Travels in our Jeans
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Travels and Tribulations (Blog)
  • Where's Molly?(Blog)
  • Recent Photos
  • Archive Photos
  • Links
  • Blogging Again in the Unutterable Year

Mexico

28/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
We had four stops in Mexico, although I think we had a chance at a fifth and didn't take it...........and reportedly missed the best of the Mexican ports but hey, that's OK.
First stop was Puerto Chiapas. The main attraction locally for us was the archaeological ruins of Izapa, near the town of Tapachula. In fact we were pretty close to the border with Guatemala. We caught a local mini van/bus to town, all a bit confusing when it started off in the wrong direction but only to drop some existing passengers at a local beach. The drive through Tapachula was certainly interesting, our first glimpse of small town Mexico. The ruins were impressive, if not towering and grand. Some informative signs, beautiful open, grassed site with well preserved foundations and some still existing walls and structures. 
Then back to the ship and onto the next port, Huatulco. We all decided to walk towards the main town, basically La Crucecita, but Molly and I were looking for the local beaches and Shelly and Julia were looking for shops or markets. Molly and I did very well, finding an ocean front bar and pool right on the beach so we swam in the Pacific and then rinsed off in the pool with a Mango cocktail and a Corona. It was a lot of fun as it was clearly off season so we had the place to ourselves but the weather was great and the beer cold.
Back for another short, overnight run up to Acapulco. This was a lot of fun, starting with a walk up to the Hotel Mirador to watch te cliff divers. This is as much about Elvis as it is about the rather brave and skilful cliff divers - the movie Fun in Acapulco has made this an Elvis destination but there really is no comparison to the cliff diving, pretty crazy really.
After watching some diving we walked back through the centre of town and down to the main beach. A few Dos Equis (2X but easily twice as good as 4X) on the beach and we decided the best thing to do at this point would be a banana tube ride around the bay behind a large, powerful speedboat. Molly opted out but fortunately I spotted a lady from the boat that I had met so asked her to keep an eye on Molly. Note it is very much from this point forward that Molly developed a "you dumped me with a stranger in a different (insert city/state/country)" complex. 
So with plenty of fun had in Acapulco bay, we returned to the ship.........but saw some friends enjoying a drink at the Port bar so decided to get Molly safely aboard and then return to the bar. The two couples, from Australia and Arizona, had crossed paths with us several times so it was nice to catch up and get a bit of an education, primarily from Gerry, the Arizonian. Little did I know that it would be here I would be educated in the true meaning of Cocktails, Girly Drinks and Threesomes.
And on our way again, next port was Manzanillo - I think. The part of town we walked through was not terribly interesting but by the same token, a lot of fun in a rustic way. We got to explore through rail road stock and box cars, did some shopping and found a great first floor bar with plenty of Dos Equis. A good chance to show of my new hat. 
I think we stayed aboard for Puerto Vallarta......? But it was ten years ago and no doubt we had good reason........
0 Comments

Costa Rica - One Day, Crocodiles, Capuchin and Coatis

27/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Well, we must have docked in Puerto Calderas I think, not for from the Tarcoles River where we headed to in a car we sorted privately, inclusive of a driver...…..maybe even a bit of a tour guide! The Tarcoles River bridge is a famous viewing point for Costa Rican Crocodiles that seem to gather in rather large numbers there. We missed the rain at the bridge but the water was pretty stirred up from wet season rains so possibly the croc numbers were down a bit. Still plenty there and quite unusual to see really, even for Australians.
At some point before, although I think after, we visited some local mammals at a feeding point and then we investigated a waterfall, scenic beauty spot - but it absolutely bucketed down. The Capuchins were cool and Coatis were unexpected, I can remember my main worry was a Capuchin bite or scratch but all very cute. Unfortunately that part of Costa Rica, particularly with that amount of rain, does not capture some of the famous tropical beauty that Costa Rica is becoming increasingly famous for.
Picture
0 Comments

Tidying Up - Ecuador

27/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Well, it has only taken nine years and a few months to get to this. I may have started on this before....indeed five hours ago I commenced a summary of our travels in the final four countries, ready to publish in a post after four hours work......hey, it's 2020, one thing I have is time apparently, so who cares that the stupid blog editor/laptop/internet decided to fail me, let's just start again with the same gusto. Actually I think this is take three, I am sure I got into this back in 2013 as well! 
​Lesson number one.....save, save, save!
So, what was I saying five hours ago...……that's right, how was life aboard a not so huge cruise ship full mostly of US retirees. Wonderful, some of the most sincere, interesting and positive people you could share travels with. We really enjoyed it. We were the novelty though, there was only two other kids under 18, one was a baby and the other a kiwi boy Molly's age travelling with his grandparents. And other 20 somethings like Shelley - just a few, chaperoning their elderly relatives. And people of similar age to Julia and I - nope. The great thing was, the young and young at heart met nightly in the top floor disco and it was a pretty good crew, maybe 20 folks but a lot of fun.
So day to day, the girls did the pool / games thing, I enjoyed a routine of morning gym and then good coffee with good books in the nice downstairs cafes / library.
​Ecuador -  there were two stops, I stayed aboard for the second and the girls went to the markets I think. We were in a busy fishing port so plenty to see from on board. The first port visit was interesting, lots of lizards in town, like lots - Iguanas I think. Also turtles and Catholic Churches. I am pretty sure it was their biggest city, Guayaquil but until I get off my arse and pull some other reference material, we are going to cuff this with my memory.
Stop two was Manta, again, I am pretty sure. It looks from satellite like the port area I stayed in to watch the fishing boats unload and saw whales out past the breakwater. The girls went ashore, shopped, returned.

Picture
0 Comments

Home but Far from Finished...........

29/1/2011

6 Comments

 
Hi all, just a quick note to say please be patient - there is much more to come and possibly a new direction to keep this Blog alive!!!! Unfortunately I have been busy buying a car, moving into a new house, starting work and sorting all of those incredibly mundane things that go hand in hand with "normal" living.

Ecuador is ready to go, there is plenty to tell about Mexico and the USA and lots of pictures. PLUS, I am hoping to change the archived pictures page to a summary of our journey, particularly some stuff about how far we travelled and how we got so far without flying.

Should the stars aline I am also hoping to enter into a charity motorcycle ride to the corner of NSW, Queensland and South Australia - I just need to find a bike worth less than $1000....................
Picture
Not just any 'restaurant'......Monks Diner in Seinfeld and Tom's Diner in the song of the same title by Suzanne Vega! Good food too!
6 Comments

The MS Retirementdam

16/12/2010

1 Comment

 
Picture
So we left Peru by ship - our new way of saving the planet whilst seeing the world! I'll get around to some detail on our destinations shortly, but firstly, let me explain the ship.
Holland America Lines run quite a few ships and the MS Rotterdam is considered their flagship - not the biggest, not the most exclusive, just a good example of everything the line stands for. Apparently that means "floating care home and retirement village".
Actually, that is unfair, but it is certainly the first impression we got. 
In fact, when getting the port shuttle bus to the ship in Callao, the driver asked me if I was a member of the crew. At first I thought he meant because I wasn't well dressed so just took it on the chin. A day later, having been asked by other crew members if I was with the crew, I realised that we just stood out - at 40 I was way too young to be on this ship apparently. 
So we boarded on a Sunday with a sail away on Monday afternoon. That was good as we had 2 cabins and the 4th member of our party, Shelly, wasn't due to arrive until Monday morning.
Monday morning Molly and I went down to the dock to greet Shelly, but after an hour we gave up - you can only spend so long watching old people get onto buses and Chinese fishing trawlers unloading big, frozen fish onto the docks. So we went back to Molly's cabin to diiscover Shelly's bags there - wow, she had magicked herself onto the ship before our very eyes. By the time we had sailed away, the four of us had become a small item of amusement to many of the other passengers.................within a few days we had helped fuel all sorts of gossip and wonderment! 
Picture
1 Comment

Macchu Picchu - Getting Back to Cusco

16/12/2010

1 Comment

 
Picture
Julia looks a little nervous - just as I looked when we got back to Cusco!
The day had been excellent but we still had to get back to Cusco. Our train didn't leave until after 18:30 and took 2 hours to get to the half way point (and our intermediate destination) at Ollantaytambo. The train was entertaining......to say the least. There was bit of food offered, then drinks, then it got kind of weird.
First we got a story about local spirits and folk-lore - that is what I worked out when I looked up from my novel (sat at the front of the carriage) to find a masked demon staring at me, very pleased with himself. Fortunately I wasn't the only one on the train entertaining themselves - a look back down the aisle found a bunch of people who were less than interested with my new reading buddy.
But that wasn't the end of the entertainment. You see we were in Peru, not far from one factory or another that made fine clothing from Alpaca wool. So why not get the stewards to give us a fashion show - after all, the aisle of an old Peruvian train is pretty similar to a Parisian catwalk...........isn't it??!! Well, it is straight.
So we arrived in Ollantaytambo in what felt like minutes - slow train but lots of time passing entertainment! As we expected there were plenty of taxis, buses and mini-vans offering transport to Cusco so we found a good looking, modern, mini van with a couple in the back waiting for a few extra passnegers. We jumped in and hoped that the combination of western tourists, mini van sportiness and an uphill, mountainous drive would all add up to a sedate trip back to Cusco.
Unfortunately, this was kind of the last trip of this type we were expecting to under take this year so the Travel Gods wanted to make it memorable! I mean frightfully memorable to the point that I think I could have just as easily had a full on anxiety attack (or throttle the driver - both not appropriate behaviour but hey, this guy was nuts!). In less than an hour we covered the same route that other vehicles take over 90 minutes to cover - buses take more than 2 hours. Our saving grace I believe was that the moron could actually drive and did know the road. He didn't miss a corner, used the road well and never had to over-brake - but jeez, what a way to earn a living!?
I have learnt this lesson so many times in the last 20 years - negotiate a good price and then save some money to bribe the driver to SLOW DOWN when he drives like a lunatic - kind of like buying a little bit more of his time (as well as saving him some fuel) and buying yourself a life time! 
Picture
Face down-hill and don't pull too hard when bringing out the carrots.
Picture
1 Comment

Macchu Picchu _ The Lost City of the Incas

16/12/2010

1 Comment

 
Getting to Macchu Picchu had become a priority for us by the time we got to Western Argentina. We had to be in Lima, Peru, by 7 November, to get our cruise to the USA. Plus we wanted a couple of days in Lima to look around and get some stuff for the cruise so our travel had revolved around getting to Cusco in time to relax, see Macchu Picchu and then get a "safe" bus down to Lima. 
So from Cusco it was ashort taxi to the train station for the morning departure to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of the mountains and ridges that are home to the Macchu Picchu ruins. 
We could only book a return train that brought us half way back down to Cusco, so that was a small bridge we would have to cross in the evening - but we figured a lot of people must have to deal with these transport shortfalls at an internationally renowned tourist destination so we were just focused on getting up to the ruins.
The train is probably the slowest form of transport we have taken this year - I think the dying Chinese tuk-tuk driver with the dying Chinese tuk-tuk, sputtering through the rain and smog in Xian was capable of greater speeds........but it was very scenic!
We had considered staying at Aguas Calientes but without a guide book we were relying on the internet and there didn't seem to be a reassuring number of accommodation options available. As it turned out, we could have stayed for at least one night and had a really good time there - we would recommend it to others, as long as you still have a couple of nights in Cusco to enjoy that city.
At Aguas Calientes you get tickets for entry to the ruins and a bus ticket to get you up there. The buses are fairly new 30 seaters which is reassuring as you take in the terrain that you are about to ascend. The road looks pretty crazy on google maps. 
For me this was the part of the journey I wasn't looking forward to. Winding, dirt, mountain roads in an area of landslides, with multiple buses going up and down all day without (as we would discover) any safety measures such as blind spot mirrors, timing controls or radio communication. I think we passed 13 or 14 buses coming down as we went up!!
But was it worth it?? Oh, Yeah!!!!!
The girls liked the views, thought the Alpacas were cool and thought the ruins were magical - but they couldn't shake a feeling of vertigo. For me, I didn't notice the heights (at least not as much as on the bus!) and thought that this was probably the highlight of the year.
It is not just the work that went in to the buildings and terracing to create agricultural fields, the location or the scenery. Standing at Macchu Picchu and imagining a community that accessed it along the Inca Trail, worked the fields daily within feet of hundred foot drop-offs and thousand foot cliffs and experienced weather as dramtic as the scenery - it is truly awe inspiring. It is not as grand or as old as Angkor Wat and it doesn't have the enduring charm of the old European cities..........but it is such an adventurous destination with continuing mystery surrounding it's history and purpose.
Towards the end of the afternoon I went and explored the original trail as far as the Inca Bridge. There are a couple of pictures below that sum up just how perilous the journey to Macchu Picchu used to be. The Inca Bridge was a section of cliffside path that was completed through the bridging of a span of about 6 metres with two tree trunks. As a defence the trunks could be dislodged into the valley below, leaving a vertical drop to be traversed across the cliffside rockface.
There are only a few places that we have been lucky enough to see this year that I have really thought "I want to come back soon" - Macchu Picchu was definitely one such place.
 
Picture
Huayna Picchu dominates the city, with a trail leading to temples and terraces around it's peak.
Picture
Picture
The Inca Bridge, in the (upper) bottom left of the pic. As a defence the ince could remove the two tree trunks and would then leave an impassable 6 metre gap in the trail.
Picture
Across the centre of the pic is the green path of the original Inca Trail.
Picture
Picture
Dry stone walls were used for buildings, reinforcement and terracing.
Picture
1 Comment

Cusco - Gateway to Macchu Picchu

3/12/2010

0 Comments

 
Cusco is a really lovely little town, despite actually being a city of over a million people. We arrived at 6 in the morning to find revellers still in the streets after various Halloween parties, yet there was still a peaceful atmosphere and several tourist police keeping an eye on things, particularly Molly and Julia whilst they sat in the town square when I went in search of a hotel.
As with Arequipa, the focus in town was the main square, surrounded by classical spanish styled buildings and several huge churches. I expect that it would be a big destination even if Macchu Picchu wasn't close as it is a very nice climate and very relaxed. Despite the altitude, we found it easier going here than in Arequipa, possibly as the air was more moist? It was great to see green hills and mountains after over a week of desert environments. But in an effort to get through the backlog, I need to leave the photos to tell the story...........
Picture
Looking across the centre of the old town
Picture
A breakfast mocktail on the square
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Arequipa - Peru

3/12/2010

0 Comments

 
We took a morning bus from Tacna near the Chilean border, heading North to Arequipa through more desert and more mountains. It remained spectacular but we were looking forward to seeing some green mountains closer to Macchu Picchu.
Arequipa is at 2400 metres so our plan was to stop for a few days, soak up some Peruvian hospitality and adjust to the altitude before climbing around the ruins at Macchu Picchu, also at 2400 metres. Our main concern was that the town of Cusco, where trains depart from bound for Macchu Picchu, sits above 3300 metres, high enough to make overnight stays uncomfortable.
Arequipa was beautiful - lots of old European influenced architecture, a magnificent main square surrounded by balcony restaurants and cafes and a backdrop of two huge volcanoes rising out of the dry desert landscape. We decided we needed 3 days to soak the place up and left on an overnight bus to Cusco.
Picture
Arequipa Bus Station
Picture
Volcanoes to the West of town
Picture
Picture
On the main square
Picture
The popular park in the main square
Picture
0 Comments

We Meet the Pacific Again - Then North to Peru

30/11/2010

1 Comment

 
From Calama we had hoped to go by train to Bolivia but Macchu Picchu was calling and we had a deadline to meet - our next cruise left Lima in only 10 days time.
So we took a bus to the Pacific coast of Chile, destination Peru via Antofagasta. We arrived to a fairly dreary part of town and managed to organise an overnight bus to the Peruvian border, departing in about 4 hours time so a chance to explore a Chilean city.
We got a taxi to the boardwalk area and then walked back toward some large shopping malls. Basically, once in the down town area we could have been in any modern city anywhere in the world. It was a buzz to see the Pacific Ocean again and before dinner we watched a sunset over the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
After a traditional Chilean dinner at TGI Friday's, we headed back to get our rather luxurious business class bus to Arica, the last chilean town before the Peru border.
At the border in the morning we organised a taxi to run us up the coast to Tacna in Peru, crossing the border just after it opened for business and joining the queue of old American cars running people and goods to the North. Tacna was quiet and we were able to organise a bus to Arequipa without too much trouble and a leisurely wait. On to arequipa.
Picture
Sunset over the South Pacific
Picture
1 Comment
<<Previous

    Author

    Mark
    Julia
    Molly

    Archives

    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009

    Categories

    All
    Argentina
    Australia
    Austria
    Belgium
    Brazil
    Cambodia
    Chile
    China
    Croatia
    Czech Rep.
    Denmark
    England
    France
    Germany
    Hungary
    Ireland
    Italy
    Laos
    Lichtenstein
    Lithuania
    Luxembourg
    Mongolia
    Northern Ireland
    Peru
    Poland
    Portugal
    Prep
    Russia
    Scotland
    Singapore
    Slovakia
    Slovenia
    Spain
    Switzerland
    Thailand
    The Netherlands
    Trans Atlantic Crossing
    Trans-Atlantic Crossing
    Tunisia
    Usa
    Vietnam
    Wales

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.