement which is passed from one person to the next, hand to head and up the height of the house. The women seem to do more of this work than the men. I then left the girls to it and headed back to the mainland to get some work done, passing through a fantastic spice street absolutely blocked solid with trucks on my way back to the ferry. There was barely enough room to walk between them and no one could go anywhere until the first trucks decide to move.
We headed out to dinner that evening, on a mission to find a bar… not easy in Ernakalum! We eventually decided upon a local restaurant for dinner, and then a bar which was a bit of a mans bar but it sold alcohol so we found a table and made the most of it. Turned out to be alright and we had a good evening.
We had a short morning drive to Alleppey to catch our house boat for 24 hours of luxury - not that we knew it then. Upon our arrival we discovered that there was a problem with the boat which was being fixed, so patiently waited. After half an hour the manager came to apologise so we cheekily asked if we could have a case of beer as compensation. Mission successful, beer was dutifully delivered. I then asked if we could get a lift to the boat so at least we could relax on it rather than standing on the docks. Ten minutes later a small boat had appeared, we were loaded on and transported down the river to a ridiculously comfortable boat - we were being spoilt, even if it wasn’t working properly. Within 20 minutes is was fixed and we were off around the waterways.
Alleppey is in Kerala, the ‘Land of the Coconut Trees’ which basically means that you see hundreds of coconut palms stretching as far as the eye can see in every direction, lining the waterways, only broken up by small village houses, behind which we got glimpses of paddy fields. It was one of the most relaxing things I have ever done. We basically just chilled out, enjoyed the view, ate lots of really good local food, and shared our beers and my birthday Bacardi.
We moored up over night and had the chance to wander the banks of the waterways. I met a local called Abdul who enthusiastically explained a little bit more about the area. It is basically one of only two cultivated areas in the world which lie below sea level, the other being Holland. The region of Alleppey is man-made. An old lake was dredged to build banks, creating 33,000 acres of cultivated land (mainly rice) separated from the canal and providing an area to build houses. It is generally a poor region, predominantly lived in by farmers. The water levels from the mountains is controlled by a sluice gate, which releases excess water to prevent flooding. During the dry season it is kept closed to prevent salt water entering the fresh water areas. During the monsoon period the local schools close and most families relocate to city areas for two months in July and August.
We had a bit of extra time on our house boat after breakfast, due to the delay in starting yesterday. It was very pleasant! Eventually returning to shore, we collected Daisy and headed south to Varkala. It was only a short drive, although required some of the usual ducking under low power lines. Our parking area is a short distance from the hotel, at the local helipad of all places! Basically it means that Daisy gets the best coastal views of any of us!!
We made our way to our hotel, the Akhil Beach Resort as our usual place is closed for renovation, and it is amazing!! Really lovely. Still in Kerala, so there are plenty of coconut palms around. It has a really lovely swimming pool, just as well as the weather is still very humid. We went for a quick exploration down to the beach, and to get some lunch and try more of the Keralan dishes. Zoe, Joelle and I all ordered different dishes and shared, which is the best way to explore new dishes out here, especially as they can vary quite dramatically between regions.
There are usually two beach areas in Varkala, but one of them is completely under water at the moment as a result of the currents moving the sand further up the coast during the monsoon. As the season progresses the currents will change and sand is dropped back in the beach area, building up until a beach is recreated. Looking at it now it is impossible to imagine a beach will ever be there, so I’m intrigued to see it again in January!
We headed down to the local bars in the evening where we had spotted a generous Happy Hour on cocktails, which was three consecutive happy hours… Obviously we made the most of that and sampled a good range of the local cocktails too.
I had decided that it was time to do some exercise as I seem to have spent far too much time just sitting around in recent weeks. The resort run a yoga class so I decided to go along and give it a go. I will confess to being a complete beginner at yoga but fortunately I’m quite stretchy and bendy so it was fine. It felt good to stretch everything properly though! I then headed with Joelle to do a spot of shopping. I have sworn to myself that if I see something I like I will actually get it (within reason), as I went through South America for two years and came back with a pitiful collection of souvenirs and the cultures I have seen. I don’t want to make the same mistake here. they have amazing hand embroidered wall hangings, and I had seen one with a lovely elephant on it so went to do a spot of bartering. Happily I could afford it and I got a good price for it. Now I just have to find a way to get it home as it’s not the smallest item in the world, even when rolled up!
I had some information on cooking classes, so I headed down to book a session for the following day and decided to join in. It is about time that I learn how to cook a decent curry!! I headed back to my room and spent the afternoon doing my accounts which were refused to balance. I’ve spent some money somewhere and I’m not sure what it was on, but I’m sure it will come to light. I gave up and went for a quick swim. Then the heavens opened. We found a fantastic coffee shop which makes equally fantastic cake so Zoe, Joelle and I tucked in - they are fast becoming good friends which is nice. We have so many passengers, most of whom are fantastic, but not many who necessarily share common interests (like coffee and cake) and who I feel I will be good friends even when they have returned back to reality. To have two on the same trip is awesome!!
Unfortunately later on I wasn’t feeling great. I had something to eat thinking that it may just be a lack of proper food, but that didn’t help either so I decided to get an early night and sleep my way through it. It may be a cumulative effect of too many nights drinking, not enough sleep, generally being on the go and not taking enough time out, but occasionally I have to remember to look after myself too and not just everyone else!
I woke up feeling much better, was very good and went for another yoga session before heading up to the Coffee Temple for my breakfast and proper coffee. I spent the morning doing some research on my rapidly approaching Bhutan trip (difficult to focus on that when I’m still learning so much about the places we are travelling through now) before heading out to the cookery course with Zoe and Andreas. It was brilliant!! Can’t say with confidence that I am going to be able to recreate any of it, but it was surprisingly straight forward and quick to do. The chef teaching us was great too. The biggest difficulty will be getting the ingredients outside India. It was delicious though!! We made differnt dishes including chicken tikka masala, Keralan bread, pakora, and coconut rice. Yummy!!
Returning to the resort I treated myself to a massage, mainly because my shoulder has been feeling really stiff. Too much sitting in one position driving and travelling takes it’s toll - either that or age really is catching up with me!
We left Varkala after breakfast (Coffee Temple again, of course!!) and drove to Kanyakumari, the antarctica of India! It even has a penguin… admittedly it’s a penguin bin, but it’s still a penguin. We arrived with time for lunch, before heading down to the ferry to go out to ‘The Rock’ where the goddess Kanya Kumari (three guesses where the town got it’s name from) stood on one leg and did penance. Apparently her footprint can be seen in the rock… you need some Indian imagination to see it, but they help by putting decoration to mark her toe prints. The best bit about the whole experience was the reaction of the Indian passengers on the ferry. They were so excited!! It was great to watch. We spent a bit of time on the rock, where they also have a temple. It was super hot and exposed out there though. We made our way back to the ferry to discover we were on the last returning ferry of the day.
Arriving back in town the streets were eerily silent. I was surprised to see all of the bustling little stalls that we had passed on our way to the ferry were now closed. It’s unusual in India where everyone is a business man, and I thought they would have been keen to get some last trade from tourists (Indian and otherwise) returning from the rock. I had to get some work done, so I waved goodbye to the group who headed to the beach to watch the sunset.
I decided to eat in the hotel restaurant as everything had appeared to be closed on my walk back. It was only later that I found out why. The chief minister of the state Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa has been sentenced to prison for four years for corruption. She has a lot of support and the town had closed in protest. I was lucky to get to dinner early and get a table. Zoe and Joelle joined me, but there were queues out of the restaurant door as people still needed to eat and all restaurants not attached to a hotel were closed.
We had a very quiet drive day to Madurai due to the protest for the chief minister, at least we did once we had negotiated our way out of Kanyakumari. Following the map, we were met with a pile of rubble and the ‘road’ abruptly cam to an end at the edge of a lake. Instead we had to follow a tiny track around the outskirt of the lake, nearly ended up in a local school (that would have given them a shock!) before managing to successfully rejoin the road on the opposite side of the lake where is miraculously started again. Work in progress!!.
We arrived in Madurai at midday. Parking the truck in a truck park, we transferred everyone to the hotel via jeeps for access reasons. Nick and I found a restaurant at the top of a high rise building which had great views out to the temples that we were visiting with the group later that afternoon.
After lunch I met the group and we hired rickshaws to take a trip out to visit the Ghandi museum. Well worth a visit, although it is very anti-British!! Not surprising really. We spent an hour there before heading back toe the temples which only open at 4pm. True to form , our rickshaw drivers took us to ‘Uncles shop’ to get a commission, but it had a great roof top view of the temples so was worth visiting. Good job really, the heavens opened while we were there so at least we had a dry place to stay to avoid the shower, with a good view of the temples and the shop owner gave us some interesting explanations about the temples too.
Heading to the temples at 4pm I discovered that we weren’t allowed to take cameras inside. As I had my SLR and there was no secure place to leave it I decided to give teh temples a miss this time. They are walking distance from the hotel so it wasn’t a problem. Phil was wearing long shorts, but they weren’t long enough for this temple (but have been fine for every other temple we have been to!) and as he felt he had seen enough temples too we walked back to the hotel together, enjoying a chai en route.
Nick and I headed out to for dinner and found a proper bar selling beer and snacks - basically chips and mushroom fry. It was really nice to be somewhere so ‘normal’ although I was the only woman there and we both attracted a lot of attention for our general ‘whiteness’. i am definitely more comfortable in a bar to a posh restaurant, and this one wasn’t at all seedy like the one we had been to in Ernakulum. Result!!
We had a drive day to Pondicherry, a French colony in on the coast. We couldn’t quite make it as far as Pondicherry for a late lunch, so stopped in a great little place en route with lots of different options for lunch. I ended up with the usual thali but you really can’t go wrong with them, and it was served on the customary banana leaf - finger food! It’s a great idea too, as when you are finished you just fold up your leaf and throw it away, no washing up. I’m a fan of that idea!!
Arriving in Pondicherry, we got checked in to our guesthouse which is a great French-Indian family owned place with a great little balcony. I headed into town with Zoe and Joelle to do some exploring. Pondicherry is a fascinating little place. There is a canal running through the middle of it. Ne side is very Indian with the usual bustle and chaos, whilst on the opposite side it is full of colonial buildings and very tranquil. It has some lovely parks, and a nice walk along the sea front too, although the French section is what this town is all about, simply because it seems so out of place in India. ON our way back to the guesthouse we found a store selling an amazing variety of cheese - camembert, blue cheese, a delicious herby chilli cheese similar to bousin, also olives and a liquor store opposite selling red wine. We were sorted for the evening, never mind dinner. We set ourselves up on the terrace and ate our way through our cheese and olive platter. It was great, made so much better because it is impossible to find these foods anywhere else in India. Roll on four months time when I get to do it all over again!!
We had a short half day drive to Mahabalipuram, so I let everyone have a little extra time in Pondicherry, not leaving until 10am. I would have been great, but the protests over the chief minister were still going on so a lot of stores were still closed. No one complained though. we headed to Mahabalipuram which turned out to be one of my favourite places in the whole of India so far. It’s a great little town, although still low season so I might change my mind when there are more tourists about in January!
I let everyone sort themselves out for lunch, arranging to meet in the afternoon to take them round to the Shore Temples. Like most of the east coast (including Kanyakumari and Pondicherry) Mahabailpuram was badly affected by the tsunami ten years ago, although only 5 people actually lost their lives from this town. It did wash away a lot of homes and businesses, but also uncovered temples that nobody knew were there, and while the shore was out it the sea revealed a number of other temples that soon got immersed against the tide came in.
I found a guide at the entrance of the temples, who knew what he was talking about but spoke very quickly with a really thick accent! We all had to concentrate really hard to work out what he was saying, and I ended up translating a large amount of it to some of the more hard of hearing within the group!! It can take a while to get your ear tuned in to the local accents.
From the Shore Temples everyone split up as they had free time. There are five rathnas, which are basically stone monoliths dedicated to the different Gods and actually quite impressive to see so I headed up there, witnessing an interesting fight en route where a lady stall owner ran up to a lad and walloped him with a big stick! Chaos rapidly broke out, with a group of at least 30 locals congregating so I made a quick exit, not prepared to get caught up in something that could turn nasty very quickly. Also near the rathnas there is also an amazing rock known as Krishna’s butterball, which appears to defy gravity as it balances on a granite slope. I explored this area with Phil and Joelle, it was lovely parkland area complete with a herd of goats to add some ambience, and it climbs up above Mahabalipuram, giving great views out over the town.
Leaving the others to continue exploring I headed back to the hotel which is absolutely fantastic! It was a couple of dollars more than another option in Mahab, and well worth every penny. En route I walked past a chai shop and a local invited me to join him for a drink. Not in any hurry to do my accounts I accepted, and had a lovely chat with him and he very kindly treated me to my chai. The locals are really lovely! The chief minister protest was still continuing though, with streets being closed and fire crackers being set off so I avoided those areas on my way back to the hotel, some things just aren’t worth getting caught up in.
I spent the rest of my afternoon and evening sorting out my end of trip paperwork and accounts - not very exciting! Finally getting it done, I went to find the rest of the group for dinner, and joined them in a bar for a drink or tow before heading to bed as I was fading fast!
We were supposed to leave Mahab after breakfast, but it is such a great place that I gave everyone the chance to stay until lunch time which proved to be a very popular decision. I spent an hour getting the trip prep done for my next trip, before enjoying the pool and having a wander around Mahab, chatting to shop owners who are all really friendly and not into the hard sell like a lot of the places we have been . More than one of them are actually from Kashmir which surprised me.
Leaving after lunch, we headed to Chennai, stopping en route at a crocodile bank which proved to be really interesting and has species of croc from all over the world. It also has some rare species of turtle (I spotted some South American varieties hiding in there), and they also milk the venom of vipers, cobras and kraits. The snakes are kept in terracota pots, scoped out and milked before being replaced. The workers pulled a couple out and put them on display, which is about as close to them as I ever want to get. to see three King Cobras with their hoods extended on the opposite side of a wall with no glass is quite enough for me!! Not something I am in a hurry to meet in a tea plantation.
We seemed to be driving into Chennai for a really long time, it is a massive city. Arriving at the hotel I had to squeeze our rather large truck into a narrow gateway with an awkward roof overhang, and an inconvenient concrete tuk tuk parking sign in just the wrong place. We didn’t even have the option of approaching from the other direction which would have made the swing easier because it is a one way street - Unfortunately with police otherwise we would probably have done it anyway as generally anything goes in India!! Not to worry, I squeezed Daisy in to the drive and received a round of applause from all of the onlooking tuk tuk drivers and security guards - this admiration lasted for the duration of our stay, with one little guard telling everyone who would listen that I had reversed this huge truck in to the driveway!! Very sweet!
We took the group for dinner to one of the only restaurant which sells alcohol, also having met our only two new joiners so they joined us too. This has the added bonus of avoiding an official group meal tomorrow night as everyone had already met each other.
I quickly sorted out the final bits of my end of trip paperwork (and sent a Birthday message to my brother!), before meeting a journalist from Top Gear India who wants to do a feature on Daisy and overlanding. Nick has done a spot of marketing when we were in Mumbai, and the result was this journalist flying from Mumbai to Chennai to come and meet us to do a feature on Daisy. Admittedly this is mainly because she is a Tata which is an Indian truck, and she is truly one of a kind. He arrived with a photographer, we had managed to round up some of our passengers to make the shoot look more authentic (pretty poor with an empty overland truck!) and we headed around Chennai getting some photos, and getting Daisy blessed too!
We got back in time for me to get some printing done in time for my pre departure meeting for the group we have already met - makes life so easy sometimes!! Sam was feeling really unwell though, still as a result of his kidney stone diagnosed in Udaipur, so I took his prescription and trawled the streets for pharmacists. Seven stores and the use of a very friendly tuk tuk driver later who seemed to relish the challenge, we successfully returned with two of the drugs but I’m pretty sure the final drug isn;t licensed for sale in this region because no one had even heard of it!
We left our hotel after breakfast, and headed to Tirupati which is only a half day drive away. Unfortunately on our way out of Chennai we came across an unmarked and unsigned low railway bridge which we literally just scraped under - slightly concerning moment but she squeezed! We made good time. The road was generally excellent, simply narrowing as we passed through some small villages before widening again. We arrived for lunchtime. I arranged jeeps to take us to the Sri Venkateswara Temple, where many Indian pilgrims travel each day in the belief that the God Vishnu can actually be found in the inner sanctum. As you get closer to teh inner sanctum they chant 'Gooo-vinda!!!' whichis another name for Lord Vishnu. Many of them have their heads shaved as a mark of respect, and, ever the business men, this hair gets collected and sent West for wigs!!
We got collected after lunch time - only a few of us opted to take the trip up there so we fit into one jeep. The driver started out well, then after 15 minutes he stopped, another guy appeared and took over the driving. His driving left a lot to be desired, although eh was very friendly. the poor jeep was struggling to get up the hills and he wouldn’t drop a gear, and spent half of his time on the wrong side of the road. Disconcerting to say the least - I swear some of the most dangerous things we do our here are use the local transport! It got even better when he asked me where we were going… I was not impressed, although it was comical.
Fortunately we arrived in one piece, and I went to buy some fast-track tickets only to discover that a VIP had arrived that day and there were no fast-track tickets on sale… We were told that we could still queue but we probably wouldn’t get into the inner sanctum until 10 or 11pm! None of us were up for that so we decided just to stroll around the temple and soak up the atmosphere. Many Indians came over to have a photo with us. We stopped for a chai, and watched a local courtesy bus pull up to take people round to the queue for the inner sanctum. It was packed full of people, with more trying to get on. Two police men suddenly appeared, but rather than controlling the crowd they simply jumped on too! We decided it was probably just as well we had decided against queuing after seeing that, and steeled ourselves for the joyride back to the hotel, which fortunately went more smoothly than the drive up.
We left after breakfast, which was excellent, and decided to try a more direct route out of Tirupati. All was going well, we hit a diversion which took us through an amazing little market town, got stopped at a level crossing and attracted the usual attention, but also got to count the 60 plus carriages on the train as it passed us by, with people leaning out of the doorways. Five minutes later we had a problem. There was (yet another) low unmarked railway bridge and there was no way we were going to get underneath this one. We only had one choice, to turn around and return the way we had come. We followed a different diversion back, got stuck at another level crossing, which was no where near as entertaining as the previous one, then got slightly delayed crossing the railway track when a local bus refused to let us through, kept driving which basically meant both vehicles had to pull to the side to give way - and we found ourselves in the disconcerting position of being stopped on a railway line. Fortunately this situation was incredibly short-lived and an hour after we set off we passed our hotel and left the town the way we had come in, with a vague hope that none of our passengers were paying attention and hadn’t had noticed… I have updated our route notes for the benefit of all future Daisy drivers!! Every other truck would be fine, she’s just so much taller than the rest.
After the mornings escapades everything went very smoothly for the rest of the day. Tim delighted a number of small children by pulling what appeared to be an infinite number of balloons out of his pocket. An infinite number of small children then kept appearing from seemingly nowhere so we did a runner before we got inundated! We stopped in a little town en route to have our lunch, finding a roadside restaurant for the usual thali on a banana leaf, as delicious as always.
Arriving in Vijayawada, I was navigating Nick in when the police stopped us. We weren’t allowed to take Daisy along the usual road because a festival was on - so they directed us down a tiny road with instructions of how to get to our hotel. The first right turn was fine. the second right turn was not - there were lots of low power lines, and there was no way we were going to get down there without causing chaos. Left looked better. We went left. It worked! We got to the ‘hotel’ as marked on our maps and instructions, which was just a massive building with a lot of shops. Traffic was crazy so I hopped out to find out where we were supposed to go and asked around until I could find someone who could speak English and who knew where our hotel was. Obviously it was six blocks back the way we had just come. An interesting U turn later (no one really argues with us as Daisy is so big) and we headed back down the street, successfully spotting our hotel which miraculously had parking outside.
We headed out to dinner and to explore the town. It is very Indian. Very busy, bustling, great markets and cheap places to eat. We also found a cinema with a Bollywood movie being shown so Joelle, Tim and myself decided to give it a go. 70 rupees later and we were in the posh seats in the oldest cinema that probably exist on the planet. It was great!! It had big propellers on the walls, a curtain, the old slides with no smoking information and an interval in the middle of the film. The film we watched was Bang Bang - completely outrageous, over-the-top and so much fun to see. It was predominantly in Hindi, but you really didn’t need the language to follow the story. Even better, when the stars came on the audience went wild, whistling and shouting, and some of them were even dancing in the aisles. We all had a brilliant time! Definitely one for the local experiences!
We got back on the road after breakfast - these few days are one of the few long consecutive drive days that we have to do around India, but weren’t bad at all. As usual Nick and I shared the driving, waving to different locals as we went by. We stopped for the usual thali on a banana leaf for lunch. The locals all wanted photos of us, and my passengers all wanted photos of the locals… it took a while!
Arriving in Visakhaptnam we made our way to the sea front. I had needed to find a new place to stay as the old hotel had put it’s prices up by $15 per room - a huge increase, the prices had nearly doubled. Fortunately I had found another place much more in keeping with our budget which should have been straight forward to find, if it once again wasn’t for the police who refused us access to the seafront. No worries, we diverted around and headed down the next road which has numerous low power lines. Fortunately my passengers are quite well practised now at grabbing a broom and lifting the lines over the top of Daisy, passing the broom holding the line up down the length of the truck as we squeeze underneath. The next police fortunately had no issues with us getting to the seafront and we happily drove the rest of the way to the hotel watching crowds of Indians enjoying the sunset.
On arrival I got everyone checked in and let them have a free evening, seeing as we are going to be living in each others pockets for eh next week as we head up to see the Odisha hill tribes. It also gave me chance to do some last minute photocopying, and to meet with our local guide, Nirangen to discuss plans ready for the following day.
We headed off early, before breakfast, as we needed to get to the Monday market. The hotel had kindly put together a breakfast package for us, although I am fast learning that a breakfast package is a masala sandwich of sorts, a boiled egg and a banana. No problem, it was enough to keep us going until we reach a suitable breakfast spot which did a really delicious Indian style breakfast.
Continuing inland we headed up into the hills of Odisha, arriving in time to visit a local Monday market which was the aim of our morning. All the local tribes travel from around the area to sell their produce once a week at this market, and it was fantastic. Along with the usual array of fruit and veg, there were also stalls of spices, and dried fish. Different cloths, saris and jewellery were also available, and local pottery made at one of the local villages. Sam started sketching - he is very good at caricatures and the local kids love it. I’ve nicknamed him the pied-piper as wherever he goes he seems to have a large flock of small children following in his wake.
From the market we headed to our guesthouse which is owned by a very Australian half-Indian called Leon, who only employs local staff. The place is beautiful, decorated using local materials, and it has lovely views. Not a bad place to be staying for the next two nights. We had a late lunch - Italian style with bruschetta, tomatoes and olive oil. You forget how good something is when you haven’t eaten it for a while so it was a real treat! We had the rest of the afternoon to relax, before enjoying a roast chicken dinner. I’d almost forgotten what that was like too!
Today was the ultimate opportunity to become immersed in local culture and get an insight into tribal life in the Odisha hills. We went for a day walk around local villages, stopping to interact with the locals and their children. They have a very simplistic way of life, living largely off the land and making products or growing produce to sell at the weekly market. The scenery is beautiful and the locals all seem to be very content, which is lovely to see. Materialism is not always the key to a happier way of life. Photos speak far more than descriptions about this day, so I have uploaded quite a few! We had chance to observe them drying rice in the sun, carrying heavy baskets - and had a go. It was all about balance and provided you got that right it was okay, but I would never want to do it for the distances that they carry them! We also watch the locals making pottery, including little Diwali light holders as the Diwali celebrations are rapidly approaching. They will take these goods to sell at the market.
Arriving back at the guesthouse, we had a bit of time to relax and then a few of us headed back to watch a bit more of the pottery making, and we were invited to have a go. A bit like in Peru, I’m still sure my efforts are not going to catch on but the pottery maker seemed to think I had potential as he kept assisting (saving) me whilst I was making my creations. He invited us back the following morning, but as we are leaving at 5am to make the next market I don’t think that’s a date I’m going to be able to keep!
We had an early start (5am!) to head out to the Wednesday market, which I was a little disappointed with after the Monday market which had been a breath of fresh air. Watching the sun rise as we made our way up to the market was simply stunning though. We arrived at the Wednesday market late morning, where many more primitive tribes come to trade, but sadly the effects of tourism can be seen there and as always white people are perceived as having a lot of money so we were followed around the market by people trying to sell us tat. It was not the same experience we had enjoyed two days previous and I found that really sad, yet we only have ourselves to blame. Tourism is a double-edged sword in these parts - it makes a difference to their economy, but simply by being there we are changing a way of life. Not every company has the same ethos as Dragoman either, which is to quietly observe and interact, but to leave footprints in the sand in an effort not to change an indigenous way of life.
We drove on to Muniguda and the New Hope Community. Arriving, the track was badly broken up and pretty soft. I was concerned that we would get stuck so I got Nick to check out the track. We successfully made our way almost to the end of the track, when Nick gave me some directions to turn into a tiny driveway to park, with small dip on the turn. I went - not fast enough for the terrain, but any faster and we wouldn’t have made the turn. the worst happened… we got bogged. I’m not going to lie, when I got out I was really annoyed as there is no way I would have chosen to take her through that dip - but I guess Nick has experience with sand. I have experience with Brazilian mud… this is more in my experience. And you have to trust your co-driver as they have eyes at the back of the truck. we al get it wrong sometimes! Fortunately we were stuck right outside our rooms so I was able to get everyone off and into their rooms before making a start on digging Daisy our. It took about an hour to dig her our and build up the road, so not the worst bogging I have encountered by a long way, but it is still pretty special to get bogged in India!!
We had lunch and then had chance to do a short cooking course, before heading over the the New hope Community Hospital where they do a lot of work to help local people with cataract operations. It is a bit of a life line for the local people as there are no other hospital sin the local vicinity and it gives many of them a new lease of life. As it is a charity they do not need to pay. The hospital only operates on certain days, and it was empty when we visited. They used to treat leprosy there too, but then the Indian government decided there wasn’t any leprosy in India anymore so they cannot get the funding to teat it any more. Crazy! even so, they still do a great job.
Just behind the hospital is accommodation for orphaned and disable children and adults. It is the most heart wrenching charity I have visited. The children have either lost their parents, or as disabilities are poorly understood in rural communities the children have been abandoned, left on train station platforms or on rubbish heaps to die. Fortunately these are the lucky ones. They have been found, brought to the charity and given a place to live, food to eat and an education. They are very happy here too. One old man in a wheel chair with no hands and no legs had a huge smile on his face, but he was in tears. When asked why he simply said in he was so happy that we had come to visit them. He has been there for the majority of his life. I brings home just how much we can give by doing so little, and it doesn’t have to be about money.
Leaving after breakfast we had a long drive day in the truck to our next stop at Taptapani. It was a beautiful drive. We basically use this as an overnight stop as we can’t make it all the way to the coast in a day. They have a temple in the town with hot springs,although we arrived a little bit too late.
I sorted out everyones rooms and was just getting settled when the lights went out. Suddenly there was a piercing scream outside, and lots of shouting. I couldn’t see a thing and I had left my head torch in the truck. nonetheless I gingerly made my way outside to see if I could offer assistance. I then heard Nick’s voice - he was asking a little lady (the source of the screaming) if she was alright. She was. turned out she had just been paid so had been enjoying a few drinks and was now in a place she shouldn’t be, so they were trying to remove her from the premises - very nicely but she didn’t want to go hence the general commotion! Good thing, we though someone may have been electrocuted!! Unfortunately she took rather a shine to me and gave me a massive hug, then wouldn’t let go, so I quietly led her to the entrance of the hotel where Nira and the managers helped to extract her from my neck. She was very sweet and very friendly, just completely pickled! I hid in the truck so she wouldn’t try to reattach herself and decided to leave her in the capable hands of the management.
there was one other group staying in the hotel, a group of students from Kolkata, and they invited us to join them for some drinks. An offer that in true Dragoman style was accepted enthusiastically! It was interesting talking to them and getting an insight into their opinions and views as they are the next generation coming through.
We headed up to the Temple to visit the hot springs after breakfast in the morning. Quite entertaining. I have seen such uninviting hot springs in all my life - they are basically used as a bath and there is a lot of scrubbing, teeth cleaning, snotting and other undesirable practices going on in a tiny little space. A couple of the lads went in, and very quickly got out! The spring was divided into mens and womens - Joelle and I decided to opt out of that local experience. Our bags were packed, so there was no hope of a shower to get clean after the bath. One to miss! We did enjoy a very nice chai though.
We drove to to Gopalpur, passing a typically Indian scene of a cow lying in the middle of a pile of rubbish, quietly chewing the… garbage. Reaching Gopalpur and the sea front, the weather was picking up and looking quite stormy. A Cyclone warning had been issued a few days ago and we had been carefully monitoring it. It is due to hit Gopalpur, but not for another couple of days. Even so, no fishermen were out fishing, instead they we busy securing their boats, digging deep into the beach to make sure they wouldn’t get washed away when the cyclone arrives.
Tim and I went for lunch and then took a walk down the beach, there really weren’t many people around. I went back to the hotel to collect my camera so I could get some photos of the approaching storm. The waves were rising, and the sky was looking really impressive. Bumping into Sam, we were approached by CNN news who interviewed us, wanting to know why we were there when everyone else was leaving! We assured them we were leaving the following morning, before the cyclone was due to hit.
Taking an afternoon walk with Nira, we walked in the opposite direction down the beach and he explained a little bit about the usual way of life in Gopalpur, taking us to see the fishermens village which was great. We ended up being followed by about 30 children. Tim blew up some balloons and nearly got mugged as the children got so excited!
We got breakfast in a local restaurant and jumped in the truck to head up to Puri. It was only a half day drive, passing Chillika lake en route. Arriving in Puri we had the usual fun and games. We weren’t allowed to use the usual route which the truck fits down as there were road works, so we had to take a different route. Not really a problem except the Diwali lights were up and we didn’t fit!! Having taken down two strings, eventually someone got on the roof of Daisy to lift the others over the top of her. The height of this truck in India is the bane of my life!!
We had some lunch, and then the group went out for a city tour. I opted to stay behind and get some paperwork done as it was the first wifi I had access to in over a week and I wanted to reconfirm bookings and details for the next trip. It was also a bit of ‘me time’ which is always important to take, especially when you have a challenging passenger on the truck. It basically helps to keep me sane! I had dinner in the hotel restaurant, before joining Nick and Tim for a drink or two. Mental note, do not drink with Tim again. He is a topper-upper and had some interesting Indian whisky which we made good progress on… I’m not a great whisky drinker at the best of times - I must remember this next time it is offered, as yes, I was ill!!
We got up to take a visit to a local village where they do a lot of paintings, and to visit the Konark Sun Temple… it wasn’t sunny as it was the day Hud Hud, the cyclone, hit the Indian coast line… in fact, it really wasn’t a good day for me at all!! I felt a little fragile after my nights drinking, but not enough to stop me having a good breakfast which always helps, but my left eye was really sore, and just kept getting worse and more swollen. I was walking around with my hand over my eye and finding it very difficult to pay attention to anything going on around me.
We watched a great demonstration of paper making and art, with some really beautiful pictures, and the poor man must have thought I was really rude as I was crouched in the corer with my eyes closed, taking an occasional peek at proceedings, as it was the most comfortable way to be. I was pretty miserable!!
We had some lunch, and headed to the Sun Temple. Nira isn’t allowed to guide us here, which was a shame as the local guide was incredibly dull, and terrible at dealing with a group. he kept talking to individuals, repeating himself and I was bored within ten minutes. The temple is beautiful, but I’m not sure we saw at it’s best - admittedly I could hard open my eye so I saw even less of it than the others! Added to which the cyclone reached it’s heady heights of heavy showers and strong gusts of winds while we were there. We were lucky - it hit Southern areas much harder than Puri. Gopalpur was evacuated, and Vizag suffered very badly with a few fatalities - the cyclone actually swung north after hitting India and headed to the Annapurna region of Nepal, with massive snowfall, avalanches and more than 30 people dying, many more missing.
Driving back to Puri, we spotted a five legged Holy Cow!! one of the more random things I have seen out here, it was made all the more entertaining my Phil stalking the cow trying to get a photo. Every time he approached the cow would move (moove?) away. He was persistent, but it was hilarious to watch!!
We were supposed to visit Chilliika Lake today, but my eye was no better and there are no opticians in Puri for me to go and get it looked at, so I am going to have to wait until we reach Kolkata tomorrow afternoon. For once I was sensible and opted to stay in dark room for the day, waving off the rest of the group and Daisy. I did get some light relief, meeting our contact, Claire from Grassroutes for lunch. I needed to collect the train tickets to Kolkata and Nick’s passport (form all that time ago in Goa!). It was still too bright for my eye, which started streaming again, so I retired to my dark little pit and just got my accounts done, consoling myself that at least I do get the chance to come back.
The group got back - they had really enjoyed their day. Unable to go out on the lake due to the aftermath of the cyclone, they had visited some tiny local villages and had a fantastic time! Unfortunately for Daisy, Nick hadn’t spotted a tree and had managed to drive straight into a large hidden ninja-style branch, damaging the roof rack where our tents are stored… Fortunately it isn’t horrendous, but it will need fixing before he heads to Kolkata.
I joined group for dinner in evening. Quite entertaining as the power kept going out, so they kept lighting candles and then I couldn’t see! I have decided that I am going to right off the last two days and pretend they haven’t really happened!
We left the hotel early to get our tuk tuks out to the local train station. Although I hadn’t recced the station I was a bit more confident this time, having already successfully survived the station in Mumbai and the station in Prui is only tiny. We found our train and carriage without a problem and endured the nine hour journey to Kolkata. Most of it was fine, but the time was definitely dragging by the time we were two hours away, and we were on a seater train where we all sit facing the same way so it’s not as social as the sleeper trains where you can all squeeze into a carriage and chat to each other.
Finally arriving in Kolkata I arranged pre-paid cabs to hotel, which took us over the Hudder bridge, which is the busiest suspended-cantilever bridge in the world. It is chaos!! Our taxi driver had no idea where he was going so he followed the other taxi all the way, making some impressive manouvers to make sure he didn’t lose sight of the other cab. Arriving at the hotel we checked in and I headed straight out to find an opticians as my eye was still very red and uncomfortable. After a lot of poking and prodding the optician informed me that I had an eye infections, and prescribed some drops which I had to visit four different pharmacies before I found one which had them in stock. things are never straight forward here! I then headed round to find the Sikkim permit office to collect the permit forms, but they had closed at 4pm. At least I know where to find it now, but they told me that I wouldn’t be able to collect the forms until the following day as the permit officer was ‘on tour’! I decided to try anyway as I didn’t need them processed, I simply needed the forms.
I got back with enough time to have a shower before heading out with the group for our end of trip dinner as we were saying a say farewell to Tim. He will be missed as he was a lot of fun, and amazingly the only passenger to leave this leg of the trip! there was no alcohol served at the restaurant which is fairly standard, so we tried the bar under the hotel. Very bizarre, it was like a man’s club with girls dancing (incredibly badly) on the stage. the way one of my passenrges described it was that they were dancing in a test tube… summed it up perfectly!! But the men didn’t seem to mind as lots of money was being handed over the railings to them. Unbelievable! Both Joelle and myself decided we could do much better.
A 6.15am start to meet our guide, Manjit, to do the Kolkata photography tour, so I dropped off the room lists for my new passengers before we left. Manjit is brilliant - he has had his work published in National Geographic magazine, the Times newspaper and different Indian publications so he knows what he is talking about. Even without a camera it is a good tour. HE took us out to his neighbourhood, where a lot of migrants come to work, travelling from neighbouring states to the city where they can make money, and returning home maybe once a month. It was a very different Kolkata, with none of the vehicles and chaos from the previous day, and I got some awesome photos of daily life which you could never hope to get on your own.
After the tour I headed back to the Sikkim tourist office in the hope of collecting Sikkim permit forms - I was in luck and they handed me a wad of forms, with the news that I needed to bring every single person with me to get the permits stamped. this is new, we used to just turn up with passport copies, the permit application forms and a passport photo. I did some printing to get my itineraries ready for the pre-departure meeting at 6pm, and then had a mission of trying to work out just how I was going to run my PDM as the hotel don’t have a meeting room. I ended up collecting kitty money, Sikkim forms and Joelle helped with the insurance details as I didn’t have Nick’s assistance on this occasion, before doing the actual meeting as people kept walking through reception so I decided to do the meeting in the restaurant. We went to a place called Tom Cat for dinner, which was really good food, but I had to do two meetings as we were split across two tables. There has to be an easier way!! Returning to the hotel I had to settle the room bills, and then Joelle and I headed out to find a night club as she is desperate to see an Indian nightclub. We were offered a lift to a club which we accepted, only to find that we were the only ones in it! Returning to the same place we had come from we eventually found a club called Tantra (not even close to joking!) which played decent dance music, and we were invited up to dance behind the DJ, and then to the VIP area. Every day is a new experience in India!!
I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed to have a quick breakfast before meeting the group at 9.30am to take them to sort out Sikkim permits and passport photos. We arrived at the photo place at 10am when it was supposed to open. It didn’t… not for another half an hour, and there was no pint in walking everyone to the permit office minus the passport photos as they won’t accept them. Learning from this… next time we leave at 10.15am!! I managed to photocopy all of the passport copies while we were waiting, and then took the passengers who already had their paperwork sorted to the permit office while the others were getting photos. Deb had come with me to the permit office the previous day, so agreed to walk them over if I wasn’t back in time.
Handing over the completed permits the official decided I didn’t need to bring everyone, but asked if I could come back after 12pm with everyones passport. Of course I agreed! Helping some passengers get money changed, and then returning to the hotel for check out I join a few of the group for coffee and lunch, before collecting the remaining paperwork and heading back to the Sikkim office. I was minus one passport… Quietly handing over 16 passports I hoped they wouldn’t notice and all seemed to be going well until he counted them. I made a show of searching for it in my bag (of course it wasn’t there) and then smiled sweetly and just said he obviously hadn’t left it and I had no way of contacting him until 8.30pm when we were due to leave Calcutta. He was very good… he stamped the permit anyway. Big relief for me, although the worst case scenario is that we would have had to sort it out at the border.
Permit granted, I did a bit more printing and photocopying, before jumping in a cab and heading out to Sealdah train station to get my bearing for the train trip that evening. I was glad I bothered as it is a big and busy station.
Meeting the group at 8.30pm with their dummy train tickets in hand in case they got separated from the group in the station, we all jumped into taxis and got to the station in good time. We had the usual rock star effect (lots of Indians coming to see the white group!) before our train arrived and we walked about 40 carriages down the platform until we got to our carriages. It’s a big train! We got in and sorted out without a problem, and the train left on time at 10pm so it wasn’t long before we were all crawling into bed. The sleeper train has three tier bunk beds - quite entertaining and cosy, but fortunately we had air con so it wasn’t too stuffy. I was so tired I just went straight to sleep!
I woke up after a surprisingly good nights sleep on the train - okay, I have to admit that I am capable of sleeping anywhere so perhaps it wasn’t that surprising,especially after the late night the day before. The train had been delayed so we finally arrived in Siliguri an hour and a half late. the train station is chaotic to say the least, but I successfully managed to track down our contact for the jeep hire. 3 jeep were great. Teh last one had bald tyres, and not just a little bit bald… I refused to use it. This caused an element of panic for the company but a replacement jeep arrived within 20 minutes, during which time a persistent little lady consistently asked me for money so she could feed her baby. Unfortunately she didn’t speak English and obviously couldn’t take a hint that she wasn’t going to any from me. Begging is a difficult one out here. the government does actually provide money to the poor, and education for all children. However, what tends to happen is that the children will makes a lot of money for the family by going out and begging, so rather than being sent to school they are sent out onto the streets. This means that they don’t get an education, and then they end up on the streets begging for the rest of their lives. It feels cruel to do it, but in the long run the best thing really is to say no. Added to which, if you offer them food they don’t want it, so they aren’t hungry.
Anyway, we finally got on the road and headed for Darjeeling. It was so good to heading up into mountains again! The road is small and winding, and the scenery is spectacular. We stopped at a restaurant for breakfast - back to vegetable momos, I could tell we were back in the mountains. I haven’t had them since we left Nepal! Unfortunately one of the drivers didn’t stop so the group went hungry but we caught up with them without event in Darjeeling. Arriving in Darjeeling, the jeep driver took us as far as he could through the steep narrow streets, dropping us off a couple of minutes walk from our hotel which is in a pedestrianised area. We found it without a problem, and I sorted rooms and put up information about different activities over the next couple of days.
Meeting with Joelle, we went to explore and have a coffee. I found a good book shop with cheap guides on Sikkim, Darjeeling and Bhutan, so I stocked up on copies for the truck. there are also a lot of wildlife guides but I didn’t have enough money to get those too so I’ll have to go back for them later.
Darjeeling has a famous ‘toy train’, a steam train on a 2 foot wide rail which used to wind it’s way through the Himalayas. These days it is used for tourist rides, and I have a few passengers interested in doing the trip, which follows exactly the same road that we had driven in on. nonetheless Joelle and I went for a walk to the train station to get times and prices so I can book it for them tomorrow if they want to go. Getting back to the hotel I had just enough time to sort some paperwork and phone Nick (who is running two days late due to the cyclone) before heading out to dinner with a few of the group. The restaurant served shepherds pie. I don’t usually agree with eating western food when abroad, but I decided to take a chance. It wasn’t anything like shepherds pie in as much as it was topped with cheese rather than potato, but it was still really yummy so I’m glad I took the risk!
I had breakfast with Sam before meeting most of the group to join them for a walk out to the Happy Valley tea plantation and factory. It was a beautiful walk out there, and the factory was interesting to see, with the tea pickers (all done by hand) and the drying machines. We sampled different types of tea from the different flushes so I now know the difference between lots of types of tea, and the optimum brewing time.
I was then keen to visit the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute museum which has details of the first ascents of Everest. In order to reach the HMI you have to go through Darjeeling zoo where they have lots of different Himalayan species, including red pandas. They are cute. Seriously cute. A little bit fox like in colour, but with a panda face and much better at climbing trees, they were amazingly active and were having a great time playing with each other. There was also a black bear with a ridiculously long tongue, a snow leopard and a Bengal tiger.
The museum was great and it was really interesting to see the equipment used for the first ascents in comparison to the equipment used as recently as 2012. today’s looks a lot more comfortable and a lot lighter! There was also an interesting section on Mallory and the discovery of his body over 70 years after he went missing on Everest in the 1920’s, which was quite moving to see. It was also lovely to see how proud they are of Tenzing Norgay for being part of the first ascent team, and rightfully so!
Joelle and I headed back to Darjeeling for a coffee and to relax before heading out for dinner and then to bed in preparation for an early start to Tiger Hill in the morning.
I got up at 3.20am… seriously. We were meeting our jeep at 3.30am to drive out to Tiger Hill in order to get a good spot at the viewpoint at Tiger Hill. Fortunately they had coffee at the top!! Nine of us went, and we all squeezed into one jeep (apparently there was room for one more, and I’m sure we could have fit another 6 on the roof). It is prime holiday time for Indians as we are approaching Divali or ‘Festival of light’ which celebrates good over evil, and light over darkness, so we were in the company of a LOT of Indians. The scenery was beautiful as the sun was rising, as we had a greta view of the third highest mountain in the world, Kanchung***. It was so clear that we also got view out to Everest. Makalu and Lotse, my first known sighting of the biggest mountain in the world!!
The original plan had been to walk back to Darjeeling, but there were so many jeeps that would be using the same road that I changed my mind and jumped back int the jeep. It was good choice, as we stopped at the Ghoom monastery to have a look around (the is a Budda statue there which looks just like the face of Prince Charles! Maybe he has been reincarnated?!). We also stopped at a Gurka memorial, with more fantastic views across the valley to the mountains, and eventually returned to Darjeeling by 7.30am in time for breakfast. Perfect timing!
After breakfast I joined one of my passengers to visit a temple just off the main square, which was an amazing place to visit. There were prayer flags and monkeys everywhere, and it wasn’t too busy either. one of the temples is in a cave, which involved a bit of a scramble and a blessing at the end. Well worth the visit, I had a coffee with Deb and then settled down to do my accounts - exciting!! I have a room with a little living room which has the most amazing view though so that helped ease the pain of paperwork!!
Having finally got everything done I joined some of the group for dinner. We ended up in a very local restaurant which a few of them were unsure of, typically didn’t have half of the food on the menu, but what they did have tasted wonderful! I then joined Joelle for a drink in a little bar called Joey’s, which turned out to be a great little place. On the walk back up to the hotel (everything in Darjeeling is on a hill and we’re staying at the top!) we bumped into Sam and Nick who had finally made it to Darjeeling - not that he recognised up as we were wearing so many layers (down jacket, bobble hat, gloves…) which he is unaccustomed to seeing! Joelle then nearly had her bag snatched but fortunately kept hold of it, and the presence of the rest of us helped to deter any second attempts. Just a typically opportunistic effort which failed. I stayed up with them for a drink or two in our room as everything in Darjeeling had closed by them.
We had a free morning in Darjeeling so I made the most of it and had a long lie in, especially after yesterday! Getting up at 8.30am I had my breakfast and finished off a bit more paperwork. It turned out to be surprisingly difficult to find a place where I could do any printing, and I only needed two sheets!! After walking up and down the high street twice and being sent from shop to shop, I finally found a place which would print onto normal paper, not glossy photo paper! The whole group were ready to meet our jeep organiser, Santosh, at 1pm. Due to a traffic jam in Darjeeling (not difficult!) the jeeps were a little delayed. Three arrived but after half an hour I gave up on the last one, got Nick to wait with our remaining passengers and went ahead with the other three jeeps so at least I could get things sorted out at Karmi Farm. Good job too as it was an hour later that I got a text from him saying they had only just left. The drive was spectacular! We had a small hold up where a small pickup was doing roadworks, and clearing gutters at the side of the road, but had parked too far out and the jeeps were having a job to squeeze through. They did it after a few attempts though.
Andrew, the owner of Karmi Farm, is brilliant! We arrived to tea and cakes, and onion pakoras with chilli sauce. The views from his property are amazing, it looks out over tea plantations and the valley. I don’t blame him for choosing to live there! It is a family home, which belonged to his grandparents and have been in his family for over 100 years. Dinner was really good and it was the first time we had eaten beef for months. With food that good I just want to know why he isn’t the size of a house! He only works with local staff, who are all really lovely and welcoming. It’s a really special place to come and visit, but I’m not sure that I’m going to manage to convince our passengers to leave.
We had been requested to attend breakfast at different times so I happily stayed in bed while I listened to the rest of the group having their breakfast, and then I went in half an hour later. At 10am we joined Andrew for a half day walk around the area, heading up to the top of the ridge with views out to Darjeeling. It was beautiful! We returned for lunch before heading to local village where there is a football tournament this week. We arrived at the end of the first match and just in time for a game of bingo (seriously). None of us won, but we all had fun and a lot of local assistance. We were then invited to walk out on to the pitch at the start of the game to shake hands with all of the players, then stand in front of them with the Indian flag for the National Anthem, because they were proud to have us there watching the game and we were guests of honour. Slightly awkward as I would have rather sat quietly in a corner and watched what was going on, but a unique experience and it was lovely that they were so proud to have us and so pleased that we had taken the time to go and watch. We left after half time and made our way back to the farm in time for tea and cakes, enjoyed some time just to relax and watch the sun set behind the mountains, before another really lovely dinner. It’s probably a good job that we don’t stay here for too long - although the same can probably be said for India as a whole!
A similar format to yesterday, we enjoyed a morning walk, initially heading back up the hill, but this tie taking a slightly different route. At the top of the hill there was a bamboo swing which looked brilliant, although sadly we didn’t all get chance to have a go. It is literally constructed out of four massive bamboo poles, tied at the top and a swing underneath. You would probably never get it through health and safety regulations in the UK but it was really sturdy and safe to use.
Dropping back down the hill we passed Neema’s home. Basically, Neema’s parents are both alcoholics, have a lot of children and can’t afford to look after them all. Andrew has stepped in and given the two eldest boys a place to live, chance for an education, and one day when one of the younger brothers came to visit (it’s not far) he brought a bag of things and asked if he could stay too. After checking with their parents, Andrew now has three of them to look after! They are great though, work really hard and are evidently really happy. They are able to go back and visit their parents regularly too so it seems to work out for everyone
We continued to a small monastery, where one of the llamas caring for the monastery showed us one of the prayer books with the sanscript. It is really well wrapped! The monastery is over 100 years old. We also got chance to have a look at a disintegrating prayer wheel - reams and reams of prayer are rolled up inside those wheels, so a thousand prayers are ‘said’ every time the wheel is spun. It was interesting to see.
Walking back to the Farm we passed some kids playing a local gambling game with a few rupees. I had no idea what was going on, but they were taking it pretty seriously! Normally these children would be at school, but they have their Diwali holidays which was great for us as we could see a bit of normal home life.
We stopped at our Dragoman project on the way back. A few years ago Andrew had a visit from the owners of Nomad Travel who were simply out in India doing some travelling. They wanted to do something useful in the community, so thy started a little health clinic for the locals, using a room at Karmi Farm. Working from donations they were able to provide some free basic health care to the locals, who otherwise have a three hour drive to Darjeeling which most of them will never make. Dragoman help to support this clinic, which has developed enough to move to the town, and they are now collecting donations to try and build a premises of their own so they don’t need to worry about rent, it’s still central and Andrew is hoping to add a guest room at the back so people can come and stay and the proceeds will go towards supporting the clinic to make it more self-sustaining. Previous donations have been used to help convert the house of a girl who was disabled when a suspension bridge collapsed. They were able to get her a wheelchair, and do the house conversion so she could have a more normal life. It makes a big difference!
We had a free afternoon, a chance to make momos and an attempt in assisting Andrew in making a home brew which sadly failed, but was fun none-the-less. We named the kitten Daisy - basically took over his amazing house!! The momos were delicious and we finished the evening with a bit of dancing and of course some beers.
We had to leave Karmi Farm early as due to the Diwali celebrations the jeeps aren’t running at their normal times from Darjeeling to Gangtok, so we departed at 5.30am with a box of samosa to have for breakfast later in the drive. It turned out to be a good decision anyway. The jeep change at Darjeeling went very smoothly, and we continued to the Sikkim border. This also went without incident and they stamped everyone in - all that preparation work in Kolkata was worth it! The only really stressful part of proceedings was sorting people into taxis when we reached Gangtok, as the jeeps aren’t allowed into the town centre. I made sure that everyone had emptied their bags out of the jeep they were in, and knew just to grab bags at the hotel so nothing got left behind, as by this point everyones gear was in a different vehicle to them as the drivers had also been helping to move luggage - it was inevitable really. A couple of passengers were quite stroppy about it at which point I lost patience and told them to just get in a cab so we could get to the hotel and get it all sorted out. Maybe not the best approach, but I was still trying to sort another taxi, and find the last jeep that needed to arrive - the last thing I needed was difficult passengers when I had 15 of them in total to sort out!! This is when I need people to remember they are travelling in a group and to go with the flow, not start doing their own thing and one of them is a serial offender for disappearing just when I need him to be somewhere. I’ve discovered if I don’t shout to him (he is a bit deaf so that’s not being nasty!!) he will suddenly vanish. I almost need a lead sometimes!! Anyway, I found my missing jeep which had parked on a different level, got everyone rounded up and to the hotel, and then sorted out the check in and activities and transport for the following days.
By this point I was ready to disappear into my room to hide from everyone and I don’t often feel like that! Some of them have been a tough crowd though, refuse to think for themselves and criticise everything that I do which gets a little tiring and demoralising after a while, especially when everything is going to plan and working smoothly so I know I’m doing my job just fine. The rest of the group is awesome, but a negative vibe really does take its toll and they forget that this is more than just a job for us. We do it to travel, yes, but also to make sure that they have a great time without having to worry about arranging anything. I just keep telling myself it’s only one trip, and then hope like hell that the next group are going to be better!
Anyway, I grabbed myself a sandwich (food always helps!) and a cup of decent coffee, before hiding back in my room and watching a film. Gangtok is a bit of a shock to the system after the past few days in Darjeeling and Karmi Farm, and not actually in a good way. It’s a bit like a bump back to reality. Descriptions are of mystical views and monasteries. The reality, it’s a loud noisy city with a lot of development and doesn’t have any of the tranquility of the places we had jest visited.
As it was the main night of Diwali tonight, I joined Nick and the group on the roof of the hotel where Nick did a little home firework display. I wasn’t entirely convinced that it was a good idea, but we had a fireman in the group who I figured would help keep an eye on proceedings. My nerves only held out so long, and I eventually gave up and hide a floor lower with Sam. We decided to head out and get some dinner which was the best thing we could have done. The main pedestrian street was fantastic! Fireworks were being set off everywhere - including by tiny little tots who couldn’t have been more than four years old! Although there were a lot more fireworks it all felt a lot safer, simply because there was a lot more room than there had been on the roof of the hotel. Sam and I had a great time and spent a couple of hours down there, just absorbing the party atmosphere and enjoying the firework show.
Nick got back after I did, reporting that one of our passengers had fainted. turns out she suffers from low blood pressure and is used to it happening, but she was out for a while - so his evening didn’t end quite as well as mine had, but she is okay which is the main thing.
I got everyone to fill out their Tsongo Lake forms at breakfast so we could get the permits sorted out, before piling into taxis and heading up to the Rumtek Monastery. I couldn’t get hold of a guide for this one, so I was hoping to mug a Monk to show us around, but we had a stroke of luck. An English speaking guide was working there, so I employed him quickly and got his phone number for my next visit! The Monastery was really interesting, it as a very Tibetan style to it. We stopped for chai on our way out, while we waited for the group to catch up, before getting into our taxis and heading to the Museum of Tibetology. Again interesting to see, and there is a lot of information on Buddhism, and different artefacts. A five minute walk for the museum there is the Drul chok stupa which was worth going to see while we were there, before heading back to town for lunch.
Our lass who had fainted yesterday had opted to stay in bed for the morning, and checking her she still wasn’t right so we got her to the hospital for a check up. They prescribed some drugs but said there wasn’t anything to worry about, so she crawled back to bed to sleep it out.
We had made plans to watch a Bollywood film that night, and it turned out to be the opening night of Happy New Year which was hilarious! The cinema was crazy though. We got there too early to get tickets, having seen a time in town which differed from the one at the cinema. No worries, we just chatted while we waited and there was already a queue. The ticket booth finally opened and there was a mad scum for tickets. We managed to get our, and literally five minutes later the shutters were pulled down and all the tickets were gone, still with a missive queue of people wanting to get in. We were lucky we had got the time wrong! The next bit was getting into the cinema. they were waiting for the previous film to finish and for people to leave, but as soon as the door opened it was like a large scale rugby scum with everyone pushing for the door. Cinema tickets don’t have seat numbers here and I think maybe they should start as it was ridiculous (still quite good fun!). The film was great though and it was an experience getting to see it on opening night.
Nick got up to sort breakfast (hooray!) so I had a lie in (to be fair I did breakfast duty the day before). He then brought me breakfast in bed so earned serious brownie points!! Finally got up and joined Joelle for a coffee by the side of the river, before seeing if the elephants were being bathed. They weren’t, but we did see some walking down the road. Once everyone returned from activities we had lunch and got on the road, heading to Royal Beach camp. We stopped for a toilet and tea stop (windy roads!), only about 25Km from the camp. Good job too. After 10Km we hit stationary traffic. It turned out that there had been a fatal accident at 7am and the queues were extending for more than 10Km!! After 4.5 hours of waving at the slow moving traffic from the other direction, enjoying the views and generally amusing ourselves, we finally arrived at our destination. I reversed down the very dark driveway, using Nick’s head torch for reference (I couldn’t see a thing!!) and received a round of applause for my efforts, and even congratulations from a couple of our hardest to please passengers! We had dinner, then enjoyed a couple of beers next to a beach fire on the bank of the river. Very pleasant.
Last day of the trip. One group went out white water rafting which unfortunately I couldn’t join in as I’m still not allowed to wear contact lenses. My eye is still uncomfortable in bright light so I didn’t want to risk it for the sake of doing an activity that I have done many times before. Instead I went for a walk with some others in the group with one of the staff, a lad called Pineapple(!), which was really lovely. Beautiful scenery and we passed through a lovely little village.
The group returned, they had managed to flip the raft so a couple of them were a little shaken, but it is white water rafting so not an unexpected event to take place. They were all fine though. We had lunch and got on the road, leaving at 1.30pm, expecting a 4 hour drive to Kathmandu. 5 hours later we finally arrived having met more hold ups on the road. I had hoped to take the group out to enjoy a cultural show and dinner, but we weren’t going to get there in time, so I simple booked a table on the top floor of the hotel in the Yeti Bar, which did a really good buffet. We all had a few more drinks to celebrate our safe arrival in Kathmandu and the last day of the trip! A job well done!!
Amazingly our train arrived in Kolkata on time! I’m not used to this!! We took a taxi to our hotel and got checked in. The staff were all very friendly - they remembered me which is nice. I’ve almost forgotten how lovely it is to turn up somewhere and everyone knows your name! We were also in a nicer room this time which was a bonus, although the beds were missing covers and blankets, and we didn’t have any towels or toilet roll. Admittedly we were there early, but it was simply a reenactment of the last time I was here which is a bit frustrating, although the housekeeping staff are really lovely!
We had arrived in time for me to have a shower, get a cup of coffee and then join my two ladies, Jeanne and Barbara, who were on trip with me in South America on their photography tour. Manjit, who runs the tour and is a legend, nominated me as his assistant this time. We had one other person joining us who looked vaguely familiar. Half an hour into the trip he asked if I was crew for Dragoman… uh oh! Yes, we had met before. Back in 2013 on the run into Rio Carnival. He had been a passenger on one of the other trucks, and even remembered that my arm had been in a sling after my Death Road accident. Such a small world. He isn’t joining me on this trip, but we were so busy chatting about Dragoman trips that Manjit told me off for hijacking his tour and threatened not to let me come along again in the future!! It was all in fun, we overran on time again. It is supposed to be a three hour tour, it took four… (and last time it was five hours) so we can’t be that bad! The tour is brilliant - if anyone ever goes to Kolkata then just do it! Calcutta Photography Tours, stick it in google and make sure you book early.
I then joined Manjit for lunch and a catch up, before heading off to do some pre-trip photocopying and printing. It’s a Sunday so the place I used last time was closed and I had to find an alternative place to print my itineraries. It took ages to get get it done, mainly because they only had a colour printer which is expensive and slow, but my itineraries look great so it was worth the effort.
I had arranged to meet Jeanne and Barbara for dinner, so went to a place across the road from them which did really good food - a common theme in India. I had the local fish in a mustard sauce, which is a regional Kolkata dish and it was yummy! It was really lovely to see both the ladies again too, and have the chance of a catch up as I know we won’t have the same chance as the trip goes on.
We had a morning pre-departure meeting with the group, and due to lack of meeting room space we simply took everyones kitty money and details, before heading to a coffee shop across the road for the actual welcome meeting. It actually worked really well, and to my delight everyone bar one person has overlanded before, on more than one occasion and they all seem really cool! I’m not entirely surprised, Bhutan is not a first time overlanders destination, but it is such a different mentality form the last group I met in Kolkata. Big sigh of relief, especially as some of these guys are with us for a really long time! In fairness, most of our passengers are fantastic, so this is not so much a complaint, but it only takes a few awkward ones for you to appreciate the really good ones!!
I sent them all out with some suggestions of things to do, with a plan of meeting in reception to go for dinner at 6pm, before heading off to an internet cafe to send the pre-trip information back to the office, photocopy passports and finish any other last bits of admin which needed sorting. I then tried to get my phone sorted out, which as refused to re-register with Vodafone since returning to India after Nepal. Not helpful when you need to contact people! No luck, the queue was over an hour long, so I gave up. I had too much to do to waiting in a mobile shop for that long.
I jumped into a cab to look at some different hotels for future stays as the hotel we currently use really isn’t up to scratch, especially for a joining hotel, and the lack of a meeting room is a problem, although we got away with it today. It’s much more difficult with an evening meeting. I looked at a few and took down some information so I can email to get better prices and feedback to Sam. There are definitely better options in a similar price bracket. On the way back I spotted a mobile repair shop, so headed out to see if they could sort out my phone. they couldn’t - apparently for foreign nationals a sim card will only last for 3 months or until your visa expires, whichever is sooner… helpful! I got another sim card - airtel as I was annoyed with Vodafone!! I’ve had more than one problem with it through India so it’s time to try another network.
I met the group and we headed to Peter Cat for a very pleasant dinner, before heading out to the train station. I had given everyone a dummy ticket in case they got lost, but they all managed to stick together and we found our train, the Darjeeling Mail, without any trouble and settled down for the night. We were in two separate carriages - Nick in one carriage and I had the other half of the group with me.
Woke up after another reasonable night’s sleep on the overnight train - I swear it’s a gift and an essential part of being an overland leader. The ability to sleep anywhere is important!! I made sure my carriage were all ready to go and we disembarked without problem. It was so much easier this time, knowing that I had Nick to sort out the other carriage and that I didn’t need to worry about running up and down the train like I had last time! Added to which, everyone in this group evidently has the ability to think for themselves, have brought their brains with them and don’t need babysitting. They are proper overlanders, unlike a few of the last group I had taken through here. It makes a BIG difference! I’m mentioning no names, but passengers from that group who read this will know exactly who I am referring to (and it isn’t them!).
We waited on outside the train station for the other carriage to catch up with us and Sam, my operations manager, appeared. He is supposedly staying with us for two nights on ‘work related travel’ - beer anyone?? Anyway, it was great to see him, the other group caught up and we jumped in our jeeps. Again one had a bald tyre, but it was quickly swapped for an alternative, and we made our way to Darjeeling stopping for a momo breakfast en route.
We arrived in Darjeeling in time for lunch, so got checked in (back in the awesome hotel with the amazing views) before ending up in a Darjeeling tea shop having a catch up and drinking our way through four pots of different type of tea… I was completely tea-ed out so headed back to my room for a shower and to organise activities for the group for tomorrow. A leaders work is never done! By this point Sam was already considering changing his plans and potentially joining us for a few days in Bhutan (we are THAT much fun!) and was making tentative enquiries about sorting a visa. He may then join us back into Nepal all the way to Kathmandu which would be wicked! Fingers crossed he decides to take that option. There are a couple of places he needs to go to in between, but it would be great if he rejoins us. I’ve never had third crew on a truck before, and it may help us sort the problems we are having in getting Nick’s second India visa as Nick will be able to head to Kathmandu early and I’ll still have help with the driving!
We headed to dinner in Glenary’s (recommended as they sell beer!), and gradually most of the group came to join us. The food is excellent there but it’s not really a drinking place so we headed on to Joey’s pub afterwards which is the only place I have found in India which feels like a proper pub!
I had organised a trip to Tiger Hill for the group, and I woke up early to see… cloud!! Oh no! The point of Tiger Hill is to watch sunrise and to enjoy the local atmosphere, when the locals all cheer because the sun has managed to come up… again!! It’s brilliant. Anyway, they all got back and they had still enjoyed the atmosphere and the experience - apparently there was some drum playing and Bollywood style dancing going on so as is always the case out here, local experience makes every activity worth it. India just doesn’t disappoint on that score!
I waved the group off to the tea plantations, Mountaineering Institute, Himalayan zoo, Tenzing Norgays Refugee centre and the Dali monastery, and headed down through town to sort out the Toy Train rides for tomorrow morning for my passengers who wanted to give it a go. Disaster stuck when I ripped my down jacket on a piece of metal on the outside of the train. I frantically set to work on feather retention which was quite successful and then kept my eyes open for a patch to try and fix it. The best I was able to find was a small blue flower patch, almost the same colour as my coat in a Bazaar further down the hill. It was a great place though, no tourists to be seen anywhere, lots of small independent traders selling a variety of goods - like turning back the clock in England by a few decades when supermarkets didn’t rule the High Street.
I had a very productive day - finishing my accounts, I got some photos printed to hand out to some of the villages on my next loop, updated my blog (obviously very important!) and generally ran around getting little things done. Unfortunately the group were running late on time so didn’t come back to Darjeeling before heading to the Dali monastery as I had hoped to join them. I wasn’t too worried though, I can do it next time I come through.
We went for dinner at the Shangri la restaurant which personally I didn’t rate much - they try to do mixed cuisines and it didn’t quite work. The tandoori chicken was good though! Five us us then headed down to Joey’s again for a few Old Monk rum and cokes. I was the only one drinking it yesterday - today, they were all at it!!
We had a free morning. I met Sam and went for some breakfast, before helping him with some money exchange and finishing some last bits before we left at 1pm. Everyone was very good and on time, so we headed to meet our jeeps. A couple of our ladies didn’t want to carry their bags for 5 minutes, so a couple of local porters were delighted to oblige for 100 rupees each - it is staggering how much they can carry!
The jeep ride back down the hill was very pleasant, although the cloud was quite thick so sadly we didn’t have any views. It was good company though. Six to a jeep and still room to be comfortable.
Arriving in Siliguri, we were trying a new hotel which is more convenient for us in terms of location, Hotel Tourist Inn. It was great! A few of my passengers wanted to watch a Bollywood film, so I asked where the closest cinema was, to which they replied we could watch it on a big screen using a projector in their meeting room while we were eating dinner and it didn’t cost us a thing! We watch The Race - the usual ridiculous but fun mix of good looking actors, random singing and dancing, a double-crossing plot line and a grand theft for good measure. It was really lovely of the hotel to organise it for us, and the rooms were fine too.
We left at 7.00 after breakfast, wanting to get on the road as soon as possible as no truck has ever driven this route before so we didn’t really know drive times. The hotel estimated 4 hours, so I estimated 5 hours as they will calculate on the speed of a car. As it turned out, I was spot on!! We arrived just before lunch, unfortunately over-shot the Indian immigration but found our Bhutanese guide and retraced our steps. The process of stamping out of India was very quick and uncomplicated, except that the customs for the truck was a kilometre back the way we had just come. I got Nick stamped out first and he jumped in a tuk tuk to sort out Daisy, while I sorted out the group. As soon as we were all stamped out I drove Daisy over the border and into Phuentsholing in Bhutan!! This is quite exciting as we are the first ever Dragoman truck to go into Bhutan so it was a bit of a landmark moment. Our hotel was literally 150 metres inside the entrance gate, so we parked up and headed straight to the Bhutanese immigration to get stamped in. As we travel on a group visa for Bhutan we had to leave our passports until Nick returned, at which point he dashed off to get her stamped into Bhutan and to sort out a permit for her. I took everyone else back to the hotel for lunch.
After lunch I headed into town with two of my passengers, Val and Nils, to go exploring. The town is tiny so it was inevitable that we were going to bump into other people in the group. I was on the lookout for a Bhutanese flag for Daisy, instead found Bhutanese rum, whisky and wine… it had to be done, complete with a classy ‘I love Bhutan’ t-shirt… we nearly managed to leave Bhutan whilst browsing the streets, fortunately spotting a tiny ‘exit’ sign over a archway as we were trying to get to shops on teh opposite side of a railing, which turned out to be the border to India. Good job we didn’t go through as our passports were still in immigration in Bhutan!
We had an amazing buffet dinner, and the chance to try a national dish called ema datse, which consists of chillies in cheese sauce which is surprisingly good!
We had breakfast and got on the road just after 8am for our first official drive into Bhutan. We immediately started heading up winding mountain roads. It was quite misty so early on the views weren’t great, although you could easily see that they would be magnificent if the weather was clearer. We were lucky. Stopping for a tea break, the cloud started to lift and the views became much more apparent. Kinley had presented us all with a white scarf for safe travels at dinner last night, so we all put them on for a group photo. It had to be done!!
Taking the next drive, I drove Daisy along the narrow roads which weren’t actually as bad as I had expected from the research that I had done prior to the trip. They are narrow, and you are driving along mountain roads with no crash barriers and huge drops to the side, but there are plenty of passing places and all of the locals drive with their brains - that means they see you coming and find the best passing spot possible. I did get one round of applause from my passengers after I had squeezed through a very narrow gap - all in a days work.
One of the fascinating things about Bhutan is the way they dry chillies on the galvanised roof of their houses. Everywhere you look there are beautifully decorated and painted houses, all with a square of chillies on the roof. We got to inspect this more closely at lunch time, where the chillies were at a more accessible wall height instead of being spread across a roof.
all expenses except drinks and souvenirs are included in the price for the Bhutan trip, so we had an excellent buffet lunch again, before nick continued down through some beautiful valleys, past a couple of checkpoints where Daisy created a lot of local interest, and on to Paro. We arrived in Paro just as it was getting dark, and unfortunately lost the light as we made our way to the hotel up an incredibly narrow road. Unfortunately Daisy is too big to fit under the arch to the hotel, and there was no turning area. We unloaded our passengers (not as easy as it sounds due to her side steps - a small run in with a wall, no damage sustained) and I got them checked in to the hotel before returning to help Nick sort out Daisy. We ended up parking her in a field. The hotel is amazing! Really lovely rooms, and again a very good buffet dinner! I’m not used to such luxurious overlanding!
We left the hotel at 6.30am, taking a packed breakfast with us. It was Tiger’s Nest Monastery day so the main reason for most our our passengers choosing to come to Bhutan in the first place. The monastery clings to the cliff side almost 1,000m above the valley floor so should be quite a spectacle. Unfortunately it was cloudy and we couldn’t see a thing ahead of us, although apparently you can spot the monastery from the hotel - could have fooled us!
Arriving at the car park, we got out of Daisy and started to make our way up the mountain, just ahead of a group of Chinese. I had arranged for a packed breakfast so we could get a head start on the crowds and it really paid off. There were a couple of other small groups walking the trail at the same time as us, but no sign of the crowds to come.
We had a short tea break half way up the mountain, where you normally get amazing views of the monastery - still nothing but cloud! Our early start may not have paid off as we needed to give the cloud time to clear, but at least it was cooler to walk up the mountain and we consoled ourselves that the monastery would still be worth the visit, whether we could see it from a distance or not. I still had hopes that the cloud would burn off enough to get some views, especially when we started to catch the occasional glimpse of a building through the mist… the cloud was definitely getting lighter.
It took us under two hours to walk to the monastery, stopping for a cup of tea halfway up where we also got distracted by some of the cutest puppies… there are supposed to be superb views of the monastery from there. We could still only see a cloud. Continuing on up the cloud started to break up and we caught tantalising glimpses of the monastery clinging to the cliff face, but we still had no view of the drop below. By the time we got the the top the cloud was breaking up and we got an amazing view back down the valley.
We weren’t allowed to take photos inside the monastery, but it really is beautiful. There is a fun rock path with steps on the final walk to the monastery, dropping down a gorge to the base of a waterfall, then up the other side, all adorned with prayer flags which brighten up every scene, even in the cloud. I am definitely a fan of prayer flags because they are always so cheerful! The monastery itself is stunning. It is adorned with bright, colourful decorations, chanting monks in their bright red habits, complete with one who had a cat sleeping on his knee while he chanted. There is a trapdoor where Guru Rinpoche is said to have mediated for 3 months after arriving on the avatar of his consort, a Tiger. Hence the name, Tiger’s nest. The correct name is Taktsang Monastery.
Leaving the monastery we found that the weather had cleared completely and we got some fantastic photos on the way back down to the car park to collect Daisy (who, incidentally, was attracting a huge amount of attention!). We piled in to Daisy and drove the narrow winding road back to Paro for another awesome buffet lunch - at this rate we’ll all turn into beach balls!
We headed to Paro Dzong after lunch, which was really impressive to see. A dzong (pronounced zong) is a fort monastery, used for religious and state purposes. The current dzong was built after the old dzong became too small for both purposes, and it is massive!! It has a beautiful Utse, which is the central tower housing the Llakhang (God’s house or temple).. Bhutan has some great words! The building is really impressive, with beautiful decorations. From the dzong we continued to an old cantilever bridge crossing the river, where we met Nick and Daisy. I did get distracted by a place selling Thangkhas, which are religious paintings. they are incredibly detailed and a large part of the culture, so I took the group over to have a look, before we drove into town and gave everyone an hour to explore. A few of us had spotted a local archery competition so we made a beeline for that, while the rest of the group shopped.
The archery is brilliant. They stand 145 metres from the target. If they hit the target they wina sash. Every go they get two arrows. If they hit the target with two arrows on the same turn then they get three sashes. There is a lot of enthusiasm and cheering going into the tournament, which can go on all day. If they miss their team mates will indicate whether it was too short/far/left/right or ‘in Tibet’ which means it went way too high and has landed on the Tibet plateau!! Combined with some singing and good humoured banter it was very entertaining to watch.
We headed back to the hotel, parking in a different spot and transporting everyone by local transport to avoid the lane and parking issues we had experienced the night before. It was a good shout! We had yet another really yummy buffet - too much good food!!
We had a moderately early start, having to make sure we were in Thimphu by 9am, so we left at 7am. We needed to sort our truck permit for Bumthang province, which worked well time-wise for toilet and teas stops! Nick and Kinley went to sort the permit while I took the group to a cafe in a lovely little park for tea and momos, and more deep fried chillies which were actually really tasty although they sound terrible!
Continuing with the drive we headed up on the road to Punakha, where there are currently a lot of road works and road closures. We were lucky, we got through the first road block without a delay and we were spot on for making the time slot for the second road block when we came across a third and unexpected road block… We were stuck for an hour. This meant we wouldn’t make the ‘second’ (now third) road block for the open time slot. It had also been raining earlier in the day so, once opened, the road required some slow and careful driving, picking our way down muddy pot-holed roads which was similar to driving on an ice rink with a sheer drop to the side. I enjoyed the extra challenge that this presented though. Arriving at the next road block and hour later, we knew we were going to be stuck for an hour so put the kettle on and found some snacks, aware that it was going to be very late lunch! The group were in excellent spirits though, thoroughly enjoying the drive and the scenery. It makes such a difference to the whole experience when you have a group of passengers who have an appreciation of the conditions you are dealing with and embrace the adventure rather than complaining about it.
Nick took on the drive after the roadblock and continued to Punakha which was only another 10Km down the road (don’t be fooled - on these roads 10Km takes half an hour!), and we finally had lunch at 3pm!! It was another superb buffet lunch, after which we headed to the erotic temple which personally I think should be renamed the fertility temple. This is largely because the most erotic picture in the whole temple is a picture of a woman with her hand on the Divine madman’s bottom. It is a very important fertility temple though, and couples will go there to try to get pregnant. We even spotted a woman walking around the temple hugging a giant penis wrapped in cloth which is one of the fertility rituals, and families will also choose the name of their child from a book in the temple. Each page has a piece of string attached. They choose a string and use the name which is on that page. Interestingly, our guide Kinley was named by this method.
The Divine Madman was a very ill-behaved monk, who had a love for the ladies and for good wine. He sounds like quite a character, and even today he is remembered by painted phalluses on the outside of buildings. These can be seen everywhere with varying levels of adornment, but particularly in Punakha.
Day 1. An early start - I was up at 5.30am, ready to go by 6.00am, to find my guide got the hour wrong and rocked up at 6.30am!! Not the best start, but really no great worry. It was raining. Hard. No planes were leaving Kathmandu airport for a while. Until 1.30pm to be precise!
Finally we were bussed out to our little 16 seater plane, boarded and we were off, heading towards Lukla. The scenery was stunning even though the cloud was still low. We approached Lukla, the worlds most dangerous airport due to it’s short and narrow runway, landing directly towards a cliff. We circled. We circled again. The wind speed was simply too high and it wasn’t safe to land. Frustrating as it was to be so close and yet so far, we turned and headed back to Kathmandu. I collected my luggage while my guide, Jangbo Sherpa, managed to get us booked onto a 7.15am flight the following day.
Day 2. Up early again, the skies were beautifully clear and blue. Full of optimism we headed to the airport. In the time it took us to check in and go through security (a very short process in Kathmandu) a thick fog had engulfed the airport and once again all flights were delayed. By 10.30am all Lukla flights were cancelled, even though it was now brilliant sunshine. It turned out that there had been an accident with a plane taking off from the International terminal, and it’s front wheel had retracted before it was off the ground, causing damage to the runway. Fortunately no one was hurt, but there are no other runways in Kathmandu so that it was end of all flights for at least one more day.
Collecting our bags I moved onto putting plan B into progress as we had no way of knowing how long it would take to repair the runway, and I was reluctant to waste valuable trekking time waiting in Kathmandu. Before I knew it, a jeep was booked and by 1pm we headed off through some spectacular mountain roads on a 13 hour drive towards Phaplu. It was a great decision as the drive alone was worth it. We stopped overnight in a tiny village called Gormi, where I scored brownie points by eating my dal bhat with my hands - seven months travelling through India has paid off!
Day 3. Today was a really early start. We were up at 3.10am, needing to be on the road by 3.30am - but we were blocked in! It took half an hour to track down the driver before we were finally off! We arrived in Phaplu by 9.30am, having had a couple of tea stops, seeing a Nepali porcupine, and having given two policemen a lift along the way. I also got my first real sighting of the Khumbu region, with the majestic mountains riding up against the skyline.
Today is also the Holi festival, or festival of colours, also celebrated in Nepal. Traditionally they celebrate it by throwing brightly coloured powders at each other, and decorating themselves, cars, buildings and animals in bright colours. I was sad to have missed joining in the celebrations in Kathmandu but timings simply didn’t work out. Nonetheless we had a taste of it on our way to Phaplu, when a seldom seen car approached us from the opposite direction, and gave us all some colour to put in our hair (in the end mine was still there when we reached Namche Bazaar as that was my next available opportunity to shower!).
We had a dal bhat brunch before heading off on the start of the trek. It was beautiful scenery but cold, although below the usual snow line there is a lot of snow competing with flowering rhododendrons and there is a chill in the air. The seasons are definitely confused. We climbed steadily for 3.5 hours before having a coffee break, and then continued for another 45 minutes to our teahouse. My room is comfortable but basic, with a toilet down the corridor. The little lady running the teahouse is very friendly although she speaks no English so I had a brief lesson form Jangbo to learn a few key words of Nepali - apparently I got one quite wrong in my efforts and they both disintegrated in laughter and spent eh rest of the evening perfecting my pronunciation so I don’t make the same mistake again. The skies were quiet, all flights to Lukla are still cancelled.
Day 4. A more reasonably timed start today! I packed up my bag, had breakfast and left at 7.30am to head down the valley. The path was muddy, icy and slippery, full of steps and we kept heading down. It was a stunning walk as all of the mountains had come out to play so the views were breathtaking. We stopped for a coffee break after 1.5 hours, before continuing down for another two hours. In total it was nearly a 2,000m descent. Crossing a beautiful glacial green river where the locals were playing drums and doing a puja (prayer) we started our climb up the other side. We had only climbed a short distance before we stopped for lunch and I enjoyed a vegetable omelette. There was an amazing 80 year old Rai lady/grandmother there who was still proudly wearing her nose rings and discs.
After lunch it was uphill, uphill, or mate, mate in Nepalise. We continued steadily, enjoying the views but not stopping. It was steep! Nonetheless we made good time to the top where it was only a short walk to Karikhola and our teahouse. Thick cloud rolled it at about 1pm, but prior to that the first planes had started flying up from Lukla so things were starting to move again.
We arrived at Namaste Lodge around 2.30pm so we had plenty of time to rest and relax during the afternoon, and I convinced Jangbo to teach me some more Nepali. A group of German walkers arrived, returning from a bid to reach Everest base camp. They had been unsuccessful. Bad weather and snow had rolled in the day after they had reached Namche Bazaar and they had been stuck at their guesthouse for a day, and then forced to return back down the valley as the snow was too deep to continue further up. Useful news to receive as it means there will still be snow up there when we reach Namche in a few days time.
t was a big day today with 8.5 hours walking. Leaving just after 7.30am we headed down the next valley. It was an easy walk compared to yesterdays descent, and it didn’t take us long to descend to the bridge, then up the other side to a small monastery where we stopped for a tea break. A group of French ladies were staying there for a few days, and they were quite well informed on conditions higher up in the mountains. Currently it sounds as if the Khumbu region is still closed after Namche, but hopefully our extra trekking and acclimatisation days will give the snow time to clear a little.
We continued ‘up, up’ and still more ‘up, up’ until we had ascended over 800m by the time we reached our lunch stop. These walk in days are nothing if not good preparation for the higher mountains to come! Still with many steps, mud and ice, the path demands care and attention. Jangbo does like an early lunch stop - we were there by 11.30am, but on the whole we have made good progress everyday so I think we are just a little ahead of schedule. We are not walking fast, but we haven’t been stopping for breaks between our main stops (apart from the occasional photo), and of course with just two people there are far fewer holdups. I can tell we are edging closer to the tourist reason now too - dal bhat which will set you back maybe $1 in Kathmandu has now risen to an incredible $5 and we aren’t even in the high mountains yet! It is understandable though - we have walked for two days to get here. The only way the locals can get their food is by mule train (of which we have passed a few) or by having it flown into Lukla then transported down to them. the costs of simply getting what they can’t grow are much higher here than in the low regions.
Another half an hour of steady ascent got us to the top where the path levelled, and then started to drop down the other side again. These were amongst the worst paths we had encountered to date - very muddy and slippery so it was slow going. An injury at this stage would not be welcome! A quick tea stop en route and we continued down to our teahouse at 2240m, and another Namaste teahouse. We are now right at the foot of the mountain, below Lukla, and all being well we should be there by lunchtime tomorrow.
Day 6. We left at 7.30am again, straight into a ‘up, up’ section today, all the way to Lukla! Finally, at 9am, we have reached our official ‘starting point’ although I wouldn’t have missed the last few days trekking up through the valley. It only taken us 6 days!! As we walked so aircraft were continually whizzing literally over our heads, coming in to land or take off on the short runway. At the end of runway on the rock face that the pilots face as they come to land, it has been brightly decorated with prayer flags in a bid to ward off disaster. There is no room for error on landing at the airport and it’s impressive to watch the pilots at work.
A quick coffee stop and we ‘checked in’, registering with the police, before starting our trip towards Namche. For acclimatisation reasons we take these next few days quite slowly, so our first stop was in the village of Phakding at 2,830m. On the way up we were chatting to a small group of lads over lunch. They were due to leave Kathmandu two days ago, but as a result of the delays they had only just arrived. We reached Phakding at 1.10pm and had an easy afternoon with plenty of resting again. I am thankful for my kindle - at least I have a lot of books to help pass the acclimatisation time, without having the extra weight to worry about!
Day 7. Setting off at our usual time of 7.30am we headed on up the valley. It is wooded on both sides, and the path follows a stunning glacial green coloured river. As we walked so we passed numerous zoa and mule trains up and down the valley. Apparently the yaks are used higher up as they are so hardy at dealing with the cold. We crossed some narrow suspension bridges spanning the valley, always decorated with prayer flags, and care has to be taken not to try and cross when a mule or zoa train is coming from the opposite direction.
We have also started to see the porters now carrying extraordinary loads up the side of the mountain. A bag that a tourist can’t carry themselves, and the porters and managing at least two each, and sometimes more. I know they are proud to do it, but you do wonder just how long these porters can keep working with such heavy loads. Personally I had made the decision to use a guide rather than a porter, so to carry my own gear. This was largely due to financial reasons. I wasn’t prepared to trek up in these mountains by myself as accidents can so easily happen, and my intention was to try the more remote high passes, but I have done enough high altitude trekking now to feel comfortable to attempt it whilst carrying my own gear. It was a decision well made, my guide had already saved me valuable time and provided assistance both in translation and organisation of plan ‘B’s, as well as being good company for trekking. Jangbo has been a part of Everest expeditions, climbing over 8,000m on numerous occasions and he knows the region like the back of his hand.
The first part of our walk was relatively level by Nepali standards, and compared to the last couple of days of steep ascents and descents, although still wildly undulating. We covered the ground quickly, actually arriving at our lunch stop by 10.10am!! We were still at the same altitude as our overnight stop, but after lunch this change rapidly form 2, 900m to 3,412m at Namche Bazaar. I got my best view of Everest to date on the climb as there is a superb viewpoint. We made it comfortably, arriving in Namche to find we had reached the snow line. Jangbo has been trekking through this region for more than 20 years and has never seen Namche with so much snow at this time of year. Amazing really, but it is going to be a slow start to the season for the locals. After a popcorn fix to keep me going, I spent the afternoon hydrating, resting and reading another book. I also enjoyed the treat of my first shower since we had left Kathmandu. It is the little things in life that are the best!
Day 8. This is officially acclimatisation day and included a short walk to a higher view point, without our usual bags. We set off at our usual time of 7.30am and climbed to an Everest viewpoint. The weather was perfect with clear blue skies and amazing views. The snow was frozen making our ascent slightly easier as we headed ‘up, up’ again, passing some local kids who were having a go at skiing (nursery slope!) on their way to school. We could also see the Namche airport, still covered in deep snow. Rounding a corner we were treated to a fantastic view of Ama Dablam (6812m), Lhotse (8516m), Everest (8848m) and Nuptse (7861m). Finally they are in sight, so close, attainable yet so unobtainable - on this occasion at least. Even so, I couldn’t help but run through different options in my head as to how to change my flight.
Arriving at the Everest Views hotel in 1.5 hours, we had walked to an altitude of 3,835m. An incredible thought to look at Everest and think that there would be an additional 5,013m to the summit from where we stood! We enjoyed the views before heading back down. It was increasingly slippery as the sun melted the snow and ice, leaving a slick of mud (mato in Nepali) to negotiate. We made it down without incident and I took the opportunity to do some washing, rest and enjoy the views again. I still haven’t reached a point of sociability where I want to go and seek company, although Namche would be a perfect place to do so, but I was happy to enjoy my own space and thoughts. Added to which, it is still so early in the season that there is hardly anyone around, and on the whole I have been the only one staying in the teahouses that we have been to.
Leaving as usual at 7.30am, we set off again with clear skies and views of towering snow-clad mountains surrounding us. After an short initial climb out of Namche, it was back to ‘Nepali flat’, undulating and following the upper contours of the valley. Stopping for tea, we then had a short drop down to a river crossing, and a short rest stop while we waited for yaks to cross the suspension bridge before we took our turn. Yaks can get pretty grumpy so it is best to avoid them if possible!
I enjoyed a lunch of rosti with cheese on the opposite side of the river at at the foot of the ridge, before we started heading up to Tengboche which is situated at the top of the ridge. Enough said really. It was steep. Very steep, Bu beautiful. We took our time as always and it didn’t take us long to reach the village. The weather remained clear, and arriving at the teahouse I discovered my room has an amazing view of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam - absolutely stunning! There is a monastery in the small village, so I headed out ot pay it a visit before relaxing for the rest of the afternoon.
Day 9. Again we left at 7.30am. There is a serious advantage to this with the snow - everything is frozen so until it starts to thaw you don’t have to worry about slipping and sliding your way through snowmelt and mud. Having said that, today it gave us a couple of tricky moments negotiating thick ice as we descended down the valley, but overall it is much easier than the deep slippery mud that appears once the sun is working it’s magic. Also, there is no one else around at that time of day.
This morning it was like walking through a winter wonderland. Our pace was relaxed. Due to the necessity of altitude the pace is actually much easier now than it was when we left Phaplu. Due to our start time, we had stopped and enjoyed our lunch before the first walkers appeared at our teahouse, and I am enjoying the solitary aspect of this trek. It is a rare treat to enjoy such popular mountains alone. Following the usual trend, we had arrived in Dingboche by 1pm and again spent the afternoon relaxing. By now we are across the valley from Ama Dablam.
Day 11. A second acclimatisation day, and the first day that I found myself wishing there was someone else around to chat to and help pass the time more quickly. We headed out on an acclimatisation walk, leading nowhere but up the side of a mountain, but adds 400m to the height of Dingboche, and has more beautiful views, although the weather is on the change. Sadly Kho ma La pass is still closed with reports of six foot of snow - it’s very frustrating though as snow levels lower down have reduced a great deal. It basically means that no one has passed through to open the trail yet. This means we have a day to trek up to Chhukung tomorrow, and then the likelihood is that we will have to return back down this valley before heading up towards Everest base camp, instead of crossing the high pass as I had hoped. Having planned this for so long I am finding this incredibly frustrating and it is only my common sense taking over, that and the experience of my guide, that is curbing my natural love of a challenge and desire to at least try it anyway - we can always turn back after all. Having said that, this afternoon it started snowing at 4200m. If it is light snow here there is a guarantee that it is a lot heavier at 5400m! And apparently it is not this side of the pass that is the problem, it is crossing onto the other side where the worst of the snow has fallen.
I did actually meet two guys this morning over breakfast who had arrived at the teahouse late yesterday. Wishing them luck, we departed and headed up the valley floor. The weather isn’t clear this morning and clouds are clinging to the surrounding mountains, moving quickly providing some dramatic views. We got brief views of the peaks between the clouds, and it is possible to see the wind blowing yesterdays snow off the peaks of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam.
It only took us two hours to reach Chhukung, which is literally just a few buildings, and consists entirely of teahouses! We dropped off our bags, had a quick lunch and set off through the snow following a small trail towards Chhukung Ri. Following the trial up to the edge of the ridge there was nothing to see until we reached the shoulder of the ridge. Our small trail had ceased, so we continued by breaking the trail through the snow. Rounding the shoulder we were treated to breathtaking views of three glaciers, Lhotse and Island Peak. We continued towards the saddle, going as far towards to summit of Chhukung Ri as we could before the clouds rolled in. With rapidly diminishing visibility we took the safe option and retired back to our teahouse for a well earned hot drink.
I am ashamed to say that I did have a mini temper tantrum today, but only because I really wanted to give Kongma La pass a try, and the snow and breaking the trial yesterday up Chhukung Ri hadn’t been a problem at all. Unfortunately, like I mentioned a couple of days ago, this valley isn’t the problem, it’s the next one where the snow is still far deeper and this pass is historically always the last of the three to open. I always find it psychologically more difficult to retrace my steps too
Temper tantrum over (at least I had got it out of my system) we headed back down the valley, past Dingboche, then headed up the next valley to Lobuche, passing three groups along the way. Suddenly the trail seems busy and I’m not sure I like it after the solitude of trekking up here to this point! Nothign to be done, it is inevitable on the way to base camp. We stopped at Dukla for lunch before a fairly steep climb to the Sherpa memorials, all in remembrance to the different Sherpas who have lost their lives on Everest over the years. There are a lot of them and it is a poignant reminder to how dangerous these mountains can be.
We continued up the valley to Lobuche, about a five hour ascent in total. Within an hour of our arrival it started to snow, lightly at first but gathering strength and it just didn’t stop all afternoon or evening!
Unfortunately at this point I had a decision to make. Whilst here we were supposed to be tackling Kala Pattar for views of Everest, and we were meant to spend a few nights in this valley, before tackling the next high pass, Cho La pass, to the Gokyo Valley. Unfortunately due toe the snow the next pass was also closed. I could feasibly still reach Gokyo, but only if I took just two nights here, then headed back down the valley, to head up to Gokyo. Then if the snow had cleared enough there was still a chance that we could manage Renjo La pass. The other option was to tackle Base Camp, then the following day do Kala Pattar, and make our way back down slowly. Of course, being me, I took the first option. The decision to miss Kala Pattar wasn’t that difficult for me, although it is most trekkers literal high point and therefore an achievement, and also because the views of Everest are fantastic from up there. I have trekked to higher points on numerous occasions, so that challenge wasn’t there for me, and I had a greater desire to visit base camp, and the Gokyo valley, even though it meant we were about to embark on a ridiculous amount of walking in a short period of time. It was a challenge I was happy tackle and my guide was confident that I was more than able to deal with it.
I spent the evening chatting to a lovely group of French Canadian lads - I am slowly coming out of my shell of solitude and I almost feel ready to be a part of the real world and social interaction again!
Day 14 Best day yet! We left early at 6am. It was still snowing although visibility was reasonable, and there were fantastic icicles hanging off all of the buildings. We stopped for breakfast at Gorak Shep before finding the invisible snow covered trail leading to Everest Base Camp. At this point I was congratulating myself (not for the first time) on the wisdom of hiring a guide as it would have taken me ages to work out where to start looking for the trail. We were breaking the trail all the way and it was still snowing. Underfoot it was possible to feel the original trail now invisible, covered with snow. It was knee deep at this point. If we strayed off course in either direction we disappeared up to our waists! It was great fun and I enjoyed the extra dimension to the adventure. We are still too early in the season for there to be any expedition tents at Base Camp, so we had no obvious markers to aim for, only rocks and prayer flags which you can’t see from the ridge as you approach. To reach base camp we had to drop down off the ridge, then cross the moraine to the edge of the Khumbu glacier, until finally we found Base Camp!! My luck held as the clouds broke enough to get views of the summit, all the way down to Lola, the ice fall. At 5,364m it in incredible to think that there is still another 3484m to ascend to the summit! She is an impressive mountain to say the least!
As we headed back down we passed the first yaks, guides and porters carrying the expedition equipment and tents to set up base camp for the upcoming season. We had lunch at Gorak Shep, before continuing for a second night at Lobuche, arriving by 4pm. The Cho La pass was still closed so I spent the evening resting in the rapidly filling teahouse in preparation for a long walk back down the valley the following day. My French Canadian friends were still there, although to be honest I was feeling a lot less social after the big day we had endured, and with the knowledge of the distance we needed to cover the following day.
Day 15. As anticipated this was a BIG day today. Travelling 16km in a day at altitude is a lot of distance. We left Lobuche and headed back down the mountain in perfect weather conditions, passing through Pheriche with a quick stop to say hello to the mountain doctors whom I had met on a previous lunch stop. They were interested in having a chat too, not least because I hd been to base camp the previous day and therefore I was able to give them a real idea of conditions higher up the mountain which they can pass on to trekkers who pass through Pheriche on their way up.
We continued our descent, stopping a small settlement called Shomane for lunch. At Pangboche we split on to a different path to the one we had come up a week again, taking a higher path leading to the village of Phortse. The weather was perfect and the views were stunning. Looking across the valley we could see Tengboche nestled high on the ridge. This section was actually one of my favourite sections on the whole trek. The path was quieter, and it winds its way around the mountains, steeply climbing and descending. You can never see your end point until you are literally on top of it though, as Phortse is at the mouth of the next valley. We finally turned a corner and there it was in front of us!
On arrival I was quite excited because there was a big sign with ‘Shower’. This was my first chance of a shower since Namche on day 7 and I was longing to at least wash my hair. There is only so much you can do with a ‘bird bath’ although it is quite adequate I was to be disappointed - we were still too high and the pipes were frozen, so they offered me a lukewarm bucket of water. Normally I don’t mind a bucket wash, but I didn’t fancy lukewarm water with cold air temperatures outside and they didn’t have the stove going in the dining room yet so I decided against freezing for the sake of being clean, and consigned myself to the prospect of being stinky for another week!
Day 16. I can honestly say that this was my least favourite day on the whole trek. It was quite simply just a slog! The trail started with a steep icy downhill section to the bottom of the valley, followed by an equally steep uphill section the other side, which was in fact the best part of the day. From this point it was all in startling comparison to the previous day, the initial trails through the trees were covered with treacherous ice. This wasn’t too bad but they required a lot of respect. As soon as we left the shelter of the trees we were up to our ankles in mud, ice and snow - lethal to walk through, energy sapping, and it just didn’t stop. To make matter worse, the day was overcast and the mountains didn’t want to come out to play so I couldn’t even enjoy the beautiful views that I knew were there but were all hiding!
Eventually we reached a village called Luza where the trail finally started to improve, although it was typically only another half an hour to our overnight stop at the Yeti Lodge at Machermo. The rooms here were freezing, but fortunately it was fine with my sleeping bag and extra blankets, but I spent as much time as I could next to the stove in the dining area. As if to prove that it isn’t quite ready to give up yet, the snow started to fall again later in the evening, covering the ground with a fresh four inches to be enjoyed in the morning.
Day 17. Leaving at our usual time of 7.30am we found ourselves the trailblazers yet again, heading up the valley through unbroken fresh snow. It was beautiful! The weather was perfect too, with blue skies and great views of the peaks. We had a similar situation to the one we had experienced at base camp. Ankle deep when we were on the existing trail, but the moment we took a step off course we were waist deep again! No wonder the high passes are all closed. The latest estimate is that it won’t happen until mid-April as they are still covered in six foot of snow.
Reaching Gokyo at 10.30am after a beautiful morning walk, we found that Gokyo lake is completely frozen and snow covered. Amazing to see! We had an early lunch, before dropping our bags and heading up Gokyo Ri (5357m), another 567m above Gokyo. and a step climb up at that! It certainly took a lot more effort than it had to get to base camp. We took our time, picking our way through ice slush and snow. As we made our way up so the clouds were rolling in thicker and thicker, so I didn’t quite get there in time to see the perfect view across to Everest and Lhotse, but I have seen a lot of them in the last couple of weeks. It was still spectacular and Cho Oyo was out to play. It took us three ours to summit and make our way back down to our teahouse to enjoy a nice mug of hot chocolate.
Day 18: The race is on!! Having completed all of our high points and destinations, we now have just three days to trek back down from Gokyo to Lukla to catch our flight back to Kathmandu. Today was the trickiest, due to the downhill section through snow, ice and mud - the same slog that we had coming up the valley, only in reverse. Renjo La pass is definitely still out of bounds so there was only one option for it - back down we went. Strangely enough the snow that had fallen had improved matters slightly and the conditions underfoot were a little easier to contend with. We stopped at Luza for an early lunch before tackling the worst section. It took us a couple of hours before we were back in the trees and on slightly better trails, although still icy and muddy. Reching Phortse Tenga we had a tea break before a steep uphill section to Mong La at the top of the ridge where we stopped for the night. Hopefully it will be clear in the morning as there is low cloud at this point, but the views should be fantastic!
Day 19. Tola tola (down down) all the way, nearly! This was an easy walking day, a bit of luxury after the terrain that we have dealt with since Tengboche. Now there is no snow, ice or mud, just dry trails winding their way down the valley. We stopped at Namche Bazaar for momos . The Saturday market was on, so there was a great atmosphere which was lovely to experience. It was a nice change after the higher mountain tourism, the chance to see a bit of real Nepali life again. And the buffalo momos were great! On the advice of my guide I had avoided eating meat in some of the higher areas as it is impossible to guarantee its freshness. It can take three days to reach the higher teahouses and it is a quiet time of year so there isn’t the turnover.
Heading on down the valley we only had one slight hold up - they were rebuilding a bridge so we had an unexpected river crossing! The scenery also underwent a huge change. We have definitely dropped out of the high mountains now, and there were flowering rhododendrons lining the paths again on our way down to Phakding and our overnight stop. To be honest I think we could have made it to Lukla tonight, but as the plane doesn’t leave until the following day there was no need to finish ourselves off on the last few hours.
Day 20. We left late this morning, not setting off until 7.45am, althoguh there was no need for us to rush. We had a very relaxed walk to Lukla, having covered most of the distance in the previous two days. Since Namche we have passed many groups heading up into the mountains. While I am sad to be leaving, there is a large part of me that is relieved that I was able to enjoy the mountains and my adventure in relative peace and solitude, even though it meant I was not able to take the route oI had originally planned on. I think it has been a better adventure as a result of that.
Arriving at Llama Lodge in Lukla at 10am, having walked through the middle of a film crew apparently filming an Everest expedition bid, the first thing I did was have a shower and wash my disgusting hair! It wasn’t the most compliant shower I have ever used, and the water switched from boiling hot to freezing cold in a second, but it was good enough for me! I spent the rest of the day relaxing and exploring Lukla, which only took about 20 minutes,and playing with some puppies on the street.
The final furlong. The trekking is done, now fo the risky part of the adventure. Flying from Lukla! We had a 6.30am breakfast, and headed to the airport arriving at 7.00am. Our flight was meant to be at 8.30am but Jangbo got us on to an earlier one, and we safely arrived in Kathmandu an hour later, where we were picked up and I was dropped off at my hotel by 9.30am. It was a sad farewell to Jangbo, although obviously he was keen to see his wife and family again - he gave a me a lovely scarf to wish me safe travels home. The first thing I did was put all my clothes in the laundry and then I let everyone know that I was okay. Strangely enough in the following couple of days before flying back to the UK, I met my French Canadian mountain friends from Lobuche, and I saw my last co-driver, Rob, who was back in Kathmandu for an evening. It was a lovely way to finish my Nepalise adventures, although I hope I’ll get the chance to come back.
After spending the last few weeks working hard in the workshop to transform my new truck, Archie 2, from an empty unpainted shell (admittedly mechanically sound) with a couple of missing wheels, into a gleaming new Dragoman truck, I am finially on the road again with my co-driver Tom Pilgrim. I will also confess that we were a touch late in leaving. Originally it was the 1 May... not quite ready, so the ferry booking became 3.30pm today... then 8.15pm today. We thought we'd arrived in time, but we missed the loading time (we weren't told that part!). 10.05pm and we are currently on teh ferry and heading for Calais!
Next stop - Istanbul in approx 4 days time. I'm sure there will be more adventures to share for this stage of the journey too. This contract runs through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China, all the way to Beijing. Amazing!!
We both slept late - We were exhausted after the rush to leave Debenham and reach the ferry in time, and it had taken us unit 2.00am to find a suitable overnight parking spot which wasn’t already full. Leaving at 9.00am we drove for a short distance before stopping for breakfast.
It didn’t take us long to reach Germany and non-stop rain which lasted all day! Reaching the border we had to pay for our road tolls in advance by marking our route, then following instructions on a key pad to pay. We were able to select English for most of it, apart from the payment part. Five minutes of confusion and help from an equally confused German, we managed to get our tickets and headed to the restaurant for a bratwurst and chips lunch as were were in Germany after all.
German autobahns are great to drive on, but there isn’t much to see and it wasn’t helped by grey skies and heavy rain. It did give us chance to see if we had any leaks though! I found a couple of small spots which shouldn’t take much to sort out.
Driving on through the afternoon, we reached Nuremburg and decided to stop at 7.00pm for an early night, the plan being to get some more rest now and to get on the road early tomorrow. The only food available at the services was a Burger King so that was dinner decided! We had finished an were just checking our emails when a team of men moved in and started literally dismantling the restaurant area - the took apart all of the tables, moved chairs, dismantled benches, everything was being undone around us. After half an hour we decided we had better move before they dismantled us too and settled down in Archie for the night.
We got up at 6.30am, had a quick breakfast and got on the road for 7.00am. It didn’t take long to get through the rest of Germany, in spite of encountering our first traffic jam. We arrived at the Austrian border at 9.30am where I had fun trying to put money on a little grey box which is used for pre-paid tolls. Between my appalling German and the lady’s marginally better English we managed to work it out, although I have no idea what emission zone the truck falls into… 3 maybe?? She seemed happy with that!
The scenery in Austria has been the best so far by a mile, and we stopped for lunch at a services just so we could at least say that we have set foot in Austria. The services was really posh! Tom took a photo of the buffet bar and was told off by the manager - classified information hiding in the fruit maybe? I can’t take him anywhere! It only took 4.5 hours to reach Slovenia, even with a lunch stop and we quickly made our way through the tiny country.
Everything was going smoothly until we reached the border exit, where as soon as Tom stopped we heard an air leak. Not good! The air pressure immediately started dropping as the police man was checking our passports and Tom’s license. We asked nicely if we could move as we knew if the air dropped much further then the brakes would lock on and we would be blocking the traffic lane. Tom was frantically revving away until the police man came back - all the warning lights were on but fortunately we still managed to move Archie to a parking bay to investigate the problem.
It didn’t take long to find. Now accompanying the air leak was a new knocking noise. It turned out one of the air lines was just touching the fan and it had worn a hole in the pipe. Problem found - solving it was another matter. We didn’t have any spare airline. We tried a temporary fix with little hope of it working, but just needing a patch long enough to get to a city where we could get new pipe or connectors. It sort of worked! We drove on through the Croatia border, where they inspected the truck with interest. Within 2 Km we reached a road toll booth where we had to collect a ticket. As our passenger seat is located on the usual drivers side for Croatia, Tom moved nice and close so I could reach a ticket. Unfortunately he over-did it a fraction and took out a concrete block which e couldn’t see… fortunately the wheel was fine, but our air leak was getting loader by the minute. We pulled over at the next parking area, thinking that we could use a section of gas pipe to bypass the problem area. Just as we were preparing it another truck pulled up. The truck driver didn’t speak much English but he did have a spare air connector. Problem solved and he wouldn’t even take any beer money!!
We stopped for dinner in a roadside restaurant - not quite the standards we had become accustomed to through Germany and Austria, but the service was much nicer and the food was yummy!! I have no idea what it was (meat of some description - maybe pork?, chips and salad).
We arrived at the Serbian border at 9pm. It took a total of four officials to get on to teh truck to convince them to let us thorugh the bus lane as we have seats in the back. Their confusion was eveident - I woudl guess that this is not a border commonly used by overland vehicles!! Having managed to get through we parked up for the night.
The day passed smoothly. Much more smoothly than yesterday anyway! We had a slightly later start. Initially the roads were excellent, but as we headed towards the Bulgarian border so they deteriorated. There are a lot of motorways under construction - ours just hasn’t been finished yet! We found ourselves on the equivalent of A roads, driving down an absolutely stunning valley. We were both glad that the motorway wasn’t completed at that point!
Our pace slowed and the whole day was spent travelling at a more leisurely pace. Once into Bulgaria the roads were even worse and the dual-carriageways weren’t any better. We had an entertaining moment when we were looking for a services and one was signed for 76Km ahead. Excellent! We continued and the signs counted down the services. Due to roadworks we ended up on a contraflow which took us straight past the services with no where to turn off to access them! With a few kilometres we passed another services and had the same problem. It was so ridiculous we were both laughing! Fortunately we didn’t have to travel too much further before finding a services that we could actually access.
It was a long day, but I wanted to get to the border so we only have a short drive to Istanbul in the morning, not least because Tom needs to get his Tajikstan visa sorted out when we get there, and it can take 24 hours to arrange. We knew we wouldn’t make the border before it closed, but we got as close as possible before stopping for the night. We made sure we topped up both of our diesel tanks in Bulgaria too, as fuel in Turkey is as expensive as it is in the UK so we want to get as far as we can through Turkey without refuelling if we can.
Leaving at 7am, we headed towards the border to Turkey. We had the joy of passing approx 15Km of parked trucks, all waiting to leave Bulgaria. As we carry passengers we can get away with a bus lane which is a bonus. Typically a truck was blocking the road - cars could fit through but nothing bigger, and I spent the next 10 minutes moving traffic so we could squeeze past - no one seemed to mind and they were all trying to help. We crossed border into Turkey without incident (other than no fewer than four officials having to get on to the truck as they didn’t believe we could carry passengers). It was an easy drive then to get to Istanbul, and relatively straight forward getting in. traffic was quite heavy, but it kept moving and we found our truck park without any trouble, arriving just after lunchtime.
The Orient hostel is a great little place! Very central and close to the Blue Mosque. The receptionist was really helpful so I sorted out room lists and welcome letters, before jumping in the shower and washing off four days of transit! Tom headed off to sort out his Tajik visa, and I then met another member of crew, Yves, who arrived in Istanbul from Egypt this morning. I haven’t seen him since February last year so it was great to catch up!
I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and recovering from the drive as we meet our new passengers in the morning. As is always the way, by the end of the evening we had met the first two already, both of whom seem very pleasant and good fun.
I had a lie in. Well deserved after our efforts getting to Istanbul! A quick shower and breakfast, I grabbed my pre-departure meeting notes and went to meet my new passengers. Welcome meetings are usually held in the evening, but due to the number of visa’s needed for this trip it gives us time to check visa dates and head to an embassy if there is a problem! Fortunately there wasn’t and the group seems lovely.
They had a free day to enjoy Istanbul while Tom sorted his visa and I headed to the supermarket with Yves. We tested the tram service which was really easy to use, and then headed up what turned out to be the wrong street. Of course we then didn’t want to retrace our steps, so we used our vague map of Istanbul to cut across the streets to find the supermarket which turned out to be hiding in a shopping mall. We did find a great kebab for lunch through getting lost though!
The supermarket turned out to be a Swiss chain and fairly well stocked, although I need to replace all of our plates and bowls - they only had china!! Not much use on an overland truck, so that will have to wait. We piled into a taxi to take everything to the truck. Tom had got there just before us.
I realised I need to book boat tickets for the evening, so headed back to the hostel to get that done, before returning to Archie to fit the roof tarp and help move tents and generally clean him. We will do most of it in Goreme but some things couldn’t wait or our passengers won’t be able to fit anything in there!
We got back to the hostel with enough tie to get ready and have a bite to eat, before heading out on the Bosphorus river boat trip. It was a lovely calm evening, although it had become a little overcast. It was still warm and everyone was enjoying the trip. Then very quickly storm clouds rolled in, the wind picked up and before we knew it we were in the middle of a dramatic thunder storm! It was great fun, but the end result was that we had to land at the different point, 3Km from where we had been picked up. We then made a dash to the tram and piled on, before running back to the hostel. A bit more exciting than originally planned, but we knew we had a good group as the more things went off course so the more they smiled and enjoyed themselves! By the time we were back in the hostel the whole event had been re-named the “Storm cruise’!
Our first drive day! We were meant to be walking down to Archie, but last nights thunderstorm continued and it was raining heavily. Not wanting to subject everyone to a 13 hour drive day in wet clothes, I got taxis and they dropped us down at the truck. We found a couple of leaks which will need sorting out but nothing that seems too drastic, and we have time to sort it once we reach Goreme.
The drive went very smoothly. We navigated out of Istanbul without a problem, and had no trouble in continuing to Goreme. The roads were all excellent which was just as well considering we had 800 Km to cover and it was bad weather. As usual there were a handful of drivers without their lights on in poor visibility, but compared to India it was a breeze, even with copious amounts of water across the roads.
We stopped for lunch at a services. Turkish services are turning out to be quite luxurious, with shops, cafes, buffets - you name it, it’s there! I’m glad we don’t stay in Turkey too long as I think we’ll start losing passengers in them.
Arriving in Goreme, the hostel is amazing! The whole place is really comfortable. There is even a swimming pool, not that anyone is interested after a day of thunderstorms and heavy rain, but it’s a lovely place. We went into town for dinner at a restaurant called Dibek’s, which was lovely. The building is 475 years old, and the food was all local. It was a pleasant meal, although a little pricey. once we settled the bill the managed invited Tom and myself to a local bar with live music for a drink. We accepted as it’s always good to find out more about a place, and live music can be fun although after half an hour I’m not sure how enthusiastic I am about local live Turkish music!!
We woke up at 5am ready to get up for our balloon flight at 5.15am. It was raining. I would quite happily have stayed in bed, but being the tour leader I had to drag myself away from my comfortable (really comfortable) bed and downstairs to speak to the driver. He wanted to take all 11 of us to the office. It was blatantly going to be cancelled and as half of my passengers had stayed in bed, I argued the toss. Sure enough, half an hour later it was officially cancelled and I got to go back to bed for an hour. Usually I’d stay up but after the last few weeks my batteries need recharging!
I got up for breakfast and then collected my group ready for the ‘Green tour’ which includes a bus, a local guide, and entries for Ilhara Valley, Derinkuyu underground city and the monastery. The guide was excellent really informative, but the sites themselves were just really busy. Ilhara Valley involved a tranquil 4Km stroll down a 100m deep canyon. The first section was incredibly touristy, but once we started walking down the valley the crowds thinned and it was beautiful. We had lunch at the end of the walk which was very good, before heading to the Selime monastery.
The monastery was the highlight of the tour for me. It is amazing rock formations with caves carved out of the rock, and one room leading to another, and amazing views. Turns out a lot of my passengers have a ridiculous sense of humour and we were like a bunch of big kids running around exploring. So do Tom and I. It’s going to be a fun trip!!
From the monastery we continued to the underground city, dating back to the 7-8 Century BC. It was fascinating to see, with a labyrinth of underground tunnels and caves, and enough room to house 20,000 people, together with livestock and food stores. Again, there were too many tourists for my taste, but I can’t talk. I am a tourist!!
The company drove an hour back to Goreme and stopped at an Onyx shop to try and sell some jewellery. The main man did an interesting talk on the differences of turquoise, but none of us wanted to buy jewellery. It turned out we were only 4Km from Goreme and there was a walk down through Pigeon valley so all bar one decided to walk back. The guide didn’t quite know what to make of it!! This turned out to be the best part of the entire day. The valley was stunning, wild flowers were out everywhere, the rock formations were incredible and for the first time all day we were the only people in sight. Halfway down we reached a cliff section which was impassable. Retracing out steps, we headed up and around, finding another path and continuing down the valley. Things never quite go to plan but the adventure makes it all much more fun!
We were supposed to be going to a folklore dance night with Whirling Dervishes (spiritual dancers), but unfortunately everything was booked so I tried rebooking it for tomorrow. Turns out to be a good thing as our hot air balloon flight picked up has been brought forward to 4.40am!! We can always go back to bed afterwards. Instead, we headed out to a local bar called Fat Boys, owned by an ex-overland driver. Excellent service and tasty food. I tried the Pottery Kebab which is basically a kebab cooked in a pot, brought to the table and broken so you can eat it. A Cappadocian special, it was very tasty!
An amazing start to the day. Second attempt, a 4.30am start and we headed off hot air ballooning! A ten minute drive to the loading point, we had a short wait while the balloons went up, before boarding (ladder provided!) and we were off!! There were approx 100 balloons all going up over Cappadocia, as the sun was rising. It was beautiful!
Our balloon pilot showed some good skills, lowering the ballon through Pigeon Valley where we had walked yesterday, getting close to the towering rocks formations. It was impressive! we even got a view of Archie from the air. The funniest moment was when a van pulled up on a bank ahead of us and three guys jumped out, ran like crazy and unwound a banner. Turns it it said ‘Will you marry me?’ and it was pre-arranged by a guy in our balloon. Fortunately she said yes! We had a very smooth landing, then the pilot showed off and managed to move the basket onto it’s trailer, before we were unloaded to ‘champagne’ (red bull in a champagne bottle) and each given a medal. Random but fun! It’s the highlight of the trip so far - good going as we are only on day 4.
Returning to the hotel I spent the rest of the morning slightly less glamorously - doing my accounts! An overland drivers work really is never done. From there I headed out to Arhcie - a spot more sealing is required as we discovered on our drive from Istanbul. We also sorted out our spares and our cook lockers. We got a brief respite when fellow overlanders, Nick and Adam, from Endeavour Overland popped over to see us. We have couriered some equipment all the way from the UK for them so they treated us to lunch. Four days in and I’ve seen more crew in that time than I saw during 8 months in India!!
I spent the remaining afternoon finishing odd jobs and changing money, before getting ready for ‘Turkish Night’, a dinner and folklore dance show. I’d heard the stories that it was cheesy - they weren’t lying! In spite of that it was actually really good fun. Sadly, due to driving tomorrow, I couldn’t enjoy the unlimited drink which I think may have made the show even funnier. It was entertaining, with belly dancers, knife throwers and whirling dervishes, and one of my passengers got pulled up to have a go at belly dancing!
We had another good breakfast before leaving at 8am and heading off on our second big drive day on the trip. We had to stop to do some cook group shopping, so we found a supposedly good supermarket in Kayseri, which when we got there looked half empty! Not to worry, it had everything that we needed. The toilets were out in their warhouse though which was pretty random!
We did have a slightly unofficial city tour in Kayseri as a result of a small wrong turn which resulted in Tom being able to show off his driving skills and he earnt himself a deserved round of applause, even though we had no choice but to turn left up a 'no left turn' street as the street to the right was blocked by parked cars. It's all part of the adventure!
Teh first part of the drive was pretty unremarkable, and we looked out fo r a lunch spot for 45 minutes before we finally found a suitbale spot with nice views out the the mountains in one direction (and a factory pumping out black smoke in the other... small detail!). We had obviously attracted some attention as we were nearly ready to leave when a police car rolled up. Fortunately they were just being curious and checking that we were okay - they were probably worried that we were going to try and camp there, but we still had an afternoons drive ahead of us.
Teh drive improved dramtically in teh afternoon. It became more mountainous and much more scenic. We passed reseviors with petrified trees, valleys of flowers, beautiful lakes. It was a very pretty drive.
We reached camp a littel after 7pm and I did the tent demo and support while Tom set up the kitchen and camp fire. Everything went really smoothly and the cook group did an excellent job, especially as it was their first attempt. We're going to eat well on this trip!
I woke up at 5.30am and it was a clear morning. By 6.30am it was raining. Why does it always happen just as you're about to pack tents away so they all have to go away wet?! Anyway, teh cook group excelled themselves and produced pancakes with chocolate spread, stawberries, bananas, honey, lemon and suger (pick and choose - not all at once!). I was very impressed for a first cook group breakfast.
We left on time and headed further along the beautiful mountain roads. It was still raining, with grey skies. Heading up a pass we disappeared into a cloud and had no views at all! We did find a fantastic roadside tea stop. The guy had his little stall set up, and a tent with a woodburner in the middle to shelter in. He was dressed in a suit to serve, and we were seated on chairs and on his immaculate bed to drink our tea. Amazing!
We were supposed to head straight to the Sumela monastery, but due to the weather I decided to head to camp first as we pass it anyway, have lunch and then head ot the monastery later and see if the cloud might clear as it was definitely looking brighter. My passengers were happy with that plan. It didn't work although it had stopped raining which was a bonus! The path ran for 1.2Km, all going up. There is a mini bus which can take you up, but after two truck days it was nice to get out and stretch our legs.
The monastery was really cool, although it is supposed to 'hang' on the cliff wall and with the surrounding cloud we lost the visual impact of the hanging - we couldn't see the gorge at all! It has some amazingly well preserved fresco artwork on it though (apart from the graffiti... grr!). It was worth a visit, nd I only hope it will be clear so I can see it properly in November!
We had breakfast and left camp at 8am, heading to the border. Typically, it was raining which seems to have been the common theme for the past few days. It didn't take us long to reach Trabzon, and we followed the coastline of the Black Sea all the way to the Georgian border.
Arriving at the border we found a long queue of traffic all waiting to go through. We parked in line and inched forwards as the line moved along. After half a hour I took the passengers over to immigration, leaving Tom to deal with the truck. Just before we entered teh building a scuffle broke out between some guys, about 30m from where we were stood. Pausing to watch it was evident that teh fight was escalating - sadly all in Turkish so we had no idea what they were saying, but more people were piling in. It was time to leave. Next moment a policeman pulled out his gun and fired a volley of shots into the air. I have never seen a more effective way of stopping a fight! Even so, we were out of there - literally, out of the country.
We passed thorugh immigration for both countries without trouble, and met our local guide, Zaza, on the Georgian side. He showed us to a restaurant where we could get lunch while we waited for Tom and Archie to catch up. Not being able to read Russian, Zaza kindly ordered for us and we had a feast! The food was incredibly good with cheese breads, different salads, chicken dishes, beef and potato, and a little spicy number. It was delicious! Probably a good job we won't be in Gerogia for too long!
We boxed up some lunch for Tom who had experience a little trouble getting out of Turkey as the immigration official was incredibly unhelpful and just kept shouting at him in Turkish... Tom can't speak Turkish (neither can I for that matter). It all got sorted in the end and Tom was released from the country!
We continued to Batumi, which has some of the most random buildings I have ever seen, including one with a ferris wheel built into the side (sadly not working) and an architecturally famous McDonalds/fuel station. I meant to go exploring but discovered the shower instead which was amazing! We stay in a really nice hotel. I figured I would have time to go sightseeing and take photos in the morning so just took some time to relax instead and sort out my next contract after Africa, which is going to be another Silk Road starting in July next year, running all the way to Bankok via Myanmar, and then two loops of South East Asia. I can deal with that!
I had made a casual invitation to the group to join us for dinner if they wished, expecting a couple of them. The whole group was there! I love it when groups bond like this, it's great. We had a very good meal, before retiring to the bar opposite the hotel which sold cheap cocktails (approx $3 USD) and even cheaper vodka ($2 USD for 7 shots). It was a good evening!
We had a free morning to explore Batumi, which translates into 1. a good lie in 2. running around getting some printing done 3. Finding a market which sold bowls, but not plates, and forks & spoons but not knives... Our eating equipment is halfway to being replaced!
Tom has to leave me today to fly back to England for his sister's wedding, so he waved us off after lunch while he waited for his bus to Tbilisi. We will catch up with him again there in a few days time. For now I'm running the trip solo, but I have Zaza our local guide to help. He just can't help with the driving!
We had a three hour drive, arriving at the Prometheus caves at 4pm. Having visited a lot of caves over the years, I wasn't sure what to expect but they were really impressive. A network of different caves with stalagtites and stalagmites desecding 80m below the surface. We all opted to take a boat ride thorugh the last 500m of the caves which was fun, complete with obligatory hard hats in case we bumped our heads on a stalagmite.
Georgia is already markedly different to Turkey. It is incredibly green, and driving through the towns it feels as if someone has turned the clock back to the 1950's. The roads are definitely worse, the infrastructure simpy isn't here yet. It's beautiful but it doesn't feel like there is any money in the country. The flash and glitz of Batumi hasn't spread further afield yet. The only buildings which look like they have had money spent on them is the tourist buildings which are incredibly modern.
Heading to our guesthouse after the caves, I found myself doing the typical Dragoman 'squeeze' up narrow roads and having to reverse into an awkward driveway. After India it all feels relatively easy and relaxed, but fortunately in teh absence of Tom, I also have two previous truck drivers in my passengers who were able to do a bit of traffic control and directing to get into the drive. Unless you've driven a truck, people have no idea how to manoevre one and the locals were doing their best but kept sending me on the wrong line - of course I couldn't see to correct it and there really wasn't much room to make the swing. Did it without mishap though!
We had a very civilsed start, having breakfast at 8am before a short walk to the Bagrati Cathedral, which dates back ot the 11th century. Restored in 2012 after major damage, the cathedral now serves as a masterpiece of modern and medieval Gerogian architecture. The new sections are surprisingly modern and a complete contrast to the rest of the Cathedral, and interesting mix of old versus new. Named after King Bagrat III, the Cathedral is situated above teh town of Kutaisi and as we were finally fortunate with the weather, we had spectacular views out to the mountains.
Jumping back into the truck we headed into the town to visit the local market, where we sampled a variety of Georgian sweets, fresh cherries on a stick, stocked up on truck spices and enjoyed the general atmosphere. The stall holders were incredibly friendly and happy for us to take photos. In all a great experience.
Back in Archie and we had a beautiful 3.5 hour drive to Gori, the birthplace of Joseph Stalin. We stopped for lunch at the little restaurant serving barbeque pork which was delicious, before reaching the museum. It was incredibly interesting, not least because when teh display was done in 1979 propaganda under Soviet rule meant certain areas had been heavily censored. Fortunately some of that information is now on display in teh museum, but it is an interesting sotry. The most fascinating part was seeing the house where he was born and his personal train carriage which was heavily armoured, used to have bullet proof glass and was very 'Agatha Christie' in appearance. Well worth the visit.
We had an hour to explore Gori, which entailed a stroll up to an old defensive fort overlooking the town which still has a very soviet stamp to it in terms of buildings and architecture. One of the most bizarre things we saw was a circle of giant statues of medieval knights. They were pretty cool!
We headed on to Mtskheta which is a little touristy and feels like a ski resort in the summer, but it has the most beautiful cathedral in the centre which we are visiting in the morning. It took about 15 minutes to walk around the town and explore - there isn't much here but it has a very modern 'quaint' feel which is a bit of an oxymoron but the best way to describe it.
We had a leisurely start with breakfast at 8am (which looked remarkably like dinner last night just with an egg instead of soup...), before heading to the Svetitskhoveli cathedral at 9am. Zaza gave us a guided tour. Women have to wear a skirt and cover their hair so we all got ourselves orgnised - we're getting quite well practised at this dressing up now! The cathedral is Greek Orthodox and a service was taking place so we waited and watched for a while, although to be honest there was just a lot of chanting. Interesting to see though. The cathedral is the holiest place in Georgia so it was reasonably busy. The interior was lovely with different frescos painted on the walls.
Form there we headed up to see anoher monastery with great views over Mtskheta. We caused a small trffic jam on our way there as I couldn't fit past a car on the tiny streets and it took a minute to locate the driver to move it. The monastery did have loely views, but unfortunately it was very touristy and packed with people so we didn't hang around for long.
We hit the long and winding road, heding towards Kazbegi up in the mountains. The drive was beautiful, and we headed steadily up to the pass, hitting the snowline and passing through a number of avalanche tunnels. Fortunately it wasn't icy, but there were two trucks piled up at the side of the road where things hadn't quite gone to plan for the drivers.
Arriving in Kazbegi, we reached our home stay and got the rooms sorted out, before having a general blitz on the truck, and pulling out the tents to get them dry as this was the first chance we'd had. My passengers then went exploring while I contemplated doing soem accounts - until I saw rain clouds gathering at which point I started packing up tents which were now dry!
The evening entailed a cooking class where we learnt how to make dumplings which was fun and the group made a reasonable effort. A little more practise is required from all of us I feel!
We set off early, jumping into jeeps to take us up the mountain to the Tsminda Sameba cathedral as we were a little short of time. The location is beautiful, with dramatic views all around and we were very lucky with the weather as cloud was threatening to encroach upon the mountains, yet we had sunshine at the top and fantastic views. We needed to cover up to enter the monstery as as we were dressed to walk that entailed the women borrowing wrap around skirts and head scarves from a conveniently provided box - they are obviously used to this. One of the guys enthusistically joined in and ended up looking like an actor from teh Monthy Python's 'The life of Brian'.
Walking back down the mountain, we followed a steep trail. It was a lovely walk and good to be able to stretch our legs after a couple of truck days. We got back to the home stay just before 10 am and jumped inotthe truck just as it started to rain. Perfect timing! The pass back towards Tbilisi was more challenging than on the way out. It was in thick fog and I coudln't see anything, so we crept our way slowly down teh mountain. Just as well as there were stealthy avalanche tunnels which were impossible to see until we were practically in tehm, and a rather large red truck coming out of one! We made it through the cloud without incident and the rest of the drive was very smooth as we headed to Tbilisi, with a brief stop at a fort and monastery complex for a quick coffee and toilet stop en route.
We arrived in Tbilisi for lunch time and I joined a few memebers fo teh gorup for a quick bite to eat before dashing back to the hotel to sort out my paperwork as I needed to meet the new group at 6pm. Time flew by and before I knew it I was sat on the roof terrace with five newbies (one less than planned due to visa issues).
I had asked Zaza to book a table for everyone at a local restaurant which does a folkdance night, so we all headed out after the meeting and enojyed some very good food. Teh dancing was good too, but the group were being a little slow to get going so I ordered a jug of lovcal vodka - when in Georgia, right? It worked. After two shots each they were up and dancing. A lady from a neighbouring table came and congratulated us and toasted us for being German. Hilarious seeing as there isn't a single German among us! We all humoured her though and toasted her back. Things rapidly went into decline. The last photo was taken at 3.01am - the staff were coming out and taking photos of the group, so they obviously weren't used to international crowds being quite so die-hard!! Tom managed to get back at midnight so even he got to enjoy the end (or the messy part) of the evening too. The best nights are always the unplanned ones!
Amazingly the whole group was up for the city tour which started at 9.30am. There is nothing quite like a good night out followed by a general fuzziness thorughout a group to bond them... We headed into Tbilisi which is a fascinating city, with an interesting mix of old and new buildings and architecture. We passed sulphur baths, hidden waterfalls, forts with fantastic city views, the Mother of Gerogia sculpture, headed down some amazing and quaint old streets and ended up at Freedom Square. It was gentle walking, but covered some key areas of the city and helped everyone to get orientated.
With a free afternoon, a few of us headed to the National Museum wchich covers the Soviet occupation, a photogrpahy exhibition from the Ukraine last year, the treasury and weaponary. It was very well done and definitely worth the visit.
From there Tom and I headed back to the hotel. I needed to get my accounts and end of trip paperwork done and out of the way so I settled down for the rest of the afternoon. Humouring the Irish man in our midst, we headed out to an Irish bar for dinner which had appalling service and mediocre food. It's not a place I'll be taking a group back to that's for sure, but the compnay was good whcih made up for it.
We left the National Park at 8am to head to the border to cross to Azerbaijan, which is literally only 5 minutes from the park. Just as we were leaving one of the girls came and dropped the bomb shell that she didn’t have her e-visa yet. She had told me previously that she did have it, she just needed to print it in Tbilisi so of course I hadn’t checked it. Turns out, her e-visa is in fact her e-visa application… brilliant! I’m not sure how she missed all of the stress with Brian’s e-visa yesterday as the whole truck had cheered when his came through, but I think she lives in her own little world. It’s very frustrating when we have checked with your passengers and they have assured you they have it too!! Anyway, we got to the border looking out for an internet cafe, but there weren’t any. After a few phone calls and accessing her email account we confirmed that it definitely hadn’t come through yet. I called the UK office to chase our visa agency, and arranged for my passenger to return to Tbilisi on a local bus with forwarding addresses and made sure she had enough money and our guides contact number so he could help her if she had any problems..
We crossed the border into Azerbaijan without any further incidents. It immediately has a very different feel to Georgia. We found ourselves driving on some pretty bad roads between fields of wild flowers and poppies. It was absolutely beautiful! There are more mules and carts here too. We stopped at the side of the road for lunch, before driving for another half an hour to Sheki. Sheki is a slightly odd little town, quite spread out, but strangely lacking in atmosphere for a place with so much history and cobbled streets. We are staying in a proper Karavan Saray which is amazing! It’s an incredibly old building, and we are staying in the original accommodation rooms. The building has a courtyard area, with arches, and is built over two levels.
We took the group to see Sheki Khan’s Palace which has some impressive mosaics and it is definitely worth a visit. We then headed into to town to get some food shopping for our next couple of days. Of course, it’s Sunday, so no money exchanges were open. Fortunately I found an ATM so withdraw some Drago funds to get some local currency so at least everyone could shop. not that there was much choice! We did find a good supermarket and a grocery store, but again, being a Sunday, most of the other shops were closed. We managed!
Tom and I decided to eat in the hotel restaurant, trying the local dish of piti - a soup with lumps of lamb floating in it. The idea is that you remove the meat, et the soup, then eat the lamb with bread. It was quite tasty, but really fatty. Not sure that I’ll have it again. but it was worth trying once.
A crazy day! Having sorted all of the problems with Brian’s lack of visa yesterday, at 8.30am, just as we were leaving for the border, one of my other passengers came up to say she didn’t think she had her visa. She thought she had it on icloud and it turned out to be a copy of her application form. Not good news. There was nothing we could do. no internet cafe was open. Had she told me yesterday there was a chance I could have chased it for her, same as we had with Brian. No such luck. WE went to the border in the vain hope that there may be an internet cafe - I swear these guys are missing a trick here. the number of times it would have been useful to have an internet cafe at a border, yet none of them have one! This one didn’t either. We went on to plan B. Having managed to confirm that she definitely didn’t have it, I contacted our local guide and managed to find a bus for her to return to Tbilisi as there was no way we could just leave her at the border. At least if her visa didn’t come through she could fly to meet us in Turkmenistan next week. I contacted our office and got them to chase the visa company as soon as they opened for the day… then after an hours delay we headed across the border to Azerbaijan!
The border went smoothly and we headed through another new country. It definitely has more of a Soviet feel to it than Georgia, but the scenery is beautiful. It is well into haymaking time here, and the wild flowers are stunning. We found a roadside stop for lunch, before heading to Sheki to check into our Karavan Saray which is fantastic. It’s an amazing place to stay! From there we walked up the hill to the Palace of Sheki Khan, which has beautiful mosaics, paintings and stained glass windows decorating it. Well worth the visit.
The group needed to do a spot of cook group shopping afterwards in preparation for our bush camp tomorrow, so we all walked into town to change money and buy food - only to find that the money exchanges had all closed early as it was Friday. not helpful! Fortunately there were plenty of ATM’s so we weren’t too stuck.
I had an early(ish) evening - catching up with accounts for Georgia so I can forget about them, and receiving good news from my visa-less passenger - it had come through and she was already on her way to catch up with us! She arrived at 9.30pm, none the worse for her extra adventures.
We left Sheki at 6am, following our directions which successfully put us on the wrong (but surprisingly good) road which ran parallel to the road we wanted, but it was much more twisty. Realising the problem pretty early on, I found another linking road which true to form was terrible and we crept along it at no faster than 20kmph for the next half an hour. We had a truck breakfast after a couple of hours, and then it was onto good road, albeit with roadworks and a speed restriction, for the next three hours. The scenery changed dramatically from green fertile fields, abundant wild flowers and poppies scattered throughout, with a mountain backdrop, to barren landscapes and desert.
We headed to the Gobustan petroglyphs and stopped in a convenient lay-by for lunch, literally outside the entrance as we aren’t allowed to use their carpark. Apparently the lay-by is fine! We headed straight to the petroglyph museum first to buy tickets and learn what we were looking at. It was very interesting, but I couldn’t get an English speaking guide as there was an influx of small school children all running around, paying no attention to the guides who were quite happy to come and talk to us at unofficial points as at least we were interested. From there we drove up to the petroglyphs which were pretty cool early cave drawings, with a spectacular view out to the Caspian Sea.
Petroglyphs done, we were back in the truck and headed back the way we had come for a few kilometres to find our bush camp which is situated at the base of the Gobustan mud volcanoes. The track was very rutted and we could only go slowly, so I opened up the roof seats and gave our passengers chance to use the convertible aspect of the truck! there was also soft mud either side of the road so a certain element of care was needed to make sure we stayed well away from what would be a certain bogging. Once at camp we headed straight up to the volcanoes. They were much smaller than Tortuma in Colombia, but still really cool, and a lot more of them just belching away, with dried mud lava streams criss-crossing the terrain.
We woke up to another lovely day. You can't beat a good bush camp site with a relaxed start to ease your way into the day . Admittedly it was less than helpful when a sheep herder came along while everyone needed a morning comfort break, and he lingered for ages. He is evidently not used to seeing a big orange truck with lots of foreigners in this area so we were teh cause of some mild fascination before he moved on and we were able to make a dash to our pile of rocks.
We headed to Baku, stopping at the Bibi Hymet mosque on the way in, which overlooks the James Bond oil field, although I'm not sure which film it is in! It was an interesting first view of Baku - oil rigs, cranes, a mosque, the second highest flag pole in the world and an interesting skyline. As we reached the centre so it became apparent that there is money in this city. It is incredibly clean with a lot of green areas, an old city and a contrast of new and modern buildings. It is instantly likeable.
We weren't able to drive to the hotel, so we found a spot on the main road where it was safe to unload, and got everyone into taxis to go to the hotel while Tom hunted for a parking spot (he found it outside the Hilton...). We found our hotel without a problem, and this is where the fun started. It was closed. In spite of confirming our booking literally 72 hours previous, the hotel had evidently not been open for a long time. This was not good news! We were all on the side of the street with our bags, and no where to go! I started making phone calls to find out what had happened. Then we got a call from a lady asking if we were the dragoman group - this was looking hopeful. She arrived with a jeep and apologised for not telling us about the hotel change, then took us in shifts to another hotel which also had no notice of our reservation, and only had double rooms available. It wasn't good enough, so I took all of my passengers to a restaurant for lunch while Tom and I looked for another hotel. The lady, Roya, did manage to help us find another hotel, and another contact I had tried also found a suitable hotel. We checked them both, but one was quite a way from the Old City, although it was lovely. As no one has transport we opted with the first hotel which is very comfortable.
As soon as we had everyone sorted out, Tom and I returned to the truck and went to find the port so we coudl check it out through customs. It took us a minute to find the place, but once we had it didn't take long to get stamped out of Azerbaijan. The ticket office was closed until the next day so we left Archie wehere he was and headed back to the hotel. Next stop was mobile sim cards for both of us, and lunch at 5.00pm! We had agreed to meet teh group for a drink at 7pm so we had just enought ime to shower and meet them. We ended up on the waterfront which is really lovely, with lit fountains, trees and a cafe culture layout. It's been done really well and led to quite a few drinks being consumed, a lot of toilet visits (it was like tag team) to a toilet 2 minutes further down the waterfront and great hilarity on the way home at 2am!! Personally I'm blaming our Irish man who is very good at getting 'Just one more...' every time we start to try to leave!
So today was a slightly odd day. I dragged myself reluctantly out of bed to go for breakfast (not sure it was worth it), and then took my pax down to the tourist information booth to get them their audio sets - only to discover it didn't open unitl 11am!! Helpful. They all opted to come back later, and I had to dash to the ferry port to try and sort out the tickets for our rapidly approaching crossing. The ticket office was supposed to open at 10am. Turns out is doesn't. It opens at 11am... late starts around here! Tom had to go to the Uzbekistan embassy to sort a double entry visa for later in the trip so he had headed in a different direction.
11am came and I was ready with a pile of passports. The lady, Vika, checked them all and the visas, handed them back and said she didn't know when they were going to write the tickets but she would let me know. I had to wait. Fortunately we have another contact so I gave him a call and he sent another man out to give me a hand and help translate. It was 1pm by this stage, but we confirmed that I woudl be able to get the tickets at 2pm, and then need to bring all of my passengers to the port at 8am tomorrow.
Needless to say, this is not quite what happened. He managed to sort out a free lunch for me which was very kind of him, and I went back to waiting for 2pm to come. It came and went and the ticket office, which had closed for lunch, was still closed. Assuming they were running late I waited for another half an hour before makign a hpone call to our contact. He made some enquiries and it turns out they had gone for training for the upcoming European games... Plans promptly changed again. I wasn't going to get my tickets today but it was okay because the ferry isn't leaving yet - probably tomorrow, so I can get them at 11am tomorrow morning and my passengers don't need to come down to the port at 8am. It was time to go so I grabbed my bag and found a taxi to drive me back to the Old City to psych myself up for a repeat performance which I am fairly certain will happen again tomorrow.
I gave teh group an update of proceedings at 6pm, after which we all made our way to the waterfront for dinner, complete with cameras in preparation to get some amazing night time photos. It was a very pleasant evening and Baku is an amazing city, far exceeding my expectations!
We needed to be checked out of the hotel by midday, so Tom & I arranged for our pax to pack overnight clothes for the next two days and bring their main bags down to a taxi so we coudl load them onto the truck and get them out of the way. This was not as simple as it first seemed, as the guys at the port (unsurprisingly) wouldn't let the taxi in, and then they wanted to search all of the bags, which was quite a tentative half-hearted effort. Tom went and got Archie so we didn't need to carry twelve bags across the car park, before I took him to the ticket office to introduce him to Vika, our ticket lady. He stayed while I went back to the Old City to get a few admin jobs done. I did my time at the port yesterday!!
Tom phoned up at lunchtime - latest was that the ferry has 17 trucks ready to load, but it can take 33 trucks. A convoy is on it's way from Georgia and should be here tonight, which means they will be loading tomorrow, but we had to phone again at 3pm to confirm. This meant I had to check everyone out of their rooms until 3pm in case things changed and we needed to get to the port tonight. Crazy!
We went for lunch - the cheapest thing on the menu is a kebab, with a vegetable kebab as a side dish so I am eating a lot of them. The vegetable kebab is actually just a vegetable - aubergine, tomoato or pepper. It comes whole and is only one. Lamb kebab with a tomato! Tastes good, alhtough now I understand why they eat bread with everything out here. Otherwise you are always hungry! After lunch we manged to squeeze in a quick visit to Maiden Tower - our only real sightseeing in Baku! HOpefully we wil have more time on our return trip as we won't have a ferry to worry about.
At 3pm the ferry situation hadn't changed and I was asked to call again at 10am, so got everyone checked back into the hotel. There is a pattern emerging here! I setteld down for the afternoon and did some preparation for the upcoming trips so at least I will know what I'm talking about (vaguely) when we get there, before going to dinner with Tom. After the ferry issues both of us needed some time out from our passengers and this is our first 'night off' so to speak since the trip began.
We had a relaxed start as I had to phone Vika, our ticket lady, at 10am for an update on the ferry departure. I had arranged to meet the group at 10.30am to update them, only to be told by VIka that she wasn’t in the office yet and could I please phone back at 11am. I decided to get the group to meet again at midday, so Tom and I could get a few things done. For all accounts even if it was good news at 11am the loading would take a few hours anyway.
At 11am we had good news - we were asked to go to the port at 2pm to buy our tickets and we needed to bring all of our passengers down. The hotel allowed us to keep one room for bag storage, so everyone had enough time to get some lunch and we advised them to get food for dinner too as we had no idea what time we would be allowed to board.
We managed to squeeze everyone into 3 taxis and headed to the port, where it was another two hours to buy the tickets, and get everyone stamped out of Azerbaijan. We then waited another couple of hours before being allowed to board. All of the passengers were allowed straight on, but Tom had to wait as he was being loaded last. Good news as it means we’ll be first off at the other end.
The ferry was basic but pretty cool. Definitely not designed for tourism in mind, it is a working ferry to ship trucks across the Caspian Sea. The trucks are travelled on two levels with a hydraulic lift to get them to the upper deck. The cabins were basic but clean, although it took me a while to find someone who could find me sheets for the beds The toilets were squat toilets but reasonable, and there is even a shower on board. Dinner was include at 8.30pm - chicken and rice and incredibly stale bread which I think must have done the crossing at least twice before being used for this one. I took a plate of food down to Tom who was still waiting to load so at least he didn’t starve.
There were only four trucks left to load when disaster struck. Well, not disaster, but certainly a drawback. The hydraulic lift for the trucks had broken and wouldn’t engage properly. They needed to get it up to fit all the trucks into the ferry, and it would stay with the weight of a truck on it. Anything underneath it would be flat-packed by the time we got to Turkmenistan. It took them 2.5 hours to fix it, during which time we made friends with some Turkish truck drivers who fed us some decent food and did their best to communicate. They were really lovely and very helpful to us throughout our trip. Just as well because once the captain had helped me sort the cabins none of the crew spoke to us once!!
Finally fixed by a combination of a lot of torch shining, shouting, running up and down stairs, hitting it with a lump hammer and then finally taking the pin out thereby disabling the mechanism, the last trucks were loaded, including last but not least, little Archie. It was another half an hour before th ferry departed, and we waved goodbye to Azerbaijan, finally getting to bed at 2am.
I woke up for breakfast having slept surprisingly well. Well, probably not that surprising - I’m lucky enough to have the ability to sleep like a log wherever I am, and it had been a late night. The Sea was like a millpond, it was so smooth. Breakfast was as inspiring as last night’s dinner. Boiled eggs, some pretty reasonable cheese and bread you could break your teeth on. I stuck to eggs and cheese, then took the bread and fed the fish - they’ll be weighted at the bottom of the sea for the next week if they eat it, it sank like a lead weight. This was in the vain hope that the same bread could not therefore be served for lunch.
After a brief amble above deck it rapidly became apparent that the most comfortable place on the boat was on my bed, so I settled down with a book until lunchtime. This it the first opportunity I have had to pick up a book other than a guidebook since leaving England so it was a bit of a novelty. I didn’t move until lunchtime which was an inspiring meal of buckwheat and chicken - not bad to be honest. Oh, and of course, more stale bread. That got fed to the fish too.
I returned to my bed and to mix things up a bit decided to watch a movie. I found a three hour epic (Ghandi) to pass the time, which worked pretty well as by the time it was finished we were in sight of the coastline of Turkmenistan. Perfect timing!! This was the moment of truth. Would we be allowed to dock or would they moor us 100m from the shore for the next 48 hours? Our hopes tentatively rose when we were asked to empty our rooms, and sank slightly when we could smell dinner being cooked… fortunately dinner was only for the crew and not for us. Our luck was in and the boat was allowed to dock straight away, although it was another 1.5 hours before the ramp was dropped and we were allowed to disembark and sent to customs.
Our local guide, Slava, met us and assisted us with translation at customs, although to be honest I think we would have been better off without him as things just got more confused! he went to help with the truck and I got more achieved in that 5 minutes through sign language and writing down figures than I had in 20 minutes with him, but he’s very friendly and keen to try and help even if the translation doesn’t necessarily make it across.
We finally left the port at 11.10pm - a 31 hour crossing which is a really smooth run, especially when you consider that from customs to customs the last truck took 89 hours to get through! We headed straight to our hotel, got checked in and went down to the poolside bar (no tables and chairs until we turned up!) where they provide 24 hour room service. We finally got to bed at 2am - a bit like last night really!!
Turkmenistan. 9.00am and it was already 28 degrees. Even worse, getting up for a shower an hour earlier there had been no water. Fortunately it came on at 8.30am andI was able to shower frantically, slightly concerned that it might run out just as I had lathered my hair… fortunately it didn’t. The joys of being in a desert!
We are officially in camel country now though, and we passed a few ‘wild’ camels (they usually belong to someone) as we drove the couple of hours to Balkanabat to exchange money and do our food shopping for tonight’s bush camp. I also needed a sim card which turned into a bit of a palaver, as the first lady didn’t know what to do. The second lady was a bit more clued up but it cost $30!! Fortunately this did include call time, but even so, all I needed was $10 and I ended up with a lot more than that. For some reason local sim cards are always a bit of a mission to get, but they are useful to have in case of emergency.
We had lunch in Balkanabat, trying the local food Canca (pronounced Samsa) - similar to an empanada or pasty, it is as meaty filling in a light dough. Very tasty undetermined meat but I will have it again. The toilets were almost as much of an experience. No separate cubicles, they were separated by a wall which was chest height, with the loo roll balanced tentatively on the divider. you simply had to reverse in, stare straight ahead and do what you have to do, then off you go and wash your hands. Same for everyone, it’s a bit like urinals for women but they were very clean. I Probably best summed up as a communal bush wee in a cubicle!
We got back on the road and drove in 39 degree heat through the desert throughout the afternoon. Generally the road sin Turkmenistan are good, but just occasionally there are bridges which match bridges in so many developing countries. a completely different height to the road, with associated pot holes on entry and exit to ensure maximum bouncing potential for the truck and therefore all passengers. Tom and I successfully avoided the majority of these potential land mines as we also don;t want o break springs, but on a couple of occasions there was no avoiding it.
We arrive at our bush camp outside the Kow-Ata caves at 6.30pm - it took us a minute to find the site as our notes told us to turn right which we did…only to find it was the ‘other right…’ being left…. The camp site is a cracking location, and fortunately we arrived late as it was still 39 degrees at 6.30pm, just before the sun started to set. By the time we were set up the sun was down and heat wasn’t as intense, but the air didn’t cool and the wind was warm. Makes a change from the weather we had in Turkey though!
By 3am I had changed my mind about the wind. It was vicious! Still hot, but coming in strong gusts, it was strong enough to wale me up. It was like being in a warm Patagonia! Having had such a still evening when setting up, it was impossible to set tents up in the best direction. I found myself sticking my bag against a pole and finally falling asleep with my arm locked straight against it to help resist the wind. As a result it felt like my alarm went off far too early in preparation for a 7.30am. breakfast. We headed up to the Kow-Ata underground caves a little before opening, and as soon as the attendant arrived we headed down to the sulphur lake at the bottom of the caves. We were all anxious to jump into the 33 degree water, not least because it was cooler than the temperature outside. Admittedly I have never swum in a bat poo covered lake, but there is a first time for everything and in spite of this we all felt a lot cleaner when we were done.
We got back on the road and drove to Ashgabat, with a brief stop halfway to visit a mosque.with convenient toilets. I was delighted to find fir cones. They make excellent kindling so I
After a small lie in, I dragged myself out of bed and down for breakfast where I met another of our new joiners.
At 10am we headed out in Archie to the Sunday market which was fascinating to see. The whole set up is out of town and quite spread out but it has everything there from camels, goats and sheep, to hardware, to fruit & veg and clothes. I found a new dress which is lightweight and suitably covering for mosques (ankle length with shoulders covered) for about $6 USD - bargain!
We headed back tot he hotel for lunch, before taking a bus for a four hour city tour - mainly because we would be stopped constantly with the truck. I t was really interesting. Ashgabat is the most random city I have ever visited (and I’ve been to a few now). It is incredibly spread out, and they have attempted to erase their soviet history by levelling all of those building and replacing them with high-rise white marble buildings, each one with a different appearance, and some impressively ornate monuments and sculptures. For example, the insitute of education is built in teh shape of a book... it has to be seen to be believed, especially as there is not a soul to be seen around them as we were driving though. It is like a ghost town but we know it’s alive because we saw people at the market. The veneer is weird though. One of my passengers sat on a street bench and was told he wasn’t allowed to… obviously only for show! In many places you are forbidden from taking photos, or even walking down the pavement. No one knows why, it's just the way it is!
I did my official welcome meeting when we got back to the hotel, so it was a bit topsy turvy but no one seemed to mind. Introduction done, I headed to people to get some food, have a swim and to enjoy a farewell beer (or two) with Enda who is the only passenger leaving at this point. He;s been a legend so I’m sad to see him go. We all ended up in the hotel disco which played terrible music but it was good for a giggle for a couple of hours.
An early start today as I needed to finish sorting out my accounts to send some paperwork back to the UK with Enda. Amazingly the wifi was working for the first time since we arrived, so I was able to sort out some emails and send my accounts and trip report over to the offie. I could have been in the swimming pool, but the work needed to be done!
At 11.30am we headed out in Archie to go cook group shopping at the local market, which was incredibly well stocked. It is the only time I have ever seen potatoes regimentally lined up, rather than just put in a big pile. Serious care has gone into the presentation of the stalls!
We left Ashgabat at 1pm and drove for 4.5 hours on poor roads in 45 degree heat to get to our bush camp with a couple of stops on the way. The first was the usual comfort stop. The second was our good deed for the day. A car had managed to miss the road, attempted to correct the error and managed to roll. Fortunately it ended up back on it’s wheels and no one was hurt, but they were very stuck int eh sand. Archie to the rescue! We hooked him up to the car with a tow rope and made short work of pulling them out of the sand. I wouldn’t have wanted to dig the car out in the desert heat. They had two damaged tyres, but the engine was still working. We left them in the capable hands of other local show at least speak the right language and continued on to our bush camp, arriving just before 6pm.
We got camp set up and had dinner. Then at 8.45pm our jeep arrived to start taking people to see the Darvasa gas crater (aka The Door to Hell). It was a late start as we wanted it to be dark when they arrived and it is really impressive to see! One of the top seven big mistakes of all time. A rig was built where the crater is, then one day the ground gave way and whole rig disappeared into it, releasing poisonous noxious gases into the atmosphere. To avoid this scientists decided to light the gas, thinking it would burn out in a couple of weeks. More than 40 years later it is still burning!!
We started a bit earlier as it is so hot during the midday heat, having breakfast at 6.30am, and getting on the road for 7.30am. It’s a bit of a juggling act as we don’t want to leave too early as there will be no shelter at our bush camp and it will be tough going in 48 degrees if we arrive too early!
We made good time, stopping en route for some lunch in Dasoguz. We normally take a different route but apparently the bridge has been washed away. When our guide was asked how soon it is likely to be fixed his answer was that it isn’t, it’s dangerous for buses… and tourists!! He then went very quiet and couldn’t talk about it anymore so he had probably already said too much. The restrictions in this country are unbelievable!
We continued for another two hours to Kunye-Urgench, an old city which dates back to the first Persian empire. Unfortunately the mongols had invaded it and knocked most of it to the ground,so there are only a few token mausoleums left, and the highest minaret in Turkmenistan. At it’s time though it was the most important and influential city on the Silk Road. I’m not honestly sure that it was worth a two hour diversion to get here, but it was interesting nonetheless and our bush camp is very close by.
We stopped for cold drinks and ice creams (both surprisingly hard to find in Turkmenistan) on our five minute drive to the bush camp, which turned out to be nestled amongst a number of small trees and bushes. It was actually a very nice bush camp spot. The group have discovered a craving for salads in the hot weather, an they knocked up a very tasty risotto with a variety of salads which got everyone’s appetites going.
In this hot weather I have been avoiding a tent, as Kow-Ata was just too hot and sticky for me. Instead I have chosen to sleep on the roof of Archie, which is much cooler and offers a good degree of privacy. It’s surprisingly comfortable up there, and as the company policy is to ban passengers from being on the roof, I get free rein as Tom has his own spot behind the cab.
We left again at 7.30am, having allowed time to empty and clean our kitchen boxes as we aren’t camping again for a couple of weeks. There is nothing worse than finding stinking liquid vegetables at the bottom of a box when you go to use it again. It was only a two hour drive back to Dashoguz, where we stopped at the Bai Bazaar so passengers could spend the last of their Turkmenistan money and change it back to dollars if they wished.
From their we headed to the Turkmenistan border. this is the first border I have been to which is locked inside a compound and you have to get your passports checked just to be let inside to allow you to try and leave. It’s an interesting concept - what happens if they don’t let you in? Fortunately we didn’t have that problem and al completed our declaration forms, unloaded our bags and took them to be searched and to get stamped out of the country. It was all going very smoothly. Tom appeared having got Archie through without any issues, when all of a sudden we found a problem. One of my passengers had the wrong entry date on his visa - he had the 4 June rather than the 3 June. There was only one option - he had to go back to Turkmenistan with our guide, Slava, who would help find him a hotel and a taxi for the following morning so he could pass through then. Always a good one! Usually I photocopy and check all visa dates at our welcome meeting, but all of our passports had been taken by the agency to have them registered so I never got chance to see them - not that I could have changed anything except for dropping him off in Dashoguz when we passed through it as there wasn’t time to change his visa dates anyway. Just a small bit of drama! I wasn’t worried though as he had the local guide with him, and I arranged to call him with information on what we would do on the Uzbekistan side.
The Uzbekistan border took a while, not least because we had to sign two declaration forms, the truck got searched, sniffer dogs got sent
We were due to do a city tour today which usually starts at 9am, but because of the heat we decided to start at 8am instead. Jalol is full of information, really passionate and just wants to share it all! He showed us around the old city, which is absolutely beautiful. The main buildings, palaces and mosques are all decorated with blue and green tiles. It is impressive now and dates back to the 14th century, so it must ave been incredible in it’s heyday. This has been the most impressive city that we have visited to date on the trip. We visited the most religious mosque in the city, just in time to see a wedding party enter for their blessing. Great timing!!
The tour ended just after 12.30pm and we all headed for lunch - kebabs again! It’s becoming the norm. The group had free time afterwards and everyone headed in separate directions. I headed back to the hotel with Tom to try and get online (really slow!) and complete my accounts for Turkmenistan so I am all up to date. We then headed out later in the afternoon to visit the tallest minaret in Uzbekistan and to see the views. There were big steep stone steps and low ceilings with very bad light - quite an adventure just to get up there. The views were worth the effort. Getting down was almost as much fun!
We stopped for a quick beer before continuing to the Ark watch tower, which actually gives better views over the old town as it faces in the best direction for views of the arches and architecture. It also gives a good view out towards the newer Khiva. Jalol caught up with us there and we headed to dinner. It didn’t take long until most of the group had managed to find and join us. this is one of the most social groups I’ve had on trip for a long time!
I opted for a fairly early start, again in a bid to get at least some distance done before the day got too hot. I wasn’t feeling on top form, but figured it was due to the excessively hot days that we have been experiencing ever since we reached Turkmenistan. It hasn’t eased one bit for being in Uzbekistan!! Armed with my water bottle, we hit the bumpy roads. It doesn’t seem to matter how you drive them, they are just plain bumpy!! You can see where the tarmac has softening or meted int eh heat, and then hardened, leaving waves and ridges in the road. Drive them really slowly and you get a very up and down bounce down through the truck. you can’t drive them too fast without killing your shocks, or potentially breaking springs, so you have to find somewhere in the middle which provides passengers a good toning session…
At 11.30am we stopped briefly for lunch at the only roadside restaurant we had seen for hours, and the only one available for another 3 hours. We are still driving through desert. I’m not going to lie - at this point I can’t wait to see more interesting scenery as it isn’t even pretty desert, and I really can’t wait to find a cooler climate. The mountains of Kyrgyzstan are calling! Having said that, the architecture in the Uzbekistan cities is proving to be absolutely beautiful, and the people are all very friendly and welcoming. I think I’m going to appreciate this country a lot more when it is slightly cooler in October as it has a lot to offer, but talking to the local it is unseasonably hot for June. A complete contrast to the conditions we have in Turkey which was unseasonably cold!
We arrived in Bukhara and I fell asleep for a couple of hours, before we met up to walk into the centre and find some dinner. Jalol took us to a lovely roof top restaurant. I did really want proper food so settled for ice cream and fresh fruit salad which did the perfect job of getting me back on track, even if it is a slightly unconventional dinner. Then drama struck… one of my passengers stood up to head to the toilets and promptly keeled over in a faint. Dehydration. Turns our he’s been suffering from diarrhoea all day, hadn’t eaten anything and with the extreme heat he had dehydrated and passed out. He came round quite quickly but he wasn’t recovering well so I arranged for a doctor to come out. they assessed him and next moment my passenger, Jalol and myself were off to hospital.
Things didn’t get any better at this point. The doctors wanted a stool sample and when my passenger gave it they found blood in his sample. This was obviously a complication e didn’t want, but he got referred to a specialist hospital and I had my first (and hopefully last) ride in an Uzbekistan ambulance which is little more than a converted minivan.
The doctors got my passengers on fluids and started investigatory tests. He has another condition and I knew he was on medication, so managed to get hold of Tom so we could get names of the active ingredients. By this time it was 1am and there was nothing else that I could do, so I headed back to the hotel to get some sleep, knowing that I was going to have to return in the morning. A more dramatic evening than I had anticipated.
I got up for breakfast and at 8am took the group out in Archie to the opposite side of the city for their city tour with Jalol. Because I have the mental age of a twelve year old and our car park was right next to one of the oldest ferris wheels in Uzbekistan, which happened to be open at 8.30am on a Saturday, we took the whole group on it to give them and ariel view of the city. Definitely worth it, it woke the whole group up in spite of the already intense heat. I stayed briefly to see the first mausoleum which is one of the oldest structures in Bukhara and is beautifully decorated, before jumping back in the truck and taking it back to the hotel. I ha a quick shower before grabbing a bag of things for my hospitalised passenger and heading in to see him.
Arriving, he was looking a lot better, although hooked up to a bottle of fluids. I couldn’t really determine what the diagnosis was, but I was able to run around and get him some water. I stayed with him for about an hour and a half before heading back to the hotel where I willingly melted into a little heap on my bed, needing a break from the intense heat. It isn’t actually as hot here as it was in Turkmenistan (only 43 degrees, not 48 degrees), but for some reason it feels hotter. I think it’s the cumulative effect of being in such intense heat combined with constant exposure to the sun.
Once Jalol had finished the city tour he returned with good news! My hospitalised passenger was apparently well enough to be discharged. We jumped into a taxi and dashed down there, only to find him hooked up to a new bottle of fluids and his doctor in theatre. Frustrated, we promised my passenger that we would be back soon and bring him some food as apparently you don’t get fed in an Uzbek hospital, although the treatment is free. We headed back to the centre to find him some food - plain rice and chicken noodle soup, before heading back to the hospital again with Tom in tow. This time we found the right doctor - unfortunately he wasn’t happy for my passenger to be discharged. We had only been there for about 20 minutes when the nurses asked us to leave, so the poor guy was abandoned again for the night, but at least we had managed to get him something to eat. It will be interesting to see how he feels in the morning.
Returning to the centre, Tom, Jalol and I found a roof top restaurant where we had a beer to unwind. It had been a long day! It was a pretty pricey beer though, so we headed back towards the hotel, stopping in a bar along the way which Jalol knew had cheaper beers. Within ten minutes of our being there we spotted the heads of some of our group peering around the door - sure enough they came to join us. And the bar started filling up… Turned out there was a football match on - Uzbekistan weren’t playing, and kick off was at midnight but they were all keen enough to be there anyway. It also turned out that I was the only woman in there, hiding amongst my room of solely male passengers… I left early with another of my passengers, who was promptly ill. We got back to the hotel and I handed him a sachet of rehydration powder before heading to bed.
5.30m and I was rudely awakened by a ringing phone. It was Jalol. My passenger who had vomited last night, hadn’t stopped vomiting and was about to leave in an ambulance to go to the hospital to be put on fluids. They are dropping like flies!! I went to reception in my pyjamas to see him and to see if he wanted me to come with him straight away, but he was happy to go with Jalol who could do a much better job of translation anyway, so I headed back to bed for an hour, before getting up for breakfast. Jalol returned to say they had my passenger on fluids, so I made plans to visit him when I went to see my other sick passenger. Things were improving. We had a call from his doctor to say the bleeding had stopped, caused by inflammation, and sick passenger number one was now ready to be discharged. Great news! We went in straight away to go and collect him. Turns out sick passenger number two is in a different hospital so I couldn’t check on him at the same time. We got my now not-so-sick passenger back to the hotel, and I left him strict instructions to rest during the hottest part of the day and to only go exploring when it got cooler and if he felt up to it.
I found sick passenger number 2’s travelling buddy and we headed in with his local friend to see how he was. He was definitely better since 5.30am but has a little way to go yet. The doctors took blood as he came in with a fever, and the results won’t be back until 10am tomorrow so he will have to catch up with us once he is discharged. It’s not ideal as the guide needs to join the group and his translation is pretty important, but we can manage with phones. Reassured that all was well, we headed back to the town centre.
I met Tom and we went out to find some lunch, taking a wander through the old city and Tom gave me a brief summary of some of the stories and background behind them seeing as I’d missed yesterdays city tour. We found a place that sold really good shashliks, before heading back to the hotel as the temperature was soaring again. Apparently this we are experiencing un-seasonally hot temperatures for this time of year. I waited until it had cooled down, then returned to the hospital to check my passenger, stopping to get him some plain rice on the way. Jalol and his friend came with me again. The news hadn’t changed but he was looking much better so we made a plan ‘A’ to plan ‘C’ for possible ways for him to catch up if he got out in time in the morning, or where to meet us if he didn’t. I am already delayed departure as much as I can, but we have a long drive day tomorrow and a lot to fit in. Keeping our fingers crossed, we headed back to the centre and grabbed some dinner. I’m going to be really happy not to have to go anywhere near a hospital tomorrow. I feel like I've had the official Bukhara city hospital tour over the last few days!
We left Bukhara at 8am, and had an hours drive to a Uzbekistan ceramic museum and workshop. While we were being shown around Jalol received a phone call from the manager of the hotel. The manager had very kindly gone out to the hospital with my passengers bag and passport (they hold them at the hotel reception) and assisted my passenger in getting discharged, helping with the translation. My passenger was only a 40 minute taxi drive away, so we delayed our departure and drank local tea, enjoying the very pleasant atmosphere of the museum gardens while we waited for him to catch up. A complete flock again! I was really happy that he had been discharged in time as today we head out to our yurt camp and have a chance to go camel riding. He wouldn’t have been able to get there on public transport so he would have had to meet us at Samarkand if he hadn’t caught up when he did.
Happily reunited, we hit the (incredibly bad) road and headed towards our yurt camp. The road was badly pot-holed, but the scenery changed from uninspiring desert to rolling hills, much more beautiful We stopped in the town of Nurata for lunch, where I tried my first plov which was very tasty. Basically meat and rice, plus fresh bread. Nurata has a fort and some Holy Fish so we went to have a look. The views from the fort were great, as was the breeze at the top!! The Holy Fish are basically trout living in a natural spring outlet, and it is forbidden to fish them… because they are Holy! To think I used to think Holy Cows were odd!! At least that’s based on a Hindu God!
It was another two hours drive, passing our yurt camp, to reach the lake where we got to go swimming. It was amazing! Clear fresh water, a warm temperature, grasses out in the lake and no one there but our group! One of the guys didn’t have any swimmers so stripped off and traumatised most of the group, although the men made a bigger deal about it than any of the women - typical!! There was also some basic accommodation near the spot where we park the truck and the cutest little puppy was there. He thought we were wonderful! I don’t think he’s ever had so much fuss in his life!
Getting to the yurt camp (it’s really cool!), we got settled and arranged for half of the group to go camel riding. The camels are great! There wasn’t enough time for us all to go before dinner, so the rest (including Tom and myself) will go in the morning. Dinner was really tasty - there was a lot of food and the main dish was plov, which is meat in a rice dish. After dinner we had a demonstration of local music and songs around a camp fire under the stars. It was very pleasant!
I say easy day... relatively it was!!
Tashkent is such a huge city that you need to take local transport to get anywhere, and on this occasion I decided to chill out, stay in the hotel out of the heat, and just catch up on some work. It was a great plan!! My only problem was I needed to get soem printing done. Print shops are few and far between, and the only one I knew of was closed as it was a Sunday - so much for my itineraries!! Jalol tried to help without success, so in the end I persuaded the reception to print a couple of copies for me. The quality was appalling but at least the information is there!!
We had loaded the truck with everyone's main bags in the morning, as Tom has to set out with Jalol to try and get Archie over the Kamchik pass. This is proving to be very difficult this year as we aren't allowed to take passengers over the pass due to an accident with a local bus years ago. Up unitl last year some bribes of $100 have done the trick in getting our empty trucks over, but this year the head of police has cottoned on to it, and has been demanding some serious money to let us thorugh. It was the same this time - $500. The average wage in Uzbekistan is $300 per month. We are the third truck to go through this year. I think the police chief is looking for early retiurement... Fortunately we expected it, and Tom got through by 8pm so at least I know we have a truck tomorrow morning!
I met the group for dinner and we went to a Korean restuarant - I had chicken teriyaki which was really good!!
We left Tashkent at 8am in 5 taxis - it was quite luxurious!! today is teh day that we cross the Kamchik pass, a 'sensitive area into the tinder box that is the Ferghana Valley' as our guide so eloquently puts it. This translates into 'There are a lot of flipping police check points' - and we have to register our passports on the way through, can't take photos of the most stunning scenery we've seen in Uzbekistan to date, and we have to take taxis as it isn't legal to take passengers in the truck...' - hence Tom left yesterday in case of difficulties.
We got through with no dramas, and met Jalol for lunch, before heading Khadyar Khan's palace, which was very pretty with more ceramics. WE met a crowd of really lovely ladies from Andijan who completely hijacked Jalol's tour and insisted on having lots of phitos with us - they were great!!
It was another hour from the palace to a silk factory in Margilon. We visit teh second largest silk factory in Margilon, emplying over 15,000 people in peak season, and producing over 22,000 squares kilometres of silk a year. That is a lot of silk! It was fascinating to see as they showed us the whole process from the silk coccoon, to extracting the silk, making the patterns, dying and weaving.
We reached Ferghana City where we met Tom and Archie. I had just enough time to catch up on emails, and have a quick swim before heading out to dinner. Uzbekistan service is teh only thing lacking in this country - I'm pretty sure they haven't managed to get an complete order right since we left Bukhara! All part of the experience.
Another new country! We left the hotel after a great breakfast, and headed straight to the border. It took us 3 hours. Ferghana Valley is obviously a political hotbed for Uzbekistan as suddenly there are police checkpoints everywhere, and we needed to hand over passenger lists, and have passports checked on various occasions. It didn’t happen at all until we reached the Kamchik pass and now we can’t get away form them! Well, we can… but only by crossing the border to Kyrgyzstan!
The border crossing went smoothly for my passengers and for me, but Tom had a slightly more difficult time of it. First of all they were demanding a receipt for our truck entry fee which we don’t have because they didn’t give him one on entry. they were looking for another payment, but as he pointed out, if he hadn’t paid it then we would never have managed to get in. Logic worked, but I was mildly surprised to have managed to get away without handing over yet more money, as Uzbekistan officials seem to have a particular liking for get every last cent out of foreigners.
Crossing into Kyrgyzstan was like stepping into a different world within the space of 50 metres. I had to walk across with our passengers to deal with immigration, while Tom drove. This part should have been easy. It was for those of us on foot - we didn’t even need to complete any forms. I started to head to the border gate to see if I could find our Kyrgyzstan guide, only to be stopped as Tom didn’t have a letter of permission to enter, so we couldn’t leave the border. I spoke no Russian. The official spoke no English. You can imagine the problem. Fortunately I had the number for our guide so I waved it at the official who called him and they let him come trough to meet us. He didn’t have the unknown and unidentified piece of paper either. By this point the official was fed up of trying to squeeze past me and the group as we were effectively filling the entire immigration building - it was like a portacabin, so easily filled with 15 of us, plus their desks. We basically got told to go away and were waved off into Kyrgyzstan to wait for Archie and Tom. Amazingly they let Archie through, then collected Tom and drove him to the bank to pay a fine for the piece of paper we didn’t have and no one had ever even heard of. By this point we had contacted the England office and our agency office in Kyrgyzstan - it has never been asked for before. While we were waiting I got everyone to change money, briefed them on the next stage of the trip and I managed to get local sim cards for tom and myself.
Tom returned and we headed off towards Arslanbob, promptly getting slightly lost in Osh as our guide didn’t know where he was going, tried to send us down a one way street (I didn’t go), then when he found the road he wanted it was closed for roadworks and he tried to send me down a road which wasn’t suitable for trucks… he’s new to the company so it’s not really his fault, and fair play to him, he paid a taxi to lead us out of town as he didn’t know the way. He very helpful, tried really hard. It’s just his lack of experience showing through a little, but we are quite unique and most guides find us a bit of a challenge when they first start working with us. They simply aren’t used to thinking about the size issues associated with a truck! After a good delay we were finally heading in the right direction. One thing I can already say for people from Kyrgyzstan is that they are incredibly welcoming and friendly. Everyone has been smiling, waving and asking where we are from.
The terrain changed dramatically too. Suddenly we were driving through hills with snow capped mountains in the background. There are trees and rivers and lakes. It is a beautiful country and such a contrast to what we have been travelling through during the last month. We arrived in Arnslabob at 8.00pm which wasn’t bad considering the delay at the border and getting stuck in Osh. We are staying in two homestays which are both really lovely, and the families are very kind. Both are well set up, but they have livestock and vegetable gardens. The food we had was amazing!! There was a table full of food which I never thought we would get through, but we did an impressive job of demolishing it. I think I can actually say it’s been the best meal of the trip so far.
We had a 7am breakfast, and set off for a short walk through the largest walnut forest in the world. The path was a steep upward climb, directly behind the homestays, and it took about half an hour to reach the top, but the views were well worth the effort as we were confronted with snow capped mountains and forested valleys. We made out way back down, and people had enough time for a quick shower before we left at 9.30am. It was a two hour drive to the market town of Karakul-Ata which had a brilliant local market where you can buy everything! Unfortunately they don’t have an internet cafe so I still haven’t managed to get my printing done. The locals were all really friendly though, and food from the market was cheap and good quality. The perfect shopping location for us. We drove for another hour to get to a lovely lunch spot overlooking an aquamarine river, before continuing on up into the mountains. The scenery is absolutely beautiful, and it is completely unspoilt by tourism which is really refreshing.
We made a brief ice cream and cold drink stop in a local shop before heading to our bush camp for the night. It turned out to be down an incredibly tight little track with an interesting camber, and a very tight turning space with some strategically placed boulders and trees to add to the challenge. not a problem, Archie squeezed in, but I was glad not to be driving my previous monster trucks, Yana or Daisy, down there! The bush camp is situated right next tot eh river, surrounded by trees. It is a lovely little spot. The temperature was definitely cooler than we have become accustomed to, so we lit a camp fire and my two American lads enthusiastically taught the group how to make smores.
We left camp early! It was a beautiful drive as we headed up the valley, and only took us an hour to reach the top of the pass at 3,160m. The landscape was changing dramatically from the deep gorge with trees, widening to a broader valley without trees, but incredible views. we started to see our first yurt camps with herds of horses, and literally piles of foals. We stopped for photos at the top of the pass, before heading down the other side. We stopped briefly to buy a pint of mares milk (filtered through a sieve into a bottle from big metal urns). The lady at the yurt proudly invited us in to see her brightly decorated yurt and insisted that we took some photos with her.
We continued towards our lunch spot, with a brief delay at a police checkpoint where I was pulled over and told off for not driving with my headlights on. Apparently it is a 2,000 som fine, but as I don’t speak Russian and his English was limited, I did a lot of smiling and nodding. He even showed me his law book which was all written in Russian so I didn’t have a hope of reading it and I just kept telling him I didn’t have any money. In the end he gave up and waved me away - result!
We stopped for lunch after a brief excursion into a small town (the only town we passed all day) to buy some fresh bread, we stopped for lunch in an incredible spot, with views to mountains all around, and wild flowers carpeting the ground. It was stunning. The road quality had deteriorated as we had turned off the main road from the border to Bishkek, and we found ourselves on gravel roads and pot-holed tarmac - about standard! We dropped down into another valley and the Karakichi gorge where we found our bush camp without a problem, arriving at 4pm. It is a lovely flat area, with mountain views overlooking a fast running river. Fortunately there is an eddy pool which is safe to swim in, although the water was pretty chilly!! There is still evidence of snow on all of the mountains which explains the temperature of the water. It was really refreshing tough, and a pleasant way to spend the last the of the day.
We left camp and continued down the really bumpy road, turning onto an even bumpier road!! We stopped by a yurt for a brief toilet stop, where we were invited in to see the yurt and to watch them processing mares milk and mares cheese. Trying more mares milk, I’m still not convinced I like it, but the soft cheese was similar to feta and actually quite enjoyable. We had lunch at eh side of the road under the shade of some trees with incredible views in all directions. Kyrgyzstan simply does not do bad scenery!! I took on the drive after lunch, heading to Song Kul lake. As we were doing well on time we decided just to head straight there and camp at the lake edge. The drive up is incredible although the road deteriorates rapidly as we get closer to the lake. Once at the lake there is nothing but a small dirt track and tyre marks! We opened the roof seats - it was cold (we filled the eski with snow) but our passengers wrapped up warm and they were fine. We finally stopped when we saw another overland truck belonging to Odyssey, currently being driven by two ex-Drago crew, Jodie and Pal, who I haven't seen since South America. It was great to so them, and amazingly I have two of their previous passengers on my trip, and they have an old passenger who I tok up the Ince Trail last year on their trip. we decided to set up camp 200m away so those who wanted peace could have it, enjoy the view of the lake, and those who wanted to socialise could. It was a great evening!!
We had a leisurely breakfast before saying farewell to the Odyssey truck and I started to walk our way around Song Kul lake towards our yurt camp which was approximately 8km away, while Tom drove the non-walkers there in Archie. It was beautiful weather although we could see storms brewing over the mountains in the distance. They all went in a different direction to us though, and we were able to enjoy the stunning scenery. After about 8km we spotted Tom coming back towards us with Archie. Turns out, the yurt camp is 11km from our starting point! Tom had kindly returned in case anyone wanted a lift to the camp, so we all took a brief break and silly photo stop. Nearly everyone opted to keep walking which was great, and we followed Archie as he disappeared into the distance, and up the next valley.
We got to the yurt camp which had three yurts set up, including a dining yurt. Our guide assured me that more yurts were on their way and we relaxed until lunch at 1pm. The camp is nestled at the foot of a valley and relatively well protected from the wind, considering where we are! Lunch was amazing - fresh bread straight from the stove with cream and jam (closest thing I’ve had to a cream tea in years - you can take a girl out of Devon…). Unfortunately it was so good that I’d eaten far too much by the time the main dish of plov got brought out which was also excellent, but I was stuffed!!
We had a game of goat polo organised for the afternoon. Now, to clarify, in goat polo the riders ride horses and the ‘ball’ is a dead goat. The goat is sacrificed for the occasion (very quickly and humanely), and then eaten after the game. During the game, riders have to pick up the goat, then charge down the unmarked pitch and drop the goat onto a marked patch on the ground (on this occasion it was a blanket. There appeared to be very few rules, and the game went wherever it wanted which resulted in the group sprinting up the mountain and out of the way of an oncoming charge on more than one occasion. Very good fun, brilliant to watch and one of the most random things I have ever seen! Unfortunately the whole experience was cut a little bit short by heavy rain, but we had all enjoyed what we had seen, and the riders were all prepared to keep playing had we wanted them too, but it was freezing!
Everyone retired to a yurt as we didn’t want wet clothes being left inside Archie as it makes the truck smell. We were huddled together and they gave us blankets but it was still cold as it took a while for the stove to warm the yurt up. There are apparently two families living here at the moment, and small children keep appearing form every direction. The little girls took a shine to Tom who willing entertained them for a couple of hours (and in truth, for the remainder of our stay at the camp). They are really lovely people and looked after us well.
Unfortunately our new yurts hadn’t turned up in time to be constructed before the rain started, so no one really had anywhere to go and change into warmer layers. Half of the group ended up hiding in Archie, and a few of us remained in the yurt. The rain eased and I chased our guide to find out what was happening. Next moment yurt construction started and we were invited to help which we did willingly, although arguably we created more work than assistance!! We only managed to get one yurt up before the weather changed again, but at least we had room for everyone, with two groups of six, and one group of four. The families slept in the dining yurt.
We had another very good dinner, where by special request I set up a game of truck murder. To play this everyone draws a name from a mug - that is their victim. They draw a murder weapon from another mug, and a location from the third mug. They have to somehow get their victim to the right location by devious means, and have the ‘weapon’ in their hand when they are there to ‘kill’ their victim. Once murdered the victim hands over their murder scene and the winner is the last man standing. Let the chaos commence!
It was a beautiful morning without a sign of the horrible weather form the previous afternoon. Everyone had slept wall and was happy. I woke to overhear discussions of murder weapons and devious plans so I knew the group were taking their new game seriously! After breakfast I sorted out riding hats for everyone who wanted to go riding and checked the fit. There are ten hats and we have twelve riders, so I split everyone into two groups based on ability, with beginners in the morning and more experienced people in the afternoon. I waved them off, and settled down in a beautiful office for the morning to complete my itineraries for the China legs of the trip. As we are now the country immediately before it, it’s about time I got my head around China!
The riders returned with huge smiles on their faces having had a fantastic time. I think we have some new riders in our midst! We had some lunch before I set off as part of the second group. The ponies are great fun. Responsive and obedient. The guide was impressed with my riding and kept sending me off to canter ahead - of course everyone else followed but it was great fun!! This area is fantastic for riding, you can just go as far as you want for as long as you want on good terrain with nothing to stop for. Great fun and the ponies love it!
Returning to camp, we helped to set up the last yurt which will be here for the season, before having a brief camp of football before the weather changed again and everyone sort cover. It didn’t last long, and by the time we had eaten dinner the rain had stopped. I took a short walk up the mountain behind the camp to see a fantastic sunset - typically I hadn’t picked up my camera, but sometimes it’s nice just to enjoy a view without looking at it through a lense too.
As for truck murder - there are currently four survivors. I’ve had men borrowing bras off ladies for their murder weapons, and stalking their victim around the camp for about three hours… murder victims still managing to ‘kill’ their victim… in short, chaos, but everyone had a lot of fun with it.
We had breakfast (unfortunately porridge - not my favourite!) before we left the yurt camp. It has been an amazing stay in an incredibly secluded, remote and wild part of the world. I feel very lucky ever to have had the chance to visit. I have another two Silk Road journeys to do, and yet there is no guarantee that I will be back as the weather conditions make it’s access unpredictable at any time of the year. It took us 3.5 hours to make our way back to the main road. We spotted our first yaks on the way, and a golden eagle which are quite numerous out here. We also nearly got stuck on a muddy track out of a stream because a truck was blocking our path - once stopped in those conditions the trucks tend to sink, and we only narrowly got away without being bogged. A bit of sideways driving and a good wheel spin added to the excitement, but Archie found some traction and we got away with it.
It didn’t take us long to reach Kochkor once we had reached the main road, and we arrived in time for lunch. We are staying at a homestay, although it is more like a guesthouse. It’s really lovely!! I made a beeline for the shower - although I have had a swim and washed in the last five days, nothing quite shifts the dirt like hot water! We headed into town for lunch, and I finally spotted an internet cafe which could do printing!! Not taking any chances, I immediately printed my itineraries for the next leg so I don’ have to run around looking for a place the moment I get to Bishkek. I then tried to print another document and the printer ran out of ink… and they didn’t have a replacement cartridge!! Typical! I am destined never to get the background information I had prepared for this trip finished.
I headed back to the homestay and met the group, ready to head to a felt making demonstration. It was very good and fascinating to watch. they beat the sheep fleece to death with two metal sticks to break down the fibres, before placing it on a reed mat. This is where any decoration is added. It is then tightly rolled, covered in cloth and hot water is poured all over it. We then had to dance all over it for 10 minutes - actually quite good fun, even if we did look really silly!! Once unrolled we had… Archie! Sort of… not bad for our first attempt. We looked around their little shop which had some great souvenirs - I’ll be stocking up on presents here on our return trip.
We headed back to the homestay where we had some traditional music organised, using the different instruments. It was really good (these thing scan be a little hit and miss). The musicians were all talented, and they could sing. the lads were happy too as one of the lasses was really pretty! Dinner was provided. The food has been excellent.
Leaving the homestay, we headed east towards Jeti Orguz with a brief stop at 11am to watch an eagle hunter. this is not a man who hunts eagles, but rather a traditional form of falconry found in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. He was amazing! He has had his 11 year old golden eagle (Tomara) since she was months old. When she is 20 he will release he back into the wild so she can breed. Golden eagles can live up to 50 years old so she has plenty of time left. We all got a chance to hold her, before he released a rabbit (very cute), heading up to the top of a small ridge and released Tomara to do her thing. The bunny hid in a bush. It didn’t work. The eagle made it look easy as she swooped down to catch her bunny, and then proceeded to eat it. The eagle hunter came to collect half of the rabbit as she is fed half a rabbit once a day during the summer, and a whole rabbit in the winter. She was incredibly gentle with him as he rescued the bunny. He gave us a second demonstration using the bunny remains. Very cool to see and touching to see teh relationship between the hunter and his bird.
From there we headed into Bokonbayevo to get lunch and to do some cook group shopping. I needed to change a bit more kitty money which was quite entertaining in the local bank, as they proceeded to look through my passport exclaiming over al the different visas that are in there. I wanted to say I have a truck full of passengers with equally full passports in the truck!!
It was another three hours to our turning away from Issyk Kol lake - the second largest alpine lake in the world after Lake Titicaca in South America. At 1600m above sea level, it is 170Km long and 72Km wide. It never freezes due to it’s depth, mild salinity and thermal currents running through it - this doesn’t mean it’s warm though! Driving beside it, we could have been anywhere in the mediterranean. The contrasts of landscape in this country are astonishing.
Heading back into a mountain pass, we headed to the Jeti Orguz Valley, past the 7 bulls rock - a large red rock which legend says were rampaging bulls until someone turned them to rock to save the village. The dirt track goes for about 7Km, and crosses 5 narrow wooden bridges. It’s an incredibly beautiful valley, travelling up through forests through steep walled mountains, following a river, eventually opening out to wide grassy areas, perfect for bush camping.
We got camp set up, before running around to do a wood collection ready for a camp fire. It was a really lovely evening, sat around the camp fire. Unfortunately vodka made an appearance, but it was so rough I couldn’t drink it. At $2 a bottle it was never going to be great!
We had an easy start to the day. I gave all of my passengers until 3pm to go exploring or just to relax and enjoy the beautiful surrounding. Most people headed off in different directions. I headed back down the valley, before branching off up a side valley. I was feeling the need for some time out so made the most of being able to go out on my own for a few hours. Not bad to be halfway through the trip before needing that moment!
I got back with my patience back in place and a clear head. It’s important to recognise when you’re getting grumpy!! Back at camp, we packed the truck, and headed out of the valley, stopping for a photo stop on our way back down. We headed to Karakol where we left Archie outside our hotel, and all piled into an old soviet style truck with 4WD. We packed our camping equipment - now apparently it seat 18 people. There are officially 15 seats and a box seat, then everything else gets squeezed on the roof, behind seats or in the aisle. I wasn’t impressed, not least because I had my feet on our stoves as there as no where else to put them. Next time I know that with a big group, either don’t camp and use dorms at the top, or hire an extra jeep for equipment.
Anyway, the drive up the valley was great fun - there is no way we would get our trucks up there. The wheel base is too long and we’d get stuck. We were literally driving up a dried river bed at one point, there were switchback turns, steep (and I mean really steep) hills. This journey continued for 2 hours until we reached our hostel and camp site at the top, which as hot springs. Unfortunately they have put the hot springs in a shed - probably better for the winter months but it is a shame not to be able to have the benefit of the scenery. I helped the cook group to prep dinner, then popped down for a soak which was very pleasant!
We had a fairly easy start to the day, enjoying a leisurely breakfast. Then Tom & I decided to go for a walk up the valley. Our passengers were all doing a similar thing, but independently of each other - I prefer this as it means I don’t need to worry about the group walking together and having to take responsibility of the person at the back. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind s=doing that at all, but being quite a strong walker there are days when I just like to get on with it and enjoy the mountains. this was one of those days.
As it turned out, we ended up walking up with there of our passengers. Two stopped early for lunch and to head back to the hot springs, but Tom & I continue with one of our passengers as we could see a glacier ahead. As we turned the corner so the terrain got really boggy and rocky - it was great fun but slow going. It meant we didn’t quite make it to the foot of the glacier, but we had some great views and it gave us a good 6 hour walk in total. We headed back down, spotting marmots on the way.
Back at the hostel, we had time for lunch before reloading the soviet truck and heading back down the valley to Karakol. Once back at the hotel it actually took me two showers to get the dirt out of my hair - I have no idea what I have been ding to get that filthy!! Tom and I then headed into ton to find some dinner, following some directions that sent us in completely the opposite direction! And it was raining - brilliant! We got there though.The food wasn’t great, but it was edible and good enough for us. We decided to take a taxi back as it was raining really hard and it is a 15 minute walk - the taxi driver had no idea where he was gong as as we had used a roundabout route to get in, to be honest neither did we. Fortunately after a little bit of driving around we found our hotel!!
It was raining… We left the hotel at 9am, heading into Karakol to do some cook group shopping. While the group were shopping, I went in search for an internet cafe to get some printing done. The first internet cafe had 1. No internet and 2. No working printer… not so cool!! I went a bit further, eventually spotting a place called ‘Express Print’ which was fantastic! Decent colour laserjet printers, they were even able to do some laminating for me (what has my life come to that this got me excited?). I got back to the truck to find everyone was done, and hiding out of the rain in Archie so we were ready to go.
We drove for about three hours around Issyk-kol lake, finally reaching the town of Cholpon-Ata. We had been recommended to try some smoked salmon from road sides stalls, but there were none to be seen!! Fortunately, we found a suitable lunch stop with cover opposite a fantastic market, where I managed to find the salmon. Just as well seeing as the group were all looking forward to a luxury purchase for dinner!!
From lunch we headed towards the Cholpon-Ata ancient petroglyphs, and slightly entertainingly found ourselves driving up the old town runway!! I’ve never done that before, but it was really good fun! The petroglyphs were interesting, if lacking the scenic value of the ones we had seen at Gobustan in Azerbaijan earlier in the trip. It was also still raining which doesn’t enhance the petroglyph experience!!
It was another three hours to reach our bush camp in Chong Kemin National Park. Arriving at the camp it was looking pretty waterlogged from 24 hours of rain. We briefly looked for another location, but there was nothing suitable that wasn’t too muddy (risk of truck bogging!) or farmland, so we found the best spot we could and set up camp. It was a luxury dinner night. Smoked salmon and cream cheese starter, followed by the closest thing to a roast dinner that we could hope to get, and finished with mulled wine. I realised that e still ad our red wine from Georgia, which wasn’t great quality, but tasted amazing when combined with orange, lemon, cloves, cinnamon and sugar.
We had a good breakfast, before 9 of us headed out to go white water rafting down the Chong Kemin river. It is a grade 2-3 so I wasn’t expecting too much drama, but it turned out to be a very good grade 3. The rapids weren’t huge, but once we reached a canyon section they just didn’t stop, and we ended up travelling nearly 17Km down the valley which was great! Three of my passengers fell out (not sure how) so in all it was more dramatic than I had originally anticipated.
We got back to camp for lunch. Some of my passengers had gone riding in the morning. and had thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I had a second group going in the afternoon, although this time I opted not to go. Instead I settled down in Archie and did my accounts to try and get ahead pf myself for tomorrow and give myself some free time as I know there are going to be other crew in Bishkek and it will be good to have some free time to catch up properly. In all it was a nice relaxed afternoon, broken up by a quick trip to the local shop for some ice creams. Finished with a good dinner, I headed to bed early.
We left our camp at 8am, and headed towards Bishkek. En route we had to drop off one of our passengers who wanted to head back to Karakol rather than going to Bishkek, so we dropped her off with some taxis and waved her goodbye! We took a short detour to see Burana tower, a 25m high minaret, one of the standing remains of an old city. There are a few gravestones to see, and a couple of foundations. The minaret used to be 45m heigh, but an earthquake knocked off the top 20 meters. The views from the top were lovely, although the stairway up there was steep and winding with absolutely no lights so you had to feel your way carefully up and down! It's a small miracle no one has killed themselves yet!
We arrived in Bishkek, and I got the usual paperwork finished off, paying for the hotel, sorting kitty refunds, completing a trip report. A few things needed to wait for a week day but at least most of it was sorted. Tom and I had lunch at a local German bar with reasonable beer - I was feeling squiffy after two but we decided this was our Friday afternoon which people in the real world get and we don’t… so we had another. We got back to the hotel to find the crew from another truck were now there - Yves and Rob (my old trainee). Really good to see them both, although one of their passengers had just been mugged! We left them to sort things out and headed to the pool to continue our Friday afternoon relaxation! They came and joined us once they were done and we all had a catch up, before taking both groups out to the same restaurant for dinner.
Back at the hotel everyone continued their catch up round the pool (Rob threw me in the pool) and then Nick from Endeavour overland appeared to join us too. It was a good evening and I think we all let off some steam!
I’m not going to lie, I woke up feeing distinctly foggy which is unusual when I drink beer (but not spirits) which means either 1. I drank more than I realised or 2. the beer was stronger than I realised or 3. (and I don’t like this option) I’m getting older…
Rob and Yves were waiting for one of their passengers luggage to turn up from the airport, so they delayed their departure until 10am. It was a sad farewell as I have absolutely no idea when I am going to see either of them again. This is the major drawback of the job, you never see your friends! And when you do it’s typical that you are so busy running around looking after passengers, you never get as long to catch up as you would like.
I sent my group off on an optional city tour while I ran around sorting hotel bills and the invoice for our guide, and also in stocking up on bulk shopping items like coffee and sugar while there was a nice big supermarket to hand.
Tom and I met Nick again to go for dinner. We tried a different restaurant and discovered most of our group already there! The food was really good, better than the place we went the previous night, so I have this one lined up for a group meal next time I come through. We then said another goodbye to Nick, although hopefully we will get to see him in Beijing which isn't quite so far away!
We left at 8am and headed toward Kochkor for lunchtime With two new joiners, we needed to offer them the chance to watch the felt making demo. My continuing passengers as a whole decided against watching again. I gave everyone two hours to have a wander around and get some lunch, while I did a quick bit of printing (the internet cafe have replaced their ink cartridge!), and ran back to our previous homestay as I’d spotted a good map of Kyrgyzstan there and I want ed it to prepared some walking maps for my passengers on the return trip. We continue to Naryn, and the road went to pieces - it was so bad!! There were pot holes inside potholes, and it took us 4 hours to drive 120Km - that included the good section too!!
Our homestay in Naryn looked terrible from the outside, but it was actually lovely! It has obviously been a block of flats at some point, and they have converted it, but they have done it really nicely. We went for a short walk around town, establishing that there isn’t much to see, before have a yummy dinner!!
We headed to Tash Rabat yurt camp from Naryn, after making a brief stop to buy some lunch as apparently there is no where to get anything to eat up there. It was a much better road, and it only took us a few hours to reach the yurt camp. There was more beautiful scenery - Kyrgyzstan just doesn’t do big scenery badly! We spotted a golden eagle nest on our way to the camp - given away by the eagle flying in and out of it twice, probably to feed their young. On arrival I negotiated the price for our yurt camp, including dinner and breakfast. It was a better rate than our notes showed which was a bonus! Everyone had a free afternoon to go walking, do a bit of marmot spotting (there are lots of them!) and generally relax. There is a 15th century Karavan Serai, which gives the site it’s name. There wasn’t much to see although it has been well preserved over the years, and refreshingly, it doesn’t look as if it has been restored to within an inch of it’s original appearance.
We drove to China, leaving at 7am after breakfast and arriving at the border at 9.30am. It took less than half an hour to stamp out of Kyrgyzstan, and we continued through more stunning scenery for another 10 minutes to the borderline with China, to find the gates were closed and a long line of traffic. They opened the gates at 10.30am, which is 12.30pm Chinese time as the whole of China operates on Beijing time. We still weren’t allowed through as our local guide hadn’t yet arrived to meet us from the China side. We weren’t even allowed to drive down to the checkpoint, only 4.5Km away. The Chinese military manning the gate locked it again. We were still in Kyrgyzstan - brilliant!! It could have been worse - the weather was beautiful and the views were gorgeous, although the Chinese guard told us we had to stay in the truck - we weren’t even on Chinese soil!! We didn’t want to annoy him though so we behaved ourselves until lunchtime when we got the kitchen out so at least we could eat - he didn’t complain. At 2.30pm our guide finally appeared. We’d watch half a dozen other guides arrive, collect passengers and disappear. I had no mobile reception, fortunately one of my passengers did, so I’d been busy phoning the Chinese office to find out what an earth was going on, and where our guide was. I was told he was at the border, to which I pointed out he needed to come to the borderline for us to be allowed through. Apparently this guy is a professional… I’m not so sure. When he arrives he tried telling me that the border was closed so he couldn’t get up there, and I pointed out that having been sat in the same place for the last 2.5 hours we had seen plenty of vehicles coming up and being allowed through. I was not amused!! The trouble was that due to his poor time keeping, the gates were now closed for lunch. We were finally allowed through at 4.30pm, to head to the checkpoint for a truck search. I had checked that none of my passengers had photos of the Dalai Lama in any books, which they all verified. It didn’t quite go to plan. During the truck search a book was picked up which had been left on the table. It had a photo of the Dalai Lama in it - this just goes to show that passengers really don’t ever listen to anything we tell them. It delayed us by 20 minutes while they decided what to do with it. No other problems. In the end, they gave it to our guide to take to the main customs building and to give ti to their boss. Fine by me!!
The 2 hour drive to customs turned out to be 3 hours, and we arrived just in time for them to close for dinner. I was starting to lose my patience with Chinese officials already - I swear I don’t know how they get anything done. they never do any work!! Fortunately they returned after 2 minutes and we were able to get stamped into China ad change a little bit of money at the border so at least we could have dinner later. By now it was 9pm and we still had to drive to Kashgar. Fortunately the roads were brilliant. Unfortunately, leaving the test centre we lost fourth gear, and only got second gear intermittently. It was quite nerve wracking driving the junctions in Kashgar and wondering if I was going to have a gear to pull away from. We made it and got checked in by 10.30pm, in time to dash to the cafe next door to the hotel for a very good dinner. not the smoothest first day but at least we made it!!
MOT day. We met our guide, Yan, at 9am, so before breakfast, in order to head out to the MOT test centre to get a Chinese MOT and insurance for Archie. Just about to leave, we found our passenger door locked had seized (China has jinxed us!), so Tom set to work trying to break in to it. I wondered what on earth he was doing as Archie was rocking so much… until it turned out the reason Archie was rocking was due to an earthquake!! Fortunately only a small one in Kashgar, but it originates from a strong quake over 300Km away which registered 6.5 on the richter scale, and killed 6 people. I was obviously overestimating Tom’s strength!! (incidentally, I have to say at this point that it was so weak that Tom never even felt it!!).
We had a local guy with us, Jack (not his Chinese name!) who does this all the time. Just as well as it was really busy, and he has contacts in the right places. Apparently without him it would have taken us at least two days to sort it out, instead we got fast-tracked though the car MOT centre, in order to push in front of all of the trucks. We caused a great deal of fascination - two whities with a big orange truck. We had to stick another 20 reflective stickers all over Archie to make him roadworthy, show our safety equipment (warning triangle, fire extinguishes and break-glass hammer), before going on a rolling road and having the lights tested. Archie passed with flying colours, in spite of his missing fourth gear, and then we had to wait for the paperwork to be rubber stamped by an police official… he’d gone to lunch. Well done China!! Everything to this pint had taken three hours. We also dropped our paperwork in to get our Chinese driving licences, again it closed for lunch and we had to wait until 4.30pm for everything to start again. I’m not sure why they think a 3 hour lunch break is a good idea but they are all doing it!
We had a local lunch of lamb. I skipped the soup and rock hard bread - I’m not a great soup eater anyway, and certainly not in hot weather. The lamb was good though. We went back to Archie and waited until 4.30pm. Our guide disappeared to see what was happening with our licenses, leaving instructions for us to stay where were were. that was great for an hour then a police man came along and told us we couldn’t park in that spot, and kicked us out of the centre. There was no shade , so we wilted in the heat until 8pm when the paperwork was finally sorted out. I have to point out here that it is still hot at 8pm!!
Back at the hotel, we ended up eating at the same restaurant as last night, both thoroughly fed up with Chinese official procedures!! I’m sure it will get better!
A more leisurely start today, I met our guide at 10am after breakfast. It was already 37 degrees. I had to get a couple of my passengers to swap rooms as we have new joiners this evening, and then headed into town to sort out local sim cards. It was a bit like the border, licences and MOT centre - slow!! It took about an hour to sort out, and then I headed to the local bazaar with Yan to find a new combination lock as our passenger locked seized yesterday. We found one to tide us over, although it isn’t great. It was fun wandering through Kashgar though - very different to Kyrgyzstan. The smell of duck wafting through form street stalls made my mouth water, although having just had breakfast I figured I’d be best to wait until later to try it. The only thing that is driving me a little bit crazy is the fact that electric scooters and motorbikes are allowed on the pavements and you can’t hear them coming!! They have their own section, but as often as not they drive up the pedestrian section. I think it would be safer to walk in the road, at least you can hear the cars coming!!
We headed back to the hotel where Yan had managed to get a money changer to come and change some dollars for me at a really good rate - it meant that I could cover all kitty costs from Bishkek included extra dinners without asking for any extra pennies which was a good thing. It also means that we’ll get though nearly the whole trip before I need to worry about changing money again.
I settled down to finish my trip information for the noticeboard, while Tom went out with Yan to fix a hole in one of Archie’s tyres. I took another wander into the city to find a printers, and managed to communicate what I needed without too much trouble. I also found an ATM which actually works - a novelty after coming through Central Asia where even if there are machines, they seldom have money in them.
Still no sightseeing but at least I feel like I've seen a little bit of the city today, and it certainly helped me to get my bearings for our return trip.
We left the hotel at 10am, welcoming my one new passenger on the truck. We headed to the animal market which was quite fun to see. All traders and animals turn up in pickups or cars which is entertaining to watch. A mix of sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys and mules. One of the stalls had some great recycling on show - water trough made from old tyres and wood. Brilliant!
We headed on to Sunday market to look around and get lunch which didn’t quite work as due to Ramadan and the markets location in a muslim area there was no lunch to be had! We met our pax and drove to the next town, where we had more luck. We then headed off on a four hour drive which was in fact 6 hours as there were over 100Km of roadworks on the Karakoram highway. It was a nightmare, especially as we were heading up hill (up to 3,600m!) without second or fourth gears as our gear selector has definitely gone on strike! Not the easiest when travelling over bad roads with a gradient, but we got there. There were also road blocks as the workers were blasting and moving rocks from the road which stopped us for another hour. The dust was terrible, but it was an impressive new road construction. Sadly we’ve been spoilt through Kyrgyzstan so been spoilt as there you can actually see the scenery and not just eat dust, so I don’t think any of us appreciated it quite like we would have earlier in the trip. It was beautiful when we finally arrives at the top, with snow capped mountains, dropping to desert dunes which met a reservoir.
We finally got to our lakeside yurts in time for plov dinner, and with the daylight hours everyone still had time to go for a quick walk, although a few of my passengers were in very bad humour after the drive up there. It’s a psychological thing - somehow it all seems much harder when you know you are only travelling up to go back the same way in the morning, and with the bad roads it meant we had to leave early in order to be any suitable for lunch so we couldn’t really make he most of our time at the lake. It was still overly though and it is the last of our real altitude before crossing through China. I left my grumpy pax to it, and headed for a walk in the opposite direction and to enjoy the last of the daylight.
We had an early breakfast at our yurt camp - if you can call it breakfast. Yak milk tea and stale bread!! Fortunately I had been pre-warned and we had cereal and coffee at the ready. Just as well or we would have been starving! We left at 9am and headed back down towards Kashgar, travelling back with fewer hold ups which was good. We made better time to a small town market place where we stopped to do some cook group shopping for the next few days and to get some lunch. The market was really good and you could get nearly everything there, including dried lizards - we passed. It was much better than anything we had seen in Kashgar.
Returning to Kashgar, everyone had a free afternoon to relax and get themselves mentally prepared for three long drive days across the Taklamakan desert. Tom and I gave Archie a clean, topped up the drinking water and generally gave him a spruce up. He took a lot of cleaning after all the dust from the roadworks on the Karakoram highway! We had another look at the gears, but there is nothing obvious to set that we can pinpoint so we just have to wait for feedback from the boss. Archie is still running which is the main thin, but it looks like the earliest we can get things sorted out will be in Xi’an in a couple of weeks time.
I spent the afternoon finishing off accounts, the kitty sheet and trip reports to send through to the office. It’s always good to get that tidied up before hitting the road again. I had almost forgotten just how comfortable the hotel beds are though - I wonder if I can take it with me?
My notes showed an 11 hour drive day coming up - through a 337,000 square km desert - the Taklamakan, which incorpoartes the hottest spot in China. This meant it would be a hot long drive, so we left at 5am. We haven’t had many 5am starts on this trip so it was a bit of a shock to the system, but weirdly I actually felt like we were doing some proper overlanding and actually going somewhere… I don’t know whether some of this is due in part to having essentially had 5 days in and around Kashgar, but it was good to be back on the road. I was just getting settled into my long drive, when our guide told us we only had 150Km to go until we reached our destination as we were using a brand new highway. Now, I was aware that we couldn’t use our usual bush camp spots due to terrorist threats in ths area, but it struck me as slightly ridiculous as we were only 6 hours into our day, including a stop for breakfast, yet we had only 2 hours to go. Not quite 11 hours.. Sure enough we arrived in Aksu after only 8 hours, including breaks. Always a good thing but slightly embarrassing when you’ve got everyone out of bed at 5am and arrived at your destination 3 hours before expected. We even got to our hotel in time for lunch! Fortunately there was a good grassy lawn surrounded by trees, which was actually the nicest spot we had seen all day (the rest of the day was desert, desert and more desert), so we had our lunch outside the hotel.
Everyone had free time for the afternoon, and we took a brief trip to a museum, which turned out to be closed until 4pm and flip flops are not allowed - proper shoes only!! Never had that to get into a museum before. I decided against a repeat trip to the museum, and found a copy place to print off some Chinese menu translations for the group to use. We put them to good use that evening - not that they worked very well. We thought we had ordered chicken and ended up with two plates of meat, neither were chicken, and the restaurant had muslim owners so they didn’t sell pork, so none of us quite knew what we were eating!!
Oh, and one last quirk. We had a farting toilet in our room! Every time we flushed it, a minute later it would let off a sound like a fart. I know it wasn’t Tom and it wasn’t me as we could hear it from the main room - very funny!!
After yesterdays efforts we went for a later start, leaving at 7am, again stopping for breakfast en route. Driving through this desert really isn’t very interesting. It has rocky mountains to the north, and nothing but barren flat lands to the south. This continued all day. We saw one city in the distance halfway through the day. There is literally noting out there!!
We stopped in a building site for lunch. It was as glamorous as it sounds! It was basically a shell of a building, still under construction, but the lower floor had a ceiling in which gave us valuable shade to get in to for lunch - we just had to be careful not to fall down the massive hole in front of the building!! We were able to explore - it had two floors and it was massive! I assume it will eventually be a services, although it looks more like office buildings, but there are no homes anywhere nearby so I don’t know where they will get the employees from. Whilst there a policeman pulled up to see what we were doing. Security throughout this regions is high so they are obviously very paranoid about the presence of terrorism in the area. Apparently incidents increase during Ramadan - probably because they are all hungry and grumpy!!
We arrived at our hotel in Korle at 5pm, squeezing into the car park again. The city is bizarre. We’d seen nothing but barren desert all day, and suddenly we were in a buzzing metropolis with bright lights and skyscrapers - such a contrast! We got checked in, before heading out for a bite to eat and then a trip to the cinema to see Jurassic World. It made a nice change! From there we went for a ‘short’ walk of a few blocks (turned out to be an hour away) to see a fountain-laser light display. It was pretty cool , and a few of us opted to take a boat trip while we were there. By the time we were done it was past midnight so we decided to take a taxi back to the hotel rather than spend another hour walking back.
We had our last long desert drive day on our mission to reach Heavenly Lake. Technically tonight we were supposed to be staying at a yurt camp on the edge of the lake for two nights, but due to Ramadan the yurts are all closed. This meant we had to overnight at the city of Urumqi - two hours ahead of the yurt camp. This isn’t really a problem, but it means our visit to the lake will be a bit rushed as we need to fit it into half a day!
The drive was about as inspiring as the previous two days, but the roads were good and we just cruised our way to Urumqi. It took 8 hours, and I found myself squeezing Archie into another tight parking space. My passengers are suitably impressed and I have received a round of applause for my efforts two days in a row - always nice to be appreciated!
There really isn’t much to do in Urumqi, but we had to do some stocking up for breakfast and lunch for the next day at Heavenly lake. there is a big Carrefour supermarket - a little pricey but it was great for getting all the things that we can’t usually find as they do imports! The hostel we stayed in has a really nice vibe and we were made very welcome.
We went for dinner with our two American lads who were on a mission to find a Mexican restaurant and a couple of others. It really wasn’t as straight forward as it should have been and it took us a bus ride and 6 blocks to eventually find the restaurant. the food was reasonable and it made a nice change, but the excitement came on the return journey when we realised that our bus number didn’t return in the opposite direction. We ended up riding a couple f different buses around the city for 45 minutes until we finally found our stop! I’m beginning to think that it’s not physically possible to do anything particularly directly in China!
A MASSIVE day today!! We left at 6am, aiming to reach the car park at Heavenly lake by 7.30am. It only took us an hour which was a bonus, as we had plenty of time for breakfast and to make packed lunches. While we were parking away some military guys appeared and told us we couldn’t have any fire there - they were referring to our gas bottles. We had to move Archie to the bottom of the carpark away from every other vehicles, where the grass hadn’t even been cleared from the parking spaces!! Poor little Archie!
We piled into shuttle buses which took 40 minutes to reach Heavenly Lake. They dropped us off a 10 minute walk from the lake, and although we were there early it was already heaving!! Chinese people everywhere, and guides with horrible loud speakers, all competing to talk over each other. It was like walking into a really bad Disney world! We headed away from the main viewpoint, and started walking around the lake. We had been warned against walking all the way around it which should take 4-5 hours, as the trial on the far side is supposed to be bad. Considering the trail on the side we were taking was wide boardwalk all the way, we figured the ‘bad’ trail was probably just a normal trekking trail.
Within 5 minutes we had left all the Chinese behind. Arriving at some red tape we all stepped over it and kept going, stopping for our lunch at a weir. Heavenly lake was improving all the time - the further we got form the main entrance point the quieter and more serene it got. In the end 9 of us decided to keep going, and a few turned back. the first three headed off slightly ahead of the rest of us. We had followed them for about 20 minutes when we saw them getting into a speed boat (it turned out they had been ‘arrested’ as they weren’t supposed to be there, fortunately no fines and just a free speedboat ride! The police were more interested in taking their photos). Not wanting to get caught up in that we kept a low profile. Then we discovered why they had been taken away - the path literally disappeared into the lake. The water level has evidently risen with snow melt over the summer, so we had to head high, off-roading, along loose steep stone and soil with a fairly long drop to the water, following the line of the lake. It was turning into a real adventure, - all the time we expected to hear the speedboat returning and the terrain was tricky enough to warrant putting my camera away so sadly I don’t have any photos of our escapades. We reached some trees and the walking became easier, although the path didn’t become any more established. It was brilliant!! Dropping down to the next cove we picked up the main path again, and followed it easily, past more ‘do not proceed’ signs. We didn’t have time to turn around and go back by this point so the only ay was forward.
We had nearly made it when we reached another section that was underwater. Practised in this by now, we scrambled up and over a rocky bluff, dropping back to the main trail again, and making our way to a temple. The walk was fantastic - there was no one else around, it was quiet and tranquil, and we trekked our way through the best scenery around the lake. There were a lot of steps, some steep sections, but beautiful valleys, wild flowers and wooden areas. Reaching the temple we sadly didn’t have time to look around, but had to dash back to catch our bus as we needed to catch the 3pm bus to make sure we managed to leave by 4pm. We did reward ourselves with an ice cream at the bottom, and proudly compared scratches from our ‘off-roading’.
We got away on time, and had a 4 hour drive to Turpan, the hottest point in our journey across China. Temperatures here can reach 50 degrees - fortunately they weren’t that high although they were still in the high 30’s even at 8pm at night.
In spite of the long day yesterday, everyone opted to go for an early start again today to avoid the potential heat of the day. As it turned out the sky was overcast so it never got too hot, but it turned out to be a good idea anyway as we were half an hour ahead of all the tourist buses at the all the attractions that we travelled to see.
We took Archie to Yar City, some 2,000 year old mud city ruins. They are in an impressive state of repair considering the building materials (mud!), their location on a 30m high plateau and their age. Good job it doesn’t rain much out here! Turpan used to be known as a desert oasis for traders on the silk route, offering them a chance to rest for a while before making their way around the inhospitable Taklamakan desert.
From Yar city we headed out see some Karez irrigation channels. These are impressive! There are thousands of kilometres of these irrigation channels spanning the Taklamakan desert. They used to dig down to find water, then using natural gradients and gravity they would direct it to agricultural areas. they still use these water systems today to irrigate land.
Heading back into town I took a few volunteers to the local market to get a few items for our breakfast and lunch for our next monster drive day. This one is 13 hours, so I wanted to make sure we kept our meals simple! the market was great, plenty of different foods (no dried lizards this time though!), and a supermarket underneath for essentials like milk.
I joined Tom and Yan for dinner, trying a local dish of spicy chicken noodles. Unfortunately it was really greasy so although the flavour was good, I didn’t really enjoy it which was a shame! I am getting much more efficient at the use of chop sticks now though. Rice, peanuts and noodles are all manageable, although I’m quite good at making a mess!!
Getting back to my room I crashed out, the last few days finally catching up with me and I slept all afternoon. It’s been full on!! I woke up in time for dinner, before heading back to bed.
We left at 5am, and did breakfast on the truck to avoid an hours breakfast stop. Everyone was able to help themselves to cereal and fruit, although to be honest they all slept until our first toilet break anyway! We drove past the Flaming mountains - red sandstone which are supposed to look like they are on fire in the right light. I have a feeling they might be more impressive on our return journey at sunset! In fact, they were so lacking in flames that I missed them completely and forgot to point them out to my passengers. Oops! There were a lot more wind farms though, and many wind turbine parts being transported in pieces. We also saw a house being moved on a tractor trailer… got to love it! It’s not as insane as India, but China has it’s share of eccentric moments too.
One of the most entertaining things about the days drive was the road signs. My favourite sign said ‘Bickle up’ rather than ‘Buckle up’ - brilliant!! That’s up there with a sign we saw at Heavenly Lake which said ‘Please slip carefully’. I love translations!!
Our lunch didn’t quite go to plan. having brought fresh bread yesterday, when it came to eating it today it was already rock hard. Not even just a little bit hard, it was impossible to eat! Everyone took it in very good humour, and we saved two to use for discus throwing at our next bush camp as ‘Truck Olympics’! We caused great fascination for local truck drivers, who couldn’t get over the fact that we just set up our lunch in the middle of the car park. I don’t think they have ever seen anything quite like it!
We did well, arriving in Dunhuang exactly 13 hours to the minute after departure!! Impressive if I do say so myself. We travelled 880Km to get there, so really we made very good time. our hotel gave us a couple of 'firsts'. A bathroom with a glass wall - fortunately with a blind although it was on the outside. The other, a gas mask each!! I hve never seen that before - it makes you wonder what state teh plumbing is in though!
Tom and I headed out to the night market for dinner. A bit too touristy for my taste, but there was a lot of meat on a stick. It was actually quite expensive, but we saw (and heard) our first live open-air karaoke. It was a fun atmosphere, and there are a lot of souvenir stalls. Ironically seeing as everything across the world seems to be made in China, it is actually more expensive to buy the same things here than it is anywhere else!
I had a lie in, learning to take some precious moments of sleep when they come available on this China leg. I went to breakfast at 9am, before heading to the bank with one of my passengers to change some money. I then did a quick accounts catch up.
At lunchtime we headed out to the Mogao Buddhist caves. These were heartbreaking. In their attempts to preserve the caves and the site, the Chinese have put an exterior sixties pebble-dash facade across all of the caves, so you can’t se the original cliff face at all. The actual set up is pretty good, starting with a short film describing the origins of the Chinese silk road, and information about the caves painting we were about to see. We were then taken by shuttle bus to the cave site, along a pristine dual carriageway which only caves traffic uses… Our guide spoken excellent English and was very informative. The cave painting themselves are generally well preserved, but the outer facade was so sad. It looked like a housing estate - each cave even had a number over the top!! They were all locked up and only the guides hold the keys. Some of the Buddhas are great - huge!!
Finishing the tour, we headed to see a site museum which had some great old photos dating back to the 1920’s before the facade was built. The site looked incredible back then, it’s just a shame that it’s preservation hasn’t been done more sympathetically, and in keeping with the original appearance, although at least the caves have been reinforced and stabilised so they will be maintained. You can argue that they ave survived for 2,000 years without interference, although the Red army did get locked up here for a few years causing soot blackening, graffiti and scratches on the paintings.
Back in town, I sent everyone off cook group shopping. I joined Yan and Tom for dinner, before getting an early night.
We had a morning drive to reach Jiayaguan, arriving in time to have lunch in a small restaurant outside the Fort and our first Great Wall of China experience. My passengers had the whole afternoon to spend at the Fort, but as so often happens, things didn’t quite go to plan. One moment we were all sat down eating lunch, the next a rather large Dutch man told me he wasn’t feeling well, went completely white and said he thought he was going to be sick. We tried to get him outside, but he wasn’t sick. Instead, just as he reached the door he fainted! I was in front of him, and another lady how is smaller than me was behind him, so we both grabbed him to try to make sure he didn’t hurt himself as he went down. Fortunately he was only out for about 3 seconds, but we laid him down and raised his legs, and then worked on cooling him down a bit. It had been a hot couple of days and it was probably just dehydration, but it meant he wasn’t fit to go anywhere that afternoon.
I headed back over to the Fort facilities and managed to find a wheelchair. As soon as he was fit enough, and had some colour back, Tom, Yan and I popped him in the chair, gave him a pink umbrella for shade, and wheeled him across to an air conditioned room, gave him some rehydration salts and his laptop, and made sure he was okay. We rewarded ourselves with an ice cream, and once confident that he would be okay we headed up to look around the Fort.
I have to be honest, the Fort was really disappointing. This is supposed to be a massive part of Chinese heritage, and it has been rebuilt as recently as 1988 to plans that were found. Having said that, it did give us an idea of how the place would have once looked and there was an interesting little museum about the construction of the great wall, and different artefacts that have been found.
Returning to Archie, we headed 15 minutes up the road to our bush camp which is at the foot of the wall. the Fort tickets gave everyone admission to a different section of the wall, so we dropped them off and let them walk back to camp while we made a start prepping dinner and looking after our unwell passengers, or which we had three in total. It worked out quite well in the end, and after dinner we had game of ‘Chinese bread discus’ using the bread rolls from lunch two days previous which was a lot of fun!
We had a fairly leisurely start, with breakfast at 7am and leaving at 8am. The group are amazing now - it’s like a well oiled machine. They know exactly what to do and it all just happens. Brilliant! They are so good now that we keep leaving early.
It was just short of a four hour drive to reach our next destination, the Rainbow mountains. We had lunch in the car park and became the tourist attraction, rather than the mountains, attracting a lot of attention from the Chinese, who were fascinated to see how we were preparing our food. We had a good selection of salads which were really tasty.
The Rainbow Mountains were really cool. We went to four different view points using a little shuttle bus, and got some great views over the mountains with different coloured striations. Yellows, oranges, whites, pinks, blues - they were really pretty, especially when the sun came out! I’ve seen similar in Argentina, but it was nice to have the chance to get a bit closer. To be honest, four view points was overdoing it a bit, but it was definitely worth stopping to have a look.
It was another 2 hours to reach our bush camp, where we knew we were going to meet another Drago truck - providing we could find them!! Helen and Duncan are travelling westbound. I haven’t seen Helen since Rio carnival in 2013, and I met Duncan last summer just before I headed out to Nepal, so I was really looking forward to seeing them again. Amazingly we found them! I say amazingly as there are a number of bush camp spots along the Great Wall, but with the use of our guides and our phones we tracked them down, and also found a great bush camp spot. We had a great evening, with a few drinks, a camp fire, Duncan got out his guitar and all of our passengers mixed and generally had fun. My guys have had a brilliant trip to this point and were at their last bush camp of the trip Helen and Duncan’s are just a couple of weeks into their trip and it was their first bush camp, so they mixed really well.
It started to rain during the night. I was sleeping on the roof so made a quick get away to the inside of Archie at 3am. It was still raining at 7am, but fortunately stopped as soon as we had the awning up over the kitchen area. We delayed our departure by half an hour to dry the tents, and thankfully the rain held off while we got them sorted. Especially important as we won’t be camping again until September, and there literally is nowhere good to dry tents on Chinese roads! We said our goodbyes to Helen and Duncan and hit the road.
Two hours into our drive it started to rain and just kept raining. The only times it stopped was when we passed through a number of ridiculous 5-7 Km long tunnels - they just kept going forever!! We stopped at some services for lunch, where $1 noodles did the job for a hot cheap lunch to keep us going. The clouds lifted a little while we were there and we could see fresh snowfall on the surrounding mountains. It looked very pretty.
Carrying on with our drive, the scenery continued to improve as we approached Liajiaxia (not marked on any map!). The hotel is nice, but the town is very much an overnight stop with little to see. tom and I found a pleasant restaurant opposite the hotel which did good food. An old man came up to talk to us, couldn’t understand a word we said (reciprocated) and next moment reappeared with his daughters to have photos. We though he was asking us if we had enjoyed our dinner, so gave him a thumbs up. Apparently he had asked if it as okay to take photos, although as Tom said, he could have asked me if I wanted to marry him and I’d just put my thumbs up…
This has been my most favourite day in China. It was great! We drove our to a reservoir which the Yellow River runs through. this part didn’t go particularly smoothly as our guide had no idea where she was going, but she didn’t tell us and tried to brazen it out. That tactic never works. Both Tom and I know that you are always better to admit you haven’t driven out to a place than pretend you know what you are doing! Not only had we worked it out within minutes, but so had all of our passengers, but she still wouldn’t admit to it! It doesn’t matter if you don’t know where you are going, but we have a huge amount of experience between us and we could have saved an hour of doubling back on ourselves and wrong turnings if she had only talked it through with us first. Turns out she’s always taken private cars out to the reservoir so never had to navigate, but she never even mentioned it to us. I swear, my crystal ball really let me don’t for mind-reading today! But then Tom’s wasn’t working either… I think we need to get them serviced.
Anyway, having finally got there we piled into speedboats for a half hour ride down the reservoir to the Bingling Si Buddha caves which were brilliant! They are the least touristy attraction that we have seen in China, although they did get busier as the day went on. The boat ride was really good fun, and the scenery was simply beautiful. Arriving at the caves we made our way into a steep sided gorge, where there are a number of caves with Buddha and Boddhisvista sculptures and paintings. they aren’t as well preserved or as impressive as the Mogao caves, but the fact that the setting has been left alone and it is much more natural meant that the whole experience felt much more authentic and it was much more enjoyable. We jumped in a converted bus with a heightened roof to take us further up the canyon to another temple, hidden away at the top of the valley. The drive was stunning. Arriving at the ‘Upper temple’ we were met by a very cool old monk who proudly showed us around, allowed to take photos (I’ve never been allowed to do that in Buddhist monasteries before so it was a real treat) and then served us tea. It was a great experience, and we were the only ones there!
After an hour we headed back down to finish walking down the valley and to get lunch at the docks, before heading back to Archie. We would usually take a ferry across the reservoir, but water levels are too low so we needed to drive around the reservoir instead. It meant that we had a 4 hour drive, rather than a 2.5 hour drive to get to our hostel in Xiahe, but we arrived at 6pm after a beautiful drive. We are now situated in a region that used to be part of Tibet, at the foot of some old Tibetan grassland plateaus. I spent a good part of the evening trying to sort a guide for a day trip to the grasslands, but it was the end of Ramadan so there was a big party and none of the agencies had any English speaking staff working during the evening. Try again tomorrow!
We headed out to the Labrang monastery for 10am as they do English speaking guided tours. It was running 15 minutes late, but that gave us a chance to take some photos and enjoy the outside of the monastery. Labrang monastery is one of the most important in China as it is used for teaching too. If you like it’s a university for monks. It has a number of different halls and sections. We were allowed to see three of them, and a display of yak butter Buddhist sculptures. That was pretty cool, but the butter has been there a while so the smell wasn’t the most pleasant! The monastery was really busy with tourists - it is well known so a popular destination, and our tour group ended up with a school trip from America joining us so there were nearly 60 people in total!! Slightly insane, and the monk would start well then get quieter, and quieter… and quieter!! If you weren’t stood immediately next to him then you couldn’t hear a word. He also hd a talent for starting to talk every time the monks started chanting or playing instruments - this rapidly became a source of hilarity for my group.
I managed to get a grassland tour organised for the following day, and spent the rest of the day relaxing and recharging my batteries after the long drive days we have done recently. They have a habit of catching up, especially when you are trying to take in a new country and culture.
I loved today! We headed up into the autonomous Tibetan grasslands with Archie. The Ganjia grasslands used to be Tibet but now officially China although Tibetan is still their first language, and it’s a very Tibetan way of life up there. Much of the road was under construction so it was pretty slow going to get up there, but amazing views from the top more than made up for it. our first stop (other then for photos) was at an ancient Bon Buddhist monastery dating back 2,000 years. I was fantastic - so much nicer than the Labrang monastery with all it’s crowds and tourism. Amazingly we were allowed to take photos of the different Buddhas, although I’ve spent so long not being able to do it that I feel self-concious taking photos in the temples now!
From the temple we headed up to see the old wall. Our guide sent us through a lovely old town, and upon reaching the wall we realised we weren’t going to fit through the arch in the wall. No problem, we hopped out to assess the situation, realised our only option was to go back the way we had come, and then had a 1 minute argument with a man at the arch who wanted to charge us 20 yuan each when we hadn’t even passed through the wall or gone up on top of it! I don’t mind paying for something, but I like to at least have seen it! We didn’t pay for obvious reasons, and headed back to town to have lunch with a local Tibetan family. What was sold as noodles and bread turned out to be delicious yak noodle soup and really fresh bread, with chilli sauce to spice it up a little if desired. It was amazing and cost us less than $3 USD each for as much as we could eat. Such good value!
We continued up into the grasslands, and stopped to drop of my passengers so they could have a walk over the grasslands to a meeting point by a Buddha cave. The cave turned out to have an expensive entry fee so most of us decided against it - we have seen quite a lot of cave in recent weeks! It was lovely outside in the valley, with amazing cliffs towering above us, and golden eagles circling above.
Once done, we headed back down to Xiahe for dinner, finding great little restaurant close to the hostel which did excellent food.
We had an easy morning drive to Lanzhou, arriving in time for lunch. The traffic getting into Lanzhou was the most chaotic we have seen yet, but the general infrastructure was good so it didn’t take long. Just a few crazy drivers (they seem to love trying to use two lanes) but nothing on India.
Yan, our guide, had managed to book a massage session for us so a few of us headed out to be pummelled. The staff there are all blind or partially sighted, but it means they don’t miss a thing. It was a tough massage, but definitely worth it. Tom opted to try ‘cupping’. This basically leaves massive love-bite style marks all over your back. They use glass cups, put a naked flame inside, then place it on your back. As the flame uses the oxygen in the cup so it creates a vacuum on your skin. It then gets left for 15 minutes. It looks horrific, but Tom said it wasn’t uncomfortable. He did end up with some great ‘love-bites’ across his back though!
We met the group and headed to the night market to find some food for dinner. It is seriously the best night market we have seen yet, with a fantastic evening vibe. So many different fresh foods - Fish, skewers, soups, goats heads… whole sunflower heads, different mushrooms, noodles, fruits - it was brilliant! There is a definite ‘cafe culture’ to the market, with seating set up behind the stalls, so we all settled down with our different dishes, and shared some 1.5 litres bottles of beer.
This wasn’t the most exciting day for me. I had a lie in as breakfast wasn’t included, before heading to a bakery with Tom where we could get coffee and cakes to set us up for the day. We then headed back to the hotel. I had to get my background information for the noticeboard put together for the next leg of the trip, and find a printer. Tom went for a brief wander, but we basically just chilled out and made the most of the air conditioning. Sometimes you need to take the chance to just stop!
Talking to some of my passengers afterwards, they had done some exploring and discovered some rafting down the Yellow River - done on inflated sheep skins… it is as random as it sounds and they had some great photos. Maybe one for the next trip!
We did venture out at 5pm to head to the cinema to see The Imitation Game - a really good film! We took the bus to get there, and ended up in a great plaza area, which absolutely came alive by the time the film was over. We watched men whipping spinning tops, their whips cracking with every lash. There was ‘Square dancing’ which is literally where the Chinese do dancing on the street. Everyone is welcome to join in so we all had a go, danced a few dances (which got us really hot and sweaty) and generally had no idea what we were doing. It was fun though and the Chinese didn’t seem to care! There were also what can only be described as motorised unicycles. Operated by body weight - lean forward to go faster, straighten to stop. We all had a go (with someone holding our hand) and had great fun. The prices started at $200 for a small one though - not sure that I can squeeze that one on to accounts!
We had another short drive day, this time on to the town of Ping Liang. I dashed down to the bakery as it was supposed to open at 7.30am to get some breakfast and a birthday cake for one of my passengers - only to find they had nothing on display yet. No ideal! They did have a boxed cake so I grabbed that, and then found a street stall which sold bacon and egg wraps. A nice change and really tasty! It didn’t quite hit the coffee fix though.
We go on the road and arrived in Ping Liang in time for a late lunch. A 15 minute walk confirmed that there is very little to do in town, but we found a little restaurant that served some good food. I would love to be able to say what it is, but we had no idea as the whole menu was in Chinese. It was very much a case of pointing at a line and hoping for the best!
As we had a birthday on the truck we arranged a group meal at 7pm. The group had managed to get some silly presents, so we had a presentation of presents (see-through underwear), cake and birthday singing, helped along with a couple of beers. Then he got presented with a massive bowl of noodle soup compliments of the kitchen. A very kind gesture, but he already had a mountain of food in front of him! This is the first restaurant we have been to where it was possible to buy a frog off the menu, and in fact choose your own. As a whole the group declined that option!
Tom wasn’t feeling well, so opted to stay within easy reach of a bathroom. Not a problem, I took Archie and the group to the foot of Mount Kongtong, where we caught a mini bus to take us half way up the mountain. Mount Kongtong is a scared Taoist and Buddhist mountain. There is a pilgrimage route from the bottom, but even from our drop off point there were 4Km of steps to explore our way around the mountain. Fortunately there are a number of different temples branching of the main ‘Ladder to Heaven’ which provided timely breaks and respite from the constant climbing. My favourite temple was the Thunder temple, for it’s decoration, history and artwork.
The temples are all situated at the top of towers of rock, which gives some spectacular views back down to Ping Liang. Wandering on round we found a museum (all in Chinese!) and followed more routes out to a Hanging suspension bridge. It was all very pretty, and generally we managed to stay just ahead of the main crowd of Chinese tourists. We found a lovely spot to stop for lunch, where I braved my first chicken foot. Unsurprisingly it tasted like chicken skin - I couldn’t bring myself to eat the bones though. Im not sure that I would bother with another one - I don’t find there is enough to eat on a wing, and a foot has even less to offer!
On our descent we spotted another track off to our left to another temple and “sacrifice point’. Obviously intrigued we headed down the track, finding the temple without a problem. Sacrifice point was more of a mystery, and remains so to this day. A friendly monk cheerfully pointed out a path, which was more of a rock climb, with a chain handrail. Assuming that it would lead to Sacrifice Point a few of us headed up it to see what was at the top. We kept going up. I had an inkling that it was simply another path to the top temples, and I was right!! Having just come down a lot of steps, we found ourselves doing laps of the mountain and were back where we had started! It was much more fun using that route to climb though so worth it for the experience.
Having finished exploring the Taoist section of the mountain, we headed to the Buddhist section which ad some really lovely temples, and a large (slightly squiffy) tower. It was a pleasant way to finish the day, before making our way back down to Archie.
Getting back, I found Tom was almost back on top form, so we went out to see if we could find some dinner. We bumped into one of our passengers who hd just settled down for a beer and some shashliks which sounded appealing. While we were sorting our beer his shashliks turned up. He though the was being charged 30 yuan for 3 shashliks and his beer - it turned out he has ordered 30 shashliks! Needless to say we ended up helping him eat his dinner!
I woke up at exactly 7.30am. This wouldn’t normally be a problem except we were supposed to be leaving for the Terracotta Warriors… at 7.30am! I pulled on my clothes and ran down the stairs - much to my relief my new passengers hadn’t turned up yet, which meant I was able to send everyone else with my Chinese guide, Yan, and go back to bed for an hour as the official joining time for my new passengers was at 10am!! I nearly didn’t make that either - rice wine is dangerous stuff and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you really don’t like someone! I managed to grab some breakfast (which is amazing - the while hotel is amazing!), before meeting my two new passengers, and Brian from the old group who had overslept. Sometimes there are advantages to having two groups!
We headed out in a taxi. Upon arrival, the driver immediately managed to find me an English speaking guide who was fantastic, and we headed into the museum. I can honestly say that it is impressive. The figures are so lifelike, and the restoration process is all on show. They were made to protect the Emperor in his next life, and there are over 8,000 figures. Each one is individual. Status is depicted by the curl of the shoes (curly means more powerful) and the size of their tummy. A large stomach indicates prosperity and power in more countries than just India it seems! My favourites were the horse figures, just because they all look so happy! There are amazing bronze chariots too. Also archers and acrobats, generals, kneeling warriors… None of their heads are actually attached. This was to allow the material to breathe when it was being fired. Once fired, there head was attached, yet even they are a particular size and can’t be put on any old body.
We spent three hours looking at the different pits, before heading (thankfully - I was struggling!) back to our taxi to head back to the hotel. Waiting for the obligatory toilet stops before departure, we found ourselves next to a stall with lots of animal fur coats. Some of them were really tiny - turns out they were dogs!! Not sure my terrier would appreciate it if I dod that to him when he pops his clogs! Sadly I got a phone call to say they weren’t able to do the T-shirts for me as they couldn’t open the artwork from the UK, but I arranged to leave the deposit and see if I can send it through in advance so we can just collect the T-shirts on our return journey. I would have loved to get some sleep at this point, but I needed to sort out the kitty refunds for the last trip, and prepare for the official welcome meeting at 6pm with my new joiners. I was feeling a bit better by that point! We headed out to a local restaurant and had a really nice evening. It’s the first time I’ve been out with a group of only women (except Tom) for a really long time!!
I had a pretty easy day today. After changing the kitty money into yuan I enjoyed an excellent breakfast - the Jiaguan hotel in Xi’an is really lovely, and the buffet breakfast is amazing!! I pretty much spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon finishing my accounts, and doing my trip report. It was too hot to venture far so I had a relaxing afternoon, before joining Tom and some of our new passengers for an evening cycle ride around the old Xi’an city wall. It was a really pleasant way to spend a couple of hours, and it was a good way to get a feel for Xi’an in a short period of time. There are great views over some of the old city, which is a stark contrast to the surrounding skyscrapers which just disappear into the distance. It is a massive city!
From there Tom and I headed to the Big Goose Pagoda to meet some of our old passengers for a last goodbye before we head off in the morning. there is a fountain and light display at the pagoda, which turned out to be a lot bigger than we had expected, and it took us 15 minutes to track the rest of the group down. I’m starting to realise that everything in China is just done on a grand scale. We looked to get some street food, and saw our first scorpions and lizards on a stick and a spider on a plate. I can’t say that I was feeling quite adventurous enough to try eating them on this occasion - I don’t think I’ll ever be able to bring myself to eat a spider, but I might get around to trying a scorpion. I just need a day or two to psych myself up for it - I’m sure we will see them again in Beijing.
The fountain display was good, although the crowds made it a little difficult to see. They were big enough to get a good idea of what was going on though, and again it was done on a grand scale. It was a lovely way to spend the evening, and we finished it by buying a beer from a local shop and sitting in one of the parks waiting for the main rush to disappear before trying to get a taxi back to the hotel. The taxi was another story. It was a 7 seater van, but when we sat in one of the seats it became obvious that it is a delivery vehicle by day, and a taxi by night, as the rear seat wasn’t fixed and nearly went over backwards when we sat in it! It made for an entertaining ride back.
We left Xi’an - a few of our last leavers were there to wave us off which was nice. It was only a half day drive to our destination of Yan’an, and we arrive for a late lunch. Yan’an was the site of Communist revolutionaries headquarters which it’s possible to look around, although in truth there is not much to see. There is a good museum too, which has a few English translation boards, but I must confess that I don’t feel any more enlightened about the Chinese Communist Revolution now than I did when I went it. I am just more aware of my ignorance on the subject!
For dinner we walked followed the river down through the town. The town is very n
A longer drive today, and the scenery was actually a little more dramatic, with valleys, canyons and terraces lining the road. We stopped en route for a quick lunch, before arriving at our destination of Liajiashan, an old cave dwelling village mid afternoon. There was a 20 minute walk up to the village so we had all packed overnight bags, and it was seriously hot so we were all sweating well by the top. Since Xi’an I swear the humidity has soared! The temperatures are the same, high thirties and low forties, but it’s a lot stickier.
The village has a lovely character to it. We only had a slight blip. The rooms are meant to sleep six people, but as soon as I walked in I knew there was no chance the guys were going to fit six in there. Some of them are really tall (Dutch and German) and unless they lay on the traditional style Kang beds in the wrong direction they would hang off the end. My guide wasn’t particularly helpful at this point, insisting that this is what she always does. I insisted on another room. Stalemate until I reminded her that her job is to arrange the number of rooms that I want for my trip and to help me! Suddenly another room materialised. She sulked for the rest of the evening, but my first priority is for the comfort of my passengers. Having now seen the rooms, I have to admit that I would never put more than five westerners in one of those rooms anyway. The Kang beds are big and you can comfortably sleep three people in them, but four would be a squeeze especially in hot weather.
We had a great evening there though. The hotel is partially built into the cliff side - not really a cave but nestled amongst the rock wall, as are the other building in the village. It was too hot to do much exploring though - I have a faint hope that it may have cooled down a little by the time we come back through, but I'm not holding my breath. A group of art students were also in the same guesthouse and they were fascinated by us. At first they asked to take photos which was fine, but then they just kept taking them - we vacated and they followed us outside. The Chinese really don’t respect personal space at all! It was all good natured though and they thanked us by giving us birthday cake - bonus!
We had a good Chinese style breakfast, before walking back down the hill to Archie. It was another half day drive to the town of Pingyao, stopping for a brief visit to the Black Dragon temple, which turned out to be anotehr Taoist temple. Starting to feel a little 'templed out' now!. Unfortunately the motorway was closed so we had to use National roads which aren’t such good quality and take a little bit longer, but even so it didn’t add more than an hour onto our journey.
We stay in the old walled section of Pingyao, which has character but unfortunately it is incredibly touristy. It is the first time I have felt that we are on the backpackers trial, and we saw a lot more westerners than any where else, with the exception of the Terracotta Warriors where you expect it. Every other shop is offering a massage, or tacky souvenirs. There are no local amenity stores within the old town - pharmacies or general stores, it’s all aimed at tourism. All of the restaurants charge tourist prices, so our mission was to find something a little less tourist orientated,even though we are tourists. The buildings in Pingyao are very pretty though, with Chinese style arches and eaves, but it definitely isn’t the local Chinese experience that we’ve had elsewhere.
I spent the morning having a little explore around Pingyao. It is not quite the ancient city that I was expecting, very touristy, and yet it has some lovely little streets where it is possible to get away from the crowds. We usually stay in a different hotel, so I wanted to find it and have a look to see what it is like for our return journey. Turns out it has recently moved and although I followed the map, I still didn’t manage to find it so it is well hidden wherever it is! A shame though as they organise day excursions, whereas the place we are staying doesn’t. I did find a coffee shop though which was a bonus as it’s nearly all tea out here.
Exploring I looked at some of the museums, including (amongst others) the martial art museum, and the money museum. They were interesting but very short of English translation which was a little frustrating as I had no idea what I was actually looking at. After four museums, I’d had enough and wandered the back streets which were less busy, full of character and daily life rather than tourist shops.
By midday I was wilting in the heat and headed back to the hotel to take refuge for the afternoon. When it cooled down I met the group for dinner. We found a very good restaurant and shared dishes, which is definitely the best way to eat in China.
I didn’t know what to expect today, but I had seen some information about an optional activity to drive out to a place called Mian Shan mountain resort. It looked like it had the option of doing some walking and some activities so I was keen to go and see what it was all about. All but two of my passengers joined Tom and I, so we drove out there. The car park was the first bit of fun. We got waved into a car park, which wasn’t an official carpark, but only got charged a photo for our parking fee. We were happy with that! Tickets purchased, we then had to get on a bus that ran throughout a beautiful mountain valley, with different stops on the way. It was a hop on - hop off bus. The first stop we tried was one with hanging platforms between temples, leading us up the side of the cliff. It was a rapid ascent between Taoist and Buddhist temples, and the views were stunning! China likes steps though - there are a lot of steps wherever you go! I find this slightly ironic as the Chinese themselves don’t seem to like walking anywhere if they can help it. We eventually reached the end point, called the Temple of Completeness. This itself had five separate floors, with ladders that got steeper and narrower the further up we went. Definitely worth the effort.
Heading back down, we stopped at a small restaurant for some lunch, before getting back on the bus and continuing to the end of the valley. this was my least favourite part. It was very touristy, and as we explored the area it became evident that it was designed with families and small children in mind. Manmade waterfalls, concrete animals (everything is made from concrete - even the bins!), a lot of Chinese music. IT was a bit like a theme park. It didn’t take us long to change our minds and head back to the bus.
The next valley, Qixian Valley turned out to be amazing! It looked interesting from the road, but heading up the valley we discovered a number of hanging bridges, ladders and chain walkways, all suspended over a small river and waterfalls. We basically had to climb our way up the waterfall using the bridges and ladders, there were some good drops and no safety equipment. It was great fun!! Definitely not one for people who are scared of heights as there was a fair bit of exposure - it reminded me of via ferrata minus the harnesses and clips, although the drops weren’t as big, although a few would have hurt if we had got it wrong. We only had one mishap when one of my passengers tried to get clever and step across the valley as he wanted to overtake. Pride comes before a fall, he missed the step and gracefully slide into a deep pool, bag and all. Fortunately he was fine. Unfortunately his camera and phone were not, so they are now residing in a tupperware of rice to see if we can dry them out and bring them back to life.
Returning to Archie and Pingyao the general feeling was that this should be included as a matter of course in the trip, and not as an optional activity, everyone had enjoyed it so much! It was nice to have the chance to get away form towns and crowds for a day, to do some exercise and go exploring, yet there was still half of the mountain that remained unexplored. For less active passengers there were plenty of stops with temples which would keep them busy, or they could just relax in a restaurant and watch the world go by. Definitely a suggestion for the office.
Today we drove to one of the four most sacred Buddhist mountains in China, Wutai Shan. Leaving at 9am, it was a comfortable drive and we pushed on to arrive at 2.30pm in time for a late lunch. We were hoping it would be an earlier arrival, but the last section was really slow due to bad traffic and a ridiculous checkpoint. At one junction I ended up getting out of the truck and directing traffic, as no one was prepared to give way and ease the situation. By standing in front of a taxi to block him as he was causing chaos by trying to overtake and blocking everyone, I was able to wave other traffic through and got everything moving again. I then refused to move from in front of him until I had waved Tom through - serves him right for being impatient!!
The town itself is nestled in a valley surrounded by beautiful hills, but it feels really touristy - admittedly predominantly Chinese tourism. I went out to have a quick look around town in the afternoon, and found a series of tourist shops, but some of them were selling some lovely Buddhist wares. I managed to find a place to buy scarves for all of my passengers. In Buddhism they will give you a scarf to wish you safe travels for your journeys. The scarves were a yellow-orange colour so suitable for Dragoman - the plan is to give them out to everyone on the last day providing I don’t forget to take them with me!
Walking back, I found my group happily drinking beers outside a corner shop, so I went and joined them. We were practically rock stars, the number os Chinese who came over to have their photos taken with us! We ate dinner that the hotel restaurant where the food is very good, and actually a very reasonable price compared to the main street in town.
I spent the morning with the group, heading up the pilgrims walk to one of the famous temples, climbing more than 1,000 steps with lots of pilgrims doing their blessings on the way up. It was really busy but very cool to see and experience! On occasions there were so many people it was difficult to step around the pilgrims, although it would have been embarrassing to stand on one of them! The views were amazing - yesterdays rain had cleared the skies. The first time we have been out of grey smog filled skies since Xi’an, it was a bit of a treat as the surrounding scenery really is beautiful.
The temple at the top is quite modern, as everything seems to be in China. Half of it is still being built! Previously my impression of Buddhism has always been of peace and tranquility, but somehow the atmosphere doesn’t quite work like that in China with the crowds and the chaos.
I decided via another (very empty) temple, using the ‘pony track’ where people, who don’t want to walk can hire a pony to take the m to the top. As the pint of the pilgrims walk is to help cleanse your body they are completely missing the pint, but I did find it amusing to watch the Chinese ladies wearing high heels on their ponies , texting on their mobile phones whilst holding an umbrella to shield themselves form the sun… I now wish I had managed to take a photo of them as it was a sight to behold!
I decided to relax for a couple of hours in the hotel - quite unlike me as I usually like to spend my time exploring, but the town wasn’t getting any quieter as the day went on and I really didn’t feel like fighting my way through more crowds. I am rapidly discovering that one tourist attraction a day is more than sufficient in China!! I did move pretty quickly when another Dragoman truck turned up though. Crew catch up time! I haven’t seen Noel and Vicky since I left South America and we had an awesome evening! One of my old passengers is on their truck travelling westbound. It was his birthday and he kept handing me drinks!! Very dangerous! We ended up on Archie having a truck party (Vicky in particular has truck envy!). Tom fortunately agreed to drive tomorrow so I could just have fun and not worry about how much I drank - very lovely of him although I wasn’t so sure I felt the same in the morning!
I woke up early feeling surprisingly okay, although once I’d had a shower I decided that a Chinese breakfast didn’t seem as attractive as an extra hour in bed. Sleep was definitely the better option!! We headed out along a beautiful mountain road towards the Hanging Monastery. Useful as ever, my notes told me it was an 80km drive so I pre-warned my passengers, only to discover that it is n fact a 140Km. Sometime sI wonder where on earth other crew managed to pluck this information from!! Possibly the same hangover that was gradually setting in on my slightly cloudy brain cell!
Arriving at the Hanging Monastery I was expecting something like Tigers Nest monastery in Bhutan or the Sumela monastery in Turkey - a monastery clinging to the cliff side defying gravity with incredible drops below… it wasn’t quite like that. Not to say that it isn’t impressive, it is. It just lacked the wow factor of the other hanging monasteries that I have seen as it is situated less than 100m on the cliff. It is a beatuful structure though. Again the crowds were as impressive as the site itself, and we found ourselves being jostled and pushed ( I actually waved my water bottle at one lady, I got so fed up of being shoved into the person in front of me!). It is a part of Chinese culture, but it really detracts form the site that you have come to enjoy as you spend your whole time trying not to be pushed into the person in front of you, and negotiating your way through a crowd rather than being able to enjoy what you have come to see. I can safely say that I am not the greatest fan of Chinese tourism, and while I appreciate that I am lucky enough to be able to come and se these sites, it is not a country that I would choose to come and visit again, although daily life is fascinating and far outstrips the tourist aspect of the country.
We headed on to Datong, where we went for a group leg of lamb (or two) for our dinner. It literally got served up over hot coals and everyone got to carve their lamb theirselves. Really good fun!
We all piled into the truck and drove out the the Yanguan caves, only 11km out of Datong but a slow ride with the traffic. Datong is surprisingly big!
Arriving at Yanguan caves, we met our guide who immediately took us to see a Buddhist monastery - which was built a few years ago. I did remark to one of my passengers that I’m really looking forward to seeing a building in China that is actually original and older than I am… she laughed, but said it was funnier just because it was true! In terms of renovating places their idea of conservation is to knock it to the ground and completely rebuild it.
Fortunately the caves were far more impressive. They are Buddhist caves and contain cave paintings and Buddhas which are very well preserved… and fortunately older than I am! The artwork is beautiful, and the different caves tell different Buddhist stories. Unlike Mogao caves the exterior is still a rock face, not a pebbledash facade! In all, I preferred these caves to Mogao.
We headed back into Datong for lunch, where we found a local bakery. It sold the worlds smallest sandwiches (think bonsai sized sandwiches). I passed on that, but it had some interesting savoury pastries which were very tasty. I am getting into the habit of relaxing in the afternoons to stay out of the heat, and Datong was no different. I needed a bit of time out from the group, so I headed out again during the evening by myself, found some street food, and had a walk through the ‘old city’ within Datong city walls (which incidentally have all been rebuilt in the last two years). they were all lit up which looks very pretty at night.
We had a long drive day today. I say long, it was basically eight hours including stops. I managed to get the manic driving shift, where there seemed to be a ridiculous number of roadworks which made normally sane drivers (I question that.. they are Chinese) drive like lunatics thinking they could cut in front of an 18 tonne truck travelling at 60kph which was the speed limit and suitable for a fast moving road. Had I not read the developing situation and braked hard on a couple of occasions there would have been some little car pancakes. Ironically enough, I had a small incident at a police check point of all places, where a car driver was convinced he could squeeze into a gap that he was never going to manage to squeeze into. It was already my line, my queue and I was well into my space. I beeped my horn at him four times to warn him as I could see that he wasn’t going to fit… and he didn’t… Quite honestly it serves him right - there wasn’t a mark on Archie, but he gained himself a nice scrape by driving in to us. The police didn’t even want to know and basically said that when he drove away then we could go, no worries. I took great delight in waving my finger at the driver and telling him that maybe he needs to respect an 18 tonne truck and not try to cut up on it’s blindside next time. Blatantly a car is not going to win a battle with a truck and I wasn’t prepared to pay a penny to an idiot who thought he could bully his way through that one!! I would never be that stupid, and neither is the majority of the population. It’s annoying when they try to tell you that you are the one driving badly though!!
We arrived in Chengde, and had a couple of hours to relax before heading out to a restaurant where the food was really good! Four of us were at the table and each order something different and shared. Tom thought he had ordered strips of vegetables and meat - turned out to be squid! Brilliant!
We had some morning sightseeing lined up, and headed out to the Puning Temple, also known as the Temple of Universal Peace. There is an irony there. We got there before 8.30 am and it was already busy. Skipping the first couple of Buddhist buildings, I headed for the rear of the complex which meant we got ahead of the crowds, only to find the most beautiful wooden Buddha sculpture of the goddess of mercy. It is exquisite!! Without a doubt on of the best temples and sculptures that we have seen in China.
From there we headed out to the Summer Palace, where the Emperors of the Qing dynasty used to come to spend their summers as it is cooler than the temperatures in Beijing. I have to be honest, it was hideous!! You couldn’t move for the crowds, and the gardens were heaving with people. A few of us wandered around the lake, before admitting defeat (it is supposed to be relaxing and tranquil - it is anything but!!!) and headed out of the complex and into town where we found a drink and an ice cream. Much more relaxing!
Strangely enough, all of the worst parts of China have been the tourist attractions. The best part have been walking around the towns and cities, experiencing daily life and getting away from the horrendous tourist ‘highlights’. A bit of me loves the fact that so many of the Chinese population are interested in seeing their heritage, but a bigger part of me hates the crowds and commercialism of the different sites and ventures. The highlights of this trip have absolutely been the optional activities that aren’t on the main tourist trail, which to be honest is what we are about as a company. Admittedly the time of year doesn’t help as we are travelling through at peak season, but form all accounts it’s always busy!
Heading back to the hotel I caught up on some paperwork (translates into I fell asleep for an hour!). For dinner we headed out to find a night market, and discovered a food court. China is definitely best at night when the atmosphere positively buzzes. It was mainly skewers on offer, which always work out to be a little on the high side price wise but it was a pleasant evening and nice to sit outside while we had our dinner.
Best day in China yet!! We left Chengdu after breakfast, heading out to Jinshanling and the Great Wall. It is official - the Great Wall of China really is China’s best attraction, it is so impressive!! This particular section has been renovated sympathetically, there are very few tourists so it is possible to enjoy it and the surrounding areas, and it’s beautiful setting. Quite literally AMAZING! We initially headed out to the east and away from a cable car route to the wall, mainly because where there is a cable car there are usually a lot of Chinese tourists who don’t want to walk anywhere. The official route start by heading west, but we decided to explore and headed east. I had done some research and knew that the next section at S*** was closed for renovation, but it meant we had some very uninterrupted, un-renovated wall time, with overgrown sections, broken pathways and incredible views all to ourselves, until finally reaching a military barrier and a lot of razor wire!!
Heading back along the wall we found the main bulk of tourists from the walk we had come up to the cable car route, but to be honest it was quiet compared to everywhere else we have travelled inChina. To the west of the cable car the walking became more challenging and there were no Chinese to be seen, apart from the occasional drink and souvenir seller. It is an amazing place and the view of the wall just extending from one hill to another is incredible. the weather was over thirty degrees and humidity was high so we were sweating just being there, let alone walking. How they ever managed to build the wall was beyond our imaginations, but when you have an emperor cracking the whip behind you I guess anything is possible. Interestingly, one of our passengers came up with an interesting thought. What must the ‘enemy have thought when they first saw this impressive wall spanning the horizon? They must have dreamed of untold riches, and when they crossed the wall and found… more trees?
Tom was fed up of sweating so he proposed using the cable car to come back don. I was happy to return by walking, but he reckoned we should treat ourselves, so we did. It was a fun ride and we treated ourselves a little more at the bottom by enjoying a beer or two!
Off again! Turns out that all the best laid plans don’t always go quite as wanted. Ideally I would have flown back out to South America after Christmas, but due to a ridiculous length of layover in Atlanta which would have extended my travel time by an extra 24 hours, here I was with mum, first thing in the morning heading to Heathrow on Christmas day with a small scruffy dog for company.
The flight itself was surprisingly busy - as were the roads. Does nobody lie in for Christmas anymore? It was a smooth 9 hour flight to Atlanta, and I found myself sat next to a lovely lady who was heading to Atlanta to visit her sister for Christmas. The time passed quickly enough, until we reached American immigration which took forever. They were so slow that some of my fellow passengers missed their connecting flights to Dallas. Fortunately I was fine as I had four hours between flights, but I spent two hours of that time in the line for immigration. Merry Christmas guys!!
Successfully managing to leave Atlanta, having extended Christmas by 5 hours due to time zone changes, it was another 9 hours to Santiago but this leg was overnight. I can’t say it was the best nights sleep I have ever had, but I managed to get some and woke to perfect weather outside and glimpses of the Andes at sunrise, including a great view of Aconcagua as we passed. Fingers crossed in two weeks I’ll be up there!
The plane landed in Santiago at 9.30am - another time change form Atlanta but this time in the opposite direction. I had a few free hours between flights so I took the opportunity to take the city bus into the centre to offload some truck parts and work items that I won’t need until the end of January. Unfortunately it was too early for me to check my bags in for the Mendoza flight, so I had to lug them with me.
Travelling into the city centre, my excitement at being back was growing. I love the way of life out here, and a serious bonus after the grey skies of England are the beautiful clear blue skies and 35 degree temperatures. It is the middle of summer in the southern hemisphere after all. I stored the necessary items in the hostel that Dragoman use, and task completed I took the opportunity to relax for a while, enjoying the freedom from the confines of an airport before heading back to catch my flight to Mendoza. At this point part of me was wishing that I had booked the flight the following day, but I know I’ll appreciate just getting all of the travel over and done with and not have to worry about moving all of my bags again. Santiago is also a great airport as they go.
I managed to get a window seat for my flight to Mendoza which is nice and short, and the weather was perfect which gave magnificent views of the Andes. I was soon in Mendoza, luggage collected and welcomed by a representative from Inka Expediciones who helped me sort out the transfer to my hostel. Now, with hindsight, I actually think it was the owner of the company who I met later on, but I really can’t remember! I was good to get to my hostel, Hostel Lagares. It has good sized rooms, it’s clean, does a good breakfast and has really friendly staff. Importantly for me this time, it also has plenty of storage space which is just as well as I seem to have a LOT of stuff with me, in spite having dropped some of it off in Santiago. This expedition requires lot of kit on top of my usual work clothes!
After a welcome shower, I headed straight out to find something for dinner and to stop myself from falling asleep. It was good to be moving after the long flight, and I want to get myself on the new time zone as soon as I can. I found a great restaurant not far from the main square at Plaza Indepencia where I found the perfect bife de chorizo dinner (Argentine steak!!), cooked to perfection. It was a little on the pricey side, but I was too tired to look any harder and to be honest it was worth it anyway. By Argentine standards I managed a poor show and I was still in bed by 10pm, when most of them are just starting to eat. It’s going to take me a few more days to get onto that time zone!
An easy day planned - no excursions, just resting. I was up by 7.30am and showered. Even with air con it is still warm at the moment, especially after coming from an English winter. Such a contrast! My first task after a long and relaxed breakfast was to head up to the Inka office (and hope they were open on a Sunday) to hand over some money. Paying in cash saved me $250 so it was well worth it, but I don’t like looking after that sort of money without a truck to lock it in! It was about a half hour walk to the office, which I found without a problem and paid what I owed. On the way I passed two great stores - ‘Crack sports’ and ‘Maggot perfumeria’ - I love translations!! The lad at the Inka office suggested I have a look at San Martin parque so I walked another few blocks to find it. It was lovely, but as is typical of South America on a Sunday, being a recreational space it was being well used. I love the fact that they go out and enjoy it though. I spent a pleasant half hour sat by the park lake, before heading back to the town centre and plaza Indepencia to find some lunch (disappointing) and headed back to the hostel. I spent the afternoon relaxing, and actually doing some work as I’m sure I won’t want to put together my trip itinerary when I get back form the mountain.
I headed out again in the evening, but this time to meet ex-passenger Giles who was on one of my trips in India and Nepal last year. It was really lovely to see him and share some beers again. Also slightly insane as the last time I saw him we were both in Kathmandu. It’s a small world!
I woke at 6.30am again but stayed in bed - I am determined to reset my body clock! I had no plans for the morning so I took my time with another leisurely breakfast, and sorting my bags as I need to leave some things at the hostel. At lunchtime I grabbed my remaining bags (still far too much to carry) and headed out to find a taxi to take me to the expedition starting hotel, Hotel Aconcagua. A bit of four star luxury for once!! It is walking distance, but not with all my bags, it would have taken me hours, so I flagged a taxi.
I arrived at the hotel to find that Kari had already arrived. Kari was another old passenger who was on one of my trips two and a half years ago, who I know is also a mountain goat, and she had managed to arrange to come out to climb Aconcagua with me. It was really good to see her again, and we headed straight out to get some lunch and to have a bit of a catch up. A few empanadas, an ATM and some ice cream later, we were both happy. We headed back to the hotel to relax until 5pm when we needed to meet the guides and the rest of our group.
Our group consist of:
Manuel from Madrid
Pavel form Russia (attempted Aconcagua twice before, both times thwarted by bad weather)
Grace & NJ from Hong Kong
Stefan from Munich
Kari is Norwegian, and of course I’m British. A truly international group!
The guides are lovely too. Turns out, our lead guide, Heber, was the first Argentine to complete the Seven Summits, he summited Everest from the Tibet side without oxygen, and didn’t bother with a tent at the top camp. He is a machine! He has also summited Aconcagua 33 times. Respect! I feel we are in good hands! Federico is younger, only 26, but has still managed a few summits of Aconcagua and he has a lot of experience for his age. They both inspire confidence and know what they are talking about - that’s what matters!
Everyone had to hire a few items of kit, so we headed out to collect what we needed. It’s an expensive business getting kitted out for big mountains, and to be honest if you are not doing it all the time then it is a lot cheaper to rent as half of the gear will probably never be used again at lower altitudes. Once we finished hiring the gear, we dropped our items back at the hotel, said goodbye to our guides until the following morning and headed out together to find some dinner The only one who was a bit quiet was Stefan as his luggage was apparently still in Santiago. Everyone is hoping it will arrive in the morning, and we are delaying departure by an hour to allow it time to get to Mendoza. In all it seems like we have a really lovely group, but time will tell.
Kari and I spent our morning eating breakfast, enjoying the shower and then packing and re-packing. Our instructions were:
Duffel bag to base camp with all high mountain equipment
Another bag for Confluencia for two nights, to include sleeping bag and trekking gear for a couple of days.
Overnight bag for the hotel at Los Penitentes.
I had run out of bags as I have already left one in Santiago and another in the hostel. I have three left, including my day pack and a plastic hire bag. The now-empty plastic hire bag became my bag to be left at Los Pentientes hotel! We still seem to have a ridiculous amount of things, yet I know we will end up using them all. Every piece is essential, it just seems very unessential when it is 30 degrees outside and I am packing kit suitable for minus 30 degrees!!
We met our guides at 11.30am, unfortunately Stefan’s luggage hasn’t arrived so one of them took him to the hire shop to get kitted out as he opted to continue with the expedition. The rest of us headed to the office to sort out our $800 USD park permits - we are not allowed on the mountain without them, and they cover medical checks and helicopter rescue if needed while we are up there. We were also presented with Aconcagua T-shirts and Inka Expediciones buffs, and a map of Aconcagua and the different routes. Pretty cool, but i don’t feel I can wear the T-shirt until I have been on the mountain.
We piled into the mini van and and headed to Penitentes, stopping in Upsallata for lunch. We had steak - the flavour was great but it was heartbreakingly overcooked!! It was a massive lunch though. Arriving at Pentientes, we separated our pre-sorted bags as the mules will take them at approx 6.30am in the morning. It is stunning to be back in the mountains again and we have a great view form our room! Due to our late lunch, we also had a late dinner which turned out to be a three course meal, included in the trip price. It was very tasty but none of us were really hungry after our massive lunch - should have stuck to an empanada!!
Finally we reached our first trekking day!! I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to get going. We had a good breakfast at the hotel, before catching our transfer service to the park entrance at 10am. It was only a 10 minute drive, past the home of the mules which were at that moment carrying our bags to the required camp sites. We checked in at the park entrance, and finally sorted we started making our way up Horcones Valley which was a very scenic and relaxed walk in, although pretty windy at times and we got dust everywhere! We took our time and enjoyed it, taking about 5 hours with stops, so nice and gentle. the weather was lovely and sunny, and we had fantastic views of Aconcagua, Pyramides and Tolores mountains which was enough to distract us from the sand-blasting type gusts of wind that persistently hit us.
The camp at Confluencia is great. They have installed proper toilets with pipes - I was expecting long drops. They have great dome food tents and decent sized sleeping tents with bunk beds and sleeping mats. Very comfortable for a mountain! We had snacks on arrival and spent the rest of the day relaxing. There is a small ridge just above camp so I headed up to take photos - it was lovely to be up there all on my own for a few minutes! Plenty of food and snacks were provided, and as much to drink as we can handle - plenty of toilet stops resulted from that too.
Finally we reached our first trekking day!! I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to get going. We had a good breakfast at the hotel, before catching our transfer service to the park entrance at 10am. It was only a 10 minute drive, past the home of the mules which were at that moment carrying our bags to the required camp sites. We checked in at the park entrance, and finally sorted we started making our way up Horcones Valley which was a very scenic and relaxed walk in, although pretty windy at times and we got dust everywhere! We took our time and enjoyed it, taking about 5 hours with stops, so nice and gentle. the weather was lovely and sunny, and we had fantastic views of Aconcagua, Pyramides and Tolores mountains which was enough to distract us from the sand-blasting type gusts of wind that persistently hit us.
The camp at Confluencia is great. They have installed proper toilets with pipes - I was expecting long drops. They have great dome food tents and decent sized sleeping tents with bunk beds and sleeping mats. Very comfortable for a mountain! We had snacks on arrival and spent the rest of the day relaxing. There is a small ridge just above camp so I headed up to take photos - it was lovely to be up there all on my own for a few minutes! Plenty of food and snacks were provided, and as much to drink as we can handle - plenty of toilet stops resulted from that too. I introduced Doug to the team - a small demented mascot koala. He was an instant hit!
I like this expedition. We had breakfast at 8am, so you can tell you’re in Argentina. They don’t like early starts!. I’d had a variable nights sleep. The usual (for me) high altitude acclimatisation toilet breaks, times two, and a party on site made getting to sleep a challenge. And of course, everyone else was also making multiple toilet trips too. We were in a shared dome tent, the whole group together. Comfortable enough., so despite the disruptions I still managed to get 6 hours sleep.
After a good breakfast we headed up the valley to Plaza Francais. It was a steady fur hour trek up, taking our time, walking slowly with a lot of stops. I now have the reputation as the crazy English girl, as for most of it I was warm enough in T-shirt and shorts, until we hit the glacier and a cold wind picked up. Personally I think it’s an advantage to be a walking radiator when heading up a mountain!
It was a lovely walk to the viewpoint, following the glacier to the South Face of Aconcagua, where we paused for lunch. Returning the way we had come, it only took us two hours to walk back down the valley to camp for more snacks, before heading to the medical huts for a doctors check to ensure we are acclimatising. If you don’t make the parameters then you are out. I had a good blood oxygen level of 95%, a blood pressure of 120/80 and my breathing was fine. A good start, and a stamp on permit means I’m off to base camp at Plaza de Mulas in the morning. I would have been concerned if I hadn’t passed at this height, but with altitude you never know.
The weather was still warm and sunny, so I managed to fit in a quick hair wash despite it being 3,400 meters and 6.30pm. a beautiful spot for it, and there won’t be many opportunities after this.
New Year Celebrations took place throughout the day with such an international team. Shouts of Happy New Year China, Happy New Year Russia… (you get the picture). We had dinner at 8.00pm with a couple of bottles of malbec, and a parrilla . This is trekking in luxury! At 9.00pm our guides took us outside with the camp staff, and celebrated with champagne for an early New Year. After this we were supposed to go to bed, and some of the more sensible contingents of the party were very good and did what they were told. However, the wine and the champagne meant the party was just getting started. Some Polish guys were in a different team, but they came and joined us. They’d ordered in some beers, Freddie made some cocktails, the music was playing and the dancing started with flashing head torches for disco lights. It meant that three of us (and our guides who had given up trying to send Kari, Manuel and myself to bed) made it to the actual New Year.
We had breakfast at 7.00am before heading up the Horcones Valley towards base camp at Plaza de Mulas (4,300m). IT was a long, tedious walk up a relatively flat valley, trudging over loose and rocky ground, until the last section where we had a short steep incline which was the part I enjoyed the most. An element of care was required, but we finished the ascent in 8.5 hours (17Km) which was reasonable considering the altitude and terrain. Our lead guide, Heber, seems happy that we are a strong group. Our Chinese lass, Grace, was struggling a little towards the end, but she just stuck with it and kept going so credit to her.
At dinner we met the other half of the Inka Expediciones group, who left early to include an ascent of Bonete peak as additional acclimatisation. They seem really nice, but it was an odd dinner as three different languages were being spoken! I ducked out early, heading to bed to relax and catch up on my lost sleep from last night. My brain can’t cope with so many different languages when it is tired!
A rest day! We needed it too. Last night was incredibly windy and noisy, so we spent most of the night resting rather than sleeping. At 4.30m I had to psyche myself up for a dash to the toilet. We spend so much time drinking the end result is inevitable, and the night was so bad it discouraged me from drinking as much as I should have during the night which reflected in my blood oxygen content in the morning - it was down to 84%. Of course the extra height makes a difference, but the lack of hydration and sleep also contribute, and ideally it needs to be higher. My heart rate was also up form 80 to over 100. All a normal bodily response to altitude, but seeing the difference certainly gets you hydrating!, and we need to be consuming 6 litres of fluids a day (sadly not coffee or alcohol!).
Our rest day was also a day for final equipment inspection, checking over boots and fitting crampons with Heber, Freddie and Matthias, our new guide from the other half of the group. They also gave us hints and hints, and we had to practise setting up our tents in preparation for our high altitude camps. That part was a breeze!
After lunch (and 3.5 litres of water consumed in the morning) Kari and I headed out to explore base camp more thoroughly. The highest art gallery in the world is situated there, and Miguel the owner, was very lovely and give us mate, biscuits and we had a good chat. We agreed that if we manage to summit we will buy a painting. If we don’t, we’l get a postcard! he was so kind, he just gave us some postcard anyway! He kept asking us what we do. Kari gave the short answer first - a business consultant. Then it was my turn, and there never is a really short version as everyone is interested to know more about it I’m not complaining, but there it is.
We headed back to our tents to relax for the rest of the afternoon and to continue drinking before out medical check at 6.00pm. All was okay and my parameters are improving so operation acclimatisation is going well.
This was our first foray to our high altitude camps. We had packed snack bags in preparation yesterday, packing enough snacks in theory to get us to the summit. Our first ascent to camp 1 is for acclimatisation and to start moving equipment and food up the mountain. We packed our snack bags, and food for the next 6 nights to cover our summit attempt was split between the group. We set out in our plastic boots. Fortunately, apart despite being brand new (not ideal but they were hired) mine didn’t rub. It too us 3 hours 20 minutes to ascend to high altitude camp 1, Camp Canada. The guides had predicted 4.5 hours so we were climbing strongly. It had been fine too. Steep in places but I felt really comfortable.
The views from camp 1 are fantastic - you can just start to see the next range of mountains peaking over the top of Bonete. We arrive in tie for it to start snowing. One of the other ladies, Susan was shivering so I huddled with her to keep her warm while I ate my lunch. It worked!
The guides set up a tent, and we unloaded our snack and food bags, all ready and waiting for us when we return in two days. We then had the reward of scree sliding our way back down which too no time at all. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, playing games and passing the time. It was Sunday barbecue night, so another parrilla to enjoy. I’m not sure Im ever going to trek in a different place to Argentina again, we’ve been so spoilt!
Another interrupted nights sleep, and I felt tired this morning after on 3 quality hours sleep. the wind was just so noisy! Anyway, it was a rest day so it was a good days to have a bad night sleep. My oxygen check registered at 83%, probably as a result of poor sleep and not enough hydration so back to drinking again! My pulse is dropping every day though, so my body is acclimatising well. At 11.15am we had another medical check. My levels were back up to 86% so food and hydration were obviously helping.
I had a shower booked (yes, a shower) at 12pm and it was great. We get one free shower included in the trip, and as this was the halfway point it seemed an appropriate time to enjoy it. The shower is basically a 20 litre jerry can with a tap in the ‘shower tent’, which they fill with hot water. Use it wisely and it’s good for a hair wash and condition, and there’s even enough to shave your legs. Pure luxury! It was a good day for it - the conditions outside we terrible, it was snowing! and windy.
The wind dropped in the afternoon, so I took the chance to have a couple of hours sleep after lunch and felt much better for it. At 6.30pm our guides called a meeting. Due to the current weather conditions, and the weather forecast, we are going to spend one more night at Plaza de Mulas before heading to camp 1. Currently our three day summit window is showing wind speeds of 65 - 75mph which makes it impossible. However it can quickly change, so we will rest here for one more day and then heading up with a plan B, C D and E , plus tomorrow weather report to help. It’s not promising, but anything can happen and we just have to be flexible. Ironically on the 12th it is forecast to be much better. most of the group, myself included, are prepared to wait the extra day as having come so far it seems crazy not too. We will wait and see what happens though. the weather cleared enough for us to have an incredible sunset after a yummy dinner of soup, chicken and chocolate dessert, but the temperature has dropped a lot. More layers needed tonight!
So, another rest day. It began with a 9am breakfast. Yummy tortillas, cheesy snacks, eggs, toast and [porridge if wanted (no thank you!). To be honest, anything warm was good as we work up to a carpet of snow outside our tent. I was warm enough in my sleeping bag though which was reassuring.
Everyone hung around chatting as there were no plans for the day. Snow showers kept coming and going, although form lunchtime onwards one started and still hadn’t stopped by the time we went to bed. The good news in one respect is that we are moving to camp 1 tomorrow. It will need to be a rapid ascent, heading straight to camp 2 and then camp 3 to see if we can make a summit bid in our only window on the 9th January. Wind speeds prior to the 9th are 80mph, and again afterwards. On the 9th they are forecast at 65mph which will still be tough, but manageable, although all the harder for the rapid ascent and no rest prior to it. We have no choice at present and the plan will be reassessed again once we reach camp 2 in two days time. Things in the mountains change quickly.
Our rest day passed pleasantly enough. We have a lovely group of people who mix well, and we enjoyed passing the time chatting, drinking copious amounts of tea. I charged my camera battery in preparation for the next few days, and we watched our guides playing bad card tricks. NJ tried to teach me some Chinese, and i practised my Spanish chatting to our guides. In all, very uneventful apart from the snow. There wasn’t a sunset tonight, we couldn’t even see down the valley.
The day dawned, snowy and windy. I feel there is a theme to these days sent in base camp… Nonetheless we were psyched up to leave base camp and make our way to camp 1. It was a light snow shower, but we’d woken up with a small snow drift inside the porch of our tent, covering everything stored in there. Boots, bags, poles… brilliant! More frustratingly, it had banked up against the inner of our tent and melted with our body heat so my sleeping bag, rucksack an other items were wet. Argh! I knew I’d never get it to dry, but left my sleeping bag as long as In could, packing other items ready to head to camp 1.
Breakfast was at 8.30am, and we were due to leave at 11.00am. Our guides spent the morning checking the weather, and at 10.30am made the decision that we should stay at base camp as conditions were still poor, and it would be worse at 4,900 meters than at base camp. A fair call! A few of the groups were unhappy with it, but most of us felt it was a sensible and fair decision.
The weather did improve, and we were offered the chance to move in to a dome tent . I made the most of that as it was much easier to dry my damp gear, and it also meant we could pack up our tents today saving time tomorrow. We are definitely leaving tomorrow as there is a weather window on the 9th . It means it will be a really tough summit day as we will probably leave from camp2, rather than camp 3. That’s a really big day, but conditions at camp 3 are very bad at the moment so best we don’t sleep there anyway. There is time and it could still change though.
Tents packed away, we let off some energy by building a snowman and a snow mule before lunch and relaxing for the rest of the day. I am unused to the concept of doing nothing, it’s quite novel! A short siesta, read a book, chicken and chips for dinner, and an early night. It’s all about fuel and energy conservation now. We are acclimmatised - let the expedition begin!
D Day - the start of our high altitude expedition and summit attempt. The reality is that this is our only chance with current weather conditions. We had breakfast at 8.30am, then packed the last bits as everything was prepared yesterday. We all grabbed a packed lunch and set off at 11.00am, steadily making our way to camp 1. Our bags are a little heavier than our last walk to camp one and the difference was evident. Even so, it was okay, we just moved a little more slowly and conditions underfoot were a little worse. It was a little more energy sapping, and I’m not sure how I’ll manage when I have a full load including the food on our ascent to camp 2 too. Tomorrow will decide that for me. The walk up was broken in to four legs, with short drink breaks in between. For the first two legs I was stuck behind team members who walk up quickly and then stop, and then rush forward again. I can’t walk like that, it’s draining, and I prefer to get into a rhythm and not stop but just keeping taking baby steps so I gave them some space and coped better for it. Some of the team have hired porters to help carry their gear. I couldn’t afford that option, so it’s fortunate I’m strong enough to manage with my bag. Like I said though, tomorrow is unknown territory for me as I will be carrying approx 20Kg of gear at altitude. At 5,000 meters there is half the amount of oxygen that you can get at sea level. Camp 2, Nido de condores (Condors nest) is located at 5,400 meters, and we are already at 4,900m at Camp Canada.
Arriving at Camp Canada, Kari and I got on with setting up our tent. It was really windy so it was a mission - one of us had to hold it down, while the other one found large rocks to tie it to. We managed though, with a fair degree of hilarity, and our little tent is quite cosy. A snow shower started just as we were done, so we dived inside and had lunch before setting up our beds and having a little siesta until 4:30pm - snack time! I then braved the great outsides for a comfort break. The wind was blowing snow everywhere though, so I though better of it and resorted to a pee bottle in the porch where there was some shelter. Safe on my derriere than the elements outside! More rest, staying warm and eating. At 7:15pm we got our dinner call so headed outside armed with bowls, sporks, and our thermos flasks. A meaty stew and mashed potato was welcome and filling, and it almost stayed warm until I had finished which was a bonus! I took advantage of a break in the weather to get some photos as the scenery is simply stunning, looking back down the valley and over to Bonete Peak. This time it has a beautiful white covering of snow, so an new addition to the last time we were at this point. Our guides had also taken advantage of the weather to set up a toilet tent for us - number twos only, we were given a supply of poo bags, the ‘flush’ being to tie a knot in the top of the bag when done and dispose of it in another bag, so leaving it clean for the next person. On that note, we headed to bed!
We had breakfast at 8:30am, needless to say it was a much simpler affair than normal on account of the fact that we had to carry all the food up ourselves and not rely on mules to do it for us! Cake and biscuits this morning! We left camp at 11:00am, giving us the chance to pack our bags, including the extra food, pack our tents and fit our crampons ready for our ascent to camp 2, Nido de condores. It was tough going. The trail was steep, covered with snow and ice, and my pack weighed the best part of 20Kg, and the snow kept falling, being whisked up by the wind. I just kept a slow and steady rhythm throughout up the relentless ascent. This was definitely the toughest day we had dealt with so far.
Typical of big mountains, the higher you get the less cover there is for a toilet stop too. I did manage to find a small rock - I’m really sure that I should have bothered! Everyone was too tired to look anyway. We arrived at camp 2. Kari was travelling more slowly than I was, so I made a start on putting our tent up. The lads soon came to lend me a hand which was really nice of them seeing as they had paid extra for the porters to set up their own! We had some snacks before grabbing a couple of hours of sleep, followed by a pasta dinner. Inka have their own little domed storage and cooking tent at camp 2, so we had the while group squeezed inside which made it really cosy and warm, so we made the most of it while temperatures plummeted outside. They are set to drop to -30 degrees tonight so it’s unlikely to be a comfortable nights sleep. To give you an idea, going for a wee stop, it was freezing as soon as it touched the ground! Our planned summit attempt for tomorrow has changed, and we will be taking an extra rest day here as there are now wind speeds of 80mph predicted on the summit. The best opportunity is now the 11 January, so we will rest tomorrow, head to camp cholera, our final high altitude camp at 6,000m on the 10 January, and the make our summit bid on the 11 January. It’s our final chance before we run out of time and have to head back to Mendoza.
We had the most incredible sunset that I think I have ever seen this evening. The whole area is covered by snow, and it is possible to look right out over Chile to the Pacific ocean in the distance. The clouds were picking up the light and reflecting the most amazing vivid colours and highlights. If there wasn’t still a lot of mountain right behind me, I would almost have sworn I was stood on the top of the world, it was so dramatic and beautiful. There is nothing quite like the mountains for making you feel completely and totally insignificant, and it felt like such a privilege and humbling to be stood here and seeing this incredible landscape which most people will never have the chance to see.
Today was not our summit day! It was another rest day, and we’re becoming quite good at them. We had an incredibly easy start, enjoying our breakfast at 10:00am. Fortunately I only needed two wee stops during the night which probably just means that I haven’t been drinking enough. I ended up taking both my thermos flask and my water bottle into my sleeping bag last night to stop them from freezing, and it did at least mean I had a lukewarm cup of coffee this morning.
After breakfast we had a bit of time to dry the condensation from our sleeping bags, they were both soaked! We then joined Freddie on an hours gentle acclimatisation walk around the camp site, from where we could get a good view of camp 3 and the summit. It looks so close now - a mere 1462 meters above us, but the weather will dictate whether we get there. We generally have a strong group. Only one lass is struggling as we all have our doubts as to whether she will reach camp 3 at the moment, which would be a shame for her as she is a really lovely girl. A day can make a lot of difference though, but she’s not eating much and food is vital fuel at his height.
After our walk we enjoyed pizza for lunch - I never knew our guides were so talented! This was definitely the highest pizza in the world, and it tasted great. We were all set a task of collecting snow to melt for water, an almost incessant job and you can here the gas burners in constant use. If it’s not for producing water, then it’s for cooking food.
In the afternoon I wandered down to a rocky bluff to get a view of yesterdays ascent which had stayed hidden in a cloud for the entire trek up. If was beautiful, but steep, and I could see a few people making their way up, so slowly, shuffling their way up the slope. It brought back memories of yesterday, but today I’m feeling great!
Having managed to find a teabag and hot water, Kari & I got invited into the tent of two of our team mates, a Brazilian father and son who are absolutely brilliant. Elton, the dad, has been to Aconcagua on four previous occasions and summited twice.HE is now bringing his 19 year old son, Lucas. they are both lovely people, very welcoming, friendly and a lot of fun. Elton’s old guide form 22 years ago, and actually as it turned out the owner of Inka, Pablo, ‘popped up’ from base camp to see him. Crazy man! He brought beer with him, and hung around for half an hour before disappearing again. We spent the rest of the afternoon resting, eating and drinking (water, not beer!) before getting an early night in preparation for tomorrow.
Finally we set off to camp 3! Well, after breakfast and the usual breaking camp anyway. The guides wanted to leave at 11:00am, but we were slightly late as they needed to direct porters who arrived at 10:45 having come up from base camp. Those guys are machines! Fortunately my bag wasn’t so heavy today. I have managed to leave a few items in the dome tent to be collected on the way back down, and we had much less food to carry although I did also have the gas to manage for the group. Don’t lose that one! It was much easier, in spite of less oxygen! There was quite a lot of snow on the way up, but we didn’t need our crampons today, and it was simply a case of taking it slowly, slowly, as always.
We were following another group up for the first section who were travelling really slowly. They paused and I thought they were letting us pass, but then the dulcet sounds of retching travelled down the slope. Altitude strikes again! Rather than focus on negatives, I just kept on plodding along, feeling surprisingly strong and comfortable. the exertion and extra effort required to camp 2 has paid off, and todays trek was much easier.
We stopped for a couple of breaks on the way up, and a longer break at Camp Berlin, at 5,900 meters. We stay at a higher camp, but this one is also used as a starting point for the summit. With just another 100 meters of ascent to camp cholera, including an interesting scrambly section with a chain for safety as it can get so windy. The presence of two walking poles did their bit to complicate matters as I simply ran out of hands for poles and a chain, but with a bit of juggling (and cursing) I managed. the bigger hindrance was my woolly hat falling over my eyes so I couldn’t see, and not having a free hand to adjust it! I resorted to having to tilt my head back as far as I could to look under my hat, holding the chain in one hand and my poles in the other. These things are always so much easier to deal with when you’re not wearing mittens!
We arrived a camp cholera, and immediately set to work constructing our tent, and then lending our guides a hand with the toilet tent. we are now at 6,000 meters, an all time new high point for me, previously my highest pint was 5897 meters on Cotopaxi in Ecuador, and I’m feeling… great! Only another 960 meters to go to the summit, but with high winds forecast we need some luck on our side to get there. The plan is to be up at 3.30am, and ready to leave at 5:00am tomorrow morning, but fortunately only with a day pack. It’s usually a 10 hour trek to the summit, and of course then we need to get back again. We have a strong group. 12 clients, 3 guides, and we have all made it to camp 3 which is unusual in itself. I can’t wait for tomorrow!
Dinner was a boil in the bag chicken and rice dish, which is something that I really can’t get excited about (even at sea level) so I struggled a little to plough my way through it. If it wasn’t for the need for energy, I may not have bothered!
Summit day! We woke at 3.30am ready for our summit attempt, and it was so windy that the tent was knocking me on the head and the whole floor was moving like it was alive. At 4.00am we collected hot water form the kitchen tent, and I put my coffee cup down for an instant and it danced across the tent until I could hurriedly rescue it! Not the most promising start as our gear was reorganising itself around us. Nonetheless I felt good in spite of a night at 6,000 metres. We topped up our water bottles and we were ready to leave at 5.30am, slightly delayed form our initial leaving time due to the cold temperatures outside (it was minus 25 degrees inside the tent!).
Ready to leave, I was wearing practically every item of clothing that I had with me. Two base layers (top and bottom), fleece trousers, fleece top, primaloft coat, down jacket, Gore-tex jacket, Gore-tex trousers, liner socks, socks, plastic boots, gaiters, skin gloves, and mittens. Oh, and a wooly hat, head torch and walking poles. In my pack I had my crampons, one litre of cold water, a thermos of hot water, my camera, spare Gore-tex gloves, my climbing helmet, and Doug, my mascot koala. We needed the layers, the wind was really strong and bitterly cold.
The whole group headed up the mountain, climbing steadily to a saddle where we stopped to watch the sunrise and saw an amazing sight - the shadow of Aconcagua thrown across the mountains in front of us. It was incredible! And it really is so big that it has that effect. Also incredible was the sight of clouds of snow being whisked into the air and highlighted in gold by the sunrise. It was so beautiful, but also a warning of the conditions to come.
The terrain on the next section to Indepencia at 6,400 metres was much tougher walking, with some deep snow patches, ice, loose rock and scree, and strong winds constantly knocking us off balance. My sunglasses misted up from my rising breath under my balaclava (I forgot to mention those in my kit list!) and froze, which meant I couldn’t see a thing. I had to stop and clear them, and whilst putting them back on the wind whipped them off my face and down the mountain, fortunately at the feet of one of my guides who was able to return them to me. It’s too bright to go without up here. the gusts of wind were so strong that at time I just had to stand still until they eased as forward motion was impossible, and I found myself moving with a three point contact approach, which is slower but more stable. My poles were very useful as extra legs!
Reaching Indepencia I was feeling really good and strong, in spite of the energy sapping conditions. Unfortunately for us it was at this point that our guides stopped the expedition. They had radioed base camp to find that the summit ind speeds were 85mph, instead of the 65mph wind speeds predicted, and the next section of the trek, a traverse across the 45 degree angled slope known as the caneleta much more treacherous. It’s along way down!! This area is where some of the strongest winds are, and for safety reasons our guides made a sensible choice to end the expedition at this point. It was time to bid farewell to our summit hopes and head back to camp 3. Only one of the group decided to continue - it is his third attempt at Aconcagua and he always gets stuck at the same point. he is also Russian and has been training in minus 40 degrees… Our lead guide, Heber, agreed to let him try, but the rest of us felt that the risks outweighed the gains. It is only a mountain after all, and it will still be here for us to come back and try again one day. It was a good decision, as on our way back down one of our group was blown over, and I got spun around 180 degrees to find myself looking in the opposite direction by the same gust. A surprise for both of us!
It wasn’t a pleasant descent but it didn’t take us too long, and we arrived at our camp to discover that the wind had literally flattened our tents. Unsure whether we were heading straight back to base camp, we decided against trying to put our tent up again. Another tent had moved four metres but it was standing, so three of us packed ourselves in to wait there with her. We all stretched out and promptly fell asleep! Frederico came and woke us to give us an hours notice to pack our bags and tents ready to move to base camp. It was an effort in the wind and it took us ages, but we got it sorted. It too us only four hours to descend 1,700 metres to Plaza de Mulas where we were greeted with beer and fernet branca. Just before we arrived back Freddie received a radio message from Heber - they had reached the summit! As a group we were all really happy for him, but I was still happy that I had made the right decision for myself and I know most of the group felt the same. We celebrated our aborted attempt, and the success of Heber and Pavel, with dinner and wine, followed by ‘una mas', and ‘una mas’. The owner of Inka, Pablo, was there too as he knows Elton from his first attempt at the summit 22 years ago. He did a great job at keeping the wine flowing, and it turned into a full scale party, joined by members from different groups with music and dancing. NJ needed to be put to bed, and the rest of us kept going. It was a great evening, and finished at 12.30am, well after our usual mountain bedtime of 9pm.
We had a 9.00am breakfast which I did manage to drag myself to, and managed to eat too. Amazingly I was feeling okay. A fact that was even more amazing when we helped to clear up and discovered that we had drunk our way through 14 bottles of wine the night before! It was a good rest day though, and I treated myself to a shower at 11.00am (pre-booked) straight from a jerry can of hot water. It was magical, and it’s amazing how human it can make you feel after all the dirt and efforts of the previous ten days. I packed my duffel bag ready for transportation by the mules in the morning, and spent the rest of the day relaxing. Pavel and Heber arrived back at camp at lunchtime. They had descended as far as camp 3 last night, and made their way back form their. Pavel was understandably on a high and buzzing about the summit. Elton was preparing an official celebration party for tonight. We all got involved making posters and decorations for our food dome, and everyone pitched in $20 dollars to try and track down wine from every other expedition team on the mountain as we had drunk most of our supply the night before! We soon had enough to keep us going, plus 1.5 bottles of fernet, and Pavel had a celebratory bottle of vodka which turned out to be surprisingly good.
We had our dinner, moved some tables, got the music going and got the party started! As soon as the Inka staff had finished their jobs they came and joined us which was fantastic. Pablo then appeared with three bottles of champagne, more of which got sprayed around the tent than drunk, but it was a great night!
Lie in!! A full day in Salta to relax and catch up on all the little jobs that have built up in the week with no wifi. I booked the restaurant for the evening, and spent a while checking emails, answering queries and checking malarial zones for my passengers. There were also reports of strikes at the Bolivian borders (fortunately not ours) and into some of the cities so I made sure they weren’t going to affect our route. Sinead and I went for lunch on the main square and managed to change some dollars so I could pay the hotel and have enough money for a campsite tomorrow if we can’t find a bush camp (it’s a new stop on the trip so we don’t know where we are staying yet), and for food shopping. I don’t want to be stuck with a lot of Argentine pesos though so I didn’t want to change too much.
Ex-drago driver Juan came over in the afternoon to help Sinead find a few truck parts and filters, and I settled down to sort out my itineraries for the next two trips. I wasn’t really in the right frame of mind to do it, but once I got started I was fine - usual story!!
At 7.30pm I met the group and walked them out to our steak restaurant for their last steak in Argentina, Viaje Jacks. I love it there! Pete, who came and said hello at the hostel when he saw the truck yesterday also came to join us which was nice. It was a good dinner as always, great rump steak, grilled vegetables, salad, and cheesy potatoes, plus a couple of bottles of good wine. Juan also joined us, and we went for a drink afterwards. It’s always good to catch up with crew on the road, even if you haven’t ever met them and they aren’t currently working for the company! There was an amazing electric storm taking place over the mountains to the north where we are heading tomorrow, it was beautiful!
It was a really relaxed morning - we didn’t need to leave until 1pm so we took our time getting ready. Check out time was at 10.30am and I had arranged for the groups to load the truck and then we would go cook group shopping at the local market. The market is fantastic - much cheaper than a supermarket and I swear you can get nearly everything there. It’s great. Full of locals, places to eat, herbs and spices, fruit and veg, different meats, bread, dairy products, plus any other good that you might want to buy - shoes, bags, coca leaves… Passengers either thrive in this environment or they get really stressed and it is the first time this group have been let loose on a local market. They coped incredibly well and loved the experience. I then headed to the supermarket to stock up on a few bottles of good wine, and to get some cartons to make mulled wine on the altiplano. One of my passengers, Nikki, came and gave me a hand. Just as well as it weighed a ton and we still needed to take a taxi back as we didn’t trust the bags not to break!
We left on time and enjoyed the beautiful drive up to Purmamarca. It only take three hours, including a stop for fuel and ice cream. It was nice to be able to drive it in daylight as I all to often seem to have managed to drive it in the dark and it’s so pretty it is a shame to miss it. We reached Purmamarca and the President was in town. the camp sites we spotted looked horrible and the group were really keen for a bush camp, so we dropped them off to have a look at the mountain of seven colours and headed on up the road to find a bush camp. It literally only took us five minutes and we found a fabulous spot, following a gravel track up a valley. There was no one around, it was firm to park the truck, flat for tents and had incredible views and a local mountain for passengers to climb if they so wished. We unloaded the tents, left a couple of our passengers who hadn’t wanted to stop in town to set things up and keep an eye on things, and headed back for the rest of the group. After the group had seen the local campsites they were all delighted by our choice to bush camp, couldn’t believe the view and the mountain goats were straight up those mountains!! We even set up the toilet tent for our first time bush campers to add to their comfort. Tacos for dinner, and everyone settled down to watch another amazing electrical storm, a natural light show illuminating the clouds and mountains opposite which was stunning!
We had spent the night at Playa Blanca in our hammocks. Really good fun and such a change to being in a hotel. We took an early morning swim, and a fresh fruit breakfast before heading back to the truck and making our way back to Cartagena to get ready to meet our new group. We stopped en route to get the truck washed and to check the tyre pressures, before Rob and I headed off to do a few jobs. Mine was primarily finding a print shop to do a spot of colour printing. This is a moment when I am glad that my Spanish is better than it used to be as it turned out to be a bit of a mission, but at least I’m more than capable of asking people where to go now!
Jobs all done, Rob and I treated ourselves to a Juan Valdez coffee before heading back to the hotel to meet our group. First impressions are that they are pleasant and positive people, pleased to be here! A great start as far as I’m concerned, and they all joined us for dinner with the exception of Buck, a 70 year old American passenger who had been spotted leaving the building ten minutes before the rest of us. They all seem lovely and very keen to start their travels which is great! A few headed back to the hotel to recover from their jet lag, and I joined the lads for a beer or two. So the cheapest place turned out to be a street corner. Classy I know! Next moment I heard my name. Turning, I saw Paul, one of my guides form the Inca Trail in Peru. He is in Cartagena on holiday with his American girlfriend. A very small world!! The lads also managed to purchase a scorpion sculpture, nicknamed Bert. It is pretty horrific, but he is our new truck mascot!
The group headed off on their city tour of Cartagena. Having done it only a week ago I opted to get some work done, mainly photocopying their passports and sending in pre-trip information. Not very exciting but essential. We had offered the group the chance to go to Playa Blanca in the afternoon as we now know it is so easy to go by truck. Meeting at lunchtime, I was surprised but pleased when all of them turned up - usually someone wants to explore something different so this was a good sign. Off we went, and everyone enjoyed the chance to swim in the Caribbean Sea, relax, sunbathe, try some local cocktails and generally mix and get to know each other. Alfonso appeared and stayed with us for the afternoon until we headed back to Cartagena.
Arriving at the hotel, the first person we met was Dennis. He had arrived a day late so it was good to meet him. He had previously been on a truck with Rob in Central Asia so at least there was some familiarity there We headed out for dinner again, before stopping in a salsa bar on the way back to the hotel. Great hilarity ensued as we strutted our best salsa moves, and then some of the locals took us by the hand and showed us how it was done. A lot of fun!
So we had an easy morning, rolling out of our respective truck bed at 8am. It is only a short drive to Istanbul from Edirne, so we knew we had no need to rush. It was our first chance to get onto wifi since we had left the UK and I was busy doing a spot of catching up - two passengers haven’t managed to get their visas for Turkmenistan. Euan suddenly piped up - there was a bombing in Istanbul at 7.30am, close to the location of our hostel. At this stage it was 7 people dead and 33 people injured. Needless to say those figures changed as the day went on. I immediately messaged mum to let her know I was fine, and then the office to see what the game plan was going to be. We were suddenly very aware that we literally only have two days to try and get messages out to our passengers, and many of them will already be en route or even in Istanbul already. We knew the office wouldn’t pick anything up for another hour, so we headed on into Istanbul and the truck workshop which is well away from the problem area.
We stopped for lunch just before we got there - good job as it turns out that Ramadan started yesterday and there wasn’t anything happening in terms of food around the workshop! I had a message from the office suggesting that we all try to find an alternative hotel. By this time had more reports about the bombing - it was a very targeted attack on a police vehicle, the bomb being a car packed with detonators and set off by remote control as the police bus went past. Euan and I were discussing the options, and both agreed that potentially the best option is for us to meet our passengers in the hostel as planned, tell them to grab some lunch and then head out of Istanbul straight away instead of spending a night there. We relayed this to the office - no further bombs had gone off during the morning. Sadly this is certainly not a guarantee that there won’t be more.
We took Archie to a tyre place to get his alignment sorted out as he is a little out, before heading to a supermarket to get some decent pots and pans, cups, plates, bowls and other items for the kitchen. We then spent the rest of the afternoon sorting him out - getting tents on the roof, loading the gas bottles in their racks and sorting out all of the little jobs ready for our passengers. All that is left is for us to fill the drinking water tank and get him washed tomorrow.
It was nearly 7.30pm by the time we were done. I had a very welcome first shower in five days in the truck workshop - lots of hot water. Just as well, it is freezing here at the moment! Turkey in June is supposed to be 28 - 30 degrees. It is closer to 18 degrees and really windy - warm clothes are definitely on! It’s stark difference from being here 12 months ago and I’m starting to think I’ve packed the wrong wardrobe. I was expecting to be using my sleeping bag liner - instead I’m snuggled up in my four season sleeping bag!!
Bad news! We got up and I finished sorting out the kitchen equipment while Euan greased the truck - only to find an oil leak. It was the head gasket. Fortunately it decided to go in Istanbul where we can get something done about it, and the boys in the workshop didn’t waste any time. The engine was out before the end of the day and the part was ordered. As we had a meeting with our new passengers scheduled for 10am in the morning, I took a taxi into the centre to the hostel in the late afternoon. A few of my passengers were already there and I spent the evening with them, having a drink and dinner in the bar. The staff were really welcoming and pleased to see me back, and it was nice to be back. The street is really quiet though, bad news for them in peak season and they are not being helped by the Euro cup and Olympics in Rio later this year.
We were up at 6.30am after a noisy nights sleep. Our layby turned out to be next to a major road junction and the trucks were thundering by all night long! No problem, there was a poor excuse for coffee from the machine and a reasonable toilet in the neighbouring fuel station so enough to keep us going. We headed out on the mountain road, which turned out to wind it’s way alongside a large river, down through a gorge cutting it’s way through the Carpathian mountains, and it was beautiful. The road was also a lot better than we had expected, and we had reached Bucharest in double quick time! Well, at least two hours faster than potentially anticipated. It was less than an hour to the border once we located the right road - the smallest ringroad in existence and minus any real signs. All part of the challenge!
The border to Bulgaria was quite straight forward, albeit busy. the longest delay was crossing a large bridge (great views!) to get to the border, and mainly because cars kept deciding they didn’t need to wait, scorching down past all the trucks and buses, only to realise the bridge is two way (doh!) and they were blocking oncoming traffic so had to push in… frustrating! The authorities ought to fine everyone who does it and they would soon stop! They aren’t even in the same lanes as us at the border so there is no need for them to try and get ahead of us. Restoring our faith in humanity, at the border another truck driver took it upon himself to show us where to go, translate for me and even helped us sort out the road tolls for Bulgaria afterwards. It was lovely of him and he delayed his own trip to do it which is most unusual.
We stopped for lunch after the Bulgarian border - a great little roadside cafe. Great food for a low price - we must be heading east! Admittedly I won’t be saying that when we reach Turkey though! the drive through the north and centre of Bulgaria is very pretty - much prettier by far than the southern route. As a general rule the route we have taken is much prettier and more interesting than the route I used last year with Tom, but it is a little slower. Sadly it won’t stay this way. The infrastructure is being built to put in more motorways, which although fast, are much less interesting to drive as you never have the chance to see the real country villages and way of life as you pass by.
Stopping at another services we made the decision to push on to the Turkey border today. We passed nearly 6Km of truck en route to the border, but there was only two buses ahead of us so we didn’t have too long to wait to exit Bulgaria. Fortunately for us both buses had stopped to let their passengers visit the duty free before starting the Turkish border so we were able to skip ahead of both of them and start border proceedings. This was much slower. No problem with us, but the truck customs took us a while for no apparent good reason except that it was dinner time! No worries, we were patient and they eventually waved us off. Happy days! We headed to the next service station where we found an empty car park for the first time in Europe - probably because the trucks were all still queuing to try and get in!
No news from Euan about Archie, but I remained hopeful, and simply explained to my passengers that we were waiting for a part to arrive. As soon as it is fitted Euan will come on in to town and join us for dinner in the evening. The group seem good, a nice mix of people and ages so I’m hopeful it will be a good trip. I got back from the meeting to find a message form Euan - the job was done and he was already heading in to the centre. I knew he would still be a while so I joined a few of my passengers for lunch in the centre and took the time to get some money changed. It was quiet through the centre too, although Ramadan may have something to do with that, and not just the bomb two days ago.
Getting back to the hostel, Euan had arrived so we went to have a quick look at Archie, and then decided we had earned ourselves a beer after our drive across Europe, bombs and breakdowns! We found a restaurant opposite the hostel with outside seating and relaxed for the afternoon, before joining out passengers for dinner in the rooftop restaurant of the hotel where I had a very good chicken casserole. Not a typical dish but it was yummy!
A BIG drive day - this group are already excellent on time keeping though, as they were all in reception and ready to go well before 5am. The receptionist was lovely - he had breakfast rolls ready for us, and the coffee was on. Perfect! Jumping into taxis, we headed down to the truck. Everything was ready and loaded before 5.30 am, the weather was perfect (a big improvement on last year when it was ridiculously heavy rain) and we were on our way. It is always worth leaving a big city early, and we beat the worst of the traffic. The roads were actually empty until gone 6am, but if we had left it another hour it would have been a nightmare.
It was an easy drive, and the group were incredibly quick on the toilet stops which makes a really nice change! We took a different route toe get to Goreme which was 20 minutes faster overall, and meant we weren’t on motorway for the entire journey. The only drawback was finding lunch, especially as it was Ramadan, a fact that I had overlooked. Fortunately we found a greta restaurant which only had 3 items available on it’s menu, but brought out all the complimentary mezzes and Turkish tea so we ate really well, and the food was excellent. It was next to an old bridge, and as we were doing well on time we took another half an hour to walk down and take some photos. Good for the sanity on a long drive day, and I think it’s important to actually see a bit of the country that we travel through. All too often I find we don’t necessarily have the time to stop and explore, so while we have the long daylight hours and a keen bunch it is nice to find the time to see a place if we get the chance.
It was only another three hours to Goreme from lunch, and we arrived in good time. We headed to Fat Boys restaurant for dinner, where I had Govac, a Turkish beef stew which was really good, and a number of my passengers tried the local speciality of a pottery kebab - served in a sealed pot, it is broken around the top with a small hammer at the table, and eaten from the pot. Some of my passengers were hot air ballooning the following morning so they headed to bed early. Euan and I decided we were just going to enjoy some peace and relax after a long drive day so ended up in the bar until it closed.
A fairly early start , we had breakfast at 7.00am, but we were treated to perfect weather, blue skies and clear views. We sat in the orchard of the camp site eating our breakfast, it was a treat to be here. It did’t take us long to pack up and get going, waving goodbye to Jesse, and heading back down the valley. We opened up the roof seats so everyone could enjoy the incredible views, impressive rock formations and striations, plunging into the valley and almost dry river bed below. It is one of the most impressive pieces of landscape scenery that we drive through. The locals couldn’t believe their eyes though - seeing eight heads popping out of the top of the truck, they must think we are completely crazy! We made a brief stop at the suspension bridge we there were a few young lads trying to sell pony rides, and sell spices, before continuing down the valley to the main road, and on our way through the beautiful countryside. We made a local stop for tea and toilets en route to Gobustan, where we enjoyed the usual incredibly bumpy road to the mud volcanoes. We stopped for lunch at the bush camp I used last year, before walking on up to the volcanoes themselves. Still curious, the collection of mud volcanoes is an extraordinary sight at the top of the hill. Completely cold, the mud bubbles away with gas. I tried sticking my arm down one - all the way past my elbow, it continues to infinity!
From the volcanoes we headed to the petroglyphs. The museum is excellent and it has been expanded since we were here last year. Continuing to the petroglyphs themselves, the ticket man remembered me from last November when he had leant me his hat as it was so cold! The temperatures were finally soaring and reaching the heights that I had expected from Istanbul. Whilst waiting for my passengers I made a call to our Baku fixer, Roya, to give her our approximate arrival time. This is always a mission as her English is pretty poor, but she gets things done. After a fairly confusing conversation, I sent her a text to confirm our arrival time and location. This immediately resulted in another call which was just as unclear as the first one, but left me relatively confident that we would find her on arrival.
We continued to Baku, stopping for photos at the Bibi Hayet mosque where they were doing the cal to prayer (in tune for the first time), overlooking the oil fields used in James Bond and with views out to the city centre and Caspian Sea. The drive into the centre was fantastic. We had missed the Formula 1 racing by one week, and the track was still set up and we found ourselves driving down it. Very cool!! We pulled up outside Maiden Tower and sure enough Roya had a guy waiting for us. I established which hotel we were heading to, and then the guy joined Euan to the port which has changed location since last year. Fortunately the hotel hasn’t and I knew where to go with my passengers. Now this hotel is very Faulty Towers which is hilarious and frustrating in equal measures. I had pre-warned my passengers it would be like this so fortunately they were all patient while I spent 20 minutes sorting out the rooms.
Finally sorted, Euan arrived and we headed to a pub with a couple of our passengers to have a well-earned beer and a bite to eat. Unfortunately there was no one in customs to stamp the truck out at the port, but we had until 11am the following day so there was no immediate pressure. We enjoyed the drink and the chance to relax. Tomorrow will be a new set of challenges to try and organise the ferry.
We had a whole day in Baku - not that it was going to be a quiet one for Euan and myself. Euan had to head down to the customs with our fixer in order to get the truck stamped out of customs before 11am, leaving me to sort out the group. The first thing I did was to take the group for an orientation walk as the old town is such a labyrinth and the maps available really weren’t great. I helped to show them the ATM’s, although the money exchange I have always used is now closed. Not to worry as the reception can help, but it was a very useful facility to have. From the centre we headed back to Maiden Tower so I could get the group organised for their audio city tour. Leaving my passport for security, and arranging to collect it in three hours time, I got a call from Euan saying he was all done so we met up and headed to the supermarket to get emergency supplies in case we needed them on the ferry crossing. This basically entails stocking up on cereal, pasta and rice as there is a chance we won’t get fed, although we are meant to be! Last year we had mouldy bread for breakfast and a cup of tea. Cereal is essential in this sort of scenario! It was a lovely day, quite hot but still good for a walk so we opted to walk along the sea front to the supermarket, stopping for a coffee en route. Form the supermarket it was less than another ten minutes to the port - fortunately a different one to the port we used last year and much closer to the old town. We were allowed in without a problem, packed away our supplies and by chance knocked on the ticket office door. Surprisingly Vika answered. Surprising as it is a public holiday so I didn’t expect her to be in. Anyway, she asked us to come back at 11am the following morning so she could sort out tickets for us. Perfect!
We headed back to the old town, withdrawing as many US dollars as possible en route as there are no ATMs in Turkmenistan and very few in Uzbekistan. I don’t want to get caught out without any cash! I collected my passport and we headed to the same bar as yesterday for lunch, before heading to our hotel to get out of the midday sun. It was starting to get hot! I spent the afternoon getting up to date on paperwork and accounts as I know that it will all get a little bit crazy when we start paying ferry fees, so it is good to know everything balances before we start that side of things in the morning. I left a note for the group letting them know that we will be purchasing tickets in the morning so there is a chance that we may sail tomorrow, and asking them to be available at 1pm the following day for updates
After the day I wanted a quiet evening, so declined to join the group who were heading to a pricey but nice restaurant, and instead Euan and one other passenger, Andy, joined me in the hunt for a kebab. It didn’t take us long to find a place. Cheap and cheerful, and really tasty! From there we headed to the seafront for an after dinner beer, enjoying the lights of Baku.
We had a fairly relaxed morning, a leisurely breakfast before leaving at 10am to wlak down to the ferry port. We stopped at the supermarket again en route as a lass on the trip has her birthday tomorrow and we wanted to find a cake for her. Fortunately they had a good selection for a reasonable price. We noted it and decided to wait and see when we were going to sail before buying it.
Arriving at the ferry port for 11am, Vika asked us to wait for another 30 minutes. We went for a stroll across the port and got escorted back by a couple of officials. Apparently we aren’t allowed to walk around, we have to stay by the truck or ticket office. Not that there was a sign anywhere to tell us that, but no worries. They were very nice about it. We returned to the truck, by which time Vika was ready for us to sort eh tickets for the ferry and space for the truck. She took all of the documents and told me she would shout once she as done. We waited, and waited. Still no updates on the actual departure time. At 12.30pm I had to go as I needed to meet my passengers, so I went to speak to Vika. She finally confirmed that we would be sailing that evening and asked me to bring everyone down in a few hours. The tickets and truck space would be sorted out by then. I paid for everything and it was all systems go!
We dashed back to the supermarket to buy the cake, before jumping in a taxi as we knew we wouldn’t get back to the hotel in time for 1pm if we didn’t. Meeting my passengers, I asked them all to grab some lunch and last snacks, and asked them to meet me at the hotel at 3pm, ready to head to the port. I dashed off to grab some lunch and withdraw as many dollars as I could before we left, then spent the remaining time chasing an Uzbekistan Letter of Invitation for a visa extension for one of my passengers who hadn’t managed to get his Turkmenistan visa for reasons unknown. Fortunately we got the reference number through ten minutes before we had to leave. Nothing like taking it to the wire!
Anyway, at 3pm we headed to the taxi rank and squeezed ourselves in to three taxis to take us to the port. On arrival I collect the tickets and documents, and then we were sent to customs. It turned out that customs wasn’t in the building that we had been waved to, and it was fairly uncertain where it actually was. In the end we were told to get into the truck and drive to customs. This was great but we still had no idea which building customs was in, or where we were meant to be heading. Archie had also been blocked in by by two cars, which took 20 minutes to move. All in a days work. We drove blindly through the port which we hadn’t been allowed to walk through the previous day. There were a lot of restaurant signs so we knew where to go for lunch, but passport control was another matter. In the end we found it in a portacabin next to the ferry. It took a while to get everyone stamped out,and then they wanted to scan everyones bags. Once this was done we were finally allowed to drive on to the boat (5.00pm) and find our cabins. It was such a difference to last year! The cabin lady, Ula, was really lovely. all the beds where prepared with clean sheets, fleecy blanket, pillow and pillow cover. She showed us the toilet and the shower, and gave me all of the information about meal time. Smiling and laughing, she was really lovely! A much nicer reception than the angry Russian lady on board last year.
We waited for other trucks to fill the spaces on the boat. Dinner was served at 7.30pm and it was very reasonable - past and chicken. We had already decided to celebrate Daria’s birthday a night early as we didn’t think her cake would survive until the next day, and we were well stocked with Georgian wine which went down very nicely. She did get subjected to the bumps, which she had never heard of, and neither had the other truckers judging from their reactions!! We finally sailed at 9.15pm, so a reasonable time. Celebrations were in full swing and everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves. It was good to relax knowing that from this point until we reached land in turkmenistan, there was literally nothing else we could do.
I took some of the group out to see the Akhal Tepe horses at the Akhal Tepe stud in the morning. Interesting to see, they are similar to Arabs, but famous for their coat which changes colour throughout the day. This year for the first time, the breed has sufficient numbers that Turkmenistan can actually start to export them, but if you want to buy one then it will set you back a cool $1 million for a breeding stallion. I was lucky and managed to get a cheeky ride on one. Had to be done, even though I was in flip flops and minus a hat!! But seriously, when am I going to get that chance again?
Running out of time ( I could easily have wasted another hour there), we headed back to meet the group and to head to the Russian Bazaar to do our cook group shopping. Unfortunately it turned out to be closed for cleaning! No problem, we found enough shops surrounding it to buy what we needed, and a coupel of places were open for us to get some lunch.
At 3pm we drove to the Darvasa gas crater, which took just over four hours. The road is just as bad as I remembered! Really bumpy, but no pot holes. The temperature still hasn’t been as extreme as we had last year, but it’s still hot! It was good to have moving air while we travelled. We spotted a couple of camels as we drove which broke up the never ending view of desert. Getting in to camp, Euan showed our new passengers how to set up the tents, while I started getting the kitchen set up and got on with dinner. Euan and I had decided it was time to set the standard higher than we’ve had to date. Better portions and more variety. It was meant to be burgers but due to the bazaar being closed we ended up with macaroni cheese and salad!! Never mind, it went down well.
Our jeep to the gas crater had arrived, so after dinner I sent groups off in shifts to see the ‘Doorway to hell’, five at a time. Euan and I took the chance to go in the last jeep as there was space. I’m glad we got the chance to go. There is a problem with locusts in Turkmenistan this year, and hundreds of them were literally dive bombing the gas crater to crisp themselves to little crunchy things. Very odd to watch a locust committing suicide! The crater is still as spectacular as ever. By the time all the groups were done it was nearly 11.30pm so time to get some sleep. I crawled onto the roof of the truck and enjoyed the watching the stars for a while before going to sleep. Bear in mind, I’m as blind as a bat so I need to keep my glasses on in order to see the stars! Most inconvenient as I can’t just fall asleep!
We broke camp and headed off at 8am. Everyone was up early due to the heat, but I didn’t want to leave too soon as it was going to be just as hot at our evening camp, and there is no shade there so better to leave later before the heat really set in, and arrive later too.
The road bumped along in it’s usual fashion, and we spotted a few more camels en route. Temperatures reached 38 degrees, but is felt hotter. Amazingly we found a spot of shade underneath a bus shelter for lunch which did the job brilliantly. It was literally the only shade we found all day! The road after lunch deteriorated, with pot holes inside potholes, it was impossible to travel faster than 20kph. There was only one good piece of road where they have built a brand new bridge - but the road leading up to the bridge and away from it was nothing but rutted sand track!! Then it was back to potholed broken tarmac. We managed to find a small shop for ice creams and cold drinks, and Euan transferred a little fuel to get us to Kunye Urgench.
We arrived at the ruins at 5.30pm, and Rusty took the group for their guided tour while we headed off to fill up both diesel tanks in preparation for crossing to Uzbekistan in the morning. It is almost impossible for us to purchase diesel inUzbekistan due to shortages as they do not produce enough for their needs. Well, they do, but they sell it to neighbouring countries leaving themselves short! Not that this can be admitted too! Anyway, while we were there we explored a couple of tracks down some river banks, finding a better spot than the one we used last year. Just as well as it turned out it had been closed off! It was a lovely spot on the river - sadly we had to pass a lot of fly tipping to get to it, but it was worth it once we reached camp. We had made a quick stop to stock up on beers and cold drinks again before heading to camp. It meant it was a late dinner, but at least it was a bit cooler on arrival.
My Indian passenger, Lakshmi, made a chicken curry which was excellent and it made a refreshing change for the taste buds! We had left over bread which was transformed into garlic bread, and everyone enjoyed the meal. It was excellent!
Khiva!! The beautiful walled city of Khiva. It actually only dates back to the 18th century, but it still displays beautiful tiled madrassas, mosques and minarets. They have a 40m high minaret which never got finished. Completely tiled, the minaret was supposed to be tallest in Uzbekistan, but legend has it that the builder heard that once it was completely the Khan planned to kill him so he couldn’t build a larger minaret in another city - so he ran away!
I joined Jalol for his morning city tour. I hadn’t planned to, but he’s such a good guide and it’s Khiva!! the old city has such a lovely ambience. Since I was last here I have read ‘A carpet ride to Khiva’ which is a great book, and it meant that the carpet shop that we visit had much more relevance to me on this occasion. I highly recommend it if you ever want to get an insight into Uzbekistan, as it gives a lovely description of the way of life out here.
It was getting hot. The hottest two places in Uzbekistan are Khiva and Bukhara. The temperature has been on the increase since we left Ashgabat, and they are now in the range I had expected since docking at Turkmenbashi, which is basically over 40 degrees! After the tour and lunch I went to ground for a couple of hours, to avoid the worst of the heat, before venturing out agin later in the evening for dinner. We gave our passengers free time, and Euan and I found a restaurant to ourselves as we have been in close proximity to passengers every night since Baku. It was time for a break! Of course, even the best laid plans go awry and while we were waiting for our dinner half of the group appeared. It really wasn’t a problem as they are a lovely group, but some time out will have to wait for another evening.
Today was probably the drive day that I was least looking forward to. It is a long 10 hour drive to Bukhara, it is getting seriously hot, the wind is just a hot blast of air through the window, similar to the blast you get when opening the door of an oven but it just doesn’t abate. The road is generally terrible, cutting it’s way through the Kyzylkum desert, although a lot of work on one of the sections had been completed since last year which saved us about an hour in driving time. The are very few places for a lunchtime stop and we reached ours just before 12pm, so we had made good time. The little lunch stop is basic but reasonable with shashliks, laghmans soup (noodle soup), salads and bread. Sufficient for our needs!
We reached Bukhara at 4.30pm which gave everyone the chance to have a short rest before heading out on an orientation walk through the labyrinth of streets from the hotel to the main square in Bukhara. The group split and headed in different directions. I headed to an old restaurant that I gave been to before. Sadly, although the menu was unchanged the food was so they must have changed the chef and it was disappointing after last year, because the food used to be excellent and good value. There’s another struck off the list! .It was still a pleasant evening sitting on their roof terrace for dinner though, and Euan and I rounded the evening off with a cheeky beer in the bar on the way back to the hotel.
Bukhara! It’s a beautiful city. And I had a very comfortable bed which meant I didn’t get up to join Jalol on his city tour. No matter as I have done it before, and sometimes it is just as important to get some rest. It was also completely dark in the room so for the first time in weeks I wasn’t woken up by the sunlight. I didn’t spend all morning in bed though, I still got up at 8am for breakfast and pottered around getting myself organised, making sure I was up to date with all the little things that needed attention.
By 10am I went to get something from the truck and it was seriously hot, so I went to ground in my air-conned room, and took the chance to back up some photos. Later in the afternoon (I don’t think it was any cooler) I went for a walk around Bukhara, heading to a great little coffee shop where I found one of my passengers and joined her for a drink.
Jalol had arranged a plov night for us with a local family, which you can only book through local guides. It’s impossible to simply walk in off the street. Plov is the local dish of rice, carrots, onion and beef or lamb. It’s very good. This one was also served with small quail eggs for decoration, and the food. The family also had a number of different suzanis on display. A suzani is basically needlework, and some of them were beautiful. Typically the one that I liked was $350!! Maybe not!
I decided to go exploring in Bukhara today. In my last two visits I hadn’t taken the opportunity to see the Zindon prison, so with the company of one of my passengers we headed out to explore. It was very interesting, very small, and a very short visit!! With literally four rooms, plus one for the prison guards, it was a tiny prison!! There was some interesting information though. One of the cells was known as the bug pit, where they kept their most infamous prisoners. The only way down into the bug pit was down a 6m rope, where prisoners would be left with rats and other creepy crawlies in the dark. Back in the 18th Century, during the Great Game, a British prisoner was kept here for three years, before being marched to the front of the Ark, forced to dig his own grave and then beheaded. Lovely! There were also stories of prisoners being given 21 lashes for not doing their ‘dutiful daily prayers’. Anyway, it took us about 20 minutes to look around, and that was pushing it! Just outside the market we found a carpet sales place with carpets as tall as buildings, and right next door there was a Sunday jewellery market which was absolutely buzzing! Great fun to see, and this is obviously what the local ladies like to spend their money on! We decided to go for an iced coffee where we found three other passengers, before heading back to the hotel because one of my waifs and strays was due to arrive at midday having finally managed to get her Uzbek LOI and visa. We made a brief stop at a blacksmiths on the way - fascinating to watch him work!
Back at the hotel I discovered Laurel had already arrived, so after half an hour to recover from the heat and enjoy some air con, I joined her for lunch and to show her around Bukhara as I knew she would never manage to find everything by herself and having made so much effort to get here, it seemed a shame for her to miss out. Now I am definitely a far cry from Jalol, but at least I know where to find things and I was able to give her some brief background on them. We explored the Jewel of Bukhara, with Ismail Samani mausoleum, before visiting the irrigation museum, the Ark and the Juma mosque, and the Kalon minaret, madrassa &mosque, and the Uleg Beg madrassa, before heading for another iced coffee and cake. By this time Laurel was shattered and I was hot! It was time to call it a day, but we had visited the majority of the sights.
I had been back for about half an hour before Euan came to find me to see if I wanted to join him and Andy for a beer at the pub. A cold beer after a hot day seemed like an excellent idea, and we ended up eating our dinner there too. I went for manti, which is basically dumplings, which were very tasty.
We left Bukhara at 8.30am, heading towards Nurata. After an hour we made a stop at a small family ceramics workshop, where the owner, Abdullah, showed us around. He has an interesting ceramics and suzani museum there, and they still grind the materials once a month using their donkey! Getting back in the truck, temperatures had already hit 46 degrees, the hottest day yet. Even so, compared to the trip last year this has been a relatively easy run with the temperatures compared to last year.
We continued short distance further, until we reached an old Karavan Saray, and irrigation system. The ‘well’ is about 15m deep, approx 15m in diameter, and when constructed it would have been made with felt, and bricks to filter the water o it was suitable for drinking. Very clever and very cool! There is still water in it today, although it is no longer suitable for drinking.
We continued to Nurata. The high temperatures meant that Archie was in danger of over-heating going even the smallest of inclines which meant he needed some careful driving, until we crossed a ridge when suddenly it felt much cooler (in reality it dropped by two degrees!). Reaching Nurata, we headed for lunch with a local family. This is as close to a homestay as we can get for registration reasons in Uzbekistan, and it a chance for passengers to get a feel for local life. The food is also excellent!! It was a range of salad dishes and fresh bread, followed by beef and potatoes. Really good! when then had the chance to see their suzanis which are an excellent price. This time I decided to buy one, and so did a lot of my passengers. The ladies had a good day!
From there we headed to see the Alexander fort and the holy fish where you can make a wish, before driving for another hour to the lake for a swim. Nothing can quite describe how good that lake is! Unfortunately we need to take another track to the lake form last year. The swimming spot is actually better, but the sand is deeper which actually made driving in and out more fun and challenging, and we nearly got stuck. Fortunately we avoided it, but only just!
We headed on to our yurt camp at 5.30pm, which is a great little place. There was only one other lady there, so we largely had it to ourselves which was lovely. Most of the group enjoyed a camel ride - it only take fifteen minutes, but it’s quite pleasant ambling along as the sun is setting. It was then a plov dinner, followed by local music around the camp fire. All in all, a very good day.
I woke early , with the daylight streaming in through the door of the yurt. It was already hot and the sun hadn’t even come up yet. I had dragged my bed to the doorway in an attempt to get a little airflow as the rest of the yurt was so warm, and all if the outdoor sleeping places had been taken over night. It was fine, I was comfortable enough and I was lucky to have the yurt to myself as Euan had opted to sleep on the truck.
I decided to get up at 7.30am as there was little point in staying in the yurt, although there was still another hour until breakfast, and I pottered around sorting things out. I can usually manage this in ten minutes so it was a novelty to have an hour to do it. These days I’m not sure why it takes people so long to get ready. One small point of interest was the discovery of at least a dozen ants in my hair, which had obviously made their way there during the night and got lost. As I brushed my hair so they fell out. I’m pretty confident I got rid of them all before breakfast - I certainly didn’t see any falling into my coffee or eggs!
After breakfast we headed back to the lake with Archie. A few pax opted to stay in the yurt camp. The rest of us enjoyed a morning of relaxation and luxury - that was at least until we tried to leave. It’s been a long time since I got a truck stuck, but today was the day. We had driven over the track three times by this point, and each time the track had broken up a little more and gotten a little softer. They are sandy desert tracks. Fourth time unlucky, as the road broke away and the truck drifted sideways, off the ‘road’ and into softer sand. Initially it didn’t seem to be too bad, although we couldn’t move forwards or backwards without digging ourselves deeper. Out came the sand mats. Still no luck. Out came the shovels, a bit of digging, and again the sand mats… again no luck. After three attempts we realised we were in for the long haul. It was time to dig a road under the truck and get the track to the same level as the rear wheels. Sods law dictated that the angle of the truck meant all of the drinking water ran to the wrong side of the tank so we couldn’t fill up our water bottles, and temperatures had reached 46 degrees. We teated two jerry cans with micropur and popped them in the shade so at least we knew we had drinking water in two hours time! We discovered that we have a seriously good group though. They all got stuck in, took turns in digging and sharing what water we had water, including any that was left in the fridge by other passengers. Jalol, our guide, headed off to the road to see if he could find help to get our passengers out of the sun.
It took us two hours, but we successfully dug a ‘new’ road which we could lay the sandmats on, and on our first attempt Archie drove straight out of the sand - just as Jalol turned up with a minibus to help take our passengers to the shade of the yurt camp. our next challenge was a short steep section with more soft sand. It had taken us three attempts to get up it the day before, and we were unwilling to get stick agains o we tried a different plan. Euan checked out the territory, and after a discussion we decided that I would drive to the side of the track, past a small tree, over some bushes and drop back on to the track again ahead of the soft sand. It was going to require revs and as much momentum as I could muster. The local minibus driver had by this time reached the top of the hill with two other locals, and they were stood with Jalol, apparently doubting that I could do it. Challenge taken! I revved up the truck, told everyone to hold on, and went for it! We made it first time, with a bit of bush whacking en route, but we didn’t get stuck and we got out. Cause for celebration! the locals congratulated me, we collected Jalol and headed back to the yurt camp to find the rest of the group, have a quick shower and a later than intended lunch (fish and chips!).
I had hoped to leave by 12.30pm, but in the end it was 2pm - not bad considering the dramas of the morning. When we left the temperature at the yurt camp recorded 50 degrees. It was HOT! We headed to Samarkand. The roads were generally reasonable for the first two hours, only getting pot-holed after that. We stopped for ice creams en route as we figured everyone had earned them! Approaching Samarkand, Jalol managed to get hold of a pizza delivery place and contacted them for the menu and prices. We pre-ordered pizza to be delivered to the hotel at 8pm. we arrived at 7pm so we had made good time, and it gave everyone time to settle in to their rooms, shower or dive into the pool for a cooling swim! For once our room was incredible. They had given us a deluxe room and it is huge! Karma is working in our favour on this one, after the efforts of the morning. Another Dragoman truck was also in Samarkand, with Duncan and Rich so it was good to catch up with them although the anticipated party never happened as my group were absolutely shattered after the days events and the general heat.
Today was a really relaxed day. The group had a free day. Jalol was taking a few of them to the carpet factory which I had been to a couple of times before. It is excellent but I didn’t feel the need to go a third time, so I had an easy morning, caught up on some emails, enjoyed a swim and generally didn’t do very much. We ordered in lunch, after which point I was getting bored and it was time to try something new.
Now, in spite of the fact that I have now done two and a half Silk Roads I still haven’t managed to get to a hamam. There is a hamam just a few hundred metres from the hotel and I had time, so I decided that today was going to be the day. Certainly an experience, and not an unpleasant one, and not without a degree of hilarity for both myself and the local Uzbek ladies where translations were concerned. The first step involved being ushered into a locker room where I had to strip and leave everything in a locker. I was then handed soap, a little exfoliating scrubber and some shampoo - apparently I was was supposed to bring this with me, and it took a few minutes of discussion to find these items, me stood there without a stitch on. I couldn’t feel too self-concious though, as the room was full of naked Uzbek ladies too, including the ladies running the place although they got to keep their pants on. one of the ladies then took me by the hand and led me to a hot shower, after which I was lead to the steam room for about 15 minutes. The lady kept sticking her head in to make sure I was okay, and another three Uzbek ladies joined me. I caused a degree of fascination, largely because I was so white, and also because I couldn’t speak Uzbek or Russian so a lot of entertaining sign language was going on! I was retrieved from the steam room, put in another slightly cooler shower, before being told (indicated) to lie on a stone slab where I was then exfoliated from head to toe. You have to be quite comfortable with your body for this experience but it helps that not a single lady in the hamam has any body hang ups at all. After a through exfoliation and finding myself three shades whiter as my tan was sloughed away, I was then washed and massaged from head to toe, hair shampooed and rinsed. Done! I was there for over an hour, and the whole experience including buying the soap, shampoo and scrubber cost me $8.00. The ladies were all absolutely lovely too, one of them invited me to her house (she had a few words of English) and told me they were all so happy I had come to their hamam. They were fantastic! Sadly I didn’t have the time to join her, but the invite was greatly appreciated!
The next stop was wine tasting!! It was an optional extra, so only eight of us ended up going. It was really good fun though. They had seven wines, some of them remarkably drinkable it turned out they were award winning at the famous Romanian wine tasting awards… Obviously, well known on an International basis, none the less I wasn’t going to turn it down, and at $3-$4 a bottle it seems remarkably good value. I stocked up! We also tried a couple of cognacs, and a drink which is described as a ‘Youth Elixir’ - similar to Fernet Branca with lots of herbs, but also a lot of honey. It was drinkable straight but I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it if I hadn’t already acquired a taste for fernet in Argentina, and I definitely think it would be better with a mixer.. We were all giggling by the end of the wine tasting and it was still only 7pm! Definitely time for dinner. Next to the winery there was a restaurant which turned out to be a reasonable price, a favourite location with locals, it had good food (meat balls and cheese!!), and a stuffed rooster and goat for decoration…
The end of the official Silk Road - we’d made it!! I got up for some breakfast, and to help sort out rooms for the joining group and to wave my current group off to see the Terracotta Warriors, before settling down to finish my accounts, kitty accounts and my trip report, and to get them all emailed across to the UK. Very boring, but a good feeling to know it was all done and I didn’t need to worry about it any more.
I headed out into Xian. The location of our hotel this year is much better than last year, actually situated within the Old City Walls and a short walk down from the Bell Tower, the central-most spot in Xian. I enjoyed wandering the backstreets which are all quite small, with little independent shops and traders, and small street food stalls creating some amazing smelling food.
Back at the hotel I enjoyed relaxing for a couple of hours, before getting ready to meet my new passenger. Our old group were still around, so we all headed out together to get dinner at the Muslim Quarter night market which was absolutely buzzing! It has an amazing atmosphere, and both the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower were both illuminated, so we sat in the square with our food and some beers, and just enjoyed people watching.
I was up early - today was my ‘weekend’ and I was going exploring. My Chinese guide was taking my new passenger to see the Terracotta Warriors and all my paperwork was done, so I had an unexpected free day. I was heading out to find a mountain, but first I had to negotiate my way through the Bullet train. I have never used the Bullet train before and I was looking forward ot the experience, it should be done at least once in China!
My first mission was the metro, which is really easy to use in Xian except that the stop that I had looked up for the North Terminal of course had a completely different name on the metro map. Common sense prevailed - I just entered the last stop on line two which as at the North of the City, and hoped for the best. It worked. It took just under half an hour to get to the station, and five minutes for me to located the ticket office. Ticket in hand, I proceeded to security. Using a Bullet train is a bit like flying. You have to go through security, head to your gate and wait to be called forward for your ticket check. Everyone boards at the same time, about fifteen minutes before the train is due to leave. Very easy, comfortable and fast. My journey was 130Km, and it took half an hour to travel.
At the station I successfully found a little green courtesy bus which took me to the ticket office of Hua Shan. I had two options here. Either walk up the mountain and potentially not have enough time to explore at the top, or catch a cable car halfway up the mountain, and see all of the top. The cablecar was really expensive, and I’d already heard that the walk up was the quieter route, so I opted to go the hard way and walk from the bottom. It was worth the walk, and it only took me 2 hours 45 minutes to get to the midway point at North Peak, which is where the cable car ends anyway. the valley is stunning, with granite slopes and Hua Shan towering almost menacingly at the end of the valley. It was steep. The first section was all slopes and not too bad so I made fast progress, but then the steps started and they just didn’t stop! I’m usually pretty good with steps, but I was getting to the pint where I felt as if I was dragging myself up them rather than walking, but I just got my head down and kept putting one weary foot in front of the other. One section is known as the ladder walk, with an eighty degree angle on the steps and just two chains either side to hold on to. It wasn’t actually too bad but it looked daunting from the bottom, and impressive from the top. I was climbing it on a dry day and I’m sure it would be far more treacherous in the wet.
From North peak I continued on up to the main pass on the mountain which is the splitting point for the other peaks. Again it was steep, although not as steep as the climb to North Peak, but there were a lot of people as so many had used the cable car to get to that point, so progress was slow. The views were stunning though, and walking by myself meant it wasn’t too difficult to nip around people when they stopped. I headed for South Peak. There is a via ferrata here, but after waiting for half an hour and only moving 20 meters I gave up. I didn’t want to waste all of my precious time on the mountain in a queue, and I’ve done enough rock climbing in much quieter areas for it not to bother me too much. The views were spectacular though. I was running out of time. I estimated that in order to get to the cable car for 4.00pm I needed to leave the summit area at 3.00pm. I headed down via East Peak where I found a sign telling me it would take me 80 minutes from that point. I looked at the time. It was 3.20pm already. Time to go! As it turned out it as an 80 minute Chinese walking time, and a 40 minute walking time for me as I reached the cable car station on schedule. I didn’t have the time to walk back down so the cable car was essential if I wanted to catch my train back to Xi’an.
The cable car ride was really good fun, and it gave great mountain views looking back at Hua Shan. From the bottom I had to catch a bus which seemed to take ages driving back down to the visitor centre - it all seemed to take much longer to get down than it had felt in distance walking up. I managed to find my little green bus at the bottom, and headed back to the station where I picked up my return train ticket. I had just enough time for some dumplings before going through security and boarding the Bullet train for my trip back to Xi’an. It had been a manic day, very full on and I’m sure I could make life easier for myself but I just never want to miss out! Not sure what my legs will be like in the morning after all the steps today though! I thought Mount Kongtong was bad but it has nothing on this one!
I got back to the hotel just after 8.00pm, so just enough time for a five minute shower before dashing out to join the group for dinner and to say goodbye to those who are heading off in a different direction form here, while we head south tomorrow. New territory for me, I’m very excited!
Off we headed, in a new direction! And on more highways. Highways seem to be an integral part of travelling throughout China. They definitely have their uses as the drivers are completely insane when you have to deal with them on National Roads as they seem to enjoy overtaking every time a car/ bus/ truck is coming the other way, so this is by far the safest and fastest option for us. The scenery was beautiful too. I feel as if we have hit ‘pretty’ China, not the rugged desolate desert landscapes of the Taklamakan desert, but wooded valleys and the first terraces started to appear. It really is very pretty.
We made good time and arrived at the bottom of Wudang Shan in time for lunch. Wudang Shan is the Holiest Taoist mountain in China which is also famous for the Wudang martial arts. We stay about two thirds of the way up the mountain where they have a little tourist village with a handful of hotels and shops, and the drive up there was beautiful. The weather was good, and there wasn’t much haze which is a common occurrence in China, so we had some fabulous views across the countryside as the bus made it’s way up the mountain.
Once at the hotel I decided to relax, especially after yesterdays efforts. I was surprised to find that my legs were feeling fine, especially as I haven’t made so much physical effort in a long time. The only time I felt anything was when I was walking up steps as I just felt like the tank was empty, rather than any soreness. That was a good sign as we have more steps to walk up tomorrow when we have a full day to explore different temples on the mountain.
We all met for dinner, opting to eat at the hotel restaurant on the recommendation of our guide, Claire. She has been here numerous times before and tried eating at different places, and our little restaurant was as good as any. It was lovely too, as for once we were able to eat outside. China doesn’t commonly do outdoor seating so it’s a bit of a treat to be able to sit out under the stars - visible for once due to the lack of light pollution.
The Holiest Taoist mountain in China! We set off after breakfast with the Golden Temple in our sights, right at the top of the mountain. So when I say in our sights, it’s actually pretty difficult to see from our hotel. Impossible in fact, as most of it is situated on the other side of the summit, and we weren’t entirely sure which summit we were meant to be looking at when we started anyway. This is’t as crazy as it sounds as the mountain has a number of different peaks. What we did know was that if we followed the path upwards then we would get there. We stopped for a quick diversion to Nangfan monastery, a hanging cliff monastery which is beautiful! It is UNESCO so it hasn’t been rebuilt, and the traditional feel to the building gives it an atmosphere which can be lacking in some of the other Chinese sights that we visit.
From there we headed upwards. A third of the way up I got a phone call from Claire saying that our Burmese visas applications had been rejected. This is slightly awkward as it was mine, Euan’s and Andy’s. Very awkward in fact as I’m not sure how it is possible to run a trip to Burma without either of the crew. It turned out that the Burmese embassy in Beijing doesn’t issue visas for the border that we are crossing at. After a bit of discussion we with me still on the side of a mountain, we arranged flights to Mandalay for our entry point instead, and crossed our fingers that the embassy would accepted our application in the morning.
We continued up the mountain. There were a lot of steps, but it was bearable as they were fairly even and the top of the mountain, although hidden by trees, didn’t seem to be very far away as we could see light ahead. We passed though a couple of temples used for teaching martial arts, with pictures of all of the different postions on the wall, but sadly no teachings were taking place. It was still interesting to see their classrooms.
The route split and we opted to go right through three ‘Heavenly Gates’ to get to the top. I think this was our mistake. As we discovered on our downward journey, the left hand route was equally as long but no where near so steep or tough! Each of the sets of steps to the Heavenly Gates went on for hundreds of steps, they were steep and the steps weren’t particularly even. It was a case of eyes down and just don’t look up! At each gate the path then dropped away down more steps (psychologically this is just cruel after all the work you have just done to get up there), before following a path around the mountain, before more steep steps forever upwards to the next Heavenly Gate. It meant the summit never seemed to get any nearer, but finally we were there! Almost. Having fought our way to the top, we discovered there as an additional entry fee to get into the temple. We declined and just enjoyed the view and some lunch at the top of the mountain, before starting to make our way back down the alternative route which turned out to be much more friendly. All in all it was a good day, and we celebrated with an ice cream and a beer back at our hotel.
I woke early, but I was very awake so I decided to get up and go exploring while it was still cool. After a fairly good breakfast by Chinese standards, I headed out into the streets armed with my camera. I found the first church that I have ever seen in China. There are plenty of Buddhist and Taoist temples, and even mosques can be frequently spotted as we make our way across the country, especially in the western Uigher regions. But never a church. It was quite refreshing to see!
From there I headed down towards the Yangtze river, as ever feeling I was taking my life in my hands as I had to cross the busy road before the river in stages, timing each section with the traffic lights in the relevant directions. Of course they didn’t match so for what felt like an uncomfortably long period of time I was stood in the middle of the road with a Chinese man for company, and streams of traffic whizzing past on both sides. Pedestrian crossings really are wasted in this country as they have absolutely no effect whatsoever!
Anyway, safely across at the river I found a large park and scenic space area. This area actually extends for a total of 10Km along the edge of the river, and as ever in China the locals really make the most of their public areas. There were five different groups doing square dancing, I saw three groups of people practicing Tai Chi, another group ribbon dancing, and then I came across the musicians. First up there were three saxophonists sat next to each other, and all playing a different tune. Then there were the group of fiddlers with a lady who seemingly was doing her best to coax some sort of music out of them, although the end result was similar to a tormented cat. There was also only about 20 meters between both groups, the end result being so bad it was absolutely brilliant! A little further on I came across a band who could actually play their instruments, and a singer who wasn’t half bad. They deserved some time so I sat and listened for a while.
The day was already getting hot. I started to make my way back along the banks of the river, watching the commercial boats making their way up-river, while men were lined up along the river banks with umbrellas on their heads for protection from the sun while they fished. I found a coffee shop in the shape of a bus, sadly it was closed! Undeterred, I recalled seeing another coffee shop close to the hotel so I headed back to find it. That one was closed too! I settled for a fruit juice and headed back to the cool retreat of air con where I promptly fell asleep for four hours! Must have needed it.
Fortunately my guide woke me so we could sort out some details and timings for the next few days. I’d spotted a printer in the local supermarket which was a really good price, so we headed down there together, both a little over the time and effort always required to find print shop in China. It’s such hard work, and at least a printer and scanner on the truck will take some of the stress out of future visa applications. The one in the supermarket turned out not to have a scanner, but quick online search found a better one for even less money so we ordered it ready for delivery in Chengdu.
I pottered around a little, managed to withdraw some more money, and at 7pm we met the rest of the group for dinner. They had enjoyed a similar day to mine, strolling along the river and just soaking up the Chinese atmosphere. We headed for seafood. I opted for a small barbecue fish and three garlic oysters which were really good, and less than a dollar each. Bargain! We wandered the streets again after dinner, finding an ice cream and again just people watching. Yichang is a fascinating mix of old and new. Some of the buildings are very old council style flats with bars across them, reminding strongly of the buildings you can regularly see in Kolkata in India. Right next door though is a towering building with a huge mall or hotel.
We had a free morning in Yichang, so I organised my bag ready for the overnight Yangtze river boat, and on advice form previous crew I made sure I stocked up on snacks in the supermarket and the fod can apparently be quite variable on the boats.
After a bite to each for lunch we headed out to see the Yangtze Three Gorges project, which is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Of course thing never go as smoothly as they should. We needed to get a permit to take the truck through and the lady at the desk just refused outright. Our trucks have been through there before, and it took us twenty minutes of negotiating with the security men to convince them to let us take it through. We were just really lucky that as they were saying no as apparently we are too big, so a large coach which was equally as large as Archie happened to drive past. That involved a lot of pointing, and then another passed through. More pointing and comparisons, and next minute they were on the phone and things started to happen. It should never need to be this difficult, but everything has moved from Central Government this year and been put back to the provinces. We don’t quite tick a box so it is causing us all sorts of problems as these provinces just don’t know what to do with us, and in Chinese nature, or more as a result of their history, no one really wants to takes responsibility. They are all too used to being told what to do. Anyway, we got the permit and were on our way again, driving through some spectacular scenery.
Arriving at the dam, we got ourselves an ice cream, went through a security check, tried to board a shuttle bus just to be told we weren’t allowed to eat our ice creams on it… gave ourselves brain freeze eating them too quickly and boarded the bus. It took us our to the hydroelectric dam, which is huge! It has a 6 kilometre lock system to move boats from the upper to the lower river which takes five hours for them to pass through, and we got great views of it from a lookout point with a ‘do not climb in a thunderstorm’ sign on it.
Due to Chinese secrets we are not allowed inside the dam, which was a shame as I remember seeing the huge turbines when I visited the Itaipu hydroelectric dam in Brazil and Paraguay, the second largest hydroelectric dam in the world. I’m pretty certain that the technology isn’t going to vary a huge amount, but we wouldn’t want to leave with Chinese state secrets based on technologies already developed in other countries. Their paranoia is incredible. Nonetheless the dam is still impressive to see and it was worth the visit.
After the dam we headed to the port to catch our boat, stopping for a quick dinner on the way. The boat is basic, and fairly clean(ish). They tried to charge us extra for using the upper deck which was the only place on the boat wth any seating. I objected, we spoke to the agent that we had made the booking through and they agreed to include the facility for us. Euan and Claire had to stay with the truck as the drop off point is in a different location to the starting point, and they needed to drive the truck to Fengjie the following day, so it was a small but happy group left on the boat to enjoy meandering our way up the Yangtze river with a bottle of red wine and some vodka to see us on our way.
We were woken in our stuffy little cabin at 5.30am by an overhead announcement made in Chinese. I say we were woken. I know for a fact that I woke up, and Jack was also stirring, but Andy continued to snore quietly away in his berth. We had been warned that if we wanted to see the second of the Yangtze river gorges then we would need to be on the top deck for 6am, what we hadn’t expected was our very helpful but unwanted wake up call. I have the ability to roll out of bed and be ready in 10 minutes flat down to a fine art after all these years, I certainly didn’t welcome losing an additional 20 minutes of precious sleeping time. It wasn’t to be, I rolled out of my berth and got dressed before heading up to the top deck. A surprise awaited me - it was suddenly full of Chinese people. Surprising only because since we had set sail yesterday evening we has only seen two Chinese ladies who weren’t crew. They had evidently all got on to the boat and gone straight to bed.
The sky was lightening and the gorge towered dramatically above us. It took us roughly fifteen minutes to pass through the most spectacular section, after we we headed for breakfast. It was a traditional Chinese breakfast of rice soup, steamed buns, pickles and an egg. I’m getting better at eating them, but I can’t really cope with more than a chewy dry steamed bun which is practically impossible to chew and an egg in the morning. We retired to our cabin and devoured some little tiramisu buns that Andy had spied in the supermarket. Much more tasty and palatable before 6.30am!
We headed back to the top deck to enjoy the scenery, as we approached the town. We had to dock here, and transfer on to a smaller boat in order to explore the mini three gorges. This was my favourite part of the day. The river is smaller, the gorges are steeper and the rocks are seriously dramatic and scenic. We had to pay an additional 30 yuan to go on to the top deck, which included a nice cup of miraculously refilling green tea. I think I ended up drinking four cups! We headed down through the different gorges, with various groups of Chinese people coming to have professional photos taken. There were two photographers and each one had his own little microphone, just in case you couldn’t hear what he was saying when he was stood right next to you. It was fun to watch the Chinese tourists being shown different poses, and they will have managed to get some beautiful pictures of their day on the river. While all of this was going on, so you could hear a lady on the loud speaker, fortunately not too loud, chattering away incessantly, but on the whole her voice floated away in the breeze so it was quite bearable.
After the three min gorges, we transferred on to two even smaller boats to travel up through a section of the lesser gorge. This was a beautiful small section, but came complete with a Chinese guide who stood right in the middle at the front of the boat, making it practically impossible to get a goof photo of the gorge, which was the reason we were there after all, without having him in it. I gave up, managing only to get a couple of reasonable photos. Such a shame! And he kept singing, badly. Very annoying! He got really annoyed with us though, as he came down the boat and handed up tacky little key rings which were for sale. When he came back down the boat we handed them back which is standard practice. They hand it to you, you look at it and decide whether you want to buy it or not, if you want it you pay and if you don’t you return it. He was very angry that we returned them, so I think all of the money form them was probably going into his personal funds. Such is life, his problem and not ours but it sadly left an unpleasant taint on the experience.
Back on the larger boat we were banned form going back on to the top deck as apparently we were going to be travelling faster and therefore had to stay lower to help balance the boat. Fair enough, except we travelled back at exactly the same speed at which we had come down the river - it took us the same amount of time to return! Not really a problem though, as Andy, Jack and myself all fell asleep and caught up on some of our lost sleep while there wasn’t anything to see. Oh, and the lady who had talked incessantly on the loud speaker didn’t stop, but unfortunately this time she was on the same level as we were. I put in my headphones and listened to some music. She literally talked for two whole hours without a break!
We returned to our river boat and were given ten minutes until lunch. Before ten minutes were up the cabin staff had come to find us to let us know dinner was ready, and by the time we had got there the Chinese people on our shared table had already eaten all of the food! Gannets doesn’t even start to describe it! I pointedly thanked them. I can’t say very much in Mandarin but they got the point when I pointed at the remnants of the food and at our empty plates, and they had the grace to look ashamed. Fortunately, while our table companions left, the cabin ladies looked after us, and kindly found us another dish of food while we divided what was left of the dishes on the table between the three of us. We were the lucky ones. Another Chinese couple who were positioned at a different table though lunch was five minutes later than we had been told, and they only had rice left over! The irony was that we were sat watching the conversation, and commenting how funny it is to listen to the Chinese talking to each other as it sounds like they are arguing, which is true, but then we realised that on this occasion they really were arguing!
We enjoyed the next couple of hours relaxing on the top deck of the boat which was really quite empty. It was very pleasant reclining in a chair, systematically watching the world go by and reading a book until we got the call to collect our bags and to check out. Leaving the boat, our next stop was to visit the White Emperor’s City, which is in effect a 1,700-1,800 year old palace isolated on an island in the middle of the Yangtze river. We were shepherded on to a bus with our Chinese companions to travel to the Palace entrance, joined by a local Chinese speaking guide complete with her flag and microphone. As soon as we got through the entrance we were off with our translator and English speaking guide following. I’m not sure she was entirely understanding as to why we disliked the loud speakers so much, but when you are getting no benefit from it, and you can only hear four guides all shouting over each other, it does somewhat detract form the sights in front of you. Having made our escape we enjoyed exploring the palace, which ad some really interesting museum exhibits, and information about the 8 arrays of war, basically the different strategies that can be used in battle. We were done before the rest of the Chinese, but we were heading to a different hotel anyway so we simply hopped in to a taxi and headed straight to our hotel (after an ice cream stop of course!).
Euan and Claire finally arrived with the truck after a 200Km diversion, a height restriction, two police checks and a mountain road with villages who had blatantly never seen a foreigner in their lives before. We headed for dinner and all enjoyed exchanging stories about our respective days.
We left straight after breakfast, expecting a long drive day, especially as we had to circumnavigate Chongqing, a city larger than Xi’an. That’s a seriously big city! As we left Fengjie the drive was simply stunning, as we passed through mountains (literally through them, there are some very long tunnels in this region) and over towering bridges over the Yangtze river and different gorges. The area is still very wooded and we were travelling through similar scenery as we had experienced on yesterdays boat trip. The road was undulating and twisty, so even though we were on highway it was initially pretty slow going. We stopped for a break and did the usual driver swap, after which the weather deteriorated, it got foggy and the views all disappeared in a smoggy fog! With nothing to look at I dozed for an hour or two until we stopped for lunch, where I got some noodles. With a small group all of our stops take half the time and we were on the road again in no time at all.
The road was busy and slightly chaotic in true Chinese fashion, with dodgy roadworks which aren’t signed in advance and then a lane is just stopped. It keeps us on our toes! As soon as I turned on to the ring road around Chongqing the traffic disappeared and we practically had the highway to ourselves. We made good time though, arriving in Dazu at 3pm.
In Dazu there are two sets of UNESCO Buddhist caves; the main caves are at Baoding which we are visiting in the morning, but there are some smaller caves at Bei Shan, only a few kilometres from our hotel. They have started da new evening light display so we decided to visit them later on as the day was still overcast.
Andy and I went for a wander around Dazu, exploring the market and food stalls. It’s quite a busy little place, but we are both in agreement that to deal with China you just need to accept that everything is scaled up a little bit. the noise, the lights, the conversations. To enjoy it you just have to embrace it, but it takes energy!
We all headed out to the caves for 7.00pm to find the evening show with lights didn’t start until 7.30pm so we went for some dinner first where we provided plenty of food for the local mosquitoes. We really haven;t had to worry about mozzies too much on this trip, so you forget to be a bit wary until it’s too late, and of course we had all left our insect repellent on the truck or in the hotel. It made for a quick dinner, before we headed back to the caves which were really good! I’ve seen a lot of Buddhist caves now, but with the lighting these were really cool, and it’s been done really well so it doesn’t look too ‘Disneyland’. The caves themselves are more like rock carvings protected by a rock overhang (now with a wooden roof to prevent weathering) and some of them date back nearly 2,000 years. Some of the sculptures are still in excellent condition. It was a very pleasant way to spend the evening, and it was much better than I had expected as there is very little written about them to raise expectations.
We left the hotel after another slightly uninspiring Chinese breakfast and headed our to see some more rock carvings, which the area is very famous for. These are known as Baoding caves and they were well worth the visit, even though it was raining heavily. Similar to yesterday evening, these carvings have been done on a much larger scale, and the colours have been preserved incredible well, especially as they have been there for over 1,000 years. Some of the carvings have been restored, but on the whole they are still pretty much as they originally were. Only one section has been fully restored with the result that now it looks brand new which somewhat detracts it’s charm, although the carving is still incredibly intricate. Somehow I would have preferred to see it with it’s original peeing gold leaf, rather than an almost plastic looking new coat of paint. There is also a very impressive reclining buddha, although it is currently screened off due to scheduled restoration works which are supposed to be continuing for the next five years! Incredible when you think they build whole highways in less than twelve months, but a major tourist attraction restoration takes five years. I’m not sure I will ever entirely understand this country. Anyway, we literally had the place to ourselves, and our English speaking local guide was very informative. I actually think that these are some of the best Buddhist carving sI have ever seen anywhere in the world, and I’ve been to quite a few now!
We were done by 11am, and clambered back in to the truck and headed out to Chengdu. It didn’t stop raining all day, and we saw a couple of accidents on the highway, although fortunately neither of them held us up, just a short delay for some roadworks.
The traffic coming in to Chengdu was terrible as unfortunately we hit the start of rush hour, but the traffic kept moving so we never really had any gridlock. The lanes are really narrow and we fill ours completely, so there were a couple of moments when I was holding my breath as the Chinese drivers really don’t appreciate our size and they are very good at straddling the line between lanes, and turning before they look. Nonetheless we made it to our hotel without incident.
Chengdu is famous for hot pot dinners, so we had to go out and have a hot pot while we were here. It was very god, and they had a buffet where you could just choose the ingredients that we wanted so it was easy to order. It’s really good fun and a very social way of eating, but they are on to a winner. You pay for the privilege of cooking your own food!
An amazing day! We went to see the Giant pandas at the Chengdu Breeding and Research Centre. It was very cool. We got there early to try to beat the crowds, which worked really well! The pandas were still waking up, waiting for their breakfast and to be allowed outside to relax and play. They are incredibly cute. As babies they are the cuddliest looking little balls of fluff, as juveniles they are just incredibly playful and naughty, and then as adults they spend most of their time conserving energy and sleeping. They were brilliant to see. The research centre as also interesting to look around. The smallest baby ever born and successfully reared there weighed only 51 grams! He should have been 150 grams. Incredibly they managed to save him. Also, twins are very common for Giant pandas, but in the wild the female panda can only care for one baby, so the other one will certainly die. In captivity they have managed to get a 100% success rate in save the rejected twins. the breeding program has been so successful that the pandas have finally (as of yesterday) been removed from the critically endangered list. They are now only endangered so still a long way to go, but a great result.
Returning to the hotel I had an easy afternoon, just taking a stroll through the local park and down by the river where there were the usual regulars playing mahong, and doing tai chi and square dancing. We had been invited to dinner by the owner of the agents we use in China, Jason, so we made our way out to see him with Claire, our guide. He had also received our passports with our Burmese visas in them! It was good to meet him, and he was very good company, and kindly brought us dinner.
Returning to the hotel, we met our group and headed out to the Sichuan opera which is not my usual scene, but supposed to be very cultural. I am still making my mind up about it now! The good bits were incredibly good, but the bad parts… well… it takes all types to make up the world and those parts really weren’t for me. I have to give them their due though, the costumes were incredible and the singers voices were also very good. There was a very talented fiddle player, but the highlight for me was the ‘changing faces’. They literally change their face masks in front of you, and none of us could work out what they were doing. We thought we had it sussed, and then with the next flick of their wrist they had put it back on again. Stumped!
Finishing the show, we met Anita, another one of the Dragoman guides who I had met last year when she was working with other crew, and who Euan has worked with previously. We had a couple of drinks with her before finally calling it a night at 1.30am. Where does the time go when you are having fun?
I enjoyed an easy morning, having a lie in and not bothering to get up for the Chinese breakfast of boiled eggs, steamed buns, rice soup and pickles which is about as tasty as it sounds. Instead, i headed out exploring and got myself something more appetising en route. I headed out to People’s Park which our guide had recommended that I visit. Apparently is it supposed to be good for people watching, as many different people go to sing, play music, go square dancing, tai chi and so on. The park was busy, but I didn’t see a single person doing anything other than walking or eating! A real shame as I always enjoy watching the Chinese when they are out in the parks doing their exercise and relaxing. It is a part of their culture that I really enjoy, and I love the fact that they are happy to do it so publicly and enjoy their communal spaces. The park was nice to walk around nonetheless.
I continued on to one of the main shopping streets as my mobile phone is on it’s last legs and doesn’t actually do what it is meant to any more. It takes about five minutes for it just to load a number for a contact. Time for an upgrade! It didn’t take me more than a few minutes to decided it was a really bad idea for me to make this purchase without the help of my guide. I’d been exploring for a few hours, so I headed back to the hotel to relax, and then my guide came and dragged me out to go phone shopping anyway. The result, I now have a mobile phone that actually works, although it’s going to take me a while to work out how to use the menu options still written in Chinese, despite setting the phone to English…
For dinner we headed to Jingli Street and the Muslim Quarter of Chengdu. They have a traditional tapas style dinner, with a small amount of lots of different dishes. This turned out to be a great way of trying new foods, although I’ll never know the Chinese name to be able to order them again! After dinner we wandered the streets, which had restored old traditional style buildings, ponds, bridges and lots of Chinese lanterns so it was very pretty. As always there were a lot of people around, but not so many that we couldn’t enjoy it.
We left Chengdu at 7.30am to beat the worst of the traffic. There was certainly plenty of it but it was moving pretty well. We only had a 2.5 hour drive to reach Leshan, the site of the worlds largest Buddha, at a staggering 71 metres tall. There are two options to visit the Buddha. the first is by foot to get up close and personal, and the other is by boat where you get a much better view of the Buddha. We were all contemplating taking both options until we arrived and saw the crowds. It turns out that today is the start of the Chinese mid-autumn festival so there is a public holiday for three days. We opted to try the boat trip which was a really good idea as it gave us a great view of the Buddha, who is very impressive although sadly looking a little neglected and in need of some attention. He is a big Buddha to sort out though. The boat trip only took about 20 minutes, but it was enough to satisfy all of us, especially after we saw the crowds of people trying to walk down by the Buddha. I would usually jump at the chance to see something more closely, but on this occasion none of us fancied the rugby scrum that it would have entailed so we all opted just to head to Emai Shan early and to get there for lunch.
We had a typical Chinese lunch with rice, green beans, beef and potato, and a pork dish. They are really tasty but I am starting to crave something a little different to fried foods or noodles! I was going to head out an explore in the afternoon, but it started to rain really heavily and we have a full day tomorrow to explore the mountain. Hopefully the cloud will have lifted or cleared and we will actually be able to see it!
Emei Shan is apparently the most important Buddhist mountain in China. I’ve seen a few Holy mountains now - Mount Kongtong, Wutai Shan and now Emei Shan, plus Taoist mountains Hua Shan and Wudang Shan. I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t looking forward to climbing hundreds of crowded concrete steps just to get to another temple at the top of a mountain. I enjoy seeing the temples, but not being religious I’m not sure I truly appreciate the effort required to get to a temple of a religion that I don’t even support. I certainly wasn’t ‘feeling it’ today. It’s most unlike me not to take the walking option, but this time I decided on the cable car.
The first part of the mountain involves a pretty 1.5 hours bus ride to a drop off point through some lovely scenery. From the bus station you then have to ascend approx 800 meters of steps past some monkeys to the cable car station - this is also the point at which you can start walking. We waited until this point to decide which option we were going to take. First of all, could we see the summit? Yes, so it was worth and ascent. Was the cable car working, yes. Decision made! It turned out to be quiet good fun. They basically have two carriages - on heading up the mountain, the other heading back down again. Each carriage takes approx 100 people. More by luck than judgement we managed to get a position by the window with a great view out over the valley as we ascended.
Once at the top it was a short walk to the Buddhist sculpture. Now, I had seen photos but nothing prepared me for the size and scale of it. It is huge! And very impressive. A big golden Buddha sat on four golden elephants. Actually very cool, and as ever I was glad I had made the effort to come and see it. You never regret going to do something, even if you don’t really feel like it initially, as there will always be a good experience in there somewhere. We visited a couple of temples by the Buddha which were also decorated really nicely. The views from the top were pretty good too. Although it was still a grey day, it wasn’t raining and we were above the worst of the clouds. Some of the clouds were below us, sticking to the side of the mountain, constantly moving and changing the views. Sadly it is also possible to see a grey layer of pollution just sitting on top of everything, with clear skies above it. Emei Shan is over 3,000 meters so this is the first time I have had such a clear view of the pollution layer which we have been living and travelling under for the last five weeks.
Content that we had seen enough, we braved the cable car back down. We were the first off which left us with the slightly disconcerting feeling of having a small tsunami of people at our backs, so we didn’t hang around and dashed back to the bus, and headed back to our hotel. I forgot to mention that our hotel is called the Witty Monkey, and there are monkeys painted everywhere! It’s quite good fun!
Just a drive day to Miyi! I say just a drive day, the scenery was some of the most beautiful that we have seen since we have been in China. We also saw some amazing engineering as we travelled towards Lijiang. They have raised the highway for the majority of this section, so we found ourselves passing above rivers and valleys, driving through tunnels that went on for literally six or seven kilometres, just to pop out of the mountain into the next valley. With a small group we were quick on the stops, including our lunch stop, and we actually saved ourselves more than an hour on the predicted time for the day. Always a bonus!
Miyi is one of the least touristic places that we stay in, which basically means that we got stared at a lot, and nearly caused an accident when crossing the road as a motorcyclist was too busy looking at us rather then paying attention to the road. Fortunately he narrowly avoided falling off his bike.
I went for a walk down to the river that runs through the middle of the city. The sun set while I was down there and in true Chinese form the town sprang to life, with bright lights, colours, music and people. They had an amazing pedestrian bridge crossing the river. There were steps on either side, but the middle section doubled up as a slide for children, who were having a great time running up and sliding back down again. The squares were full of people practicing martial arts, and roller blading. I also passed a kayaking slalom course which is the first one I have seen in China.
A stunning drive day. We finally left the highway, for almost the first time since we have been in China. The exception was a short stretch to Xiahe, and then just as we have passed through different cities. Today was a chance to actually use some driving skills, rather than just set the truck on cruise control. Basically the highway ran out, they haven’t finished building it. The result was 200Km of winding roads, up and down hills with steep drops to the side. Roads too narrow to have a line painted down the middle, passing through tiny villages without a sky rise in sight (yes, they do exist in China!) and watching the local people at work and daily life. A real treat after so many motorways, and we saw some spectacular scenery. Of course it is much slower, but nothing beats the experience of being able to stop in a small village and order your noodle lunch from a local family, rather than at a service station, not matter how convenient they may be. China is just so big that we don’t have the luxury of using these smaller roads anywhere near as often as we would like.
Arriving in the ancient city of Lijiang, we had a five minute walk to our hotel. I am going to trek through Tiger Leaping Gorge tomorrow with one of our passengers. It is meant to be beautiful so I really hope the weather holds. We had perfect weather today, which has made a change from the overcast skies of the last few days. Fingers crossed! We headed to the supermarket to buy breakfast and snacks for the trek, as we will be leaving early in the morning. We then headed for the local speciality of pork chop hot pot, which turned out to be very tasty and made a welcome dietary change.
Hell on earth. I’d signed up for a culinary course with one of my passengers and the last thing I wanted to do was think about food after last night!! Poorly planned! I couldn’t even manage my breakfast, although coffee helped. The course was very good though. We headed to the local market first, and had a guided tour of the tofu stall (exciting). The market was very good and it is where most of the coals and businesses go for their fresh produce, so a good thing to walk around. We also learnt a little bit about the regional specialities, including cheese (not that I could face that either!).
Back to Luxi’s house and kitchen class, she went through the basic essentials of a Chinese kitchen, with the soy sauce, soy vinegar, and spices. Very interesting, and then it was time to start cooking. I was thankfully starting to feel a little more human by this point. We made a tofu salad, fish flavoured aubergine and kungpow chicken. Very good fun, but the chances of me ever being able to do it again are incredibly remote, even with the recipe!
Headed back to the hostel, and curled up on my bad for the rest of the afternoon. I didn’t even bother going out for dinner, just ordered a burger and chip, and a milkshakes for dinner. Sacrilege! Amazingly good though and I’ve eaten practically nothing but Chinese food since I crossed here on the 3 August so I don’t feel too guilty. It was a great post-hangover dinner. I’ll make up for it tomorrow! I went back to my pit at 7.45pm and decided to watch a film. I’m just glad I did the cooking course so at least it wasn’t a complete waste of a day. The other activity I had wanted to do was to head into the Cranshan mountains behind the hostel, but the clouds were low and there were no views, so the perfect excuse to leave it until November when the weather is more settled!
Myanmar! Smooth on Chinese side. Issues with Burmese side - passport number on permission docs different to passport with Burmese visa! oops! Two hour delay, finally got permission to let me enter! Beautiful first part of the drive, although we didn’t hit the road until 2.00pm in the end, and we knew we had a 8 hour drive ahead of us. Not great! While the daylight held we had lovely views through green valleys, mists moving over the hills, small villages with the locals going about their business with ox and cart. The weather continued to deteriorate, and so did the light. Unfortunately there were a lot of roadworks so the road condition was equally as bad, and worse than Euan had experienced last year. We pressed on, using the edge of the road as the cut off line for the tarmac, which was almost impossible to see and broken up along it’s entire length. It was a bit like driving by braille as visibility was terrible and there wasn’t even a white line on the road for reference. Nevertheless, we made it finally arriving in Hsipaw at 11.30pm! We had a treat on arrival though as the little guesthouse that we are staying in is very charming, and the staff were so welcoming and friendly, it was lovely! Euan and I headed out to a restaurant for a late snack and a well earned beer, my first taste of the Myanmar beer, literally named ‘Myanmar’. After the day we had just had, it went down a treat!
Today we took a boat trip out on the river. I had arranged a slightly later start than originally planned as a result of our late arrival last night. Everyone seemed to appreciate the gesture, even so I still felt a little zombie-like as we were looking around. Our first stop was the port, which was only a five minute walk from our guesthouse. Within seconds of meeting us the boat owner was taking our photo. We have a member of the ministry of tourism travelling with us too, and he seems thoroughly captivated by the fact we are here, and he also takes photos of us at every available opportunity. It’s nice that they are so excited to have us, especially as tourism is very accepted here now so we aren’t the novelty that we once would have been.
We were split between two boats, and headed up stream. Out boatman seemed to think he was driving a F1 car and left the other guy in his wake. He was very competent though so we didn’t worry, just sat back and relaxed and we figured the other boat would catch up eventually. The ricer was beautiful, and we had perfect weather. It reminded me of South America and heading down the Napo, with jungle on either side and small wooden houses at intervals. The presence of the occasional Buddhist stupa was the main difference in landscape! We spotted a few small egrets, and a stunning kingfisher.
The river split and our boats pulled over to the side of the river, where a buffalo and her calf were staying cool in the water. Climbing out of the boat we found corn spread our on pieces of tarpaulin drying in the sun, and a team of women shucking the corn into baskets. The earn 300 kyat for every basket the shuck, which is approx 25 cents. Not very much at all! From here we hopped back into the boats and returned down river to a Shan village. The Shan people are one of the triable ethnic minorities found in Myanmar. We were invited into a house, (shoes off). It is respectful to sit in the front room one invited in, so we dutifully lined up as requested and admired the family’s home. It was very basic, with small bedrooms off the lounge area, and a kitchen to the side. Outside the lounge area was a separate building with a shrine to Buddha. and they also worship nats. Nats are believed to be spirits of everything - trees, water, leaves… literally anything can home a nat. To avoid upsetting them and bringing bad luck upon their families and friends offerings are given to the nats. Indeed the village actually has a nat shrine, complete with two little nat beds so the nats can have a sleep when they come to town.
Saying our thanks, we descended back down the stairs and continued exploring the village, seeing the different fruits and veggies grown int eh gardens, and more people going about their daily lives. The people here are incredibly friendly and welcoming, all with a ready smile on their faces. Village tour completed, we headed back to our boats for a final ride down the river, before disembarking near the outskirts of Hspiaw. We followed a small road back into town, stopping at a roadside shack for lunch. More noodles! I haven’t escaped them yet! Here however, it is customary to put pork crackers in your soup. Actually quite tasty.
Bask at our guesthouse we had a couple hours before the Shan Palace opened, so we headed across the road for a refreshing drink before flaking out in an air conditioned room for an hour. The Shan Palace is a beautiful old building, although the last prince of Hsipaw was killed just after the military coup in 1962. The family knows he is dead, but they still even today cannot find out any answers about what happened to him. He has an Austrian wife, Inge Sargent, who he had met whilst at University in Colorado, and she left the country once she knew he had died as she feared for her safety under the military rule. She left in it the care of his relatives who still live there today. Sadly under the military rule they were forbidden from doing any maintenance to the Palace, but now the leadership has changed they are permitted to start restoration. It does need a lot of work, but hopefully the decision was made in time and they will manage to restore it to it’s former glory. It looks more like an old manor house than a palace, but it is a lovely building.
We got up and had breakfast before loading the bags and heading over to the train station. It is tiny! It literally sees two trains a day. and grass is growing up around the tracks. Along the station platform there were local women waiting for the train to arrive, with large plates of fruits and goods to sell, balanced precariously on their heads. The trained rolled up and we jumped into our first class carriage. Now, understand me here, a first class ticket cost us $1.37 and basically meant we had the luxury of cushioned chairs, rather than wooden ones. The train rocked it’s way out of the station. The whole journey is only 85Km, and it takes the train approximately 5 hours to cover this distance so there is nothing fast about it, but it’s a fantastic way of travelling through the countryside and tiny villages, seeing daily life. Farmers and workers attending the corn and paddy fields, and an abundance of bird and bug life, a lot of which found it’s way into the train as we bushwhacked our way down the railway track.
We stopped for half an hour to have lunch along the way. My first taste of Myanmarese chicken curry, which was very tasty. I hadn’t heard great reviews of the food out here, but so far it’s all been excellent, whether we’ve found a tiny shack at the side of the road, or a more touristy restaurant.
After lunch I was struggling to keep my eyes open, and to my shame I failed miserably, mainly because I wanted to stay awake and enjoy the beautiful scenery that we were travelling through. I managed to wake up again before we crossed the Geoktepe Viaduct, which was built ver 100 years ago and at the time it was the worlds largest and tallest railway bridge. It had stunning views down into the gorge below. Shortly after crossing the viaduct we arrived at our station and hopped off the train to find Euan & Archie ready and waiting for us. We all jumped on the truck and headed to ur hotel, about another hour down the road in a small town called Pyin U Lwin. It’s a really cool little place, with bustling streets, horse and carts still in abundance, and even a cow or two crossing the road. I did wonder if I hadn’t stumbled my way back in to India by mistake?
We enjoyed a couple of hours to relax in our hotel, which is a beautiful old British Colonial hill station where generals woudl once have been based. It is still early in the tourist season so the hotel staff upgraded us to suites at no extra costs. The result being that we had a little entrance foyer with seats, leading into the bedroom, and beyond that the bathroom. The only disadvantage is that it is a little way out of town, so I organised a tuk tuk to take us back into town for dinner. We headed to the night market, where we were able to sample a variety of yummy different foods. Samosas, dhosas, hotpot style soup dishes, barbecued fish, noodles, quails eggs, meat skewers and coconut pancakes… it was really good, and all for less than four dollars. Bargain!
Hot air balloon ride, so we were up at 4.30am and ready to go…. except it was raining. Hard. We were supposed to be collected at 4.40pm, and eventually the transport guys rolled up in the minibus at 5.00am to announce that the rides weren’t going ahead today, and we were all presented a voucher.
As a result we had an early breakfast and managed to leave Bagan an hour earlier than originally planned. We stopped at a palm sugar plantation, and watch a demonstration showing how the local people collect the palm tree sap. The most entertaining part about it was the quick prayer he said before heading up the tree with his pots attached to his waist. It was a very good demonstration, and once collected they showed how the process the sugar to make a drink, and also how they ferment it for a stronger version.
We continued up towards Kalaw, the original overnight stop for this trip except I had missed it out in order to give passengers a chance to do the hot air ballon ride. We were lucky with the traffic and we had a good run, stopping for lunch in a small local town where there was a reasonable restaurant, although it was too hot for a big meal so Euan and I tracked down a stall selling samosas in order to have a lighter lunch.
We arrived in Kalaw at 3.00pm which was much better on time than I had hoped. We had another couple of hours drive to reach Inle Lake, but as we were meant to do an overnight stop in Kalaw we gave everyone a break for an hour so they could look around the town and the market, and head up to visit the monastery where we used to bush camp until the built on the site! There were lovely views across the town though. Euan and I managed to grab a quick cup of coffee, and with one eye on the weather we headed back to the truck as there was a big thunderstorm heading straight for us. We unlocked the doors just as it started to rain, and waited for our passengers to join us. There is nothing quite like heavy rain for making sure people get back on time! In fairness though, this group has been very good with their time keeping.
We continued on to Inle Lake, heading through some stunning scenery. The whole day had beautiful driving, and it just kept getting better. Of course, we passed through some areas about half an hour before Inle Lake which would have been fantastic bush camping, but there is little point when we need to be at Inle Lake for an early boat ride. Just in the wrong place! We arrived at Inle Lake at 6pm and in daylight which was perfect timing!
We had a fairly leisurely breakfast, during which Anja managed to break out the cheddar cheese. This obviously means it was an epic start to the day! We then headed out to be ‘proper tourists’ for a change, mindlessly flowing Anja, soaking up the atmosphere of Hong Kong, and no paying much attention to how we were getting around. The public transport infrastructure in Hong Kong is excellent, and our fist stop was ‘The Peak’, which is the highest ‘mountain’ in Hong Kong. ‘Mountain’ is a strong word for it’s size, more of a molehill with great views. We used the funicular to get to the top. In cooler weather I’m all for walking, but in heat and humidity the less moving you can do the better you fare! We enjoyed some iconic views from the top, and started to get our bearings as it was dark when we landed yesterday so this was our first real over-view of the city and the harbour.
The next stop was the harbour, and a trip on the Star ferry to enjoy the Hong Kong skyline. It’s only a short journey, but one well worth making as we enjoyed the views and scenery around us. A stroll along the pier, and we decided it was lunch time so headed for a typically Hong Kong style meal of dim sum, before heading back across the harbour on the ferry and making a beeline for the ferris wheel. The ferris wheel was surprisingly good, although after two circuits we were starting to wonder whether they were ever going to let us off. Turns out three circuits your lot! Whilst on the ferris wheel we spotted our first ‘dragon boat’ with it’s bright red sails.
We headed back to Anja’s flat, stopping en route for some essential cheese shopping (I’m making the most of feeding my addiction while I can!), and to relax for a couple of hours. After some dedicated cheese eating, and a glass or two of good red wine, we headed back into the city to visit a light display over the harbour. Sadly I was a little too short to get the full benefit (mentally internal swearing at selfie sticks), although I did manage to get a couple of nice shots of the Dragon boats illuminated on the harbour. From the light display we headed to the Temple Street night market, iconic for it’s use in various Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies, not to mention Transformers. It looks more glamorous in the movies, and it was surprisingly small only covering two blocks. Stalls were selling everything though, from key rings to I love HK T-shirts, and from tripods to vibrators!! We had seen enough, and headed back to Anja’s flat to save a little energy for tomorrows adventures.
We got up and discovered it was a beautiful day with clear blue skies so off e headed for an island trek along the Dragon’s back ridge, named for it undulations, but described as the best urban trek in Asia. The views were beautiful. We headed out on the metro, and then used a local bus to get to the start. there was a small crowd disembarking the bus with us, so we didn’t hang around and just started walking. The trail was busy as it was a weekend and good weather - seven million people on an island need something to do at a weekend after all! Some sections were crowded but it was still a lovely walk with some fabulous views out over the bays. We headed down to one of the bays, known as Big Wave Bay. Very appropriately named! Anja and I braved a swim to refresh ourselves, and had to be content with being hit by waves and literally getting sand everywhere! There were a lot of surfers around so for our own sake we erred on the side of caution. It was good fun trying to get past the waves even though we didn’t succeed! Successfully changed and still discovering sand i places where it shouldn’t be, we rewarded ourselves with a barbecued sausage on a stick (not nuclear like the Chinese sausage skewers) and caught the bus back to the metro.
We headed back to Anja’s flat and relaxed for a couple of hours, before heading to Causeway bay on the tram to have a look around and to find some dinner. As with many Asian cities, it comes alive at night. As Anja described Hong Kong, shopping is a National Sport so most shops stay opened pretty late and the area was buzzing. We found a steakhouse which did beef burgers with blue cheese and bacon sauce - epic!! Tired out, we made our way back to the flat and crashed out.
Easy morning - it was raining. Hard! A T1 typhoon, so the littlest rating but still seriously heavy rain and apparently very unusual in October. August is normally the month that they stop, but it was fine as we had sone the majority of our sight seeing. Obviously there is still a lot to do in Hong Kong, but we had hit the main sights, including Lonely Planets number one… the HSBC building. An obvious highlight which is not to be missed. Well, I’m not saying that it was my highlight but if you like cutting edge architecture then worth a visit and to be honest you can’t miss it anyway.
I headed to Causeway Bay mall using the tram. This turned out to be a small mistake - not because the tram isn’t fun, but simply because the windows had leaked and every available seat had a small puddle of water on them. Note to self - in heavy rain, use the metro!
NJ had managed to get some time off for lunch, so I met him, and Grace again, for a bite to eat. It was really lovely to see both of them, and very odd to think tat the last timeI saw them it was January in Mendoza. NJ took us to a Shanghai style restaurant, as he is from Shanghai, and ordered a variety of different dishes which were really tasty. I’m still not a lover of stinky tofu though!
After a brief stop to replace my zip-off walking trousers which had walked their way out of my laundry in Khiva - a little pricey but hard to come by on the road and comparable with the UK. I just can’t work the same discounts in Hong Kong! I headed back to Anja’s flat, and we spent the rest of the afternoon drinking coffee, avoiding the weather and chatting before saying a sad goodbye to Anja and making the most of a break int eh weather to head out to the metro. It was time to leave Hong Kong and make our way back to the heat and humidity of Bangkok.
It didn’t take us long to negotiate our way through the metro - we’d had a bit of practice by this point! We helped out a guy with some change and he pointed us in the right direction for the airport express ticket booths. We made good time to the airport, got checked in and had a bite to eat, before going through security. Our gate number was finally posted and we headed out to gate 207 - Hong Kong airport really is huge! Everything appeared to be on time, until five minutes before boarding when they announced the flights would be delayed by half an hour. It turned out to be more like an hour, so we found ourselves landing in Bangkok after midnight. Even though we had been passing through Hong Kong on our second passports, I had trouble using it to get back in to Thailand as they had my name registered against my other passport. Fortunately I had my landing slip for Hong Kong showing that I was travelling on that passport, so they verified my passport and let me in. I’m glad I changed my passport when entering Hong Kong and didn’t wait until I had re-entered Thailand or we would have more trouble with our Myanmar visa applications. Euan was after me, and having just dealt with me they apparently couldn’t be bothered to waster another ten minutes doing the same with his passport and so just stamped him in! We finally got to our hotel at 2am, a bit of a marathon!
I was up early, not that I wanted to wake up particularly. I was quite happy where I was, but there was an urgent visa application to sort out. Dragging myself out of bed and down to a breakfast of noodle soup, I then met Elizabeth, Geoffrey and Anita and we headed out to the metro. It is only the other side of the block, but like everything in China, the other side of the block is a really long way to go! We negotiated the metro without difficulty, rode it the seven stops to Erji road and headed to the Myanmar consulate ready to beg, plead and bribe if necessary. Amazingly and incredibly it worked! Elizabeth had to reapply for her visa but thy agreed to process it immediately (this just does not normally happen at an embassy) and forty minutes later we left with a passport proudly sporting a new Myanmar visa with the correct dates in it. Result!
We were back at the hotel to leave on time, and we headed out to Dali. A quick lunch stop at the services for noodle soup en route, made the most of the super good roads, and we arrived in Dali early enough to avoid the rush our traffic. Any one would think we had planned it. A spot of confusion with the rooming, in spite of having confirmed the booking twice, and contacting the hostel yesterday to reconfirm and to give them our approximate arrival time. I grumbled that I was going to complain as it is the third time that this has happened to us, and the next moment they had upgraded us to the boutique rooms. Maybe I won’t complain after all!
I took the group for an orientation walk around the town, just to point out the best streets fro restaurants, where to find ATM’s and the post office and a few points of interest, before leaving them to explore. Euan, Anita and I then headed out for dinner and a spot of passenger free time for a change, and the chance to eat some slightly spicer Chinese food which our current group seem to have an aversion to. We rounded off the evening with a few drinks in the Bad Monkey bar, which had live music playing and is quite possibly the coolest bar in town. A couple of our passengers joined us for drinks, it was a great evening!
A nice lazy start to the day, I rolled out of bed at about 10am! That really doesn’t happen very often, but I had no plans and all of my passengers activities were sorted out yesterday so no pressure. Great news for me! I enjoyed a smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and bacon baguette for brunch. A bit of a treat. I eventually managed to get my walking shoes on, put on my rucksack and headed out of the door and up the Cangshan mountain range behind the hostel. They are pretty big mountains, standing at 4,000 meters, so I knew I was never going to manage to get up and down in a day, especially with a late start and without being acclimatised. So I cheated and used the cablecar to get up there, with the intention of following a trail across the mountains to the top of another cablecar.
Well, the best laid plans don’t always work out how we want them to. So, the first thing was my ticket. It was impossible to get a one way ticket, so I forked out for a two way ticket and the park entry fee. A little steep but the views on the way up were stunning, and the whole cablecar journey took about 25 minutes. The weather was perfect, with clear blue skies and a slight autumnal chill to the air which was ideal for walking. the the top I found the expected wooden boardwalk and a lot of Chinese people, although it wasn’t too crowded. Nearly at the summit I decided to head to the top before beginning my descent. This is where things started to go a little less than to plan. The very last section is all on a mountain path (as it should be) but there were security guards at the start of the mountain path, and it was fenced off with large signs saying it was prohibited! I decided to save my battles for another day, so disappointed not to have the chance to see a good 360 degree views on a perfect day, I headed back down the boardwalk in search of another trail. The next mountain path had the same thing. Prohibited and guarded. I signed ‘why?’ He signed ‘dangerous’. I laughed and moved on. Admittedly it wouldn’t be the safest excursion if I was wearing my high heels which a number of the Chinese women do. I continued, only one option now remaining for me.
Arriving at the final trail head I discovered that it too was fenced off with signs. But it wasn’t guarded. I deliberated for a minute, assessing the trail, and decided that as the weather and ground conditions were perfect so I would become a little Chinese for a moment and ignore the sign which told me I wasn’t supposed to climb the fence. It took me just a moment to jump the fence and run down the path in to the start of the forest where I was under cover and no one could see me. I then hurried along the first section glancing over my shoulder in case any one had seen my little misdemeanour and followed me. No one came ad I continued along the path. It was well worth the risk. There was nothing wrong with the path at all, and the views looking out from the mountain over Dali and across Erhai lake with snow capped mountains in the background were absolutely stunning! It’s rare to see blue sky in China and I was making the most of it. the trail was a typical mountain trail, rocky and uneven but easy to follow as it wound it’s way around through the forest and around the mountain. I’m not sure if it has just been closed for the winter as it would be tricky in bad weather conditions, but I hope it isn’t a permanent closure as it is one of the best walks that I have done for a very long time. Even better, I was literally the only person on the trail so I had complete peace to enjoy the scenery.
The end of the trail met a more established route with concrete steps for a couple of kilometres, so I quickly skipped down them, making the most of some uninterrupted views from a pagoda on the way down. The steps led to a gravel road which I followed for a very short distance, before turning off onto another trail which took a more direct route down the mountain. Now, I understand that the Chinese don’t want people hurting themselves in the mountains, although a bit of eduction on the correct footwear and equipment would allow them to keep the mountain trails open for everyone to enjoy them. The funny part was that whilst walking along the prohibited section the trail was well maintained and relatively easy to negotiate, but periodically there were signs posted along the route telling me how dangerous it is and that I should turn back. The irony of the situation was that the trail I joined from the road had absolutely no sign, nor a security guard, and it was the most challenging section that I walked all day. It was very steep, with a loose surface covered in pine needles and involved steep downward sections of scrambling. I loved it, but there is no doubt in my mind that it was not a route for a novice. The trial improved, and mindful that time was moving on I jogged down the remaining few kilometres to the bottom, reminding me how much I enjoy this kind of trial running. Sadly the opportunity doesn’t come along very often. Once off the mountain paths the routes improved and I made good time back to the hostel, arriving pretty much on time as planned at 6pm. A great day and refreshing to discover that it is still possible to find remote corners like this in China, even if I wasn’t supposed to be on it in the first place!
We left Bagan at 8am after breakfast expecting a 8 hour travel day. A brief stop after 20 minutes to see them processing peanut oil and palm sugar collection which is interesting to see, and this time I got to try the alcohol as I wasn’t actually driving There are some bonuses to not having the truck!
It’a lovely drive, passing through towns and villages, Watching the kids on their way to school in their dark green longyis and white shirts, the ox & cart making their way down the road, and daily lives in action. The scenery for the first part of the day is not the most inspiring and it’a ll about the people and the culture that you see. We stopped for lunch in a town with no name (on my map at least) and my guide was slightly shocked when I gave everyone an hour to do their own thing and find their own restaurant! He’s not used to our style of travelling, but he joined me to a restaurant and asked me about it. I explained the theory behind it, sharing the love between different businesses and giving passengers the chance to interact directly with the locals. Also, that when we have a big group it can take forever for one restaurant to feed 20 people, so much better that we split up and eat in different paces. It encourages our passengers to be a little bit independent too, although of course we are on hand if they really want our help. Usually though, people are happy to have some freedom and go together in smaller groups to work things out for themselves.
We found a restaurant showing Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and I have to admit that Indiana Jones was one of my heroes when I was little and I still haven’t quite gotten over that love of his treasure hunting and adventures. Maybe those dreams of adventure are partially responsible for my lifestyle today.
We carried on up in to the mountains, heading for the old British Colonial hill station of Kalaw at 1,300 metres. The beautiful scenery on the drive up, coupled with the cooler temperatures makes this a pleasant place to spend some time. We arrive just after 3pm which gave everyone a couple of hours to go and explore the town. I introduced them to a good bakery which sells excellent coffee, and gave them a quick orientation, which when accompanied with a map meant they were well equipped to go and explore, even though it really wasn’t to scale. I headed out to explore a little more of the town, and then received a phone call from Piti. The tourist police had arrived at the hotel and were asking to see our passport. they had been informed that we would be using our own vehicle (still stuck at the border although we finally go the new Chinese registration licence today) so I think they were just being a bit nosey. I dashed back to get the passports to show them, and then decided to head for the hills to see if I could get some good sunset photos looking back over the town.
I walked out for approx 2.5 Km and although the photo opportunities didn’t quite materialise, I had some fantastic interaction with the locals in the area. So many welcomes and smiles, the children wanting to play and adults asking where I was heading and where I was from. The people of this country are truly some of the loveliest and kindest people I have ever met anywhere in the world, and they make this country a very special place to travel through. I’m afraid I nearly ended up with a Myanmar husband though, when one man shook my hand and then raised it to his lips for a betel-nut red teeth stained kiss, then wouldn’t let go for a full two minutes which left me wondering quote how I was going to leave without appearing rude! I made my escape as quickly as I could once he had finally let go!
Amazingly for dinner I found roast chicken and (not quite so roast) potatoes in an interesting sweet gravy… not to worry, it was very tasty and a welcome change!
So I've attempted a few cooking courses now over the last few years. If there is one thing that I have learnt, it is that it all seems ridiculously easy when you have someone who knows what they are doing stood beside you and directing, and all the food is pre-prepared and no washing up is required (not by me anyway). I have also leant that you never go home and do it yourself - admittedly I am rarely at 'home' so this doesn't really count in my case, but if you do get home and have a go then invariably you can't get the same ingredients and it never tastes quite the same! These facts weren't enough to stop my having a go at learning Myanmar Shan state style cooking, and I'm very glad they didn't. We started with a walk and shopping experience around the local market (and the local markets here are great - we only saw two dead rats - one kept getting trampled in the walkway, the other had at least been slung out of the way). Our chef, Lesly, talked us through the different foods on offer, Most of them I am familiar with from my previous visits to Myanmar, but a new one to me was the banana flower which can be used to make a salad. Needless to say, it went in to the basket. A tuk tuk ride to Lesly’s establishment which he has run for four years with his wife, Sue and we were plied with tea and snacks. It’s a lovely little set up, and I didn’t realise when I booked it, but 15% of the fee goes to their charity ‘Hand to Hand’. The couple subsidise 11 orphan children so they can get an education, and provide them a safe haven for them to come and play. Sue was inspired by her father, who invited a foreigner in for food when she was a little girl. None of them spoke English, but his hospitality and attempts of communication through food stayed with her as she grew up, and, in true Myanamr style, she extended the same generosity to travellers when she got a place of her own. Eventually a French lady suggested she should start a cooking school as her food was so good, so four years ago Bamboo Princess was born and is going from strength to strength. Sue still as the humility to thank that French lady for changing her life forever. Anyway, we cooked up a storm. My dishes were chicken lemongrass curry with coconut cream, and a sugar pea leaf salad. Both were delicious and as we can get the ingredients in the UK, I actually have a hope of reproducing them again myself one day. The banana flower salad would have been more of a challenge!
Full of yummy food, we had a couple of hours before all piling int a tuk tuk and heading off to the local Red Mountain winery for a spot of wine tasting before sunset. I must have been squiffy the last time I was here (or just desperate for wine) as I remember it tasting better than it was this time! Nonetheless we stayed for dinner and enjoyed another bottle with our food, so it’s drinkable which puts it a step above the wine we found in China!
That's it, it's official. Contract over, and now time for a few months of rest and relaxation. So, things to come - I'm kicking off with a week learning to dive in Koh Tao, followed by a relaxing couple of days in Khao Sok National Park (if you believe that it will be relaxing then you obviously don't know me very well), and a day at Khao Lak, before heading back to Bangkok and flying on to Hanoi. Three weeks of action packed fun in Vietnam, visiting Ha Giang tribal areas, Halong Bay, a caving expedition, perfume boats in Hue, more fun in Da Lat, a gibbon walk in Cat Tien National Park, finishing at HCMC and the Cu Chi tunnels. From Vietnam I'm heading to Malaysia, looping through Kuala Lumpar, Taman Negara National Park, the Cameron Highlands, Gopeng & Ipoh, Georgetown and Penang - and a quick visit to Penang if I have any time left. I'll then be heading to Sabah to climb Mount Kinabalu, and to enjoying getting out on some rock for the first time in ages - well, strictly speaking an iron road as I via ferrata my way back down. A few days then to rest and relax in some hot springs, meet the orangutans, sun bears and probiscus monkeys before flying back to KL, and on to Auckland. 5 weeks in New Zealand, so much to see! So little time, and fairly weather dependent. Watch this space! I'll try to be better with my blog updates - they are always a little dependent upon wifi and how lazy I'm feeling...
Anyway, todays challenge was to finally see the Royal Palace in Bangkok. It has taken me three visits, and three attempts on this last visit to get there when it's actually open, but I finally l made it! Mark & I got up early for breakfast, and headed down there for opening time at 8.30am which was a good call for two reasons. Firstly it was cooler, and secondly the queues and the crowds by the time we came out were insane! It was well worth the visit. The buildings are incredibly ornate, but my favourite building was the home of the emerald buddha. It is so beautifully decorated, with wall paintings delicately gilded with gold surrounding a very modest (albeit emerald) buddha. The doors are decorated with inlaid mother of pearl, and it had a very tranquil feel to the place, in spite of the number of people coming in to see it. There were many Thai people paying their respects. There is a good view of the front of the Royal Palace itself, but I can't help but wonder if the Royal family don't feel as if they are living in a circus.
Satisfied as we had finally managed to see the 'must see' of Bangkok, we headed back to the hotel, where I did a final sort out of my bag, put a bag in storage until May, and another 'work bag' for Sinead to collect in March, before heading out to the pool to relax for a few hours. At 3:30pm I said farewell to Mark and headed to the train station to collect my night train ticket to Chumphon. I'd booked via an agency which is located across the road from the train station, but I didn't expect extensive roadworks between the train station and the building. It took ten minutes to simply walk around them. No problems actually getting my ticket though, and I relaxed in a cafe next door to have an early dinner of red curry before my train ride.
The train was fun. A second class berth, with a fan, my own private curtain which rendered the fan completely useless, and fortunately a window that I was able to open wide. I decided to get some sleep early as the ferry transfer to Koh Tao is at a ridiculous time tomorrow morning, but I enjoyed looking out of the window and people spotting as the train trundled it’s way out of the city.
Early start! I had to be at the pier at 5.30 for check in for the ferry to Surat Thani. I met Marloes on the way and we headed down together. We headed for the top deck of the ferry and enjoyed the fresh air as we left Koh Tao. The initial part of the journey was really choppy while the sun was rising, but it settled by the time we reached Koh Phangan, and it was like a mill pond from there to Koh Samui and then to Surat Thani where we transferred to a bus to the local airport. I said goodbye to Marloes here as we were heading in different directions. Marloes to Krabi, and myself to Khao Sok. Marloes needed a connection to her bus, but I was able to get a direct minibus to Khao Sok village. The driver was a little insane, dripping with bling and medallions, but very smiley and friendly. I found myself squeezed between local Thai people and enjoying the chaos of local transport as our driver ducked and weaved his way in and around traffic. I’m pretty sure he thought he was a racing driver as his rate of acceleration was dramatic to say the least, and we arrived at Khao Sok fifteen minutes ahead of schedule - impressive on a two hour drive! the landscape had changed dramatically, and we started to see the first limestone karsts. We were dropped off on the main road, where a umber of taxi drivers tried to charge a ridiculous rate ad tried to tell me it was 6Km to my hotel. GPS is a wonderful thing and I knew it was less than half the distance he was telling me. They charge a premium here though as they know there is no competition, but I wasn’t prepared to pay it and I was happy to walk so I left a slightly stunned taxi driver behind as I disappeared down the hill and into the village. It was a pleasant walk, and it gave me a feel for the village as I headed to my jungle lodge. The whole place is literally only here for tourism, but in spite of that it has a nice feel to it. Of course my lodge was the furthest from the main road, but it is located up against the limestone karsts, and next to a river so I think it is in the best location in the village. And it was a bit of a treat to have my very own jungle lodge for a night! They don’t have availability for me to stay in it for the three nights that I am here, but I had decided to reward myself after a week in dorms and it as definitely worth it. I settled down for an nap for an hour and woke up four hours later at 5:30pm! I must have been tired after all of my diving and my early start. I made the decision to stay and eat at the lodge, relax and watch a film in order to recharge my batteries a bit for the next few days.
I had a lie in and it was great! With no rafflesia spotting on the agenda it gave me a free day to relax. I had to move from my jungle lodge to a tent at 11am so I stayed at the lodge and just enjoyed mooching around until it was time to move. I then headed into Khao Sok village for lunch, before heading to explore the National Park. Lunch was good, I opted for Pad Thai which is not usually my favourite but it was very tasty. I found a cheap local place. A German guy, Bruno, was already there and had finished his food so I asked if it was good. We ended up chatting and discovered that we had the same plan so joined forces for the afternoon to explore the jungle.
We headed in to the National Park, paid our entrance fee, and started walking. It’s not as remote as the jungle treks that I have done in Peru and Ecuador, but it was still beautiful. The rainforest in this area is the oldest rainforest in the world, and although the outskirts were primarily bamboo and therefore still quite new, as we continued so the vegetation changed and we started to reach areas of primary rainforest. Along the way we found various swimming holes as the path paralleled the river, so after 5Km we stopped for a swim. We spotted some beautiful butterflies, giant tadpoles, lots of freshwater fish, lizards (large and small) and monkeys (always monkeys!). It was really lovely, and easy walking. We stopped for dinner in town before heading back to our respective lodges/tent, and Bruno bumped in to two girls who he’d been on an island with earlier in their trip so they joined us too.
I’d booked myself on to a day trip out to Chiaw lake in the national park. It was an hours drive to the pier, and during the pick up we ended up changing minibuses as the air con wasn’t working. No worries, but as the journey progressed the temperatures in the mini bus just kept increasing. I was wondering it is was just me, being sat on the side of the bus with the sun relentlessly driving through the window. Turns out it wasn’t. We made a stop at the local market, and I asked if there was any way we could turn the aircon down a degree or two - only to discover it wasn’t working either! Slightly comedy, we the windows and got some air flowing which was much more pleasant.
We boarded our longboat the the pier and headed out on to the lake, and towards the limestone karst pinnacles rising dramatically out of the water. The scenery was simply stunning, dense jungle surrounding the karsts, and the beautiful deep blue water. We stopped at some floating bungalows and a floating restaurant for lunch which was huge! Thai green curry, omelette, stir fried veggies, and fried fish, followed by fresh pineapple and watermelon.
Back out on the lake, and we continued to dry land, where we had a 1km walk through the jungle to another lake spotting tarantulas, flying lizards and dusky langur monkeys. At the second lake we boarded a bamboo boat, passing floating bungalows which are actual homes for the locals and not just designed for tourists, and we headed to a stunning cave. It had some of the best stalactites and stalagmite that I have seen for a long time. We made our way back to the floating restaurant where we enjoyed some free time to relax and swim - the water was lovely! Really warm, and refreshing after our jungle excursion. We had an hours bpat trip to return to the pier, before making our way back to Khoa Sok village and our hotels, before I headed back in to town for dinner, where I met Bruno and Susie for dinner.
I’d booked a bus for midday, so I spent the morning pottering around, enjoying a leisurely breakfast, exploring a couple of the nature trials that the lodge has, before collecting my bags together. The bus collected me from the lodge, and worked it’s way past a couple of the lodges. Susie also ended up on the same bus, although she was continuing all the way to Krabi, while I’m only heading as far as Khao Lak. It was nice to have a familiar face and good company for the journey though.
It only took 1.5 hours to reach Khao Lak, and I easily found my hostel, the Walkers Inn. A quick bite to eat, I headed out exploring. Most of Khao Lak is located along the main road, which is pretty busy, so not the nicest place to be located, but it is only 200 meters to the beach - assuming you can find a way down through the resort that are lining the beach to get to it. That was the biggest mission, and I’m not sure I managed to get there via a ‘public route’ once!
I spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying walking along the beach and watching the sunset, before heading back to my hostel for some dinner.
I headed out for a morning on the beach, although I will confess that I was bored within an hour. I’m not very good at sitting still and doing nothing! I needed to catch a bus by 2pm at the latest, so on the advice of the hostel owner I was back to collect my bags by 12.45pm, and initially stood on the side of the road to flag a bus without success. Time was creeping by, and I knew there was a bus station just up the road, so I decided I might have more luck up there, or I might be able to find a shared taxi to take me to the airport. No luck with the taxis, but a bus appeared on cue and I hopped on for my ride to the airport. It was very straight forward - the bus dropped me at the end of the road, and I took a small tuk tuk for the final few kilometres. It didn’t take me long to get checked in and through to the boarding gate, with a quick bite of lunch to kill some time. I was flying with Nok air, and I have to confess that I was pleasantly surprised by how good they were. Having suffered a couple of cramped Air Asia flights, the leg room was a novel experience! They had given me an emergency exit seat! Overkill for someone with such short legs who fits into most spaces without a problem. I wasn’t complaining.
The plane arrived at Don Meang airport on time, and I took my time collecting my bags as I had a long wait ahead of me. My next check in time is at 4am, so I had decided against the hassle of leaving the airport, finding a hotel, just to turn around an come back again although it did mean I had eight hours to kill. The airport is not that interesting! I settled down with a coffee and a film, then spent a bit of time chatting to friends before trying to get some sleep on two chairs pulled together. It wasn’t hugely successful and I managed about an hours sleep. It wasn’t helped by the fact that it was seriously cold inside the airport! I found myself digging extra layers out of my bag just to stay warm.
Anyway, at 4am I was ready at the check in with my bags, keen to get rid of them and to have a change of scenery on the other side of security where I found I had just enough baht to buy a coffee, a doughnut and a bottle of water. Result!
The flight that never wanted to come finally arrived. Relieved of the effort of trying to sleep across two chairs at 4.00am, I gratefully checked in my bag, went through security and managed to make my remaining baht stretch to a coffee, a doughnut and a bottle of water for breakfast and the flight. Quite a feat seeing as most places were selling coffee for $5 USD! Once on the plane I don’t even remember taking off, I was asleep as soon as we started taxiing down the runway! I woke up as we were descending through cloud to land at Hanoi.
My next mission was sorting out my visa. I already had my letter of invitation sorted out, and I had my dollars ready to hand over. It was remarkably hassle free. I handed over my information and application form, and ten minutes later my name flashed up on an electronic board. I paid my fee, passport returned complete with my visa which I promptly used at immigration and I’m in Vietnam! Another advantage of a slight visa application delay is that my bag was happily circling the conveyor belt so Iiterally just needed to grab it and go. I’d done my homework too as Hanoi airport is apparently notorious for scams, so I’d worked out the bus number and route into the city in advance. I changed some money before I left the airport, and got a local sim card, then headed for the bus. Only one guy tried to tell me that there weren’t any buses at the airport, just as one drive past. I had the luxury moment of pointing and smiling smugly. He directed me to the buses. I actually found everybody really friendly and helpful, pointing me in the right direction and helping me to find the right bus. The conductor on the bus even gave me a map, marked the best stop for me, and made sure I disembarked in the right place. It was only a kilometre to the hostel so I declined offers of xe oms (motorbike taxis) and walked through the streets of the old town to get a feel for the city. I loved it! I’m staying in the old quarter which is full of narrow twisting streets, old buildings, motorbikes parked everywhere (pavements are not for pedestrians) and busy traffic going in all directions but never aggressively. I certainly didn’t feel in danger of being hit as I made my way to my hostel.
My hostel, Hanoi Brothers, is lovely. It’s a family business and the staff are all really friendly and helpful. It was still only 11.00am and too early to check in so they plied me with coffee, a map and some ‘beginner’ translations, recommendations for things to see and good local food restaurants. My first priority was lunch, so I headed around the corner to try Bun Bo Nam Bo, which is noodles, beef and peanuts and really tasty. I’m back in a land where you can get good food for small prices again, which is a pleasant change form Thailand. I also tried my first Hanoi beer.
My next, very cheery, tourist stop was the Hoa Lo prison museum. It was very interesting, although only a small part of it remains with it’s cells, death row, guillotines, stocks and part of the drainage system that a number of revolutionaries escaped through. From there I headed to the Womans museum, celebrating womens role in Vietnam. I had no idea what to expect but it was excellent, providing some information on different tribal marriage ceremonies, birth, Mother goddess celebrations, their role in the American War and work. It was very informative, and actually refreshing to see womens role in society being celebrated which is rare in Asian countries.
I was feeling tired after so little sleep last night so decided to head back to the hostel via Hoan Kiem lake, with it’s little ‘Turtle Tower’ an iconic sight of Hanoi stood on it’s island. I wasn’t properly dressed to visit the temple, but I stopped at the water puppet theatre to check the price of tickets. A show was just about to start so I headed in, unsure what to expect. It was great fun! I’ve seen some really bad shows over the years, but this was lovely and professionally done. The beautifully crafted puppets dance in water, and included dragons, ducks, and amongst other things, a fisherman in budgie smugglers. I was struggling not to fall asleep towards the end though!
I gave up and went back to the hostel where my room was now ready, so my first stop was a shower and clean clothes. Feeling more human I relaxed for an hour before going out for an early dinner of pho bo, or beef noodle soup. the restaurant was full of locals which is always a good sign, and you literally collect your bowl of soup and sit down anywhere, lined up with locals on either side. I had planned on an early night, but within 15 minutes of getting back to the hostel I’d met a German guy and a Brazilian guy and ended up heading out to join them for a beer. They were great company and it was the first taste of Bia Hai for all of us, which is the local Hanoi beer for 10,00 dong which is less than 50 cents a glass.
My first stop of the day was the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, so I headed out after a non-traditional breakfast of chocolate pancakes with fresh fruit. I couldn’t resist! It was a sshort walk to the museum where I was nearly deterred by the number of people queuing. Mentally giving myself a talking to, I got on with it and joined the end fo the queue, dutifully covered up, went thorugh security and shuffeld my way forwrd for the next 40 minutes unitl we reched the mausoleum, relinquishing my camera before going in. It was an interesting experience. The guards are very strict, getting people to line up two by two which is a concept that Asians really seem to struggle with! As we entered the mausoleum there was to be complete silence, no hats, no hands in pockets and definitely no photos of the embalmed Ho Chi Minh who gets sent to Russia for two months every year for further embalming. It’s well organised and managed, and although they keep you moving there is still plenty of time to walk around the body of Ho Chi Minh who is displayed well and just looks like he is sleeping. Very peaceful. It is still an odd memorial to a man who wished to be cremated and scattered with no fuss. I was behind an old Vietnamese man who was truly there to pay his respects, and it was quite touching to watch him.
Reunited with my camera, I decided to look around the grounds of the Presidential palace, Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house and his last office, before visiting the Ho Chi Minh museum. There was a lot of information on Ho Chi Minh, but it was all on flip boards so only one person at a time could read it, so I left the museum knowing little more about Ho Chi Minh than i did when I entered. I must work on my patience! I had intended to visit the military museum, but I was feeling ‘museumed out’ so decided just to head back to the old quarter. On the way I passed a pavement cafe with a little Vietnamese lady selling street food, noodles and something fried. I found myself sat on the worlds smallest stall, eating like a queen for less than a dollar. Whatever it was, it tasted great!
I was toying with the idea of hiring a bike to visit the Ha Giang region to give me a bit more freedom, but after a few enquiries I decided against it. I think I would be fine if the weather is good, but it sounds like it will be changeable and I don’t feel I have the experience to ride a motorbike on winding mountain roads in back weather. Unless I’m in a truck… that’s another matter entirely, but I don’t have that option! Instead, I settled down in a coffee shop and sampled the local speciality of egg coffee which was surprisingly good! It is made with whipped egg white. It’s not an obvious combination, but it does work.
I enjoyed another hour soaking up the old quarter atmosphere before heading back to my hostel to work out my plan for the morning to get to Ha Giang. I made sure I’d exchanged enough money to get me through the next week, before meeting Christian again for dinner. The poor guy really wasn’t very well having picked up a cold on the plane, but he’s great company. We tried cha ca, a shared fish dish which was really tasty.
I was up early and out of the hostel by 8.00am to start my next adventure. An expedition to Ha Giang. I had the address of the bus station, but no bus times and the station was 7Km from my hostel, so my first challenge was getting there. That was easy enough, I found a xe om (motorbike taxi) and balanced myself and my bags across the bike as we whizzed our way through the traffic. Incredibly I actually almost feel safer doing this in a place like Vietnam where all the motorists are so used to looking out for each other and reacting, than I would doing the same in England.
We arrived at the bus station without incident, and I headed in to the terminal where a nice man first tried to sell me a ticket to Sapa, until I told him where I wanted to go and then he helped me to find the right ticket booth. Very helpful! In fact, they were all so helpful and worried that I wouldn’t be able to find the right bus that it was almost a problem as it became a mission to buy a coffee and use the toilet before being whisked off by an escort and installed on the bus! At least there was no chance that I would miss it, but I was more relaxed about it all than they were.
The bus left on time, a scheduled 7 hours to Ha Giang. It was almost empty when we left, there were only two of us on it, but we soon collected others along the way, and a lot of items for delivering along the way. The weather was determined to be grey and overcast, although we only had some light rain once. The locals on the bus were fascinated by me, which makes me wonder how many tourists opt to use the local bus services out here. A shame as they are really good fun, although not as posh as tourist buses.
As we left Hanoi I was struck by how grey and almost ‘Soviet’ in style a lot of the buildings are. Very functional, even down to the Soviet style cemeteries, which all seemed to be little islands of graves surrounded by rice paddies, which gave the Soviet impression an interesting Asian twist. That and the addition of palm trees! The building are all very narrow with a similar sized frontage, and generally very tall, three or four storeys high.
We stopped a couple of times along the way, for comfort breaks and a lunch stop where I had pho bo (beef and noodle soup). Tasty, always tasty.
As we approached Ha Giang so the scenery started to get more interesting, with the first limestone karsts materialising. I was dropped off at a bus station 3Km out of town, so opted to take a taxi to my hostel. It seems nice enough but a little chaotic, largely due to the employment of a number of backpacker volunteers so you never know how to ask for assistance but they’re all very friendly, and the beds are like rock! It was hard work finding out how to book a bus for tomorrow as the lady who runs the hostel kept trying to get me to hire a bike, go in a taxi, or join a group, none of which I want to do! I did eventually get the bus times, and booked on to the midday bus to give me time to arrange my regional permit required to travel throughout the region.
I headed out to explore. There looked to be an interesting viewpoint out over the town, so I headed up the limestone karst to investigate. Turns out that the path leads to a temple. Turns out that from there you’re nearly at the top anyway and there is a viewpoint from the top, so without even meaning to I found myself stood on top of a limestone karst looking out across the surrounding scenery, and very pretty it was too! The was a man at the top doing his yoga - this path appears to be a popular route for fitness fanatics as there were a number of locals walking or running up and down it. I got back down just before dark, and felt absolutely knackered! I wasn’t hungry so I juts got myself a drink and relaxed for a few hours before heading to bed.
I woke up feeling terrible. Typical! Always happens about 10 days in to my time off - a few days longer this time so probably exacerbated by my lack of sleep at the airport a few nights ago. Anyway, I had planned an easy morning to arrange my permit for Dong Van and the region before catching the bus at midday, so it was the perfect excuse to stay in bed for an extra hour. No desperate need to go anywhere, although the beds were so hard there wasn’t any real incentive to have a lie in either. I just made sure I was up in time for breakfast and a shower to try to make myself feel human. Pill popping (paracetamol - the hard stuff!) I headed out to the immigration office to arrange my region permit, which is on the opposite side of town. I got off the main road and wandered down some of the pretty little backstreets. There are more narrow and tall houses here too. One was five storeys high! They are definitely built with a limited frontage.
I got back to the hostel just after 10.30am, and packed my bags ready to meet my bus. Good job I did too, as the hostel got a call saying it was running an hour early and I would be picked up at 11.00am instead of midday! The local bus ride was similar to yesterday. A local bus here is more than just a bus. it is a bus, and courier service, and the bus rapidly filled up with packages, so more seats were taken with parcels than had people in them. It adds to the fun of the experience. once again I was the only white person on the bus, and got my fair share of questioning looks for that, but the people were friendly as and helpful again, if a little more reserved than the locals on yesterdays bus.
We headed to the hills, and the drive very rapidly changed from pretty to spectacular views over rice paddys and terraces, to limestone karsts towering behind them, crystal clear rivers and gorges, then a change again to rocks and boulders, before approaching woodland areas with more limestone karsts behind. It is a beautiful drive, and travels through a succession of small villages, which became increasingly basic as we headed north. It became evident when we entered the tribal villages, as the ladies were wearing traditional dress - brightly coloured skirts, and the ‘tea towel’ head-dress to distinguish the tribes also found in Laos and Myanmar. The locals were working the fields, still with water buffalo and wooden ploughs, and the children were as friendly as ever, waving in response as we passed.
Arriving in Dong Van, the bus driver dropped me off at the end of the road from my hotel, and I checked in. A room to myself tonight which is luxury, although it was freezing! I mean generally, not just the hotel, and I put the air con on ‘heating’ to try and take the chill off. After a quick cup of coffee, and some hand washing (!) I put on my thermals and dug out my down jacket before heading into town to explore. I quickly discovered that there wasn’t much to explore, but it is a pleasant place. One ‘tourist’ street selling souvenirs, a local market which I expect to be buzzing for the Sunday market tomorrow, and a handful of restaurants. I hadn’t had any lunch due to our early departure, and while I didn’t feel particularly hungry I knew it would help to warm me up, so I enjoyed chicken & lemongrass with a spring roll, veg and rice. It did the job, and the restaurant sold hot chocolate which was even better.
I woke up still feeling quite rubbish, but I had a Sunday market to go and investigate, and a quick peak out of the window showed that the market was already buzzing! I had successfully convinced my clothes to dry by hanging them o the fan overnight, so I packed up my bags and had everything ready to go for when I returned.
The Sunday market was crowded with local people from the different tribes in the area, all defined by their different dress and headwear, and looking immaculate. It had a great vibe and I enjoyed wandering through it for half an hour, before going and finding myself some banana pancakes for breakfast. It was fun sitting back and people watching - a family of five squeezed on to a bike, a man leading his pig up the road on a piece of string, and an immaculately dressed young woman in full tribal costume with a motorbike helmet on her head which provided an interesting illusion!
I headed back to the hotel, collected my bags and went to find a xe om to take me to the next town of Meo Vac as there are no taxis in this area. It was 22 Km and good fun sat on the back of the bike as the road wound it’s way up and down the hills. The only trouble was that I couldn’t get any photos as we went as the scenery was beautiful and dramatic, although once again a little hazy. Arriving at Meo Vac my xe om driver dropped me outside a hotel, but I was continuing further to Bao Lac so I headed to the market place where I found a similar atmosphere to Dong Van. I stopped at a coffee shop for a drink and enquired about a xe om to Bao Lac. The lady made a phone call, and within 20 minutes I had a bike and a driver ready to take me. Easy! The bike wasn’t as comfortable as the first ride I’d had, it was a little smaller and I found myself clinging on at the back for dear life as we went up the hills. It was a full on work out over the pot-holed roads, and continued for 70Km so I was relieved when he stopped halfway along for a break so I could stretch my legs and move a little! The scenery was still beautiful, as we dropped down through terraces and into forested areas lining the valleys and the river.
Arriving at Bao Lac, my driver dropped me off and I wandered down the street in search of a hotel. I found one easily enough, which only cost $9 for a private room so I too it and crashed out for a few hours. When I finally stirred myself I headed in to town and found a small restaurant for something to eat. A French guy came in and joined me, and we ended up chatting for a couple of hours before heading our separate ways.
I woke up still feeling pretty terrible, so opted to stay in bed for another hour in preference to exploring the town in daylight. Hopefully I’ll manage to shake this cold off soon and I’ll be back on track, especially as I have my caving expedition in a week. Anyway, I felt more human after a shower so packed my bags and checked out, enquiring as to where I could catch the midday bus to Cao Bang. The hotel receptionist was very sweet and called the driver to come and collect me from the hotel so I wouldn’t have to walk anywhere. As our translation was a little shaky I was a little concerned for a while that i was going to end up with a private taxi, but I heaved a small sign of relief when the public bus turned up at the doorstep.
It was another stunning drive though yet more spectacular scenery, and then it became a little softer. More woodland areas and terraces. The houses started to change from timber slats to concrete homes again. We stopped for lunch halfway along the journey, so I had another bowl of pho - this time with chicken, complete with half a chickens head. Not having the best of appetites at the moment it was enough to put me off a little, so I ate my noodles and the broth but left the chicken at the bottom. I always feel a little guilty about leaving the meat, but I really wasn’t feeling up to the challenge of a chickens head today.
The drive continued for another two hours, into the town of Cao Bang. I didn’t have anywhere booked, so I hopped off at the bus station and confirmed bus times for Hanoi in the morning, before heading down the street in search of a place to live. I crossed a bridge over a pretty filthy looking river, and passed a thriving local market. At least a dozen xe om drivers offered to give me a lift, but as I didn’t know where I was going it was difficult to accept! It was also good to be able to walk and stretch my legs after the 4.5 hour bus journey. It didn’t take me long to find a reasonable little hotel, with a private room and a comfortable mattress!! I was quite excited! And it has hot water. Full marks!
An easy day today. I was feeling marginally better which was a great start, and it was much easier to get out of bed than it has been for the last few days so I knew I was on the up. A nice hot shower to get going, packed my bags and I headed back to the Cao Bang bus station, stopping for breakfast and coffee on the way. The town has an interesting vibe to it, and comes to life in the morning. It had much more atmosphere than when I arrived yesterday afternoon. A buzzing market place, street sellers, street cafes with occupants. It was like a different and more vibrant town. I was sorry not to have slightly longer to just sit and enjoy it. Anyway, at the bus station I was escorted to the bus. I’m starting to get use to VIP treatment now! I’m not sure how I’ll cope in a country where they think I look likeI know what I’m doing again. It was another local bus, and I settled in for the eight hour journey back to Hanoi.
As usual the bus made a few stops en route for comfort breaks and food. I wasn’t hungry so I opted out of the standard noodle soup lunch. I’d found some peanut brittle in Cao Bang which I have quite a partiality to and I’d been stuffing myself on that instead of something more nutritious! The scenery was once again beautiful. This country really is lovely, with the friendly people and beautiful landscapes.
Arriving in Hanoi, the bus dropped me at My Dinh bus station so it was a case of finding another xe om to take me to the hostel. As soon as I stepped off the bus I was inundated, refused them all, found a toilet and then a restaurant for a drink, and once ready I was able to ask at leisure rather than being pounced on by ten people at once. I hate that! The first guy I asked quoted me 250,000 vnd. It cost me 80,000 to get there so I literally just laughed at him and walked away. He came back offering me 70,000 so I agreed and held on for the ride!
It’s always nice coming back to a place that is familiar, and seeing recognisable landmarks, streets you have walked down, restaurants you have eaten at, and people you know - even if they are the staff at the hostel! They were happy to see me again, and asked how my trip had gone before sorting out the details for my Halong bay trip tomorrow. I then headed out to try the local speciality of bun cha dac kim, which is basically patties of grilled pork mince, noodles and a special sauce, but the whole thing is delicious! Whilst there, I was joined by a Canadian lass who was trying to work out how to eat the dish, then her friend joined her and they invited me on to join a group for a drink or too so I accepted and it was a pleasant evening.
I was picked up at 8.00am by the cruise company, and the first half of the day involved getting to the port, so I was back on a bus. This time a tourist bus and somehow it just isn’t quite the same when you aren’t passing parcels out of a back window! Anyway, it was 4.5 hours to Tuan Chau port, with a comfort break halfway through at the most touristy centre I have seen so far in Vietnam. At the port a Fawlty Towers style scenario started. People got off the bus, other people tried to get on the bus, only to be kicked off the bus and the people who got off got back on again… only to have to get back off again, and the people who were kicked off were allowed on. In the middle of it all was my guide with a list in his hand, making wild gestures. Eventually we all got off at the right place (I think) and then managed to get to the right boats. My boat is packed. Okay, so there were five of us on board. A Russian couple, two Italian guys travelling together, and me. Fortunately (for language reasons) I was sat with the two Italians, one who had excellent English and the other a little Spanish) so I had some entertaining company for the duration of my trip. We started sailing and were immediately served lunch, so decided to share a bottle of wine to get the experience going! The food was good with a lot of seafood, not really a surprise seeing as we’re on a bay. After lunch we had some free time as the boat sailed through the bay. It was a bit like wacky races as there are so many tourist boats out on the water, and they all leave the port at the same time and spend their whole time beeping at each other. Similar to the traffic in Hanoi really. The scenery is spectacular, with hundreds of limestone karsts jutting out of the water all around.
We reached our mooring point, and got changed ready to go kayaking in the bay. As we had odd numbers I was in a kayak with our guide (whose name I can’t remember!) and after a few missed left/rights, and grounding on a rock, we got on the same page and it all went a bit more smoothly. It was fun kayaking around the karsts although I would have liked more time to do some more exploring. We headed to a cave tunnel which looks impressive, and you pop out into an enclosed lagoon the other side. There were a lot of people from other boats out there too, but I think we missed the main rush as we were the only ones left by the time we started paddling back. This activity also wasn’t without incident. Firstly, the end of the paddle fell off one of the Italians oars, causing great hilarity as he tried to fish it out of the water. Then the two Italians nearly got run over by a boat, and it was only because they paddled harder that they avoided being mown down! Double trouble maybe! We returned the kayaks, and then headed to Ti Top island, where there was a short walk to get good views from the top. We had a bit of time here, and the chance to swim. The skies were grey and overcast, but it wasn’t overly cold so I decided to brave it and it was very refreshing. I didn’t spend too long in there mind!
Back on the boat I headed to the shower to get warm through and to put on dry clothes, before enjoying some snacks and a chat with the Italians and our guide before dinner.
Dinner was ridiculous, there was so much food! At least five courses, I thought we were done and then the main course turned up. We were even served oysters and clams which was a bit of a treat. I did think that I was going to explode by the end of the meal though. We were given a bit of time to digest it, before heading out to try and catch some squid. We saw a few but we’re obviously hopeless squid fishers as they were all safe from our hooks!
I woke up at 6:40am seeing as they were serving breakfast at 7:00am - bit early for a holiday!! I can’t say too much, I do this to people on long drive days when we are camping. Anyway, I got out of bed and enjoyed the morning views with the first hint of sun since I reached Vietnam. That was exciting in itself. Much more exciting than breakfast which was an interesting concoction of a congealed fried egg, a could of fritters, some soggy sweet fried bread, a slice of processed ham and a piece of cake. It was a classic example of Asia trying to do Western and not quite getting that Continental breakfast quite right. Fortunately there was toast and fruit, so I pushed my unappetising breakfast to the side and filled up on slightly more normal combinations of food, and coffee.
We were herded (literally) onto our little boat again, and taken out to see some caves. Unfortunately we were also there at the same time as the entire contents of every other boat in the bay (insanity but government controlled). It was my idea of hell, but the cave was pretty impressive. Twenty metres above sea level and one of the largest caves in the bay, with one impressive sized cavern. Once out of the initial rugby scrum the crowd thinned a little and it was at least possible to see some of the caves without being jostled. Back to the boat, and we actually had an hour to relax (!) and enjoy the stunning scenery. The sun was out so the colours were more vibrant than we had seen yesterday, and I declined the chance to learn how to make spring rolls to enjoy the karsts that I had come to see. It was time for an early lunch as we were approaching the port again, so we enjoyed chicken soup, spring rolls and then a mix of stir fries which were very tasty. We were back before 11.30am which was a little disappointing, but we settled our bills (Daniele and Marco wouldn’t let me pay for the wine which was very kind of them) and said our goodbyes. It wasn’t the best experience I have had by a long way, largely due to the itinerary, but the boat was comfortable, the crew friendly and the food was enjoyable (minus breakfast which was weird but it all adds to the fun).
My next mission was to try to get to the public ferry. As I had paid a package price for the boat trip I should have had a return trip to Hanoi, and they used this to get me a taxi to drop me off at the ferry port. Admittedly only after I had asked about it, they had tried to charge me and I had pointed out the money I had already paid, but they came good and it didn’t cost me a penny. In honesty, I could have walked it but I was reluctant to as it was hot and not a very nice road.
I was dropped off at the ferry port to discover that the 1.30pm ferry doesn’t run at this time of the year, and the next ferry was at 3pm. For another $4 USD I was able to take a four person speed boat within the next half an hour. It was worth it so I signed up, and I’m so glad I did as it was really good fun! We were whizzing across the bay, and we got great views of the karsts and fishing boats (including ending up in the middle of a fishing net and our boatman spending to minutes trying to find his way back out again). I was with three other random travellers all making their way to Cat Ba island, and being such a small number meant we were also able to share a taxi once we got to the island which made it all much cheaper. The scenery is incredible, and the 10 kilometre drive from north to south across the island gave us a sneak preview to what was to come. It is beautiful! Jungle clad limestone karsts dramatically towered above us as our taxi wound it's way through the valleys.
Arriving at Cat Ba town, I decided to be brave and hire a motorbike as my campsite is 7Km out of town and I am there for two nights. The hills we had already covered convinced me that this is not a good island for a push bike! I got the taxi drive to drop me off at a bike rental place, and after a bit of negotiating to the going rate, I found my self equipped with a bike which I primarily had to get fuel for. Fuelled up, I then needed to get my bags strapped to the back of my bike, and tentatively drove like a granny out of town. It was all fine and I soon adjusted to the weight of my bag. The road forked, and I took the coastal road which immediately deteriorated from a tarmac road to dirt and gravel for the entire journey, with long sections of roadworks where they are apparently widening the road. Typical! A daunting challenge for a novice like myself, but my granny driving came to the rescue and apart from my bag determinedly trying to slide off to the right within 400 metres of the campsite teh journey actually went quite well. My campsite is lovely, right on the beach with views across the bay. Literally the only people here are staying at the hostel as it’s so far out of town, so no passers-by. Anyway, it has a great little vibe, and a chilled out confortable bar. Some para-sailers came down trying to fly, but there wasn’t quite enough wind to get them airborne. It was quite entertaining watching them being blown in all directions across the beach (in a nice way, I still have respect to them for trying).
So I overslept. Not that it mattered as I only had a day of relaxing and sightseeing ahead of me. I had intended to leave the campsite at 9.00am, but it was a lovely morning, and it’s a beautiful location so I was happy just stopping and spending a bit of time enjoying my surroundings. I eventually got organised and left at 10.30am to head back to Cat Ba town to find out the off-season ferry transfer times. I only really need to worry because I need to allow enough time to get to Hanoi to catch my overnight bus to Phong Nah which leaves at 6pm Frustratingly, there is a ferry that leaves at 1.30pm, but the schedule is 3.5 - 4 hours, and I need to get from one bus station to another in Hanoi so if there is a delay I’ll miss my bus. I’m going to have to play it safe and leave on the 9.00am ferry, which sadly means I’ll have less time on this great little island.
I stopped for a bite to eat in Cat Ba town, before heading up the hill to the Cannon Fort, built in 1942 as protection against the French and the Americans. It’s a great little site, really interesting to see with one of the cannons still on display, and various tunnels and trenches to explore. The views from the top were superb too, which of course is why it made such a good strategic position for watching out for the enemy. The whole place is a little overgrown by the jungle too, giving it a slightly wild and lost feeling, and with very few tourists whilst I was there it was fu to explore and spot lizards, birds and butterflies as I wandered the site.
From the Fort i clambered back on to m bike, and headed down to the fishing port of Ben Beo. This was more out of curiousity because I was so close, than for any other reason. It was worth the short diversion, as there were floating fisherman villages on the bay, with towering karsts behind them. Small woven fishing vessels lined the pier and the locals were gong about their daily work. I enjoyed twenty minutes wandering the pier and taking a few photos before heading on to the Hospital Cave 7Km inland.
I had gotten the hang of my scooter by this point, and I was having fun whizzing along the roads (like a granny) and taking in the beautiful scenery. It was a stunning drive on good roads. Arriving at the hospital cave, I paid my entry and headed up to explore. There is not a huge amount to see, but it is still interesting. they had 17 rooms to care for the sick, as a medicine dispensary, and it was split of three floors, although you can only visit two of them. The entrance (now the exit) door is quite impressive, hidden away in a cave overgrown by jungle. I kicked myself slightly for not having used a guide to explain some of the rooms, but while I stopped at the restaurant at the entrance for a drink and a bowl of pho a lovely old Vietnamese man in army uniform came and joined me. It turns out he was sent here for the American war and never left. He now lives in the neighbouring village, and just helps to take the admission fee for the caves.
It was 3.00pm by the time I was done, and I had just enough time for a short walk through Cat Ba National Park. There is a short 1.5Km trail to a viewpoint, which combines as a nature walk with names of the trees, and some information on the natural fauna, not that I saw any. It was a pretty walk through the jungle, and the view from the top was spectacular and well worth the effort of climbing up there. It just jungle covered karsts as far as you can see. I wish I had another couple of days with which to explore some of the other trails in the park, and if I didn’t have a caving expedition planned then I would stay a little longer.
Back from the viewpoint, I headed west back toward the coastal road. The scenery continued to amaze, with high karst sides, and plateaued valleys leading to the coastal road. Heading back to my campsite, I found myself passing mangrove swamps. The new road has been completed here, and it made for a fun drive through a different landscape. sAdly the road didn’t last, and for the last few kilometres I found myself bumping along sections of roadworks once again and creeping past JCB’s and levellers hoping that they would see me!
So sadly today was just a travel day. There were two ferrys leaving Cat Ba island, and the journey was supposed to take 4.5 hours back to Hanoi. The first ferry was at 9.15am, and the second at 1.15pm, and I had a night bus booked from Hanoi at 6pm so that didn't really give me much choice but to take the earlier ferry, no matter how badly I wanted to stay on Cat Ba island for a little bit longer. I got up, showered, loaded my bike and got on my way, arriving in Cat Bay town with 20 minutes to spare - just enough time to get a filled roll breakfast at one of the pavement cafes. The lady running the cafe was lovely, but she kept asking if I have a babay, and then pointing at her ring, and looked really confused when I kept shaking my head. It's offical, I am on the shelf by Vietnamese standards!
I caught my bus, which took us back across the island to yet another port, this time on the northwest of the island, and made a seemless transfer on to our ferry back to the mainland. It was a smooth crossing, teh water was liek a millpond. Sadly at this point it became a little less seemless as our 20 minute wait at the side of the road was closer to 45 minutes, but it was warm and there were nice people to chat to so it didn't matter. We piled on to the bus when it arrived, which took us to Haiphong bus station, from where we were split to go to our various destinations. I hadn't realised there was a bus service to Nin Binh, as that is a better direction to have travelled in and I could have caught the night bus there, but not to worry.
In total it took 6.5 hours for me to reach Hanoi - two hours longer than scheduled, so it was a really good job I'd opted for the earlier ferry! I was dropped at the bus station at the south of the city, and easily found a city bus to take me in the rest of the way. Admittedly it was a little bit of a mystery tour as I had no idea what the actual route was, but the final destination was in the right place so I just went with it, and it took me thorugh the French quarter of the city which has some beautiful buildings and wide avenues so really nice to see. I hopped off and only had a few hundred metres to walk to my hostel so it worked out perfectly. I left my bags at the hostel while I took the chance to exchange some money ready for my journey south, and had my last Hanoi Bun Cha - the yummy pork balls. I was back at the hostel with 15 minutes to spare before my pick up for the nightbus. Another entertaining experience, when I arrived at the office, was handed my ticket and told it was the second bus, only for it to be the 'next' second bus. The night bus was actually very comfortable, but I think it was designed with someone of my height in mind, and I dread to think how some taller guys manage as they must end up really cramped. I settled in for the night, and we arrived in Phong Nha at 4.00am on schedule which is the first time that's happened yet!
The night bus arrived in Phong Nha at 4.00am in the morning. Very antisocial! Fortunately it stopped on the road opposite my hostel, so I was able to stagger bleary-eyed (I’d had a surprisingly good sleep) to the reception and get myself checked in. Obviously my room wasn’t ready as someone was currently in it, but they sorted out some coffee for us and they have a great communal area for relaxing, and hammocks for those who wanted some more sleep. I stayed at Easy Tiger Hostel, and it’s very well set up and run. Generally a younger crowd than me by about 15 years (I’m not joking), not that it mattered as the hostel are very strict about quiet times which is all I worry about to be honest. I just like to be able to sleep in a hostel when I have paid for a bed there. Partying is for bars and clubs.
I had some breakfast when the restaurant opened, and at 9.00am the hostel give a briefing about different activities that you can do during your stay here. I have already booked a caving expedition for the next two days, but I was interested in seeing a little more of the area. There was a Spanish lass also at the meeting, and we were both interested in borrowing a bike form the hostel and heading down to the local villages to explore. There is a pub called ‘The Pub with the Cold Beer’ which makes a good mid-point, so we decided to do it. She was travelling with a friend (who had slept through the meeting) but he was also keen so we headed out as a group. The bikes had no gears, and I discovered that it was impossible to tightened the seat enough to stop it slowly sliding it’s way down to the minimum position so I was practically sat on the back wheel, but other than that they were fine!
The first 10Km was very easy and straight forward. The roads were level, and we made our way down a metalled road past houses and rice paddies. the weather was lovely, the sun had come out to play but it wasn’t too hot, and it was very pleasant cycling along with the river on one side, and the fields on the other. And then the tarmac stopped. We had to pass under the main road and his section is still dirt track and a bit muddy as they have had rain recently. It is also undulating, so we were on our non-mountain bikes with no gears, slipping and sliding and peddling like fury to try and get up the smallest hills. It was hard work but a lot of fun, not least because you know you’d never even think of it at home but out here you have no choice so you just get on with it. By the time we found the pub we had all decided that we had earned a cold beer! We decided to have lunch there too, and they do barbecue chicken. To have it you literally have to choose your chicken, catch it and then they sort the rest. It doesn’t get fresher than that, and their children were very sociable and keen to talk and play while we waited for our chicken to arrive. Needless to say we shared it between the three of us, with rice, salad and a delicious peanut sauce. It was so good!
We had a siesta for an hour after lunch to let our food settle, before we clambered back on our bikes and headed off again. We thought we would try to take a different route back to the hostel, via a homestay, which also made quite a nice loop, and the drawn map that we had showed that we needed to take a left turn at the river, so we were happily cycling along until we got to the river and there wasn’t a left turn. I doubled checked on my phone which I hadn’t been using as it didn’t mark the buildings. In principal it was right, but what the hand drawn map didn’t show was that there was another left turn which we’d passed 4Km earlier! No worries, it was a nice cycle and the road was back on tarmac and level so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. All the village children had been calling out welcomes to us too, so we’d had fun. One more missed turn into some paddy fields where we helped (hindered) a local with their hoeing as they work all of the rice paddys by hand, and finally we were on the right route and heading back to the hostel. We’d only gone a total of 12Km out of our way with detours, but at least we’d seen a bit more of the area.
As we cycled back we passed the Bomb Crate Bar, which is literally built inside one of the old bomb craters. It was open so we decided that with our detours we’d earned another beer, and ended up meeting what turned out to be half of the ex-pat population in Phong Nha. The other half work at Easy Tiger hostel, and the only one I didn’t meet is the owner of Oxalis. They were all very friendly and chatty, and while we talked so a large flock of ducks left the river, came up the bank, crossed the road and took themselves home for the night, which was hilarious to see!
The sun was setting, the most incredible orange colour, so we headed back to the hostel to make sure we were back before dark. I then lost track of my Spanish friends as we were staying in different dorms which was a shame as I would have liked to say goodbye, but I chose to eat in the hostel as I have my expedition tomorrow and I wanted an early night, and I know they were going out so we missed each other. A couple of the ex-pats who I had met at the bar came to the hostel though so I enjoyed talking to them for an hour, and the hostel even serves proper sausage and mash with onion gravy which I haven’t had in such a long time I can’t actually remember, and it was really tasty too! Sometimes there are benefits of ex-pats being around, just for those little missed home comforts.
Adventure time! Today was the start of my caving expedition, so I was up in plenty of time to have breakfast and to try and get organised without waking anyone else in my dorm. Fortunately I had sorted out most of my bag last night so it was pretty straight forward, although someone had left a plastic bag stuck by their bag which I stood on about half a dozen times as it was in the middle of the floor. Why does it always sound so much louder when you are trying to be quiet?
Anyway, I was collected by the expedition company, Oxalis, and taken to their office for our introductory meeting and briefing. There are five of us on the expedition. An Estonian couple, Eva and Ranno, and a French couple, Madeline and Ben. They all seem really lovely so I think we will have a good trip. Our expedition leader is a Vietnamese man called Ken who has excellent English and a good sense of humour. First impressions are that this company know what they are doing which is always reassuring when heading down into caves!
We headed off into the Phong Na Ka Bang National Park, driving for about an hour to get to the start of our trek. We stopped at 8 ladies cave on the way, which has a memorial to eight ladies who got trapped in the cave during the American war and weren’t able to be rescued. Very sad, and I like the fact they now have a memorial for them. the National Park is beautiful. Limestone hills covered in jungle, it was a beautiful drive as the scenery is quite dramatic. We crossed a river which runs through some of the caves, and the expedition guys use the river to assess the water levels in the caves. If water levels are up they know the water in the caves will also be running high and conditions will be more difficult. We are still before the rainy season and at the moment the water levels are good so not problems anticipated.
Fully equipped with gloves and helmets, we headed into the jungle. I’ve never needed a helmet for the jungle before, and initially the walking was very straight forward so it felt like a little bit of overkill. However, it is the company policy and insurances, and I know what that is like! We reached the mouth of the first cave, Nuoc Nut, just in time for lunch. It was a great meal, similar to fajitas but the wraps were rice based, and we filled them up with local sauces one of which had a real kick to it, pork and salads. In addition there were a lot of cakes, biscuits and local sweets. I think they were trying to do their best to boost our energy levels before descending underground!
After lunch it was time to go. We kitted up again and made our way into the cave which is vast and impressive, even at the start. Ken showed me the right settings to use on my camera, and we had a trial run. I was impressed with the results, it would have taken me hours to work out by myself, that’s assuming I’d have had the patience to work it out. I had some great models (the rest of the group) and some strategic lighting (our expedition crew) so the results have left some great memories that I can share with everyone.
Once I had got the hang of the photography side of things, we headed further into the cave. Everything electrical got put into a dry box, and before we knew it we were swimming down through tunnels in the cave, it was certainly too deep for me to stand up and so much fun! The rock formations were impressive as we made our way from chamber to chamber, until we finally reached the end of the cave, and yes, there were more swimming sections involved! the water wasn’t too cold though, about 17 degrees and it was warm enough inside the cave that we didn’t freeze. In fact, the difference in our body temperatures meant that we were steaming, and the cave was already a little foggy as there was a difference in temperature between the air in the cave and outside. All happy and satisfied, we made our way back to the entrance to enjoy some more snacks, before trekking another half an hour to our jungle camp. The trekking got more interesting as we found ourselves scrambling over jagged limestone rocks and mud - the helmets and gloves make much more sense here!
Our jungle camp was positively luxurious! I was lucky enough to have a tent to myself, but they were all under a sheet of tarp. We had a clothes changing tent so we didn’t need to get our tents wet whilst changing, washing lines, bed mats, sleeping bags and pillows were provided. Our compostable toilet tent was a short distance away, and the dining and kitchen area had proper heavy duty wooden tables, again under the cover of tarpaulin in case it rains. Once again we ate really well with a great variety of different dishes to work our way through. As is always the way when camping, the early dark makes it feel later than it really is and we had to work hard to stay up until 9pm!
I woke up before my alarm as it was getting light outside. I was pleasant just lying in my tent and listening to the sounds of the jungle. We had pancakes for breakfast which we really good! Once done it was time to clamber back into our wet clothes which had never really dried out due to the humidity. Never a nice feeling, but we were already camping at the cave entrance and would be back in cave water within 20 minutes so there was no point in putting on dry clothes. This time we were kitted out with harness and via ferrata gear as there are fixed lines in different areas of Hang Va cave.
A quick training guide, and we were on our way, and straight into using fixed lines to get into the cave. Once descended, we followed a fairly fast moving stream though a narrow tunnel, scrambling over boulders and ending up in water which was chest height in places, but not as deep as yesterday. Once again we were able to stop at different points throughout the cave and managed to get some great photos. the rock formations changed rapidly, and Hang Va actually has some unique rock formation that have never been found anywhere else in the world. There were amazing stalactites and stalagmites, some glittered in our head torch light as they contain silica. Brimstone pools, some so deep that they have constructed ladders in order to get over them as they stand taller than me (admittedly I’m quite short, but these weren’t) and by using ladders we don’t cause any damage to the formations. Then there were pools with calcium carbonate towers, where you can see the calcium carbonate floating on the surface of the pools and collecting together, forming towers under the water. It was an incredible cave to see, and I really enjoyed the fact that it was more technical than yesterday. It wasn’t difficult, and the fixed lines are there more for safety as we scrambled about 12 metres above the river on slippery surfaces. It was also really special knowing that we were the only ones down there, and that visitor numbers are so strictly controlled. There is something every special about knowing that relatively very few people have had the chance to enjoy this experience.
Back above ground we had our lunch and an hours rest before trekking back through the jungle, scrambling across more limestone rock. It was a good job we had our gloves as the rocks were razor sharp and we wouldn’t have had much skin left without them. We passed through a jungle banana grove where we were warned against leeches. I applied generous quantities of deet based insect repellent and successfully avoid them. We reached the road, and enjoyed a celebratory beer for a great expedition, before changing into dry clothes for the journey back to Son Trach, and the Oxalis office. As we got out of the minibus I looked down and discovers I had blood all over my toes. Sure enough, in the short time I had been changing, removing my trainers and in 20 metres walk up the path to the road a leech had got me. It had already dropped off, but I found the bite mark nestling between my toes. Every time! They love me! Even more frustrating for having checked and been leech free before I changed! I wouldn’t mind but I find that the bites always constantly itch for about three days - I don’t know if this is the same reaction for everyone but it does drive me a little bit crazy, especially at night. They are worse than mozzie bites!
We all said our goodbyes and exchange email addresses before being dropped off back out our respective hostels. I have three completely different dorm buddies tonight - a French brother and sister, and her Dutch boy friend. They were really friendly and invited me to join them for drinks and dinner so it was a fun way to end the day.
In a moment of wisdom, and the fact that the bus to Hue leaves at 6.30am, I had factored in a rest day to allow some sleep and recovery time after my expedition before heading back on the road. It also gave me time to get my laundry done after the constant drenching and jungle humidity. It never dries properly and tends to make every other item of clothing in your bag smell, even if you keep it separate so I was happy just to be able to hand it over and let someone else deal with it.
I was glad I’d made the decision to stay an extra day. It was raining. Hard. It wasn’t even the sort of rain where it’s worth going down the street, and I was glad I’d made the most of my first day in Phong Nha. I’m fairly sure I’ll be back to see some more caves here at some point in the future so the ‘pottering’ activities will keep. The most productive thing I did all day was to book my ongoing ticket to Hue via the Vinh Moc tunnels for tomorrow, and spent some time chatting to different people in the hostel. I also took the chance to download my photos and sort them out a little bit. Altogether, very uneventful.
Today ended up being a much busier day than I had originally anticipated. The bus was collecting me at 6.30am. It was a Vietnamese 6.30am, rolling in at 6.45am as it was travelling around the town doing door to door collections. We headed south with the air conditioning on baltic. I stood it for about half an hour before checking with the rest of the bus who were all huddled into their coats (I’d been waiting for the bus in a T-shirt) and were relieved at the request to adjust the temperature. Conditions got more comfortable, and I fell asleep as we made our way to Vinh Moc.
The tunnels at Vinh Moc are impressive to see. There were 2Km of tunnels constructed in this area, spilt over three levels. In addition there were numerous narrow trenches, 2 metres deep, and covered with bamboo to prevent them being spotted from the air. This whole network of tunnels and trenches were constructed to help North Vietnam deliver firearms and weapons to South Vietnam on the opposite side of the Ben Hai river. It is a zone known as the demilitarised zone (DMZ), spanning a strip of land from the Laos border to the sea spanning 5Km, with the Ben Hai river being the official ‘divide between North and South Vietnam. The Americans wanted this key point to prevent the militarisation of the South of Vietnam, so ironically the area became one of the most heavily bombed areas during the war, with a total of 7 tonnes of bombs per person being dropped. There are photos of the pockmarked land, literally riddled with bomb craters, which after the war were filled in by villagers so they could farm the land again, with a huge risk of landmines and unexploded devices which regularly caused horrendous injuries and fatalities. With the exception of a couple of areas of reinforcement, the tunnels are largely untouched and after the first 20 metres you are in original tunnels, passing tiny family rooms of just a couple of metres for five people, maternity wards, and a slightly bigger meeting and entertainment room. Very interesting to see.
From the tunnels the bus headed to the Ben Hai bridge, and another museum with more information on the war, after which we strolled across the old bridge and got the good old one leg in the North and one leg in the South photos. It was definitely worth the visit, and I learnt a lot about a war which I actually know very little about.
We continued to Hue where I had to find a place to stay. I wasn’t difficult, the first place didn’t have availability but made a phone call and I found myself with a private room for $2 USD more than a dorm which feels like a bit of a luxury after the amount of shared accommodation I’ve been in recently. Hue is famous for it’s Emperor’s and tombs. The bus to Hoi An leaves tomorrow morning, so I knew I had to do my sightseeing this afternoon. I headed into town to change some money and find some lunch which ended up being pork noodle soup in a pavement cafe with a group of locals. One of them started chatting to me, and turned out to be a xe om driver so offered to take me to see one of the tombs and a pagoda site, before dropping me off at the Citadel which encompasses the Royal Palace. I had to do some hard negotiating with him to get him to a reasonable price, but after 5 minutes we were agreed. It was worth it, some of the Emperor’s tombs are beautifully ornate and impressive. Sadly I didn’t have time to go to the most impressive sights, but even the smaller ones were worth seeing.
The Citadel was impressive. Built between 1804 and 1833 by Emperor Gia Long founder of the Nguyen dynasty, the Royal palace is in it’s own Citadel with a moat, inside the first Citadel, which also has a moat. The gates are beautifully decorated, and although the site was badly damaged by bombs during the war, there is still plenty to see and UNESCO are working hard to help restore other buildings and gardens on the site. Some of the old Emperor’s artefacts and photos are still displayed, and the welcome hall of the Emperor is full of carved pillars, and gold platforms and throne for welcoming visitors. Of course this is the part you can’t take photos of! It was very peaceful inside the Citadel, which is almost a small town nestled in the heart of Hue. Sadly the continued fighting with the French occupation, and then with the American War lead to the end of the Nguyen dynasty in 1945.
I wandered my way back to my hotel, and en route I got accosted by two Vietnamese students who wanted to practise their English, so I sat down with them for an hour and had a chat. They were very sweet, and very keen to learn. Another of their friends came and joined them, and I think they would have had me there all night if I hadn’t said goodbye as I needed to find something to eat!
An interesting start to the day! My bus pick up was supposed to meet me at 8am, so I was happily eating my breakfast when it arrived early. I showed them my ticket, had my bag loaded and got to the bus station, only to find it was the wrong bus - why they picked me up is beyond me! Anyway, they organised a taxi to get me back for the right pick up and I was back on track.
Boarding the bus to Hoi An, I had purchased an ‘open’ bus ticket to Dalat which allows me to get off at stops in between. Anyway, the conductor took my ticket and I told him that I needed it back. on my last bus journey I had seen the conductor reissue tickets so I wasn’t too worried when we left and I still hadn’t got it back, and there were other people on the bus who had done the same.
It was a sleeper bus with Camel company and the driver was remarkably sane (this is a noteworthy element as they usually drive at a rapid rate beeping their horns furiously and cornering on two wheels). The scenery had changed from mountains and hills to beaches and palm trees on one side, a wooded hills on the other. It was very pretty but I didn’t manage to stay awake and slept for a couple of hours, waking as we reached the city of Danang. Danang seems like a very modern and clean city - maybe one to visit if I come back. It was only another 30Km to Hoi An and we were dropped off in town, still with no sign of our tickets. Asking the bus conductor we were directed to the Camel office so a group of us headed down there together working on the policy of strength in numbers! I get the impression this happens fairly regularly, as the guy in the office just made a couple of phone calls, asked who we’d booked through to confirm the ticket bookings and reissued a ticket. It worked in my favour really as I’d been chatting to one of the other lasses, Carly, who didn’t have a place to stay lined up and was easy company, so we stopped for a coffee before heading to my homestay where it turned out we could get a shared room for just a dollar more each than a dorm bed. Done!
We settled in, before changing to cooler clothes as the temperatures had hit 30 degrees and we had blue skies. Fantastic! We headed towards the old town to explore, and found picturesque streets lined with trees and lanterns following the river. It’s very pretty, albeit touristy, but it’s touristy in a nice way. Ticket officers tried to sell us a ticket for the old town, which gives us entry to five sights/museums, but I didn’t want to see any museums, I just wanted to wander so we turned around and entered by a different street. I had checked online - you don’t actually need a ticket to wander the streets but we were certainly made to feel as if we should have one! We stopped for some lunch at a riverside restaurant, which was a local price much to my surprise. There definitely are tourist rate restaurants, but the food we found was on a par with the prices I had been paying at local restaurants in North Vietnam, and a fraction of the prices Carly had been paying. It sounds like she has been in expensive company targeting the tourist restaurants. We tried Cau Lau, a regional dish of chicken, noodles and leafy greens which was yummy, before continuing with our wanders around the old town.
Hoi An is famous for it’s tailors, and I succumbed to a pretty little dress which was a great price and tailored to fit so worth the pennies. I placed my order, got measured and need to return tomorrow morning to try it so there is time to adjust it before my night bus tomorrow evening. The other item I was sorely tempted by were the silk lanterns which look so pretty when lit up as night, but on closer inspection I felt that there was no way I could travel with them until May as they are sure to get broken so sadly walked away. this is when I miss having a truck to store things on until I fly home! In fairness I have enough lanterns and lamps from around the world now, to go in the house that I don’t have so it’s probably just as well.
We wandered until it was dark, and made our way back to the river front where the lanterns were all switched on, and it was beautiful walking along the river. we stopped for a light dinner called hen xao, which is finely chopped clams mixed with herbs and a sauce which was really tasty. The local food here is excellent, and I don’t just mean in Hoi An, it’s been great throughout Vietnam. I’m glad I squeezed in the time to come and visit the town as I so nearly didn’t come here and it would have been a shame to miss it. I do think a night or two would be enough though unless you’re coming on a serious shopping spree!
I enjoyed a nice easy morning and the luxury of waking up and knowing that I had no reason to rush to be anywhere. Breakfast was included so I enjoyed an omelette and the delicious Vietnamese bread - which is fairness is like a french baguette, hence I like them so much. Thank you France for leaving that legacy behind!
Carly and I made our way back to the little dress shop so I could try on my new dress which needed a minor alternation but was a pretty good fit. Carly succumbed and brought herself something too, and we headed to the beach for a few hours to chill out and enjoy the sun and warmth that was missing in North Vietnam. The beach was a few kilometres away and as time was getting on we used a taxi which was pretty cheap in spite of warning of tourist scams. It was on a metre and comparable with the rest of Vietnam. the beach was lovely white sand, fairly busy, although not great for swimming as there were weird sandbars so it would alternate between shallow and deep every couple of metres. I found I would just start to swim and then I was practically on the seabed again! It was nice and refreshing though and a good temperature.
We stopped for some lunch before heading back and trying on our new clothes which now fit perfectly. I headed back to the homestay to collect my bags, and then headed down to the bus company office ready for my overnight bus. Running a little early, I enjoyed an ice coffee to pass the time before heading to the office for 5.00pm. The most frustrating thing about these overnight buses is that you’re given a time to be there, then asked to come back half an hour later, lead down a couple of streets, hang around on a street for half an hour before finally being allowed to board the bus. It’s then another half an hour before it finally departs. They could just ask us to turn up at 6pm. At least I didn’t need to worry about the wrong pick up this time, it’s always less complicated without the middle man.
Anyway, I settled in for the journey and everything seemed to be going well until our driver stopped at a tyre workshop. It was about 10pm so of course there was no one around, but he managed to raise a guy to come and put more air in a back tyre. We had a flat tyre. I think it slowed him down a little and he drove relatively cautiously, stopping for a dinner stop at 11pm, and then at 12.30am found another tyre place who were able to help him change the tyre. I’m assuming he didn’t have the right kit on board to do it himself as a tyre change isn’t difficult, but I wasn’t about to get involved. We were finally on our way again after 1am and I managed to get some sleep.
The bus rolled in to Nha Trang just before 7.00am and we were given a bit of time to stretch our legs and to grab a coffee. I’d met a Canadian guy who was also going to Da Lat, so we headed off to find a coffee together. The first cafe didn’t have any hot water (although they gave us hot tea?) so we moved on to another and enjoyed a view out over the beach with white sands and palm trees. It looks lovely, but very much a seaside resort and apparently it is very popular with Russians. General feedback from other travellers was that it wasn’t really worth a stop so I’d missed it out, but it was a pleasant place to spend half an hour before clambering on to the next bus.
The next bus wasn’t a sleeper bus, it was a local style bus, therefore small seats, tiny aisles and not a lot of leg room. A few of my fellow travellers weren’t very impressed, it certainly isn’t designed with large European men in mind. These are the times when I find my short stature of particular benefit as I fit quite nicely.
The drive to Da Lat was simply stunning. Rice paddies with rolling mountains rising behind them. The weather was perfect too with blue skies and without the winter haze that seems to hang across the Vietnamese landscapes at this time of the year. People all around me were falling asleep, but the mountain road and views were beautiful and well worth staying awake for. We had a pit stop half way through where I found a barbecue pork roll which was delicious and made a great breakfast. the next section of the drive passed through coffee plantations and forests. Da Lat is situated at 1500 metres above sea levels so we’d ascended quite a way from sea level and the landscape was very different.
Arriving in Da Lat, the bus only dropped us 1km from my hostel. I had a few reservations about this one as it is only $4 USD per night and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I need not have worried as it is lovely. A great location, spotlessly clean, my bed was queen-sized, good facilities, and unbelievably breakfast was also included for the price. I’m not sure how they make any money but I’m glad I found it.
So Da Lat is an old French holiday resort, built to escape the heat of Saigon. the houses are French colonial in style, there is a pretty lake in the middle and some nice gardens, and a mobile phone tower shaped like the Eiffel tower, but that’s where the French feel stops. Abruptly. Reviews describe this town as laid back and relaxed, and a destination for Vietnamese honeymooners which was a complete contrast to what I actually found. The place was frantic! There was typically Vietnamese traffic barreling down every road, and the public spaces were too close to the road to have a hope of being peaceful. A real shame as in essence it is a pretty town, but one built for a different pace f life to that being lived there at the moment. It does however have a great indoor and outdoor market which was bustling and vibrant. My lasting impression is that the draw of Da Lat is found it’s surrounding areas, rather than the town itself.
I had one of my more interesting experiences in Da Lat. There is an attraction know as the the Hang Nha Crazy House, which is an artistic surrealistic example of architecture made on concrete. It is a maze of steps, buildings and narrow concrete walkways and bridges - none of which ever seem to take you where you think they will, and it is one of the most random experiences I have had since I have been in Vietnam. Once in, you’re sure to get lost and it easily took me 10 minutes to find my way back to ground level once I had started trying to get back down!
My bus pick up to Cat Tien National Park was at 9.20am so I had a fairly easy morning, packing my bag and having a leisurely breakfast. The pick up was on time for once, and it gave quite a nice tour of some of the streets of Da Lat that I hadn’t managed to see. My bus turned out to be a very local bus company, but the nicest sleeper bus that i have actually been on and they even gave us all a bottle of water and hand wipes for the journey. Of course, I couldn’t understand any of the announcements but as before that didn’t cause a problem as there were enough locals around who were anxious to make sure I was alright.
The journey took just over four hours, including a lunch stop. I tried some street food, which I think was a rice jelly with beef mince, but I wouldn’t like to swear to it. It was tasty which is all that really matters. There was also a stall selling fresh pineapple which rounded it off nicely.
The bus conductor came to notify me five minutes before my stop, as the bus continues to Ho Chi Minh City. There isn’t a bus direct to Cat Tien National Park, so I needed to find alternative transport for the final 24Km, but the conductor helped me and within 30 seconds I had a xe om ready to take me and at the going rate too. I’d been prepared to haggle the white persons tax, but it wasn’t even necessary, possibly because the conductor had helped me.
I hopped on to the back of the motorbike taxi and we were soon whizzing down a small road on our way to Cat Tien, past fields and small houses. The road was pot holed and bumpy, but quite good fun, and soon joined a bigger road for the final stretch. My driver dropped me at the National Park ticket office, where I purchased my ticket, helped the lady at the desk with a couple of English pronunciations (her request!) and then she called the ferry and showed me the way to the river crossing. A jeep pickup was ready to meet me on the opposite bank, which travelled about 200 metres to the information centre and reception for my hotel, before taking me a further 200 metres to my room. It felt quite luxurious not having to carry anything, having been walking around with my bag on my back for so many days, but also slightly over the top for such a short distance. I wasn’t complaining!
When I got into my room I fell asleep for a couple of hours, I was so tired. I think the combination of bus journeys and places I’ve seen in a short period of time since I left Phong Nha caught up with me a little bit. I woke with daylight to spare though, and took the chance to go for a walk down some of the tracks before it got dark. I’d also noticed some information about a night safari, so on my way back I stopped to enquire about it. I’d timed it right, it was due to leave in ten minutes so I paid for a spot and hopped on the jeep. I’ve been on more successful night safaris, but we did see a civet cat climbing a tree, and a weasel which looked like an overgrown fat stripy cat as it scurried away into the bushes. We also saw at least a dozen samba deer. The novelty of seeing deer at night has worn off on me somewhat as generally they are also fairly easy to see during the day, but they do add some interest and they are nice to see. I was more happy to have seen the civet cat and the weasel though!
Early start! The gibbon tacking trek was scheduled to start at 5.00am, so my alarm went off at 4.30am. Not that I needed that long to get ready, but it does help to have some extra minutes to wake up when there is no coffee involved to help get me going! I met my guide, Tom, outside the reception building, and we walked about a kilometre down the track, and then into the jungle until we reached an old tree with great buttress roots to sit on while we waited for the gibbons to start their morning singing. It was quite pleasant sitting there in silence listening to the jungle noises as the nocturnal animals go to bed, and the rest of the jungle starts to wake up as the sky lightens. While I was sat there I saw a mammal ‘fly’ from one tree to another. I thought it was a flying fox, but Tom described it as a flying weasel, which I have never even heard of, so I suspect it may be lost in translation. I’ve googled it but the wifi isn’t really good enough here so it will have to wait! I also saw a civet cat disappearing up a tree.
We heard the gibbons start to sing, but it turned out that they were from the primate rescue centre across the river. Tom left my briefly to see if he could hear the other gibbons, and was back in an instant once they started singing. We headed off the jungle path, straight through the bamboo and undergrowth to go and find them. It was really good fun, not that easy to pick our way through some sections, but we reached them within about ten minutes. I still couldn’t actually tell you how many we saw. There was one female, golden brown in colour, plus an adult male, black in colour and at least one juvenile. They were really high up in the trees, which is where they like to stay as it is safe for them up there. We followed them through the jungle, for about 1.5 hours, watching them swinging through the trees, playing and fighting over food. They are usually so difficult to spot and there were a couple of times that I thought we had lost them, and then Tom would spot one of them again and we’d be scrambling our way as quietly as possible through the jungle again to follow the family. It was well worth doing, and there is something very special about being able to watch them in the wild.
At 7.30am we headed back to the lodge for breakfast, and then I had an included trip to the primate rescue centre at 8.30am. Just enough time for a shower and to pick bits of bamboo out of my hair! For the trekking I had been lucky enough to be all on my own (numbers limited to four people), but it was nice to have company for the centre which was extremely good. They look after four species of primate, three endangered and one critically endangered. Ironically the only species we were able to see where the golden-cheeked gibbons, as the slow loris and pygmy loris were sleeping, and the black shanked doucs are in the middle stage of rehabilitation so in a semi-wild enclosure, and currently they don’t have any silvered langurs in care which is great news as it means they haven’t found any illegally for sale in local markets. It was very interesting to see, to have the chance to learn a little more about the primates and they have a 85% success rate in returning the primates to the the wild which is a great rate. Those that are kept is due to them having contracted a virus from being in such close contact with humans, and they would only infect the healthy wild population if released, but at least they have a better quality of life at the centre than in a flat or cage somewhere.
Returning to the lodge, I checked out and hired a bike. I still had a whole afternoon to explore some more of the National Park, so I headed out on a 9Km bike ride, followed by a 5Km walk to reach Crocodile lake Now 9Km on a bike isn’t very far, and initially it was a concrete track which was fine on my bike with a basket and no gears. Then it became a rocky dirt track which my bike with no gears, designed to go to the local shop and back, really didn’t like. Butterflies were flying faster than I was moving as I bumped down the road (they were really pretty though). I was quite relived to get to the jungle track to walk to the lake! It was a lovely track, full of jungle sounds, noisy cicadas that fell quiet very time I reached their tree, hundreds of beautiful butterflies, large trees with their impressive buttress roots, and fungi growing on dead trees. Also a lot of different species of lizards, and some beautifully coloured species of tropical bird.
Reaching the lake, it is possible to hire a canoe and head out to see the fresh water crocodiles. They were endangered, so got moved to the lake as it is in a protected area, so this is the only place in the park where they are found. I was running out of time though, and having seen a few crocs over the years I decided against it and headed back to my bike. On the way I disturbed a bright green snake sunbathing on a tree root next to the path. It was about 18 inches long, and very skinny. Again, one to google!! I asked the guys at reception when I got back, but they didn’t know what it might be.
The bike ride back was worse than the journey out. I hadn’t noticed the slight decline in the track on the way out as I think I was concentrating on the path too much, but I certainly noticed it on the way back as it was even harder work than the way out! I was very happy to reach concrete again, and stopped at a lodge to grab some more water before returning to the reception. It had a lovely view over some rapids on the river, and also gave me the chance a rather dark storm cloud looming over the jungle and heading my way. I didn’t hang around, I jumped back on my super-performance rattly bike and peddled as fast as I could go back to the reception to collect my bags. I wanted to move to my new lodge before it started raining if I could. I dashed (rather lumbered with my bags) down to the ferry, reaching it just as it was departing, and as we crossed the river there was some spectacular lightning lighting up the clouds that were almost upon us. Fortunately my lodge is literally 300 metres from the ferry crossing, so again I dashed (lumbered) down to the lodge and got checked in just in time. Five minutes later the heavens opened, but I was happily under cover in my bamboo lodge swinging in a hammock as the rain thunder and lightening went on around me. It lasted about an hour before clearing, at which point I decided it was time to find some dinner because I was starving!
I made the most of my last morning in the jungle, slightly regretful that I didn’t have another day to relax and enjoy my surroundings for a little longer, however considering that wanted the chance to explore Ho Chi Minh City and the Cu Chi tunnels then I needed to get going. There was no need to rush though, and I enjoyed relaxing until 11.30am, enjoying a leisurely breakfast with my dinner companions from last night and making the most of some hammock time. Check out was at midday, and the buses leave every hour, so I got myself organised, headed to the bus stop and spent fifteen minutes chatting to a local lady while I waited for the bus to arrive. I was one of the crazy local buses with entertaining driving again, and once again I was the only tourist on board. We had the usual stop halfway though the trip, and it only took us four hours to reach the bus station in HCMC. It didn’t take me long to work out which city bus I needed in order to get to District 3 which is where my hostel is, and it was an interesting ride into the city with the crazy traffic, thousands of motorbikes and some beautiful buildings.
I hopped off and had my first experience in crossing the road. Crazier and busier than Hanoi, the biggest issue is that the roads are much wider so traffic was moving a little faster and I used the ‘Hand of God’ (put your hand out and walk) to good effect - mentally I was thanking my India contract for the training in this technique! I headed down into some of the older smaller streets, with narrow alleys and the narrow fronted houses. Sure enough, my hostel was in one of the narrow houses which I was quite pleased about as I’d been interested to see how they organise the space inside. Every last inch is used to maximise space. There wasn’t much room, but there was enough, the bathrooms had been well thought out and there was adequate bag storage under the beds so that at least we could walk around the room without falling over. It was only about four steps from one side of the room to the other anyway!
Settling in I met another of my dorm buddies, a lass called Jan from South Africa. We got on well and she invited me to join her for dinner with two Lebanese guys that she had met earlier in the day. I accepted as I hadn’t yet got my bearings in the city and it’s nice to have company. Steering away from Vietnamese food and noodles, the guys had targeted a sushi restaurant which was very good. They had spent two weeks successfully cycling from Hanoi to HCMC, and without any major incident along the way. I was impressed!
I woke up feeling inexplicably grumpy, so I decided I needed to head out and find some coffee to get myself going, and started making my way towards District 1 where the war museum, Ben Thanh market, Notre Dame and Independence Palace are located. I found a coffee shop to sit in while I worked out my plan of action, where I ended up with a bowl of ice cream for breakfast! That certainly helped me to improve my mood. I decided that my first stop was to sort out my trip to the Cu Chi tunnels for tomorrow, and I had discovered that it is possible to reach them using a speedboat trip up the Saigon river, which arrives earlier than most of the standard buses so largely beats the crowd. I was only a couple of streets from the agency so I headed in that direction, passing through the bustling Ban Thanh market where I think you can probably buy anything, including more civet cat coffee.
Trip arranged, I headed towards the Independence palace, where North Vietnam officially took control of South Vietnam. On the way I passed the Saigon opera house, the main Post Office, Ho Chi Minh city hall, and the Vietnamese Notre Dame, which are all beautiful colonial buildings. I’m not entirely sure I would describe the Independence Palace in the same way. The formerly beautiful building was bombed and destroyed during the war, and it’s replacement certainly doesn’t have the same visual impact or appeal, reminding me more of a slightly out dated office block. It was worth stopping to have a look though, and exploring the rooms inside, including the war bunkers in the basement. While I was there the heavens opened and a tropical storm with a deluge of rain, thunder and lightening imprisoned everyone inside the Palace. I finished looking around and the rain showed no sign of abating. I spotted a restaurant about 50 metres away, so I made a quick dash to it, of course getting saturated in the process, but I decided it was better to pass the time there where I could have some lunch (beef noodle soup) than in the exit of the Palace.
By the time I had finished my lunch the rain had abated and I made my way to the War museum. The museum was hard hitting, but excellent and well worth the visit. There were many photos taken by journalists of the war, both of the Viet Kong and the US military. It described in details the horrific ongoing side effects of those affected by Agent Orange, sprayed to defoliate the area of the Cu chi tunnels. It also touched on the issues of landmines. I’m not sure it would be a comfortable experience if you were an American, and I left feeling quite emotional and depressed about the effects of war. I don’t agree with war anyway, as it is such a senseless waste of innocent life and of resources, yet no one ever seems to learn from previous experiences and they continue to go to war.
I stopped for a coffee and to reflect upon what I had just seen and read about. On the next table there was a Canadian man, who I got chatting to. It turned out that he was involved in foreign affaires, and he had some interesting stories to tell about different people he has helped to get out of prisons from around the world over the years. We headed our separate ways and I stopped to try rainbow spring rolls on the way back to my hostel, before just settling down for an early night in preparation for the Cu chi tunnels tomorrow.
I had an early start, with a bus pick up at 7.00am. It couldn’t get to my hostel which is down tiny little alleys, designed for people and over run with motorbikes as usual. The bus whizzed everyone down to the boat dock, which strangely was in the same location as a restaurant. Very odd! We hopped on, were handed drinks and breakfast, and then enjoyed the speedboat rid up the Saigon river, passing slum areas, businesses, resorts, fishermen and jungle on our way to the tunnels.
Arriving at the tunnels, we had the choice of watching a documentary or visiting the tunnels first. We opted for the tunnels before they got crowded. They are very well presented and it was excellent to see. We had the chance to head down into different tunnels that have been widened for foreigners, and it highlights how difficult it was for large built Americans to ever get down there, and the need for the ‘tunnel rats’. One of the tunnels isn’t widened and you would literally need to crawl on your belly to get down it. They also displayed the simply yet effective booby traps used by the Viet Kong. There was the opportunity to fire an AK47, but at $23 USD for 10 bullets I decided against it. The tunnels themselves are impressive, as they wind with 90 degree turns to reduce the impact of grenades and gun fire, drop up and down different levels so as you approach all you see is a blank end wall, and twist and wind their way underground which makes orientation much more difficult. There were three levels of tunnels, at 5 metres, 7 metres and 10 metres in depth, and by the end of the war the tunnel network extended for more than 200 kilometres. We had lunch at the site, before getting back on the speedboat for a speedier journey back down the river and then being dropped off at our various hotels. I think everyone else on the tour was staying in five star hotels!
Back at the hostel, I messaged Cat who I had met at Cat Tien National Park to see if she would like to meet for dinner, before falling asleep for a couple of hours. I woke up to find a message from her so we managed to get ourselves organised and find a place to meet more or less in the middle for both of us. It was a Vietnamese restaurant called Secret Garden, and it is a little roof terrace with lots of plant sand lanterns, so a pleasant place to spend my last night in Vietnam. Cat is good company too, and she was so pleased that I had taken the time to contact her which makes me think that the life of an ex pat can get very lonely. It’s nice to know that a very small effort on my part can make a big difference to someone else. We headed to a bar after the restaurant for a couple of beers, before I said my goodbyes and took a xe om back to my hostel.
After 3.5 fantastic weeks in Vietnam, it was time to move on to my next country. Before I did, Vietnam deserved a little reflection. The incredible people of this country have come through so much hardship in what is still relatively recent years, and yet they are consistently welcoming, show no bitterness, and they go out of their way to be helpful. The country is hugely diverse, from the tribal lands of the North, to the spectacular limestone karsts and caves, the beautiful clear blue coastal waters, and the picturesque southern highlands. Add a jungle or two for good measure, and this country has something for everyone, plus a good transport system and excellent food!
I packed up my bags and started my journey to the airport. First stop was a xe om, to whizz through the traffic to the bus station which was 3 kilometres away. I don’t mind walking, but it’s hot here and I had a day of travel ahead of me so decided against the hot sweaty approach. At the bus station it was very easy to find the airport bus, which took about half an hour to get me to the international terminal. Very easy and the whole journey set me back less than $1.50. Bargain!
I got checked in, headed through security and whiled away my time until the flight was called. The airport at Ho Chi Minh City is actually pretty good, with enough small shops to wander to help pass the time. The flight was only an hour and a half, and I found myself sat next to a Sri Lankan guy who was very chatty and by the end of the flight asked me to marry him! I think his expectation of white women is a little out of sync with reality!
Arriving in Kuala Lumpur, I sorted out some local currency and a sim card, and then phoned Priscilla who was a passenger on one of my trips nearly four years ago, and who I am staying with and travelling with for the next couple of week. I took the train to Central Kuala Lumpur where Priscilla was waiting to pick me up. It was raining really hard, but even so I was able to get my first views of the Malaysian palm oil trees on the ride in to the city. I found Pris right on time and we headed to her apartment. It was great to see Pris again, and I can’t describe how nice it is to be in a home rather than a dorm or a hotel room for once! Throw in two cats for company and it felt like a real home. We stopped for some rotis on our way to her apartment, and then spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and catching up, finally crawling to bed at 2.30am!
So today was one of those random days where things happen that you just don’t expect to happen. It started with the mundane. Pris has hired a car for our road trip around Malaysia as her car is 18 years old and she doesn’t trust it to get to around the whole country. Car safely delivered, we headed for breakfast at Indian restaurant called Banana leaf which essentially serves a thali. Really tasty! From there is was on to the shopping mall so I could exchange a bit more money (the airport rate isn’t great) and we could stock up on items like insect repellent for our travels.
Priscilla then hd to meet some friends who were doing a live facebook broadcast. Fro 20 years Pris used to present the traffic reports on radio for Kuala Lumpur and she was very successful at it. Her two friends, JJ and Rudy were two of the top DJ’s on Malaysian radio. As we drove to the bar it started to rain, really heavily! Fortunately we found a parking spot just outside the bar and we were able to dash across the road. We got there just for the end of the broadcast, when JJ spotted Priscilla and invited her up for a chat extending the show. Within a few minutes they had moved on to travel, Pris mentioned over landing (she has done two trips since her first with me in Bolivia in 2013), and before I knew it I was invited up tot jin them. Completely unprepared I managed to answer questions about Dragoman for five minutes without once mentioning adventure travel! The guys were keen to know offer advice on how to travel safely to single women, so Dragoman got a good plug!
Excitement over, we headed to a different bar called the Lock up, where the door is hidden as a wall of lockers, but it has a really good atmosphere inside once you’ve worked out how to get in. I met some more of Priscilla’s friends, and then we headed back to the apartment and loaded the hire car ready for an early start in the morning. Dinner was at some local food stalls, chicken satay with peanut sauce which was yummy! Pris then realised that I still hadn’t really seen any of the sights of Kuala Lumpur, so we went for an evening city tower when the traffic was quiet to see the impressive twin towers and the Kuala Lumpur tower. It’s a very modern high rise city.
I woke up feeling hot. The electricity wasn’t working, so the room temperature was increasing rapidly in the heat and the humidity. We were supposed to stay for an extra day, but heading into the village for breakfast we had a discussion about it. The rain clouds were already building and after a quick chat at reception it sounded unlikely that we were going to have the opportunity to visit the tribal village again in the afternoon. We decided to leave a day early, so packed up the car, checked out and headed to the east coast.
The roads in Malaysia and surprisingly good, with decent surfaces. The roads are lined with palm oil trees and rolling hills so it’s very pretty driving along. It was 350Km to our next stop, and as we were having an extra night on the beach we decided to bush camp. Priscilla has all of the gear, tents and cooking equipment so we stopped along the way to buy some food and ice. We brought ice from a tiny general store, as as we were filling to cooler so we heard an almighty crash. Looking around, one of the drinks refrigerators has fallen over. We couldn’t work out what had happen and an instance later I spotted a tiny foot with a flip flip sticking out of the side. Priscilla and I rushed to the refrigerator, one either side and lifted it back to standing. The shop owners daughter had apparently been playing with the door and it had toppled over on top of her, glass shattering everywhere. Fortunately it had fallen over the top of her, the glass had broken but it had left her in the interior of the unit (apart from her foot which was fine) and the space had saved her form being crushed. She was bleeding from a number of glass cuts, with a larger one on her head, and still covered in glass shards. We lifted her clear and stripped off her clothes so she couldn’t do any more damage to herself, before grabbing a bottle of water and rinsing the other glass shards off her as she was literally covered in them and we couldn’t safely even start to do a proper assessment of her injuries until they were clear. Remarkably she was okay. The was a larger gash on her head where I think one of the shelves had caught her has it wasn’t a typical glass cut injury, so once making sure there was no glass in it we used a dressing to help apply pressure and stop the bleeding. A quick check of her other injuries assured us that there wasn’t anything else more serious going on. Her mother was beside herself (understandable) and I got Priscilla to tell her that she needed to get her daughter a change of clothes to keep her warm in case she went into shock, and to get her to a hospital to have her checked out especially because of the head injury. The little girl was very good, obviously crying a lot, but both Priscilla and I marvelled that she wasn’t more seriously injured as her mother sped of with her on the front of her motorbike. We packed up our ice and left. We will be coming back the same way so we plan to stop and see if the little girl is okay.
Our holiday spirits accordingly toned down, we headed to the next town to buy some chicken for a barbecue, and some veggies ready for dinner, and headed to our bush camp spot. Priscilla knows a guy in the area and has stayed at the hotel which we are going to stay at tomorrow night, so asked permission to stay on the beach and he kindly gave us free use of a toilet and shower. We arrived with just enough time to set up our tent and get a camp fire going before it got dark. We settled down and rewarded ourselves for our days efforts with a drink or two before getting our barbecue started. It was great, I love the taste of food cooked over a wood fire. Chatting away, we were both surprised to look at the time and discover it was 5.30am!
Pris and I headed into Georgetown to do some exploring. We negotiated our way through the labyrinth of one-way roads, finding our way to a car park on the north east corner of the island, next to the Queen Victoria diamond jubilee memorial. Abandoning the car, we headed to a coffee shop for some refreshment, and to get our bearings. The lady serving us was incredibly helpful and directed us to the tourist information office so we could find a map listing some of the main attractions, and from there we found a food court and enjoyed a yummy local breakfast while we put together a plan.
Georgetown is famous for it’s street art (amongst other things) so we plotted a winding route through the streets to track down some of the more popular murals, and sculptures, enjoying the colonial style architecture and small winding streets en route to the upside down museum. The whole museum is literally upside down, based on a house. It’s really good fun and well done. Back out on to the streets, we headed back across town as I was keen to see the time tunnel museum to learn a little more about the history of Penang (and Malaysia) as my knowledge is woefully lacking. This area of the world wasn’t covered in my school history lessons so it was interesting to follow the timeline and the different influences that have moved in an influenced the development of the country over the years. The upstairs section also had a fun photography section so I found myself fighting Darth Vadar, riding a bike with Batman, and heading into space.
On our way to the museum Pris was distracted by a palm reader, and went in to have her palm read. I will admit to a high level of cynicism on palm reading, but the lady was surprisingly accurate and mentioned a couple of things that were right about Pris that she had no way of knowing, and weren’t an obvious guess so I was persuaded to have a go. I’m not sure that I’d say that she was as accurate for me, but then I don’t really fit a ‘normal’ box in any path of life so why should I be different in the world of palm reading. I was sent away being told that I am happy go lucky, should be a teacher, and that I have until 49 to find a man, he must be older than me as a younger man won’t ‘work’ and his birthday must be in double figures but preferably born on the 19, 21, 23 or 25 of the month… There is nothing quite like limiting my options!
From the museum we stopped for a snack on the sea front, before completing our loop back to the car park via the memorial cenotaph for the first and second world wars and other losses. Pris had never even realised it was there, so I am now teasing her that I’m giving her a guided tour of Malaysia and not the other way around. We continued to the Cornwallis Fort, a defence point on the corner of Georgetown. The fort has a fantastic collection of cannons that were confiscated from pirates, including the Sri Rambai cannon that was casted in the 1600’s, and supposedly lost to sea when the boat it was being transported on (the Sri Rambai) was sunk after conflict with pirates. The cannon is meant to have risen by itself in 1880 after a prince made a curse on the cannon by tying a thread to his finger and commanding the cannon to come out of the sea. It is now believed that the cannon possesses magical powers whereby if an infertile lady places flowers on the cannon she will then be able to conceive a child.
Sightseeing over, we made our way out of Georgetown and back to our guesthouse to watch the sunset. The sun had gone down, but there was a great lightening storm out over the sea which I was trying (unsuccessfully) to capture, when a lad rode past with a pony offering pony rides. I had no money on me but I made a fuss of the piny, who was called Don. Apparently I was doing something right as he then offered me a short ride up and down the beach for free. I decided I was going to pretty safe if I was on the back of a horse, so hopped on and chatted to the lad who is actually from Mandalay in Myanmar as we headed down the beach, little Don happily making his way along the sand. I had to smile for the mandatory photoshoot before heading back to Pris sat on the beach (a fair exchange for a free pony ride). Excitement for the day was over, and we headed to a sea front restaurant for a sea bass dinner.
We went for an 8.00am start, heading away from Penang and down to Gopeng to visit the ‘Coconut caves’. It turned out that there were four tours available, and we only had the time to do the shortest tour. The others actually involved follow the caves rivers and look really good. We satisfied ourselves with a 45 minute walk into the cave which turned out to be quite spectacular, with a soaring roof and towering stalactites and stalagmites. Again, this was a place that Pris has never visited and we were both impressed, and left wishing we had the time to explore the cave a little more. We did see a big monitor lizard crossing the road as we were leaving though!
The day was basically a long drive, from Penang to Melaka, and the weather was pretty bad so it was a good day to be travelling. It also turned out to be a good day to leave Penang, as we discovered later in the day that they have had heavy rain, flash floods, and some people are cut off! Yet again, I have narrowly stayed ahead of a natural incident.
We reached our guesthouse just outside Melaka at 5.30pm, and after a quick shower we headed into town to find some food and to visit the weekend night market on Jonker Street. All I can say is that it was like being transported back to China, busy but not quite as pushy. Street food, squeaking dog toys, cheap watches, charging units, T-shirts, children’s toys, you name it, they have it. We found a Malaysian cafe to have some food, but when the call to prayer started they switched off the music in respect, and only restarted it once the prayers had finished. It is the first time I have come across that in Malaysia. There is also a Hindu temple, next tot a mosque, next to a Chinese temple, all on the same street which just proves that different religions can co-exist side by side, although it is rare even in Malaysia where the different religions and cultures tend to be very segregated into their own areas.
Back at the guesthouse, we headed out to the beach for a nightcap (I’m down to tonic water as the gin has gone!) and enjoyed a spectacular lightening display which was out over the sea. Unfortunately it started raining which was the end of my sober party, as I sought refuge in my bed.
My alarm went off at 6.00am, and amazingly it wasn’t too difficult to drag myself out of bed. I got myself organised, jumped in a taxi and got back to the bus station to find two bus companies touting for business. One was quoting me white person price, and the other were charging the price I had investigated. Three guesses which one I went for!
It was a comfortable bus ride, and arrived in Semporna on time at 1pm. The drive was initially very pretty with mountains rising in the distance, and as the journey continued so it flattened out to rolling hills covered with palm oil trees, interspersed with occasional wooden kompong houses.
Semporna itself is an interesting town. Still very local, it has a couple of blocks down on the seafront that are very geared towards tourism, with hotels, homestays and hostels on every corner. Add in half a dozen restaurants, some with western food, and about a dozen diving businesses within these two blocks and you will get the picture. Amongst it though is still a delightful local feel, especially with a Sunday market creeping it’s way in to the seafront area, up on to the main road, with fish, chicken, fruit and veg, and dozens of traders selling little hot chillies. It had a very vibrant feel to it, but it wasn't very helpful when I was carrying my bags! To add to the chaos it had recently rained, the good old fashioned tropical rain storm, so there was water and consequently mud all over the place.
I found my homestay, which is more of a hostel to be honest, and relaxed for a couple of hours, before heading out to find my dive shop., conveniently only two blocks away. Registering today means I don’t need to be there quite so early tomorrow, so I’m all paid up ready to go, and my equipment is sorted.
I decided to go exploring, and do a bit of walking to ease my slightly tight muscles which hadn’t benefited from enforced sitting for six hours today, and yesterday evening, after my climb on Kinabalu. An inevitable consequence of 8Km of steps up, and back down again. Even so, on the whole they aren’t bad and it’s just the first couple of steps that are hard work!
I walked through the tow, passing a little mosque and play area. I’d seen an area marked on the map which showed an intriguing pattern on the coast, so headed to see what it was. It turned out to be a very local stilt village on the sea, with hundreds of little wooden homes. From the response I received this is not an area used to seeing foreigners, but the locals were all very friendly, and I stopped at a small restaurant to have a cup of tea, where I found myself with an audience of a dozen children who were captivated by my being there. I felt like the pied piper as I left, with a small trail of children following me back down the wooden walkways. The sun was setting, so it was time to head back to my homestay and find some dinner.