Robinson World Tour Part 2

The Galapagos were everything that we expected and more. After and uneventful but delayed flight from Lima to Quito, we arrived in the capital of Ecuador. We were not recommended to leave the hotel at night so we stayed in and considering we had to be up at 5 am to catch our flight to the Galapagos we were not in the mood to travel around.

The Galapagos Islands are roughly 1000 km west of South America and basically right on the equator. Charles Darwin is the main reason these islands have become a major tourist destination. Each volcanic island is unique and has equally unique species of plants and animals.

We visited 8 islands in our 5 day adventure aboard the yacht Daphne. Included in this blog are numerous pictures of the various animals that we literally ran into. (More on this later) We have also included a few videos of the underwater adventures during our snorkeling. The videos include sea turtles, rays, sea lions and marine iguanas. We didn't include the sharks or the penguin as they were difficult to see clearly on the blog.

Being on the various islands was like taking a step back in time. The animals definitely have no fear of humans as they were quite comfortable with our presence, including the nesting birds where some of the trails took us extremely close. They sea lions even sunbathe on the same beaches as some of the locals. The sea lions are so numerous that you have to be careful not to trip over them as we found out. If you’re not paying attention they will slide up right in front of you and when you go to take a step, well you can figure out the rest. The various iguanas were everywhere and to see their adaptations was very exciting. We particularly liked the marine iguana that swims and eats in the ocean.

Some of the islands were so volcanic that it felt like being on the surface of the moon. How animal and plant life could exist in such harsh conditions is incredible. Each island also seemed to have its own micro climate and even varied from one side to the other.

Each day consisted of nighttime travel from one island area to the next. Thankfully the seas were relatively calm (2 meter swells) and we were able to get some sleep. It was interesting to wake up and see the new views as we ate breakfast. After an early breakfast we usually went for a hike then some snorkeling. Later morning had us back on board and heading for our afternoon island where we repeated the hike and snorkeling routine once more. The hikes were uneventful. Snorkeling on the other hand was incredible. Having marine iguanas swim right up to the camera was unbelievable. The sea lions were playful and some of our group had them playing with their swim fins. When the penguin raced past us it was only when we checked the camera that we really believed it. The various rays and sea turtles seemed to just float effortlessly as they lazily swam by. The Galapagos reef sharks came very close as well as Lisa found out. One swam just under her as I was videoing a marine iguana. She was startled and will never forget that moment (just ask her).

On the last morning just before we left we took a zodiac ride into a mangrove area. It was uneventful until we noticed something moving in the waters just behind us. We stopped and watched as two sea turtles were “wrestling” in the water. What a spectacular way to leave the islands.

The Galapagos Islands were incredible and our only regret is that we didn't get a chance to see the giant land tortoises (they were not on any of the islands that we visited) and the seas were too churned up and we missed out on seeing the hammerhead sharks. I guess this gives us a reason to go back.

This was the last stop on our tour and it is back to our family and friends and reality. We will post a summation blog with some of our outtake and blooper photos.

Peru is a beautiful and amazing country. The people are very friendly, welcoming and personable. With Spanish as the main language both of us were feeling more comfortable communicating. We tried to limit the pictures on this blog but couldn’t reduce it any lower. Sorry for the long download time.

With our adventures in travel from Tokyo to Lima over we settled into the travel routine. Our group in Peru was excellent as everyone was extremely friendly and very like minded. This made for a very enjoyable trip.

We didn’t spend much time in the capital and we were a bit glad as it was cooler and very gray. Lima is overcast most of the year. Our tour took us along the coast with a few stops and a journey out into the ocean. We have included photos of the animal and bird life in the area. Even though it was coastal, some of the areas were deserts and this is where we had the chance to go sand boarding. We got into dune buggies and were taken high up into the dunes (some of the dunes are over 1 km tall) and allowed to slide down them on snow (sand) boards. I was amazed at how fast you could get going.

It was now time to venture up into the mountains and the climb started. The G Adventures tour is very well thought out as they staged our climb so we could get used to the altitude. We never imagined how much the altitude can affect you and the people around you. (We both have stories that we can share)

The first stop in the mountains was in Nazca. Our main reason for this stop was the Nazca lines. These are huge drawings on the desert floor (this area is the driest desert in the world) with no real explanation of why they were created. We took a flight over the area and have included some of the drawings. The area is also home to some very old graves where the bodies were perfectly preserved since there is very little moisture in the area.

We then spent the next few days in various cities getting acclimatized. It was considerably cooler here than we anticipated. Even though we were close to the equator the temperatures were cold (the nighttime lows were below freezing) due to the altitude. We had to buy tuques (winter hats for non-Canadians) and mitts as we had sent home most of our warmer clothes.

In the town of Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca we spent a few days. This town sits just under 4000m above sea level and at times we were finding it difficult to breathe. It was here that we took a tour of one of the floating reed islands. People actually live on these islands with reed huts and they even have cooking fires. We also had a home stay on one of the islands. This was a very enlightening and an awesome experience (much better than our Laos homestay). The family was very friendly but spoke no English and a little Spanish. We even got the chance to help out doing chores.

All of these days were leading up to the main reason for coming to Peru. We were anxiously looking forward to hiking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. This is a four day hike with many ups and downs (both in climbing and mentally) and one of the hardest things Lisa has ever done (for good reasons as you will find out). The trail starts out easy enough with an 8 hour hike to our first camp. What made this day even more interesting was the fact that as we hiked along the trail we saw very little signs of civilization until we came across this tiny grass hut with a big screen television and the world cup playing. South Americans love their football (soccer to Canadians) and so did most of our group as some of them stayed to watch the rest of the game. (England lost) The second day was by far the most challenging, especially for Lisa who was not only battling the altitude but also what we think was a chest infection which made breathing very difficult. This day had us climbing up many Inca stairs and mountains for the first 8 hours. It was very emotional for Lisa when she reached the highest point that day. The next 2 hours had us going down to our camp. Lisa and I both found this part fairly easy, others did not share our sentiment as some of the sections were quite tricky. The views from this campsite were amazing. The third day was very deceiving with the first 5 hours climbing a very steep section of the trail. After this it was all downhill for the next 8 hours. We reached camp at dusk with some of our group coming in after dark. Lisa and I pushed it a bit as we didn’t want to be hiking over the rocks in the dark. The last day we were up at 4:00 am to make the last push to Machu Picchu. We reached the sun gate just as the sun crested the mountain and watched Machu Picchu become bathed in light. It was an awe inspiring experience. We were tired, dirty, smelly (We had not bathed in four days as there were facilities on the trail) and thrilled to be there.

With the trail under our belt we headed back to the city of Cuzco just in time for the sun festival . They celebrate the winter solstice and it is a major event in that city with a 24/7 party that crescendoed with an even larger party. We have included photos of the main square and the large crowds of revelers.

We had experienced coastal and mountainous Peru and now it was time to experience the Amazon jungle. After a short (2 hour) flight we landed and it took another 2 hour boat ride up the Amazon River to reach our ecolodge. We have included various photos of the animal life in the area. It was warm here especially considering we had just come from the cooler mountains and we were sweating again. The jungle was quieter than we had imagined and we didn’t see as much wildlife as we had hoped but it is the jungle and not a zoo.

From the jungle it was time to go back to Lima and get ready for our next adventure (the Galapagos).