Colca Canyon – 16-18 Juin; Puno, Lac Titicaca 19-21 Juin

Colca Canyon – 16-18 June; Puno, Lake Titicaca 19-21 June

Tuesday 16th, we wake up at 3 am to take a bus going towards Cabanaconde, Colca Canyon. We are knackered but yet quite exited to leave the busy city in exchange for 3 days of fresh air.

At 9 am, the bus stops for 45 minutes at Cruz del Condor, apparently the best place to spot these beautiful birds of prey, out on the hunt for the next meal. They have a wing span of 3 meters (see the pictures at the end) and can live up to 50 years old, also apparently one of only two species of birds that have a sense of smell! Sometimes a Condor would sweep above us, much closer than the others and at this point you begin to understand the enormity of these birds. The view is incomparable to anything either of us has ever seen. The mountain cliffs plummet before us at almost 1000m joining the banks of the river Colca.

We’re back in the bus towards Cabanaconde, the principal town of Colca Canyon, where our lunch is waiting for us (in the bus for breakfast we were treated to ‘empanadas de queso’ - bread cooked with cheese … Thank you Carlito!).

AT 12.30, our group (Louise, Isla, Lara, Michael, Renu, Nico and Carlito-our guide) start to make our way to the edge of the plateau. Meanwhile Carlito explains all about our surroundings and also warns us to be careful around another guide doing the trek, working for another company, who happens to be apparently a very dodgy character. That puts us at complete ease, not. We start walking while chewing on our first lot of coca leaves of the long excursion ahead of us. The coca leaves are supposed to be full of nutrients that help you cope with the altitude. Cabanaconde is on a plateau of 3287m altitude, we prepare ourselves to descend the second deepest Canyon in the world: at the point 1200m in depth and a walk of 7 km to get to the bridge at the bottom (3 ½ hours walk), our meeting point before we cross the river together and walk for another 1 ½ hour uphill to meet a local family in the village of Coshnirhua where we stay the night.

The decent is hard on our knees and carves, but the views as we come down are magnificent. It is so hard to explain how big these mountains are, and how small you feel. The pictures are good, but they really don’t do justice to the sheer size of what we are trying to walk across. The hardest part of the walk down though is the sight of the path we need to take to get back up on the other side. It is so much steeper than the path we’re currently on to come down, and it brings out the trepidation within us. We arrive at our destination by about 6.30pm, and are very warmly greeted by our host family, who happen to be one of the richest families of the village, even though, their living quarters were very simple to our standards. The kitchen was a sort of hut with an open fire for cooking. It was cosy, and made you realise that really, we don’t need much in life. But still, they have hot water showers, a fridge and a separate freezer (it took four men, over four days to carry the fridge down (and the same again for the freezer) from Cabanaconde to Coshnirhua (the walk we had just completed over 6 hours). Needless to say the cold Cerveza was extremely welcome after our first big day of walking, exhausted is too kind a word to describe how we were feeling.

Carlito makes us the best pasta we’ve had so far in South America, we warm ourselves around the fire telling a few jokes, and we feel much better.

We have a restless night. A scorpion, but apparently harmless– let him now rest in peace – found itself on Nicolas’ pillow and so made it difficult for us to sleep, and so in the end we had to share the dormitory rooms with Louise and Isla for fear of more scorpions (who’s the chicken now). After yummy pancakes and a great view for breakfast, we leave on our journey again, a three hour walk, going towards the oasis in the pit of the canyon. The walk is worth it as we find ourselves in a mini paradise with lush green around us, the flowing river, little cabanas swimming pools. We swim for a bit (though the water is freezing), take in the sun for two hours, eat lunch and set off again at 3pm, going back up towards Cabanaconde. The first half hour is a quite simply a nightmare. The sun is beating down on us, and climb is so much steeper than coming down. We keep going, and after two hours of climbing, we realise that it’s no longer our legs and lungs that are going to get us to the top, but more a great deal of courage.

Night falls around 5pm, and now it gets hard, but really hard, there’s no path, but just clambering rock after rock after rock. Our legs ache like never before. Our lungs are about to explode, fighting for breath every three steps, the effects of the altitude obviously get worse the higher we climb. With the dark, it’s all mind over matter, as our tiny torch guides us up, so hopefully saving us from falling off the edge. Clambering, struggling and with many words of encouragement we finally reach the top of the Canyon around 6.30pm, enormously relieved and extremely proud of ourselves. The air is freezing now, and we have another 30 to 45 minutes walking on flat ground to the hotel.

We have the hottest, longest and probably the most enjoyable shower of our lives at the hotel, and then head to a local restaurant for dinner, where some classic 80’s tunes are playing on the telly. It kind of gets you in the mood for dancing, until you stand up and realize that your legs can no longer hold your weight after about 12 hours of walking over 2 days. We leave the restaurant fairly early ready for bed, to find a big festival with a brass band and people dancing in the street. It’s so lovely to watch, gets your feet twitching but still not enough to keep you away from a long awaited sleep. The festival goes on all night and all the next morning in any case.

The next day, Thursday 18th, we get on the bus to Chivay, bathe in some hot springs for an hour (for which our aching muscles are very grateful!) and then have a ridiculously expensive lunch (by local standards) before returning to Arequipa.

Thursday evening we go out into Arequipa to a Mexican restaurant and finish in a bar called ‘Deja-Vu’, all with the Colca Canyon team, eating loads, and drinking lots of beer and tequila.
Friday 19th, we take another bus early afternoon to Puno, border of Peru and Lake Titicaca (nicknamed by Nico … Lake PipiCaca … no comment there). The lake is apparently 160 km by 60 km, 250 meters deep, average temperature of 9 degrees (ow, wouldn’t like to fall in), 60% Peruvian and 40% Bolivian. Apparently the highest lake in the world at 4000m altitude (but that turns out not to be true). Basically, it’s a pretty impressive Lake, always good to have a few statistics to chew over.

From Puno we hoped to find some way of getting to Cusco, and then on to Machu Pichu, but it turns out that all routes from Arequipa or Puno going to Cusco have been blocked by protestors, and also the only bridge that allows you to get there they burned down. It turns out the Peruvian government are trying to sells off certain Amazon ports to big companies to be able to exploit the petrol. This idea is not going down well with the locals. It’s quite gutting to be in Peru and not be able to get to Machu Pichu, the most famous archeological site in South America if not the world.

As a result, we’re stuck in Puno, not a particularly exiting town to say the least. The only saving grace is that the Australian couple, Lara and Mike (aka Dipper) that we met at Colca Canyon is also here and so we’re able to spend time eating and drinking together. The first night in Puno is misery, the hostel we end up in (Hostal Kantuta, never go there!) is horrid and with no heating (at 4000m altitude, you feel like an elephant is sat on your chest when you are trying to breath, and it’s bloody freezing, below 0 at night, even fully dressed with five blankets on top, you still shiver). The next day we go on the hunt for somewhere else to stay and decide on being naughty by staying in a three star hotel (Hotel Hacienda), with a comfy room, unlimited hot water (with a bath!) and heating in the room.

Sunday we have lunch at the port, fresh trout straight out of the lake, and then take a two our boat ride to one of the floating islands on the lake. It’s really crazy; they construct these islands themselves with condensed roots and mud that are meters thick. When it’s dry, the islands touch the bottom of the Lake, but when it rains, they float, and so have to be tied down to save from crashing into another communities’ floating island. The ‘flooring’ is covered in straw, their dwelling are made from the same material, together with their boats.
All very strange, and quite fascinating.

Monday 22nd, we leave for Copacabana in Bolivia, to see the Bolivian side of the Lake, seemingly much prettier, and to continue our journey to La Paz in the middle/end of the week.

For the photos of the last week, click here.

We miss you all, please send us some news, we’d love to hear from you.

Kisses, Renu and Nico.


Nous nous levons à 3 heures du matin le mardi 16 pour partir en bus direction Cabanaconde, Colca Canyon. On est crevés et à la fois excite de sortir de la ville pour prendre un bon bol d’air de trois jours.
A 9h, le bus s’arrête 45 minutes a Cruz Del Condor afin que nous puissions observer ces volatiles pouvant atteindre 3 mètres d’envergure et pouvant vivre plus de 50 ans (quelques photos dispos, voir le lien a la fin du post). La vue est impressionnante, la falaise plonge devant nous sur presque 1000m pour atteindre le lit de la rivière Colca. Parfois, un condor vole plus bas que les autres et nous permet de comprendre a quel point ils sont majestueux…
A nouveau dans le bus pour rejoindre Cabanaconde, la ville la plus importante du Colca Canyon ou notre déjeuner nous attend (au petit déjeuner nous avons eu droit a des empanadas de queso dans le bus… Merci Carlito !).
12h30, notre groupe compose de Louise, Isla, Lara, Michael, Renu, Nico et Carlito (le guide) commence à avancer vers le bord du plateau et à mâcher les premières feuilles de coca du périple. Cabanaconde se trouve sur un plateau a 3287m d’altitude et nous nous apprêtons à descendre le second Canyon le plus profond du monde : 1200m de dénivelé et une marche de 7km pour atteindre le pont qui nous permettra de traverser la rivière et de rejoindre notre famille d’accueil a Coshnirhua.
Nous mettons en gros trois bonnes heures à descendre et nous en prenons plein la vue. Seule ombre au tableau, nous pouvons apercevoir à certains moments le chemin que nous allons devoir prendre pour remonter et il est beaucoup plus raide que celui sur lequel nous nous trouvons. Arrives a destination vers 18h30, nous sommes accueillis chaleureusement par cette famille de locaux a priori les plus riches du village, ils possèdent plusieurs douches, un frigo et un congelo (il leur aura fallu 4 jours et 4 hommes pour amener le frigo de Cabanaconde a Coshnirhua et autant pour le congelo). Autant vous dire que la cerveza bien fraiche se laisse apprécier après cette première journée bien fatigante.
Après une nuit plutôt mouvemente (un scorpion a priori inoffensif – paix a son âme - sur l’oreiller de Nicolas l’aura empêché de trouver le sommeil et on du coup partager une chambre avec Louise et Isla), nous repartons en direction de l’oasis qui se trouve dans le fond du canyon a 3 heures de marche. Ces trois heures en valent la peine et nous arrivons dans un endroit assez surprenant car compose de paillottes et de piscines. Nous nous baignons, prenons le soleil pendant 2 heures et a 15h nous repartons direction Cabanaconde. La première demi heure de marche est infernale, le soleil tape fort et la pente est bien plus raide qu’a l’aller. A partir de la deuxième heure, c’est le courage qui fait défaut.
La nuit tombe vers 17 heures et nous atteignons finalement non sans peine le haut du Canyon à 18h30. 3h et demi pour remonter et une autre demi heure sur le plat pour rejoindre notre hôtel, prendre une douche brulante avant de diner et de s’écrouler.
Le lendemain nous nous arrêtons à Chivay pour se baigner dans des sources d’eau chaude et déjeuner Avant de rentrer a Arequipa.
Vendredi 19, nous prenons un bus en début d’après midi pour Puno, sur le bord du Lac Titicaca dans l’espoir de pouvoir trouver un moyen de locomotion jusqu'à Cusco mais la route a été bloquée par des manifestants et le seul pont qui relie Puno a Cusco a été brule. Nous sommes dons bloque a Puno sans savoir si nous pourrons ou non rejoindre Cusco pour aller au Machu Pichu. La première nuit a Puno a été infernale, l'Hostel été pourave et sans chauffage (Hostel Kantuta, n’y allez jamais…) et le lendemain nous décidons avec Renu de prendre une chambre a l’Hôtel Hacienda, trois étoiles, eau chaude a volonté et chambre chauffée. Lundi, nous partons pour Copacabana en Bolivie pour visiter le lac du cote bolivien et continuer notre route vers La Paz en milieu/fin de semaine.
Pour les photos de ces derniers jours c’est par ici.
Vous nous manquez, envoyez de vos nouvelles.
Bises, Nico et Renu.

Ica, Huachachina, Arequipa. Monday 8th June – Monday 15th June. Ica, Huacachina, Arequipa. 8 au 15 juin 2009.

We take the bus to Ica around 10 am, and arrive 5 hours later. Straight into a taxi 10 minutes to Huachachina. We get to our hotel (Hotel El Huacachinero), that is lovely, surrounded by sand dunes with a swimming pool, homely room and parrots in the garden that speak! We relax there for a while, and then take a walk to the oasis, have dinner and get a little tipsy on red wine (so nice that taste after so many weeks ), half the bottle lands on Nico’s shirt, and we go back to the hotel, where unfortunately Nico is sick all night … dodgy tummy, did well to last this long, but it went on for a good week…

The next morning we awake at 7 am to the sound of hammers and drills, sure there was a chainsaw at some point too … this is enough to get our backs up and leave the hotel, pretty much immediately. We decide to treat ourselves to a really good place (Villa Jazmin) as Nico is sick and take it easy by the pool for a few days.

On the last day, we head into Ica for a walk around, nothing spectacular to see, other than a big manifestation against some bank. It did make us miss the part of Lima where people would dance Salsa in the park, in the middle of the day! We then go back to Huachachina to climb the sand dunes around the oasis … bloody hard work … and Nico sand boards his way down, whereas Renu, being the renowned chicken that she is, decides to walk down … cautiously … it’s high up you know! 

Bored with the sand dunes by Thursday night, we take a night bus to Arequipa and arrive at 9 am at a very basic, but needs met, hostel (Hostel Bothy). Arequipa is a beautiful town known as the White Town (La Ciudad Blanca), due to all the buildings being made from the local white volcanic rock. We stay here for a while as Nico is still recovering from his stomach bug … but that said, we still manage to go out on Saturday night, get plastered and witness Renu vomit from over doing it. All this in the toilet of an up market Kebab house, to the horror of a poor lady having her evening soup in there. Renu claims that she’ll not drink again. That promise has already been broken. No surprise here.

Today we took a walk around Monasterio de Santa Catalina, built in the 16th Century, where nuns still live today. It’s a little town within a bigger one, just splendid. The photos speak for themselves.

Tomorrow (3 am) we’re off to Colca Canyon, for a three day trek. Sounds hard core, pretty sure that our legs would have fallen off by the time we get back.

For the pictures of our last week, click here, here and here...

Ica, Huacachina, Arequipa. 8 au 15 juin 2009.

Nous avons pris un bus pour Ica a environ 10 h du matin et sommes arrives 5 heures plus tard. On saute dans un taxi et direction Huacachina à notre hôtel « El Huacachinero ». C’est superbe, on est entoure de dunes, une piscine et des perroquets. On se repose un peu avant d’aller visiter l’oasis, prendre un verre et diner, ma chemise boit autant que moi… De retour à l’hôtel Nico tombe malade et passe la nuit dans la salle de bains…
Le lendemain matin on est réveillé par les travaux que le réceptionniste avait oublie de mentionner lors de notre arrivée. On plie bagage et se dirige vers un autre hôtel de l’autre cote d’Ica, beaucoup plus calme que l’oasis, La Villa Jazmin ou on restera 3 jours histoire de se reposer un peu au bord de la piscine (et oui on est très fatigue vous ne pouvez pas vous imaginez… ;-))
Pour notre dernier jour a Ica, nous retournons à l’oasis pour monter la plus haute dune à pied et s’essayer au sand board, pas facile mais amusant. Renu préfère redescendre à pied : poule mouillée…

Assez des dunes et du calme de l’hôtel, le jeudi 11 au soir nous sautons dans un bus couchettes direction Arequipa ou nous débarquons a 9h du mat. On se pose de suite a notre Hostel, Bothy, sur, propre et pas cher. Arequipa est une ville superbe, surnommée la « Ciudad Blanca » a cause de la pierre de lave avec laquelle la plupart des bâtiments et la cathédrale sont construits. On se pose deux jours sans trop bouger car Nico est toujours un peu à l’ouest mais le samedi on réussit tout de même à sortir prendre l’apéro (Pisco Sour et Mojito) et Renu le vit plutôt mal et finit par retapisser les toilettes d’un kebab (Renu aka Patate a Papier). Une cliente qui est bien tranquille en train de manger sa soupe est tout simplement horrifiée. Renu comme d’hab. se jure que c’est la dernière fois, mais bon la promesse est rompue le lendemain même…

Le lundi 15, nous visitons le monastère Santa Catalina, construit au 16eme siècle par des sœurs venant la plupart du temps de familles espagnoles tres riches. Apparemment elles y organiser des fêtes et réceptions jusqu'à la fin du 17eme siècle et avaient chacune leurs domestiques jusqu'à l’Eglise les calme toutes. Aujourd‘hui des sœurs y vivent encore mais n’occupent qu’une toute petite partie du monastère composée de bâtiments récents, le reste étant destine a la visite. C’est une ville au cœur de la ville, l’architecture et les couleurs y sont surprenantes. Voyez les photos…

Dans la nuit du 15 au 16, nous partons pour le Colca Canyon à 3h du mat. Il s’agit du 2nd canyon le plus profond au monde. La suite tres bientôt.
Pour les photos c’est ici, ici et ici.

La bise a vous tous,
Nico et Renu

Lima – 3rd to 8th June, Welcome to Peru -

Lima – 3rd to 8th June, Welcome to Peru

We land in Lima late Wednesday night. The guy from the hostel we booked is waiting for us, and we drive through the city for about 45 minutes, arriving at our hostel (Hostel Kamuni) in the area Barranco at around 1 am. The area seems very lovely, the kind of place you would live, an artistic area, quiet and very pretty. The hostel on the other hand is another story. It sold the room as a ‘double private room’. It held true to the last word ‘room’, but it was not a double, more a twin, with a shared bathroom, and it certainly wasn’t private. There was no window, but a skylight, where people could see in on our entire room from the roof garden ... but we couldn’t see them!

The next day we went on a hunt for another place, in the area of Miraflores, which is the ‘richest’ region of Lima. It is extremely modern, quite European, and appears to be the kind of town that you could settle in for a few years. Prices here are about a third higher than in Quito. We found a cool room at the Red Psycho Llama Hostel, a real private, double room with bathroom, TV and WIFI. The room is on the rooftop, so immediate access to the terrace garden. Though the bed was broken, so they had to put us on two mattresses instead, as Nico’s weight on the bed would not have worked out well . On the way back to the first hostel to pick up our bags we managed to pick a bus that broke down half way, it seemed quite normal to the locals.

We’ve just been chilling out for the last few days, enjoying the city life ... good restaurants, cinema and bars. We went to see Terminator, The Salvation. It’s not very good if you’re planning on it. The other day we went into the old Lima city, well worth a visit if you’re ever in the area. Last night we went to a lovely restaurant with some live music, and then went to a bar for a few drinks. After we ordered, the whole area had a power cut, so we were in this bar drinking our whiskey in the dark ... quite amusing.

Tomorrow we’re heading to Ica, Huachachina. About 4 hours south of Lima, an oasis in the desert. Should be good :-). We’ll then need to work out how we’re going to travel across the continent to get to Brazil...

For the pictures of our first 4 days in Peru, click here.

Bye bye,
Renu and Nico.

Lima - Pérou, 3 au 8 Juin 2009

Nous avons atterri à Lima Mercredi 3 au soir. Le taxi envoyé par l’hôtel nous attendait comme prévu et à 1heure du mat, après 45 minutes sur la cote nous arrivons à Barranco à l’auberge de jeunesse Kaminu. Le quartier est sympa et très bobo. Pour l’auberge ce n’est pas tout à fait le top. La chambre est compose de 2 lits simples, pas de fenêtres mais un puits de lumière qui donne sur le toit terrasse et a travers duquel tout le monde peut vous voir. Les douches sont communes tout comme les WC.

Le jour suivant nous partons a la recherche d’une autre chambre a Miraflores, le quartier riche de Lima. C’est très moderne, le genre d’endroit ou il fait bon vivre a Lima. Les prix sont a peu prés 30% plus chers qu’a Quito. On finit par trouver une chambre très sympa au Red Psycho Llama, une vraie chambre double avec accès direct sur le toit terrasse. Salle de bain et WC prives, TV câblée et Wi Fi. Le lit étant bien fatigue, il risque de ne pas faire le poids contre la masse musculagelatineuse de Nicolas ; on demande au gérant de le virer et de doubler le matelas. En route vers notre premier point de chute pour récupérer nos sacs, le bus tombe en panne, ce ne semble pas étonner les autres passagers du bus.

On a passe 4 jours a pas trop forcer : visites de la vieille ville (monastère Franciscain intéressant avec les catacombes), petits restos (Las Tejas a Miraflores), bars et ciné. On vous déconseille fortement le dernier Terminator. Hier soir après le resto nous sommes allés prendre un verre et il y a eu une coupure générale de courant dans toute la zone. On a fini nos verres dans le noir et on est rentre.

Demain, direction Ica, Huacachina plus précisément. A 4 heures au sud de Lima, c’est la seule oasis dans le désert du Pérou. Au programme, piscine, Sand-board sur les dunes voisines et buggy… Il faut aussi qu’on commence à réfléchir a comment traverser le continent jusqu’au Brésil.

Pour les photos de nos 4 premiers jours au Pérou c’est ici.

La bise a vous tous,
Nico et Renu

Cotopaxi, Secret Garden 01-02 June, Goodbye Ecuador 03 June - Cotopaxi, Secret Garden, 1 et 2 Juin 2009. 3 juin 2009, Au revoir Equateur…

Cotopaxi, Secret Garden 01-02 June, Goodbye Ecuador 03 June

Monday 1st June, we’re up early, and on the bus towards Cotopaxi at 8.30 am. After a few changes, and a gorgeous 2.5 km walk, we arrive at the Secret Garden Hostel 12.30, with its stunning view of the Cotopaxi Volcano. The mountainous views all around are quite incredible. The air is so fresh, that after a weekend in a polluted city, it was a real treat. Though, with that said, at an altitude of 3500 metres, you notice that it’s slightly harder to draw in your breath. Cotopaxi reaches 5800 metres, with permanent snow at the top! We meet Salim and Claire there as they persuaded us to meet them there.

This sister hostel to the one in Quito is quite different, it really is a ‘secret’ garden in the middle of nowhere. They grow all their own vegetables, and they even have a mini animal farm, with pigs, a sheep, dogs, rabbits and guinea pigs. The dogs are adorable! There is a comfy living / dining room, with a real log fire, where you can curl up with the dogs in the evening with a glass of wine. It is so quiet, so peaceful. For this though, you do pay three times what you would pay the Quito hostel. We did feel that although it was beautiful, it was still very expensive in comparison to everything in Ecuador.

Our room is like a mountain wood cabin, with no electricity, but a wood fire that warms it fabulously. There is even a sunk-in bath! Luxury compared to the jungle! It’s so cosy and romantic, with the view of Cotopaxi and all the other mountains in the region.

With all this tranquillity, we did feel the need to break it a little. On the afternoon we arrived, we decided to go Zip-Lining after lunch. We had never done it before, it’s basically hanging yourself on a thick wire (that can withstand two tonnes apparently), and sliding across from one mountain cliff to another. What a thrill!

To see the pictures, follow this link

Today, Wednesday 3rd of June, we’re relaxing at the hostel in Quito, packing our bags ready to leave for Lima, Peru tonight.
It’s been a mind-blowing two weeks in Ecuador. This country really is a hidden jewel with so much to offer. We were also lucky enough to meet some great people and had some real laughs. We are however happy to get out of Quito now, like any city it’s nosy, smelly and polluted. To add to it though, the city in general is quite dodgy after dark, which puts you on your guard and really dissuades you from wanting to go out. So to sum up, very happy to be leaving Quito, but sad to say good-bye to Ecuador, it’s been an explosive start to our trip.

Bik Kiss to all of you,
Renu and Nico

Cotopaxi, Secret Garden, 1 et 2 Juin 2009. 3 juin 2009, Au revoir Equateur…

Lundi 1er Juin nous nous levons assez tôt pour prendre un bus pour Cotopaxi. Après un changement, un taxi et une marche de 2.5 km nous arrivons à l’auberge Secret Garden vers 12h30. La vue sur le volcan Cotopaxi ainsi que sur les autres volcans et montagnes qui nous entourent est imprenable. L’air frais pique mais après les jours passes à Quito dans la pollution, ca nous fait beaucoup de bien. Nous sommes à 3500m d’altitude et le Cotopaxi culmine à 5800m.
Nous retrouvons Salim et Claire qui nous ont convaincus de venir passer ces deux jours avec eux.

L’auberge est bien différente du Secret Garden de Quito car il s’agit vraiment d’un « jardin secret » au milieu de nulle part. Ils font pousser leurs légumes et ont également une mini ferme avec cochons, un mouton, des chiens, des lapins, des cochons d’Inde, des oies, des poules, des dindes et des canards... Le salon est très agréable avec sa cheminée. Nous y passons la soirée à discuter et à boire.
Mais le calme et la tranquillité se paient cher car la nuit coute environ trois fois plus cher qu’une nuit au Secret Garden a Quito.

Notre chambre s’apparente à un petit chalet sans électricité mais avec un poêle à bois qui chauffe très bien. Nous avons même une baignoire !!! C’est la grande classe compare a la jungle. La vue sur les alentours y est également magnifique.

Tout cela est bien trop calme, et dans l’après midi nous décidons d’aller faire de la tyrolienne (rien à voir avec les enduits). C’est la premier fois que l’on en fait, les descentes sont longues et rapides, on adore.

Pour voir les photos suivez ce lien

Aujourd’hui, 3 juin, on ne fait pas grand chose si ce n’est préparer nos sacs car nous partons a Lima a 20h.

On a beaucoup aime ces deux semaines en Equateur, il y a tellement a voir et a faire. Nous avons eu la chance de rencontrer des gens sympas avec qui on a bien ri. Nous sommes cependant assez contents de quitter Quito. Comme toutes les grandes villes, c’est bruyant, pollue et ca craint pas mal des qu’il fait nuit (heureusement que la grusculature de Nicolas décourage plus d’un). En résumé, contents de partir de Quito mais un peu tristes de quitter l’Equateur. Ces deux premières semaines auront été géniales…

On vous embrasse,
Renu et Nico

Cuyabeno, 26-29 May 2009, Mowgli and Baloo make it back to the Jungle - Cuyabeno, 26-29 Mai 2009, Mowgli et Baloo débarquent dans la jungle.

Monday 25th May,
after some much needed rest and a day of doing very little, we’re at the bus station with Salim and Claire, waiting for our bus to Lago Agrio. Renu and Claire are trying their best to suppress any panic attacks at the idea of a week in the jungle. 11.30 pm, we’re in the bus, a little less than 300 km or 8 hours away.

We arrive at Lago Agrio at around 7 am. Lago Agrio is a strange town where the petrol industry is its reason for being, and so casinos and prostitution is the main source of bread and butter for the local economy. So, with that said, you can imagine a bizarre atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re in a western movie. The driver that is to take us to our next mode of transport picks us up at 9 am, and after 2 ½ hours of a rocky drive, we arrive at the entrance to the Cuyabeno reserve. We have lunch and see a motorised canoe-like boat waiting for us, ready to go 28 km (2 hours) down the river to reach Samona Lodge. The boat ride is magical, first time in the Amazonian rainforest gasping in admiration at the different species of multi-coloured birds, trees – hundreds of years old, monkeys, caimans, and all sorts of other weird and wonderful wildlife.

At Samona Lodge, well, there’s no electricity, just one candle, and the most basic room that any accommodation can offer. All made of wood, with cracks peering straight out into the jungle and a roof that is not closed off to the outside. We are riddled with fear, but the days that are to follow captivate us like no other. Numerous boat rides and jungle walks, where we find an abundance of curious Ecuadorian plant life, along with an array of different species of snakes, spiders, frogs and insects. The only thing missing was David Attenborough by our side :-).

In the evening, the young caimans, a good metre in length, would rest under the posts that held our huts above the river water, while above us, the tarantulas would sneak out of their nests and breath in the fresh air off the palm leaf roof of our open huts. We shiver with both nerves and excitement in tandem.

The daily 6 pm swim in the middle of the nearby lake, water pitch black, is apparently absolutely safe. So long as you do not venture to the edges where the hunting piranhas feed, together with the caimans, fearsome anacondas, and other mysterious Amazonian creatures. The two biggest chickens in the jungle, Renu and Claire, decide not to swim of course, but instead enjoy the glorious sunset from the comfort of the boat. Out here, with civilisation seemingly nonexistent, and in the blackness of night, we witness the most stunning star lit sky in the world. The lake sits on the equator line, which means we can see all the different constellations of the two hemispheres.

On the last day we end the daily ritual swim, by kayaking back to the lodge, in two canoes that have no motor, in the dark. Before heading back though, we paddle the canoes into the bushes on the edge of the lake, and watch Miguel, our guide, call the caimans closer so we can watch them at night. We then spend 1 ½ hour paddling back to the lodge. A terrifying experience, but peculiarly exhilarating. Looking back, this was probably the most hilarious moment of the trip, as our fear seemed to transcend into a string of funny comments from everyone in the group throughout the ride back. An unforgettable event.

The experience of this week has left us thinking of the impact that man has had on nature, so opulent, so precious and so totally crucial (http://texacotoxico.org/eng/). When you think that 40% of the worlds oxygen supply comes from the Amazonian rainforest, and how quickly it has recently shrunk, it makes you think twice about how we treat our planet. The four days went by so quick, we would have loved to stay longer. This time we spent in this little paradise with Claire, Salim, Grace, Charlie and Bud will certainly stay in our memories as one of the best moments of our journey.

For the pictures click here.

This weekend we stayed in Quito, relaxing at Colonial Guesthouse, a very sweet hostel three blocks down the road from Secret Garden. Tomorrow we’ll be taking a two hour bus ride to Cotopaxi for the night, one of the most beautiful volcanoes in Ecuador, which they say is long-overdue for a big explosion :-).

Big kiss and lots of love to you all,

Renu and Nico.

Lundi 25 Mai,
après un repos dominical bien mérité et une journée passée a flâner nous voila donc a attendre notre bus pour Lago Agrio. Renu et Claire ne sont pas très enjouées a l’idée de passer la semaine dans la jungle. 23h30, nous sommes dans le bus. Un peu moins de 300 km en 8h…

Nous arrivons a Lago Agrio vers 7h du matin. Lago Agrio est une ville ou prédomine l’industrie pétrolière et donc, les casinos et la prostitution pour les gringos et les locaux venus essayer d’y gagner leur pain et leur fromage. Autant dire qu’il y règne une atmosphère digne de westerns. Le chauffeur qui doit nous transporter jusqu'à notre prochain moyen de locomotion nous récupère vers 9h et après 2 h ½ de piste nous arrivons a l’entre de la réserve Cuyabeno. Notre pirogue nous attend et après le déjeuner nous descendons le fleuve sur 28km (2h) jusqu'à Samona Lodge et nous admirons les différentes espèces d’oiseaux multicolores, arbres centenaires, singes et autres caïmans…

A Samona Lodge, pas d’électricité, des chambres rudimentaires… nous avons peur mais les jours qui vont suivre vont nous enchanter. Ballades en pirogue, marches dans la jungle a la découverte de la flore équatorienne et de la multitude d’espèces de serpents, araignées, grenouilles, insectes qui l’habitent, pèche au piranha.
Le soir, de jeunes caïmans d’un bon mètre de long viennent se reposer sous les pilotis de nos huttes et les tarentules sortent de leur nid pour prendre l’air sur les toits faits de palmier.

La baignade dans les lacs alentours est apparemment sure si elle est pratiquée au milieu de ces derniers et non pas au bord ou viennent chasser piranhas, caïmans et autres anacondas… les couchers de soleil y sont tout simplement magnifiques… L’absence de civilisation et de lumière nous permet d’admirer les plus beaux ciels étoilés qui puissent exister. Nous sommes sous l’équateur et pouvons a ce titre observer les différentes constellations des deux hémisphères.

Le dernier soir, nous terminons notre rituelle baignade dans le lac par une balade en canoë (sans moteur ni gilet de sauvetage). La nuit tombe et avant de rentrer directement au camp, notre guide nous dirige au milieu d’une mangrove pour aller observer les caïmans de plus prés. Une expérience a la fois terrifiante et amusante des commentaires de chacun lors de notre retour au camp qui nous prendra a peu près 1h30. Notre guide, Miguel, avouera le lendemain qu’il lui est arrive de se perdre dans la jungle avec un groupe pendant 4h30 avant d’admettre qu’ils étaient perdus…
Cette expérience d’une semaine laisse a réfléchir sur l’impact qu’a l’homme sur cette nature si riche et tellement indispensable (http://texacotoxico.org/eng/). Les 4 jours sont passes trop vite et nous aurions souhaite rester plus longtemps. Les moment passes dans ce petit paradis avec Claire, Salim, Grace, Charlie et Bud resterons certainement dans nos mémoires comme faisant partie des meilleurs moment de notre voyage.

Pour les photos, cliquez ici.

Ce weekend nous sommes restons a Quito au Colonial House. Demain, nous devrions partir pour Cotopaxi, un des plus beaux volcans d’Equateur, a 2h de bus.

Bises à vous tous,
Renu et Nico.