Bogota

After hearing mixed reports about the countries capital Bogota I was in two minds on whether it was worth a visit. Stepping off a long bus ride at the wrong city bus terminal resulted in a very expensive taxi ride to the Sayta hostel which had very good reviews on trip adviser. It turned out the hostel was dead, the weather was cold and the city did not appear to have much happening, so I decided on the spot that one night would be plenty for this destination. A friendly local who had married a Russian bird and opened a restaurant just down the strep served me a delicious Borsch soup, Colombian street food would have to wait until the morning.

The one must thing to do if you only have one day in Bogota is the bike tour, run by mike and costing $35, it lasts around 6 hours and checks out some of the city's highlights. We started with another run down of the city's violent history, namely the attack on the Supreme Court of Justice in 1985 in which members of Pablo Escobars funded guerrilla group in an attempt to destroy evidence of an extradition order and a following military raid left half of the 25 Supreme Court Justices dead. The city also boats a thriving collection of local art works sprawled across previously blank wall space.

We the pushed on to a colourful fruit market where they had the biggest avocados I have ever seen! We got to sample plenty of the local produces, opening my eyes to a whole variety of fruits that I had never heard of let alone got to try. A hasty ride through an area of drug and alcohol abuse where we were reminded to keep very close eye on our belongings and to ride fast (to avoid people surrounding you) we made it to the legal red light district, just in time for a massive downpour.

The only thing left to do for the remainder of the wet afternoon was to reside in a local coffee store, complete with its own roasting room out the back, where we sampled one of Colombia's specialities.

Tatacoa desert

Not wanting to endure another full day of bus travel I decided to make the short journey up to Neiva and then take a Collectivo to the nearby village of Villaviaja, followed by a tuk tuk ride out to the desert. The scenery looks like something right out of a western movie with its rolling red hills and cactus's, albeit on a much smaller scale. Tatacoa Desert or the "Sadness Valley" is the second largest arid zone in Colombia and occupies 330sqm of land.

I really wanted to visit a decent astronomical observatory somewhere on the trip so ended up staying at one of the few basic accommodation options. It was a blissful afternoon rocking in my chair with a good book until the sun dipped below the horizon. A few of us made our way up to the observatory just before the 7pm start time to find out the volunteer guide was 'sick', apparently quite a common occurrence here. It was still a lovely evening to drag the rocking chairs out under the stars and rock gently as we admired the sky show.

Southern Colombia

One lesson you learn very quickly when travelling Latin America is to stop listening to all the fear freaks out there, otherwise you will believe every border crossing is mugging alley, every adventure is  death trap and miss out on some amazing experiences. The exaggerated misconception about a 'dangerous Colombia' stems back to its violent past under the Pablo Escobar regime, these days the violence has subsided and the country is regarded as a right of passage for backpackers, many who regard this as their top destination in Latin America.

First stop across the border was the famous postcard worthy Chapel at Las Lajas. The beautiful structure is 100m high from the bottom of the canyon and is connected by a 50m bridge to the other side of the canyon. This place of worship looks more like it belongs in a fairy tale, well worth taking the couple of extra hours from your stop at the border crossing to see (you can get a short taxi followed by a collectivo from the Colombia - Ecuador border). This is a great area to try a regional speciality Coy, or Guinea Pig.

Venturing up from Quito got me as far as Pasto for my first night, opting for a hotel rather than push on(it is advisable to avoid night travel if possible). The town itself had very little to offer apart from a rather persistent local chasing me for a few dollars outside the bus terminal and an opportunist taxi driver that over charged me for what ended up being a 3 street drive to the hotel.

The mornings journey was made simple after finding a shuttle service (crammed in a mini van full of locals) that would take me all the way through to the highway near San Augustine. Not to be put off by the interesting name; "Trampoline of Death", the road provided some magnificent views of the countryside via its short dusty cliff side passage. There appears to be a lot of construction work going on at the moment along with quite a few newish looking railings at parts. We did not witness any cars topple off the side.

After a great drive along the edge of Colombia's Amazon region (along with a few military checkpoints), I made it to the quiet little town of San Augustine. My hostel was dead, only one other archaeological nut kiwi bird and myself staying there. This town attracts visitors due to its location next to a very important archaeological discoveries including numerous burial sites and many small statues, some of which have been moved to the museum in Bogota.

Quito at the centre of the world

Last stop for  the Ecuadorian leg of my tour was at the capital, Quito. I checked in to the Community Hostel, which along with the extremely friendly and helpful owners, was conveniently located next to the main bus line and local markets. For the first nights activity a walking food tour was run from the hostel, sampling local specialities that were nothing exceptional, though well received by this hungry traveller.

Community Hostel also organised a walking city tour encompassing some of the violent history that is an all too common theme in Latin American countries. On a brighter note we also visited a local confectionery store, the markets with their bizarre fruit drink combinations and had lunch with the guide at his favourite restaurant.

The main reason I came to the countries capital was to visit the equator lines, which can be accessed via a 2 hour bus ride. I had been warned that the big monument is not the actual centre line, instead its at  a small discovery centre next door. I was fooled by the guy at the entrance and ended up visiting the above mentioned monument first, but it was alright in the end as I somehow ended up bypassing the payment desk next door. First up we tried to balance an egg on the head of a nail, which when demonstrated by the guide looked easy and ended up being a total fail when I did my best attempt. They also showed us a sink draining in to a bucket, reversing direction on either side and straight down when placed on the line, along with a few other fun games that are unique to this latitude.

Cotopaxi

Back at Latacunga I was toying with the idea of climbing a frozen volcano called Cotopaxi. Enduring a stomach bug since leaving Montanita and not having completed the recommended acclimatization days, left me unsure if I would go through with the climb. On one hand this was now my last opportunity to quickly climb a height above the boys 5,364m on Everest, having missed my opportunity to climb above 6,000 in La Paz, on the other hand it was quite expensive ($170 if two people or $260 solo). Given there is a 40% climbers failure rate and I was already sick, this still wasn't quite enough to deter me from bragging rights, finally.

Jess had just checked in to the hostel when I returned, also keen to climb in the morning we teamed up, guides only taking up a maximum of two people at a time. Setting off the next morning we picked up supplies and made our way to the base camp at 4,800m which included an hours hike up from the carpark. It turns out around 30 special forces members were going to be climbing the same morning as part o their rescue training, definitely a reassuring feeling should anything serious happen on the volcano.

The idea is to set off in the night to arrive for a magnificent sunrise, so at midnight we loaded up on carbs and ventured out in to the darkness to begin the climb. After an hours walking we stopped at the edge of the ice to strap on crampons (the same things I used for my glacier hike in Patagonia), pull out our ice axes and tie a rope between the three of us. It was quite a surreal feeling as we ascended up a section that was void of any wind under a starry nights sky, the little headlamps of climbers floated upwards in the eerie landscape. Apart from the special forces team, 4 other guides were leading people up the mountain.

This volcano is not to be taken light-heartidly, even without the state my stomach was in, I would still say this is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. You just need to push forward for hours on end (usually 6 - 7 hours to summit), it was freezing cold too which meant stopping was only going to make you more tired and cold anyway. Apparently they are going to change the restrictions so that less experienced climbers will no longer be able to tackle this one.

Whilst climbing in pairs makes this exercise a little cheaper, if one should get sick along the way, both climbers need to come down. Jess and I had discussed this and were both willing to push as hard as our body's could handle, not wanting to let each other down. Towards the last 400m ascent while the light was beginning to touch the horizon, the going really got tough, some of the snow sections ended up quite deep and we were having to pause every few steps to get our breath back to continue. After what felt like an eternity we clambered on to the summit, collapsing in ecstasy for making the top, even though it was a complete white out, we were extremely satisfied with the achievement(although seeing some mates photos of the crater does make me jealous).

On the way down the clouds decided to subside a little, giving way to a magnificent view down the volcano and out towards Quito. The morning showed a more detailed panorama of the landscape we had covered, it was a spectacular sight which gave us the inspiration we needed to push on until the end.

Quilotoa Loop

Feeling burnt out from constant travelling, tours and a wee bit of partying, I needed to relax for a few days and regaine some backpackers vitality. Paracas seemed like a perfect option as it offered a beach front hostel (literally in the sand) called Kokopelli, in a small town that was known for little more than Islas Ballestas, commonly known as poor mans Gallapogas. In the end I avoided the opportunity to be shat on by thousands of sea birds and spot a few sea lions, opting inststead for some chilled out beach time.

With time in Peru now pushing its limits, I decided on skipping the north and took a 3 hour bus up to the capital, Lima, connecting with a 28 hour Cruz Del Sur bus which took me all the way up to Ecuador's second largest city, Guayaquil. It felt like just another big city to me, so the following morning I was on the next bus out to the nearby surf and party town of Montanita. On the way I sat next to Daniel, a surfer from Colombia who convinced me to come and stay with them at a big white mansion on a cliff at the end of the beach. The days to follow consisted of kicking back, sampling some of the local specialties including a delicious raw fish breakfast dish and enjoying some of the nightlife this beach town had to offer.

Next stop was Latacunga, where I was headed for Quilotoa Loop, a 3 day trek recommended by numerous Gringo's along the trail. Parking up at Tiana's guesthouse, they were kind enough to provide clear directions and a map for the loop. On the hour long local bus ride to the start I met up with Cam and Owen, a couple of Aussies with a similar plan. The first days hike is mainly focused around Quilotoa lake, where you spend around 3 hours carefully walking around the volcanic rim. Such thick cloud wash came in that we could barely see in front of us and spent the second half of the walk with no idea where along the rim we were.

The next section was supposed to be an "easy walk" to our nights accommodation, which ended up having a small canyon in the middle of it, not what our tired legs were anticipating. Having seen the highlight of the trek, I convinced the boys to catch the local milk truck with me in the morning, stopping to collect fresh pots of cow juice from all the families along the way, a much easier and preferable way to see the rest of the trail. Our adventure was topped off with a delicious feed of chicken necks and intestines.

Sandboards and Dune Buggies in Huacachina

Deciding to splurge out and book Cruz Del Sur, who are known to be the preferential option to travel in Peru for security and comfort, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Frenchy (Jean) from the Amazon tour waiting in the pre boarding lounge, also heading to go to Huacachina. Cruz Del Sur are a step above the rest, generally having their own bus station and taking extra steps for security like stringent passport checking, bag receipts and filming each person in their seat at pre departure.

The overnight bus journey from Arequipa ended in Ica, where a short 10 minute taxi ride dropped us in an amazing desert oasis known as Huacachina. This is your stereotypical oasis with a large pool of water surrounded by palm trees and vast field  of sand dunes, also a few desert style dwellings to cater for the gringo visitors. We checked in to Desert Nights hostel and ordered the famous breakfast pancakes, these things were HUGE, stuffed with fresh fruit and covered in chocolate sauce.

Originally I had planned to spend a few days chilling here although the warm climate and clear waters of Central America are calling, so we joined an afternoon dune buggy and sandboard tour to tick this town off in the one night. Having cheaped out and gone the standard class on Cruz Del Sure (a 140 decline instead of 160, which does make quite a significant difference, especially if your tall), we crashed out for a few hours siesta in the afternoon warmth.

Now I have sort of sandboarded once or twice in my life, so I was advised to go for the standard board which allowed both standing and lying down options, whilst Frenchy who was an experienced snowboarder went for the snowboard which has special boots that lock you in. Having being advised that we were allocated the 'crazy driver', our group of around 10 were bundled in to one of the serious looking dune buggies that we'd heard roaring around the oasis all day and  powered off through the dunes.

Our driver  must have one of the most fun and exciting jobs in all of Peru, getting to drive a powerful dune buggy like a manic, filled with ecstatic  tourists, drifting around a big kids playground. Some of these dunes were definitely on the large side and he took great pleasure in gliding up right to the sharp peak (where you has no idea what would on the other side) and either sliding right up to the edge, or gunning it over in a rollercoasteresque thrill ride.

For my first hill I went along with the rest of the group on our stomachs down a very steep dune, with your head only centimetres above the sand, it felt super fast as we rocketed to the base. Having seen Frenchy do it standing up, I gave it a go on my second hill and tumbled off the once when my left rail dug a little deep in the sand, luckily managing to catch my sunnines before a hot clamber up the dune to collect them.

On our third hill I was ready to give standing up another go now that I had a better idea about the technique until Frenchy went right up to the higher peak above us. He flew down in top form until just over half way when something went wrong and he flipped board over head 4 or 5 times. We all thought he must have snapped his neck for sure, although it turns out later it was a broken ankle and a very sore shoulder, very unlucky for him as he will need to head home for the 6 weeks staying off the ankle. Not wanting a repeat effort, nobody else bothered standing up on of last two bigger hills as we has just as much fun flying down face first on the thrill ride.

Just in time for a magic sunset the driver took us to a dune above Huacachina where we laid out and watch the golden globe set over our playground

Arequipa and Colca Canyon

Machu Picchu would probably be the most well known reason for tourists to visit Peru, not far south (9 hours bus) there is another popular hike, the Colca Canyon, that is slowly growing its gringo status. The canyon itself is based around the Colca River and is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, making the list for one of the deepest in the world with  4,160m depth. The local inhabitants still continue to cultivate their pre-Incan stepped terraces.

First order of the day was a stuffed pepper with potato cake, served up in the local markets where they don't hold back on the fire factor. The food adventure continued at an annual event help for all the restaurants and bars to show off their produce, a perfect opportunity to sample Anticucho (cows heart on a skewer) and Cerviche (raw fish cooked in citric juices).

As per a new formed tradition, Tom and Elyna were waiting on the bus when I was picked up at 3am to head out for our 2 day canyon trek. The trek down was relatively easy although a rather steep loose rock path was waiting to claim its next victim. At the base of the canyon we crossed  the river and were rewarded with a stroll through lush plantations of various fruits and vegetables. The only produce in season were avocados and figs of which we could pick and eat plentiful amounts on our way. We did mange to spot one Condor high up circling the cliffs above, more exciting than the hour we spent on the way in, parked alongside hundreds of tourists up on top of the cliff waiting to spot one of these magnificent birds.

After around 4 hours hiking (at somewhat of a slow pace) we eventually got a brilliant view of the Oasis below, its pools beckoning us to frolick in the last of the afternoons warmth. Not wanting to dampen the party mood too early, a  bunch of the lads collected drift wood along the river and set up a blazing bonfire, whilst we sipped cocktails late in to the evening.

Much to our delight we had to wake at 4am to start the two hour gruelling hike up to the top of the canyon, providing the perfect opportunity to sweat out the previous evenings festivity. We were rewarded on the way back to Arequipa with a visit to some hot spring pools and stopping to drink Colca Sours, a local version of the famous Pisco Sour, instead blended with a sour cactus fruit.