Elizabeth Platts travelling - 1st instalment
Liz and her two companions left Heathrow on Friday May 18th flying to Peru (Lima) via Madrid. From there they travelled to Pisco and flew over the Nazca Lines, then onto Arequipa where en route to the Colca Canyon they relaxed in thermal baths at 40 degrees surrounded by mountains. From here they flew to Cuzco for the start of the four day Inca Trail. On the trail they camped overnight in very cold conditions having to sleep fully clothed every night. The guides and chef weren’t affected as they managed to cook cakes and ice them for afternoon tea everyday! On the final morning they got up at 3.45am trekked for 2 hours to the Sun Gate where they could see the sunrise over Machu Picchu. Although a wonderful experience I don’t think a return visit is planned due to the memory of cold nights, mosquitoes and sore feet! She has assured Roy and me we would be fine to do this as the oldest of the group was 68 years old!
Returning to Cuzco they had a well earned rest then decided that white water rafting was a good idea when you’re trying to relax! However they did have fun and Liz was placed at the front of the boat where she either fell in or was pushed. Thank goodness she learned to swim at an early age! From here they also visited Lake Titicaca and the floating islands.
Next stop just over the border, La Paz, in Bolivia. Cycling Death Road, visiting the salt flats and staying in a salt hotel. They also went to an orphanage and did finger painting with the children. It is privately run by nuns and has around 50 children age 0-5. Mainly they are abandoned by 12-14 year old girls, but also if they have something ‘wrong’ with them. Liz took to a little boy called Marco who had a cleft lip and palette.
After visiting Sucre and Santa Cruz where they learned to salsa dance, they headed off on the next part of their journey to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
From here they visited the Iguassu Falls on the Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentine border. Back in Rio Christ the Redeemer was their next photo call, followed by Sugar Loaf Mountain. They also had time for relaxation on Copacabana beach and also visited Rio’s exhibition for the 2016 Olympics. They did also visit one of the favelas in the evening for a meal. Chris was told not to tell us as they are very unsafe places but they were well looked after by their guides. Obviously they did learn from the guides how the government, with police help, control the street children and they suggest it may well be done again prior to the Olympics in 2016. This was the end of the first part of their trip and they have already made so many friends I think our house may well become a drop in centre.
Next stop Argentina arriving in Buenos Aires after a 42 hour bus journey. This is the land of tango and wine where they had lessons in the former but none needed for the latter! Not quite sure how they got to the Patagonian area of Argentina: there’s mention of cycling ‘halfway round Patagonia’ but this maybe a slight exaggeration. It was obviously worth it as they saw lots of whales on their official boat trip. Back to Cordoba via a 20 hour bus journey and the wine tasting at Mendoza. They learned a great deal about the country under Eva Peron, not all good and together with what they learned in Brazil it has given them a great deal to reflect on. The next journey is to Chile and the capital Santiago.
When she first skyped from here they were not particularly impressed with Santiago. It was very cold and wet, however they found a hostel which for £9 per night was all inclusive which made them feel better! Again because they are eating and drinking will the other people in the hostel they have made more new friends and did find lots of places to see in the city. As they were shortly leaving South America for New Zealand they had to find somewhere to send back souvenirs as New Zealand has very strict laws about what can be taken into their country. This includes dirt on your shoes so having spent a while cleaning their trainers (in the photos is does look like they’re using toothbrushes) Liz could hardly contain her disgust that the customs lady only inspected them for 2 seconds. The items posted back arrived one week after posting: Roy and I opened it with some trepidation, half expecting a child from the orphanage to be tucked up in it. Liz and her friends are now on a bus touring New Zealand before leaving for a ten day rest in Fiji on the 10th of September.
She finally contacted Chris via his mobile phone as internet is expensive and not readily available to report that they had toured the north island of New Zealand and are now touring the south on their way to Queenstown. They are about to do a glacier hike on the Franz Josef Glacier, which involves being dropped off and later picked up by helicopter on the glacier – do we really need to know that before they actually do it – I think not!
Jill and Roy Platts