Although it was such a long journey home, I'm so glad I am here.
I have had such an amazing time travelling. I know the reason I went travelling was to try and run away from
the anniversary of Dean's death didn't quite workout, but I have gained so much from my time travelling.
I have been some amazing people and have former great friendships with Amy, Caroline, Meera and Maria.
In fact everyone (well except for three people!) we're all very good people and I have learnt a lot from everyone.
The experiences I have been honoured to have are amazing. My highlights are cuddling the howler monkeys, surfing the Pacific ocean, hiking the Inca Trail and discovering the indescribable Machupicchu after the mist mystically disappeared.
I am really glad I travelled when I did. Although I missed my family and friends like crazy and starting a new relationship before you go travelling wasn't ideal but everything has worked out.
I don't see me doing a huge trip again but I am really excited to start a new exciting journey in my life, starting to live my life again with a wonderful man who treats me so well and makes me incredibly happy... Thank you Stuart xxx
Wednesday 19 September 2012
Monday 17 September 2012
Homeward bound.
Woo hoo I'm homeward bound. It's been very mixed emotions about coming home these last few days.
I've been really excited about getting home and seeing Stuart, my family and fatty bum bum (that's Stuart's nick name for Shiloh) but I've equally been nervous about coming home to the chaos of home, the prospect of finding a suitable part time job and still fighting the court case.
The last few days in Lima have been great. The Raddison Miraflores is a lovely hotel.
Check in was a bit difficult as they were trying to move me from rooms on the second night but I managed to get it sorted.
The room was great and having a bath was incredible. I actually had two baths a day whilst I was there.
The Friday night I went out for dinner with Maria. A lovely kiwi girl who I have an awful lot in common with, it's sad really.
The last group was a bit of a nightmare. Most people were nice except for three people whom the group (not me actually!) nicknamed Tazar 1, 2 and 3 (Tazar 3 was formally known as something different by my Dad but I'll keep quiet).
I've meet some incredible people whilst travelling, this includes other travellers as well as locals but you can't get along with everyone and although these people were rather unpleasant, it didn't spoil my travels.
After Maria left on Saturday morning, I had two full days to myself. I decided to be pampered, I found a great walk in salon and finally lost my hairy second layer, in my defence it helped with the - 10 degrees on the Inca Trail.
I decided to have my hair highlighted. With my trusty friend "Google translator", I wrote I wanted half a head of highlights (destaca media cabeza).
Half way through when my hair was white, I though "Oh darn it, I've messed up" (ok perhaps something slightly stronger) but thankfully it all worked out ok. Although her blow drying skills were questionable, flicking out hair.... Really!
The shopping in Lima was brilliant! There's some fantastic shops that sell designer brands at great prices, I may have gone slightly overboard.
Packing was fine, I somehow managed to squeeze everything into my big back pack, my day pack and then tie them together and put as my hold luggage. Getting it the other end shall we interesting... Good luck Stu!
I think the altitude has caused havoc with numerous things, I mean my luggage has swollen by 8kg. I also hold the altitude responsible for my appalling pole dancing.
Honestly when I went out for dinner with Maria and Ben, I felt fine. I mean the four bottles of wine between us had no affect, it's the darn altitude.
I can now sympathise with men with 'performance issues'. I was not impressed with my lack of poke dancing ability, neither was the hotel security guard by the look on his face.
Although the last group of people were different, Peru was still an incredible experience.
After the Inca trail, we went to Puno and Lake Titicaca was wonderful. The floating islands of Uno were very interesting.
The locals made these islands from the reefs and have to change them every few months.
Our home stay was also 'interesting'. Thankfully one of the girls was studying to become a tour guide so spoke a little English.
I gave them some things I did not need anymore like hair spray, water shoes, old purse and a fleece. They were so happy.
It truly shows it's the little things in life, that give the greatest pleasures.
I think that's the main point I'll take away with me from travelling. I am so thankful for all that I have.
I've been really excited about getting home and seeing Stuart, my family and fatty bum bum (that's Stuart's nick name for Shiloh) but I've equally been nervous about coming home to the chaos of home, the prospect of finding a suitable part time job and still fighting the court case.
The last few days in Lima have been great. The Raddison Miraflores is a lovely hotel.
Check in was a bit difficult as they were trying to move me from rooms on the second night but I managed to get it sorted.
The room was great and having a bath was incredible. I actually had two baths a day whilst I was there.
The Friday night I went out for dinner with Maria. A lovely kiwi girl who I have an awful lot in common with, it's sad really.
The last group was a bit of a nightmare. Most people were nice except for three people whom the group (not me actually!) nicknamed Tazar 1, 2 and 3 (Tazar 3 was formally known as something different by my Dad but I'll keep quiet).
I've meet some incredible people whilst travelling, this includes other travellers as well as locals but you can't get along with everyone and although these people were rather unpleasant, it didn't spoil my travels.
After Maria left on Saturday morning, I had two full days to myself. I decided to be pampered, I found a great walk in salon and finally lost my hairy second layer, in my defence it helped with the - 10 degrees on the Inca Trail.
I decided to have my hair highlighted. With my trusty friend "Google translator", I wrote I wanted half a head of highlights (destaca media cabeza).
Half way through when my hair was white, I though "Oh darn it, I've messed up" (ok perhaps something slightly stronger) but thankfully it all worked out ok. Although her blow drying skills were questionable, flicking out hair.... Really!
The shopping in Lima was brilliant! There's some fantastic shops that sell designer brands at great prices, I may have gone slightly overboard.
Packing was fine, I somehow managed to squeeze everything into my big back pack, my day pack and then tie them together and put as my hold luggage. Getting it the other end shall we interesting... Good luck Stu!
I think the altitude has caused havoc with numerous things, I mean my luggage has swollen by 8kg. I also hold the altitude responsible for my appalling pole dancing.
Honestly when I went out for dinner with Maria and Ben, I felt fine. I mean the four bottles of wine between us had no affect, it's the darn altitude.
I can now sympathise with men with 'performance issues'. I was not impressed with my lack of poke dancing ability, neither was the hotel security guard by the look on his face.
Although the last group of people were different, Peru was still an incredible experience.
After the Inca trail, we went to Puno and Lake Titicaca was wonderful. The floating islands of Uno were very interesting.
The locals made these islands from the reefs and have to change them every few months.
Our home stay was also 'interesting'. Thankfully one of the girls was studying to become a tour guide so spoke a little English.
I gave them some things I did not need anymore like hair spray, water shoes, old purse and a fleece. They were so happy.
It truly shows it's the little things in life, that give the greatest pleasures.
I think that's the main point I'll take away with me from travelling. I am so thankful for all that I have.
Wednesday 12 September 2012
The Inca Trail
First of I can say "I did it!". I'm so proud of myself and can't believe I completed the historic Inca Trail.
Day one started at 8:00am on Thursday 6th September. We took a mini van to the starting point called Km82.
After we met the 16 porters and got our final equipment such as walking poles and sleeping bags, we headed to the check point.
For some reason, my permit was booked with another group so I had to go through with them. This could face been the prime opportunity to not be with some of the annoying people in our group but no such luck.
After a short time hiking, David one of the guides, explained the use of coco leaves and asked us to make an offering to the gods of the mountains. I thought this was nice as its clearly the Inca tradition.
We had a few stops along the way and lunch was brilliant. All the porters left after us, yet lunch was all ready by the time we got there.
The porters clapped us in but frankly the fact they were carrying 25kg of weight and running, often in just sandals, we should be clapping them!
I was surprised there were toilets along the way. David kept saying we can use the 'Inca toilet' but thankfully I never needed to. Although the toilets along the way were called 'squat toilets'. This is incredible difficult on the calves after a days hiking!
We slept at a place called Wayllabamba. There was a field with three donkeys in it and lots of dogs running around.
The donkeys were quite cute. I was stroking one of their noses. Next minute, he was jumping on the other trying to get jiggie but the other had other ideas and kicked him in the head. It was quite funny to watch! And being a typical tourist, I do have a picture.
Day one consisted of 11km and about 6 hours hiking.
Day two was anticipated to be the hardest but thankfully we wasn't up too early. After a filling breakfast we left camp shortly after 7:00am.
We were coming from 3000 meters to the highest point of the trek, conveniently named 'Dead women's pass' or the traditional name is 'Warmiwanusca'. This is at 4215 meters. Hiking 1215 meters is pretty tough with the lack of oxygen.
I was really proud to be the fifth person in our group to make it to the top. We made brilliant time. After the peak, it was all downhill and often that is harder as you have to be so careful where you place your feet.
We got into the camp about 2:00pm and had lunch straight away. After a little nap we decided to play cards. Our camp was called Papaymayo and was located at 3600 meters so it was chillier than the night before.
We played cards in one of the two man tents. We got nine people inside. It was quite amusing getting everyone out for afternoon tea.
Day two was 12km and about 7 hours hiking.
Day three started at a reasonable hour, I think we left again just after 7:00am. The first 4km was all up hill again. Straight after breakfast, this was pretty tough but we made it.
Day three was the prettiest day with five different Inca sites. First was Runkuraqay, then Sayacmarca, Phuyupatamarca, Intipata and lastly Winaywayna near where camp was.
We hiked 16 km but the last 4km was the best. Rolling mountains with nice quiet paths. I listened to my music a lot and it was so nice.
At lunch the porters made us a cake. It was amazing how they made this gorgeous cake and iced it.
I noticed people from the other groups were on their mobile phones. I managed to text Dad and Stuart. It was nice to say how I was doing but I kind of wished I had left it now.
At camp, David was telling us this ghost story about the last camp we stayed out.
He said how many years ago you didn't need a guide to hike the trail and this married Isralian women went with her Argentine boyfriend.
Well the husband had followed then and shot them both. A few years later, a young girl was camping and she felt someone pull her by her feet out of her tent, to the river. She remembers seeing a girl in white by the river screaming. Her sleeping bag had blood on it.
David told us a few similar stories. I'm so glad he didn't tell us that story the night before.
In the evening of day three after dinner, we were formally introduced to the porters. They said their names, age and what they carried. The cheeky chefs even said they were single.
It was amazing seeing how some men were so confident and spoke clearly and made eye contact. Whereas, others were so shy.
It's bad to say that the youngest was 22 and the oldest were 58. And honestly, they all looked very similar ages.
They were all from the same community and are farmers but they do porting as a way to earn extra money for their families.
Lisa did a great job of translating our messages into Spanish for them.
Total distance was 16km and about 9 hours hiking.
Day four started far too early. We were due to get up at 4:00am but because certain individuals were awake early, the whole camp was woken up at 3:30.
After a light breakfast, we had to watch at the check point to open at 5:30am.
We then hiked in the rain to Sun Gate to watch the sunrise. When we got there, it was completely covered in cloud. Then amazingly (or mysteriously) the clouds disappeared abs revealed the astonishing Machupiccu.
The view was breath-taking. All the hard work, sore calves and poor company was well worth it for that moment.
We hiked the remaining distance to Machupicchu and arrived around 7:30am.
It was nice meeting up with some of the other people from our group who hiked the Laras Trek instead.
We had a guided tour of Machupicchu by David. He was very knowledgable. But I really wanted the free time to find a quiet spot and take it all in.
Unfortunately the rain had a different idea and it was so heavy I had to leave and head to the restaurant for lunch.
Using a toilet with a seat and having soap to wash my hands felt amazing. The food was incredible too, nicely followed down with a glass of wine.
Total hiking on day four was 4km and about two hours hiking.
The whole experience was incredible. But it's something I am happy to say I've done but I don't have the desire to do it again, well not just yet.
David explained how the government are looking to stop tourist walking around Machupicchu as it is slowly sinking. They are considering installing a chair lift for tourist to use.
I feel very blessed knowing I've had the opportunity to walk around this incredible site that many people simply won't be able to.
Day one started at 8:00am on Thursday 6th September. We took a mini van to the starting point called Km82.
After we met the 16 porters and got our final equipment such as walking poles and sleeping bags, we headed to the check point.
For some reason, my permit was booked with another group so I had to go through with them. This could face been the prime opportunity to not be with some of the annoying people in our group but no such luck.
After a short time hiking, David one of the guides, explained the use of coco leaves and asked us to make an offering to the gods of the mountains. I thought this was nice as its clearly the Inca tradition.
We had a few stops along the way and lunch was brilliant. All the porters left after us, yet lunch was all ready by the time we got there.
The porters clapped us in but frankly the fact they were carrying 25kg of weight and running, often in just sandals, we should be clapping them!
I was surprised there were toilets along the way. David kept saying we can use the 'Inca toilet' but thankfully I never needed to. Although the toilets along the way were called 'squat toilets'. This is incredible difficult on the calves after a days hiking!
We slept at a place called Wayllabamba. There was a field with three donkeys in it and lots of dogs running around.
The donkeys were quite cute. I was stroking one of their noses. Next minute, he was jumping on the other trying to get jiggie but the other had other ideas and kicked him in the head. It was quite funny to watch! And being a typical tourist, I do have a picture.
Day one consisted of 11km and about 6 hours hiking.
Day two was anticipated to be the hardest but thankfully we wasn't up too early. After a filling breakfast we left camp shortly after 7:00am.
We were coming from 3000 meters to the highest point of the trek, conveniently named 'Dead women's pass' or the traditional name is 'Warmiwanusca'. This is at 4215 meters. Hiking 1215 meters is pretty tough with the lack of oxygen.
I was really proud to be the fifth person in our group to make it to the top. We made brilliant time. After the peak, it was all downhill and often that is harder as you have to be so careful where you place your feet.
We got into the camp about 2:00pm and had lunch straight away. After a little nap we decided to play cards. Our camp was called Papaymayo and was located at 3600 meters so it was chillier than the night before.
We played cards in one of the two man tents. We got nine people inside. It was quite amusing getting everyone out for afternoon tea.
Day two was 12km and about 7 hours hiking.
Day three started at a reasonable hour, I think we left again just after 7:00am. The first 4km was all up hill again. Straight after breakfast, this was pretty tough but we made it.
Day three was the prettiest day with five different Inca sites. First was Runkuraqay, then Sayacmarca, Phuyupatamarca, Intipata and lastly Winaywayna near where camp was.
We hiked 16 km but the last 4km was the best. Rolling mountains with nice quiet paths. I listened to my music a lot and it was so nice.
At lunch the porters made us a cake. It was amazing how they made this gorgeous cake and iced it.
I noticed people from the other groups were on their mobile phones. I managed to text Dad and Stuart. It was nice to say how I was doing but I kind of wished I had left it now.
At camp, David was telling us this ghost story about the last camp we stayed out.
He said how many years ago you didn't need a guide to hike the trail and this married Isralian women went with her Argentine boyfriend.
Well the husband had followed then and shot them both. A few years later, a young girl was camping and she felt someone pull her by her feet out of her tent, to the river. She remembers seeing a girl in white by the river screaming. Her sleeping bag had blood on it.
David told us a few similar stories. I'm so glad he didn't tell us that story the night before.
In the evening of day three after dinner, we were formally introduced to the porters. They said their names, age and what they carried. The cheeky chefs even said they were single.
It was amazing seeing how some men were so confident and spoke clearly and made eye contact. Whereas, others were so shy.
It's bad to say that the youngest was 22 and the oldest were 58. And honestly, they all looked very similar ages.
They were all from the same community and are farmers but they do porting as a way to earn extra money for their families.
Lisa did a great job of translating our messages into Spanish for them.
Total distance was 16km and about 9 hours hiking.
Day four started far too early. We were due to get up at 4:00am but because certain individuals were awake early, the whole camp was woken up at 3:30.
After a light breakfast, we had to watch at the check point to open at 5:30am.
We then hiked in the rain to Sun Gate to watch the sunrise. When we got there, it was completely covered in cloud. Then amazingly (or mysteriously) the clouds disappeared abs revealed the astonishing Machupiccu.
The view was breath-taking. All the hard work, sore calves and poor company was well worth it for that moment.
We hiked the remaining distance to Machupicchu and arrived around 7:30am.
It was nice meeting up with some of the other people from our group who hiked the Laras Trek instead.
We had a guided tour of Machupicchu by David. He was very knowledgable. But I really wanted the free time to find a quiet spot and take it all in.
Unfortunately the rain had a different idea and it was so heavy I had to leave and head to the restaurant for lunch.
Using a toilet with a seat and having soap to wash my hands felt amazing. The food was incredible too, nicely followed down with a glass of wine.
Total hiking on day four was 4km and about two hours hiking.
The whole experience was incredible. But it's something I am happy to say I've done but I don't have the desire to do it again, well not just yet.
David explained how the government are looking to stop tourist walking around Machupicchu as it is slowly sinking. They are considering installing a chair lift for tourist to use.
I feel very blessed knowing I've had the opportunity to walk around this incredible site that many people simply won't be able to.
Peru
My final tour has been a rather interesting experience.
Peru is a beautiful country. We started off in Lima and I enjoyed exploring the city initially with Cedalia from the previous tour.
Lima has some beautiful churches. Instead of lots of stray dogs, the parks are full of stray cats.
The shopping in Lima is great and I'm really looking forward to my last few days indulging in some retail therapy.
We then went onto Cusco. This is a busy city with more incredible churches and Cusco Cathedral is simply stunning. I found it very peaceful exploring it.
After Cusco, we stayed in Ollantaytambo for three nights. Here we did mountain biking in Sacred valley.
This is the first time I've even done down hill mountain biking. It was actually pretty tough.
You need to be really careful where you steer. Even the first day, after about 10 minutes our guide face planted. It was really bad and he cut his lip with his teeth.
The second day, I didn't do the scary bits of the biking. Although it was a longer route, I felt safer. We completed 17km the second day.
I really enjoyed my free day in Ollantaytambo. I just had a lazy day in bed, talking to Stu mainly. I did go to the market about bought my Mum a lovely present, she should love it!
Then we started on the epic journey of the inca trail. I'm going to do a separate post for that.
After surviving the inca trail, we headed back to Cusco for two more nights.
I had the experience of walking up to the Christ of Cusco. It's nothing on the real deal in Rio but it was still pretty incredible.
Walking up, I took the most random path. I ended up going through the bushes. This was really tough after the trail.
On the way down, I fell and hurt my hand. It's just a bit bruised and swollen but it'll be ok.
The group is getting pretty fragmented. There are a few individuals whom are not the nicest people to be around.
It's a real shame as all my other groups have been great fun and really friendly. I suppose it's to be expected to have some not so nice people every now and again.
We're now on a seven hour bus journey to Puno where we'll be kayaking on Lake Titicaca and then staying with a host family.
I know this is all part of the experience but I'm not too happy about this. I asked our guide if it's safe and he didn't seem to be impressed with me asking that.
Personally I think it was a valid question.
Peru is a beautiful country. We started off in Lima and I enjoyed exploring the city initially with Cedalia from the previous tour.
Lima has some beautiful churches. Instead of lots of stray dogs, the parks are full of stray cats.
The shopping in Lima is great and I'm really looking forward to my last few days indulging in some retail therapy.
We then went onto Cusco. This is a busy city with more incredible churches and Cusco Cathedral is simply stunning. I found it very peaceful exploring it.
After Cusco, we stayed in Ollantaytambo for three nights. Here we did mountain biking in Sacred valley.
This is the first time I've even done down hill mountain biking. It was actually pretty tough.
You need to be really careful where you steer. Even the first day, after about 10 minutes our guide face planted. It was really bad and he cut his lip with his teeth.
The second day, I didn't do the scary bits of the biking. Although it was a longer route, I felt safer. We completed 17km the second day.
I really enjoyed my free day in Ollantaytambo. I just had a lazy day in bed, talking to Stu mainly. I did go to the market about bought my Mum a lovely present, she should love it!
Then we started on the epic journey of the inca trail. I'm going to do a separate post for that.
After surviving the inca trail, we headed back to Cusco for two more nights.
I had the experience of walking up to the Christ of Cusco. It's nothing on the real deal in Rio but it was still pretty incredible.
Walking up, I took the most random path. I ended up going through the bushes. This was really tough after the trail.
On the way down, I fell and hurt my hand. It's just a bit bruised and swollen but it'll be ok.
The group is getting pretty fragmented. There are a few individuals whom are not the nicest people to be around.
It's a real shame as all my other groups have been great fun and really friendly. I suppose it's to be expected to have some not so nice people every now and again.
We're now on a seven hour bus journey to Puno where we'll be kayaking on Lake Titicaca and then staying with a host family.
I know this is all part of the experience but I'm not too happy about this. I asked our guide if it's safe and he didn't seem to be impressed with me asking that.
Personally I think it was a valid question.
Saturday 1 September 2012
Final tour
Today I start my final tour of my travels. Although I am a little sad it's all coming to an end, I am happy to be coming home to the people (and doggy) that I've missed very much.
Lima is very different from the other places I have visited. The climate is very different here, much cooler than the likes of Belize.
I met up with Cedalia yesterday, a lovely Canadian lady I met on the Galapagos tour and we spent the day together.
We went on a city bus tour of Miraflores. It's a very busy town but it has some beautiful churches and parks.
We had a local drink last night called a Pisco Sour. It was very strong but it was lovely sitting by the ocean.
Today I meet the new group. There's always a little apprehension about whether they will be easy to get along with but so far it's been great.
I'm surprised that there will be 12 girls and 4 boys. I assumed seeing as this is a sports tour, there maybe more guys. But that is better for me as I was worried I'd be slow and keep the group back.
I think I'm going to hit the casino today. The bright lights are very tempting but I won't spend too much money, just have a little fun.
The shopping is fantastic here and I can not wait for when I return, I have two days before I leave for home and I intend to pick up lots of bargains.
Lima is very different from the other places I have visited. The climate is very different here, much cooler than the likes of Belize.
I met up with Cedalia yesterday, a lovely Canadian lady I met on the Galapagos tour and we spent the day together.
We went on a city bus tour of Miraflores. It's a very busy town but it has some beautiful churches and parks.
We had a local drink last night called a Pisco Sour. It was very strong but it was lovely sitting by the ocean.
Today I meet the new group. There's always a little apprehension about whether they will be easy to get along with but so far it's been great.
I'm surprised that there will be 12 girls and 4 boys. I assumed seeing as this is a sports tour, there maybe more guys. But that is better for me as I was worried I'd be slow and keep the group back.
I think I'm going to hit the casino today. The bright lights are very tempting but I won't spend too much money, just have a little fun.
The shopping is fantastic here and I can not wait for when I return, I have two days before I leave for home and I intend to pick up lots of bargains.
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