Ian's World Travel Blog

Temples of Bagan and upriver to Mandalay

There are almost 4000 temples and pagodas in Bagan and those are the ones that survive today out of many more built in the city’s heyday between the 11th and 13th centuries. Obviously you can’t see them all and the area is vast, so where to begin?

I decided to hire a bicycle for two days to explore. You can hire ebikes, but I prefer cycling. It’s good exercise and the slower pace allows you to savour the countryside. I spent the first day in Old Bagan and the second day further afield on the Central Plains. After carefully following the top sights according to the Lonely Planet, I soon realised it was much more interesting simply to cycle off down dirt paths and chance upon isolated ruins devoid of other tourists. The temples are all atmospheric, with inner corridors around the main Buddha statues, often in darkness. A torch comes in handy to see some of the well-preserved murals.

On the third day I hired a boat to take me along the river to visit some temples overlooking the Ayerarwady. After an earthquake in 2016 and due to the need to preserve the ruins, it’s now forbidden to climb the main temples which used to be a popular activity to watch the sunset. But it’s still possible to clamber up onto these riverside temples and the views are tremendous.

On the fourth day I took a day trip to Mount Popa. It’s a sacred site and there are 777 steps to get to the top. Like similar temples all over India, it’s also swarming with monkeys, some quite agressive in their attempts to relieve you of any food you might be carrying. Once at the summit, you find many small temples and golden stupas reflecting the sun.

Mandalay was to be my last stop in Myanmar and, to avoid another long bus journey, I decided to take a boat up the Ayerarwady. It’s quite pricey at $29 compared to the bus and it takes 12 hours, but breakfast and lunch are included. It’s cheaper and longer to go upriver, the way I was headed, and less popular. In fact, as I boarded in pitch darkness at 5am I discovered I was the only passenger. So for the whole day I had an entire crew and boat to myself. I read a little and listened to music, but it was surprising how quickly the time went just watching the river bank glide past.

Mandalay is not a particularly attractive city. The name conjures up romantic images of the East, but the truth is it’s a grimy, noisy place. Luckily, there are some worthwhile things to see outside the city. I spent one day in a tuktuk driving around the former royal capitals of Sagaing and Inwa. This was another opportunity to visit yet more temples! At sunset on the way back I stopped to see the U-Bein bridge; at just over a mile it’s the longest teak footbridge in the world.

I spent another half day taking a boat trip to Mingun, a normally peaceful country village and the site of the ruins of what was to have been a gigantic temple but which was never finished. However, it was Christmas Eve and the place was heaving with foreign as well as domestic visitors.

I have loved my time in Myanmar. It’s been great for me that generally there have been fewer tourists, but I also felt sorry for the local people who are feeling the pinch of the downturn in numbers. I spent a month here, but there’s still so much to see and I’ll definitely be back some day.

Myanmar – Trekking from Kalaw to Inle Lake

Inle Lake is one of Myanmar’s top tourist attractions and it didn’t disappoint. It lies in the east of the country, north of Yangon in Shan state. A popular way of getting there is to hike in from Kalaw, west of the lake. It’s a relatively easy walk which takes you through the countryside and traditional local villages. But first I had to get to Kalaw.

I’d spent a few days in Taungoo which is between the lake and Yangon. Getting a bus in Myanmar is an art I’ve not really mastered yet despite being in the country for three weeks now. There are two huge bus stations in Yangon which are more like cities within a city. There’s no terminal building and no platforms, just a bewildering grid of dust tracks, filled with busses, taxis and pedestrians, all attempting to locate the tumbledown shed that acts as the bus company’s office. Taxi drivers will help you, but mine seemed just as confused as I was.

In Taungoo there’s not even a bus station. My hotel suggested the best option was to go through an agency who would be able to book me a seat on the Yangon to Kalaw direct bus at 11.30. The only snag was that it didn’t come into town, but instead passed by on the Expressway several miles to the west. This involved getting a motorbike taxi there. But how was I going to identify the correct bus? There’s very little signage in English anywhere in Myanmar. But the motorbike driver stayed to help me and it all worked out surprisingly well.

When I’d asked about the arrival time, estimates had varied between 3pm and 9pm. We arrived at 6pm. Kalaw is in the mountains and it gets pretty cold in the winter at night. I had time to organise my trek for the next day through Uncle Sam’s agency. I wanted to do the three day trek, but the only trek for the next day was two days. It was a good deal, costing only 35,000 kyats, about £17.50.

We drove to the trailhead the next morning and started trekking through farmland. The corn had been harvested and only dry husks remained. But the local villagers were all busy collecting red chillies which they dry in the sun for about two weeks. It was an amazing sight. It was also fascinating to see the young kids playing in the main temple grounds. With no iPads or X boxes to entertain themselves, these boys seemed quite content rolling around old wheels with a stick.

We spent the night in a village and it was bitterly cold at dawn the next morning. I joined the family warming themselves around an open fire on which they were boiling pumpkin. They chopped up the pieces and then put them into the hollowed-out shell with the lid back on!

We climbed up during the morning and then descended through a pass in the mountains to the lake. The last part of the adventure involved a boat ride across the lake to the main town, Nyaung Shwe. It’s a quiet and relaxing place to stay with some great restaurants.

The next day I met up with two Spanish guys from the trek to share the cost of hiring a boat to explore the lake. You pay for the boat with up to 5 passengers. The houses and even temples in the settlements around the lake are all built on stilts. The fishermen have a unique style, with one leg paddling. The lake is famous for its rotating 5 day markets and we visited one at Maing Thauk.

The next day I hired a guide to take me to see a fantastic cave temple (Htet Eain Gu) filled with Buddha statues. On the last day it was time to take it easy with a cooking course, but with so much food to eat it was more like an eating course. Inle Lake has definitely been the highlight so far, but my next destination was another of Myanmar’s star attractions -Bagan.

Monks at dawn with their alms bowls in Nyaung Shwe

Myanmar – from Yangon to the beach at Ngwe Saung and into the mountains around Taungoo

I was supposed to be getting away from the depressing misery of British politics, but within a few hours on my first day in Yangon I somehow found myself having to explain my position on Brexit. The guy who started speaking to me wanted to practise his English and seemed remarkably well-informed. I soon realised that there is a lot more freedom and access to media and news than I had thought. Why is there another election? the guy wanted to know. Is Boris Johnson not allowed to do the job any more? Oh, if only! It must be quite confusing for someone brought up in a military dictatorship and I quickly realised I was making a real hash of attempting to explain British democracy. So, I left to continue my exploration of the city.

The biggest tourist attraction in Yangon is the huge Shwedagon Pagoda and I visited it around 4pm which was a great time to arrive. The colours in the late afternoon sun were stunning and I also got to see it lit up at night as the sun sets quite early at this time of year, around 5.15.

But for me the best day trip I had was catching the Dalah ferry across the river from Yangon where I teamed up with 2 others to hire a tuktuk to take us to the town of Twante. The highlight here was the Snake Temple, where huge Burmese pythons slither and slide freely around the altar. Our driver joked – don’t be scared, they don’t bite. They just swallow you whole. We were also lucky enough to see some local people, who consider the snakes holy, come and give offerings. Not far from the Snake Temple is the tranquil Pagoda of 1000 Buddhas. It’s relatively new and not in the guidebooks so we saw no other tourists.

After a few days in Yangon it was time to recharge my batteries at the beach in Ngwe Saung, about a six hour bus ride west on the Bay of Bengal. There’s nothing special there, but it’s a good place to relax. I took a boat trip out to Bird Island and the view from there was great, but the crossing was surprisingly rough and there we’re too many waves to go snorkelling.

After a night back in Yangon I headed north to Taungoo, a little visited place. I spent a day driving up into the mountains with a motorbike taxi. It was a bumpy 2 hour journey, but the little village of Than Daung Gyi was fascinating. Many of the local people have converted to Christianity and I climbed up Naw Bu Baw mountain which has a church perched precariously at the top.

So far, my impressions of Myanmar have been great. The people are really friendly and, despite the fact that it’s less developed than neighbouring Thailand, it’s much easier to get around than I expected. The only sad thing is that it’s obvious tourist numbers are down due to the political situation with the Rohingya and local people are suffering from the lack of business. It’s easier than I thought to discuss the issue with people, though, and from the few people I have spoken to it seems to be there is a recognition that the military government is in the wrong and has behaved appallingly. My advice: come to Myanmar and engage in conversation.

Machu Picchu – the most expensive, the most mind-blowing place you’ll visit in South America

Machu Picchu. What more can be said? These stunning Inca ruins perched on a high mountain in Peru are one of South America’s top attractions. The Spanish never found their way here and the abandoned city remained lost in the jungle until American explorer, Hiram Bingham, came across it during his search for the lost city of Vilcabamba in 1911. Today 2500 tourists pour into the site every day, but somehow it still manages to thrill.

Bingham’s conviction that Machu Picchu was Vilcabamba, the refuge of the last Inca King, has since been refuted, but in some ways that makes the site all the more fascinating. It remains shrouded in mystery, since nobody knows for sure when it was built, by whom and for what purpose. The buildings, with classic Inca architecture, are incredibly well preserved, but it’s really all about the location.

Looking down on the ruins from the summit of Machu Picchu mountain

I arrived in Cusco after travelling overland from Lima through the Central Sierra, an adventurous and scenic route, but a lot less time-consuming now that the roads are mostly paved. It was remote and in places very off-the-beaten track.

Cusco, however, as the gateway city to Machu Picchu, is full to bursting point with tourists and has all the horrors that go with being a top travel destination. For the first time in five months I experienced in-your-face hassle. You can’t walk for more than a few minutes along the main streets without being approached by travel agency touts, trinket sellers and restaurant waiters brandishing menus like weapons. Want your photo taken with a ridiculously overdressed local woman with a llama on a leash? You’ve come to the right place.

Luckily, though, Cusco is more than just a tourist town for foreigners with no taste. It’s the former centre of the Inca empire and has some wonderful examples of their architecture – walls constructed with interlocking stones and slabs without mortar. The Spanish destroyed much of the city and often built their churches and houses over Inca buildings.

One example is the church and convent of Santo Domingo built on Qorikancha, a great palace once covered in gold. The huge irony is that while many colonial buildings have suffered during the years from earthquake damage, the early Inca constructions have survived.

Santo Domingo – you can see the grey stone Inca wall of Qorikancha below

We were also lucky enough to arrive at the start of the festival to celebrate the anniversary of the city. For several days, huge parades snaked through the streets, and it seemed like the whole city was taking part, from children to teenagers and adults.

An hour or two from Cusco is the Sacred Valley where you can find a wealth of Inca towns and ruins. Most impressive are the buildings and terraces above the towns of Pisac and Ollantaytambo.

But the jewel in the crown sits at the end of the Urubamba valley – Machu Picchu. The only way to get to Machu Picchu Pueblo from Ollantaytambo is by one of the biggest rip-off train journeys in the world. That, plus the entrance fee, will set you back at least US$200. In the town you’ll find plenty of overpriced hotels and mediocre restaurants. Unless you want to walk up to the ruins you’ll need to fork out another $24 for the return bus trip, 30 minutes each way. If you need the toilet, which you will if you spend all day there, it’ll cost you extra. And don’t even think about visiting the cafes if you’re on a budget.

All this expense can leave a nasty taste in the mouth, but once you start wandering around in awe, you realise why so many people are prepared to be fleeced. I even paid extra to climb the Machu Picchu mountain, which was a steep two and a half hour uphill slog, but the views from the narrow ledge at the summit were breathtaking. It was the perfect place to sit and contemplate the mysteries of the Incas and also reflect on the fact that five months of travelling in this amazing continent were finally coming to an end.

Overland through the Central Sierra – Part 2 – Huancavelica to Ayacucho and Cusco

If there’s a rough, off-the-beaten road to follow, I’m always keen to take it. But even I was apprehensive about getting from Huancavelica to Cusco through Peru’s central highlands. The guidebooks warn of tough, unpaved roads along a route rarely used except by hardcore travellers. The good news is that the roads are now mostly all paved, but there are still hardly any other tourists to be seen en route. Even better, the scenery is absolutely phenomenal.

We decided against travelling via Rumichaca which is one option, but entails getting up for a very early bus. Instead, we took a colectivo, or shared car, to Lircay along a spectacular road which led us up over a high pass where we lucky enough to see not only alpacas, but also the rarer vicuñas. But it was when we arrived in Lircay that the problems started. We were only about a third of the way to Ayacucho and no driver seemed willing to take us there.

After an hour of wandering around, we finally found someone who was prepared to drive to a place called Julcamarca. He deposited us in an empty, dusty square which was like something out of a spaghetti western. By now time was ticking on and the only transport coming down from the market town above us was full. Luckily, a minivan came along soon, which seemed to be quite an exciting event for the town, and in a few hours we were in Ayacucho.

For much of the 80s and 90s Ayacucho was off limits as it was one of the centres of activity for the Shining Path movement. Nowadays, it is an attractive, prosperous city with a really impressive main square. It’s also quite cosmopolitan, with enticing restaurants, but it isn’t yet overwhelmed by tourists.

Outside the city you can visit some fascinating ruins of the Huari people who came before the Incas. In fact, the Incas took many ideas from the Huari, including architecture, although the Incas famously improved on this by not using any kind of cement or mortar. Blocks of stones are cut and pieced together in intricate patterns and have stood the test of time for centuries. Inca buildings truly are strong and stable.

We also visited the little village of Quinua, famous for making ceramic figures and buildings which are placed on the roofs of houses. In the market I also tried pacay, a weird furry fruit in elongated pods.

Roads south to Cusco have also recently been improved and we were able to make it as far as Abancay in one day. Again we drove over high passes which afforded magnificent views for miles around. From Abancay to Cusco it’s only four hours, so we hired a private colectivo so we could stop off at a few sites along the way. First we visited an interesting carved boulder, the Saihuite stone, and then continued to Limatambo, where we had our first real taste of Inca architecture.

We arrived in Cusco feeling not a little smug that we’d travelled for days along such awe-inspiring roads. You can fly from Lima in less than an hour, but you’d be missing so much. The other advantage is that we were already acclimatised to the altitude which is quite important since Cusco stands at 3326m above sea level. But the most difficult thing for me was getting used to so many tourists and so much hassle. After the remote places we’d been to, it was quite a shock. But luckily we’d arrived in time for yet another festival …

Overland from Lima to Cusco through the central Sierra – Part 1 – Lima to Huancavelica

There were two surprises in store for me when I arrived in the highland town of Huancavelica in Peru. The first was how cold it was, although as it sits in a valley 3700m above sea level, it wasn’t that surprising. The second was much more pleasant. My visit coincided with the first day of a vibrant Andean festival, the Fiesta de las Cruces. Pretty much everyone was dressed up in colourful costumes and ready to have a good time. It was one of those wonderful serendipitous moments when you stumble on something spectacular, and, best of all, there were hardly any other tourists.

I spent a few days in Lima which didn’t really appeal to me. There are a few attractive buildings in the centre, but it’s quite rundown in places. I stayed in the southern neighbourhood of Barranco which was quiet and relaxing, but the climate was what really got to me. This part of the country is notorious at this time of year for the garúa, a grey blanket of cloud that covers the coastal strip and blocks out the sun for days on end.

When two friends from the USA joined me in Lima, I was ready to escape up into the mountains. I knew it would be colder, but at least there’d be sun. It was a nine hour bus ride up to Huancayo where we stayed for a couple of nights. The city itself is pleasant but not full of attractions. However, it lies in the fertile Mantaro valley and we took a day trip through some local villages and lakes.

The standout attraction was the convent of Santa Rosa de Ocopa, a beautifully preserved colonial building from where missionaries would set off down into the jungle. We were the only three tourists there on a guided tour. The small village of Cochas Chico was also interesting for its handicrafts of gourd carving. We were invited to watch part of the process by a man who explained his father and grandfather taught him the techniques and he also has children and grandchildren continuing the family tradition.

Local artisan carving gourds in Cochas Chico

The highlight of this part of the trip, though, was the train journey to Huancavelica on the world’s second highest passenger railway. The train departed at 6.30am and took about 6 hours to reach Huancavelica, winding up the river valley, crossing bridges and plunging through pitch black tunnels.

It was a service used by locals as well as tourists. We were in buffet class which entitled us to food, although breakfast catered for local tastes, with fried trout or huge steaming bowls of chicken soup, which the waiters miraculously managed to deliver on the lurching carriage without spilling a drop. In the class behind us were the locals who got on and off at various stops. The women wore striking hats and carried huge bundles on their backs of produce or sometimes children.

We checked into a hotel right on the Plaza de Armas where a stage was being set up. Back near the station we went to watch brass bands playing near the tracks, then saw people dancing outside a church in traditional costume. It was a fascinating mix of indigenous culture and a Catholic festival.

As night fell the temperature plummeted, yet this didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the locals who seemed determined to party through the night. The huge amount of alcohol being consumed probably helped. We, however, had a long day ahead of us travelling to Ayacucho the next day and the guidebooks indicated that it was a long and complicated journey. So, we had an early night to prepare ourselves for what turned out to be a challenging but magnificent trip through stunning mountain scenery.

Four day hike in the Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru

As we arrived at the campsite on day one of the Huayhuash trek, the rain started. Putting up a tent in the pouring rain is absolutely no fun, I can tell you. The rain continued all night and the next morning Abraham, our guide, pointed out fresh snow on the mountains and advised against continuing up the pass. Conditions could be treacherous, he explained, due to snow melt.

I’ve experienced a lot of rain this trip as the El Niño phenomenon has been dramatically affecting the continent. The Sierra in Colombia and Ecuador experienced five times the average rainfall in March and April. A few months ago many parts of Peru were devastated by floods with roads and bridges washed away and many casualties. Luckily, I’d planned to arrive in the Peruvian mountains to do some trekking in the middle of May, the beginning of the dry season. Except it wasn’t. Abraham told me he hadn’t seen rain at this time of year for twenty years.

The city of Huaraz sits in a valley with the white peaks of the Cordillera Blanca looming above, including Peru’s highest mountain, Huascarán. I’d originally planned to do the four day Santa Cruz trek, the most popular and busiest. The Cordillera Huayhuash, further to the south, looked more remote and enticing, but the trek demanded ten nights. But when I went into the agency, Monttrek, they told me they had a four day trek to Huayhuash leaving the next day. Despite not being fully acclimatised, I leapt at the chance.

Unfortunately, several things worked against my enjoyment of the trip, not just the rain. The trek was badly and cheaply organised, with just one person looking after five of us. His priorities seemed to be taking care of the mules rather than guiding and we rarely saw him on the trail. Despite all that, however, the scenery was staggeringly impressive.

Day one began unpromisingly when it turned out that, instead of private transport, we were being put on local buses to the trailhead at Pocpa. Having been picked up at my hostal at 4.30am, I was too tired to argue. By late morning we were walking along a dirt track for three hours to the first campsite at Rondoy. Due to the heavy rains, we ended up staying there for the whole of the next day. There were a few breaks in the rain, which allowed me to do some short walks and acclimatise to the altitude.

On day three we began the long ascent up to the pass of Punta Rondoy at 4750m. The clouds and mist swirled around us as we set off at dawn, but luckily the sun came out later, giving us astonishing views of the mountains. We descended past the brilliant blue Laguna Solteracocha where we had lunch, then continued to the camp at Laguna Yahuacocha.

Admiring the view at Laguna Solteracocha

The last day involved getting up at 4am and beginning the trek in the dark, since we had to get a bus from Llamac at 11am. This made things a little stressful. The path led us over another high pass at 4300m followed by a knee-busting descent into the valley. We saw condors and humming-birds.

I decided to have a rest day in Huaraz and then took a day trip to the Lagunas Llanganuco. In the first village of Carhuaz, we witnessed a religious parade with school kids. Then we moved onto Yungay to visit the site of Campo Santo, the place where the original village of Yungay existed before it was totally destroyed by an earthquake and an avalanche from Mt Huascarán which towers over it. More than 25,000 people lost their lives on that day in 1970.

The last stop was Laguna Chinancocha high up in a gap between the mountains with amazing shades of blue. Luckily, the sun shone all day, but, at this altitude, the wind can be quite chilly. The rains have passed now, but I’m heading to Lima on the coast, where it’s the beginning of winter and the notorious cloud cover envelops the coast blocking out the sun. At some point soon, I hope, I’ll be in the right place for the best weather.

From Zumba to Chachapoyas – the exciting route into Peru and the land of the People of the Clouds

Of the three border crossings from Ecuador to Peru, I was embarking on the least travelled and most dramatic route. I spent my last night in Ecuador in the small attractive town of Zumba. My destination the next day was Chachapoyas, once home to the Chachapoya, or People of the Clouds. They are aptly named, for the bumpy unpaved roads lead high into mountain passes and cloud forests, while mist swirls atmospherically in the valleys below.

It was an all day journey involving at least 6 different modes of transport. The most charming was the local ranchera, an open sided bus with bench seats, which left Zumba at 8am. It trundled down to the frontier village of La Balsa, which is really just a few huts. After an easy exit from Ecuador and an equally easy queue-free entry into Peru, I was then in a shared taxi to the nearest town of San Ignacio. From there I had to take a sequence of three more minivans via Jaen and Bagua Grande, but thankfully they all linked together perfectly with very little waiting.

One of the great pleasures of travelling in South America is the chance to visit old archaeological sites and learn about cultures which had often disappeared well before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. With no writing or historical records, we only have the remains of their towns and cities to give us some insight into their civilisation. It’s amazing to consider how many great cultures were flourishing here in complete isolation from the rest of the world.

Chachapoyas is capital of the Amazonas region which occupies the eastern slopes of the Andes and stretches down to the great river. The Chachapoya were a warrior like race and inhabited this area for about a thousand years until the late 15th century when they were conquered by the Incas. Of course, it was only another 30 years or so, before the Incas were themselves overthrown by the Spanish.

Kuélap is a huge Chachapoya site and is now relatively easy to visit with a tour company, especially since a new cable car was opened just a few months ago. It’s not as dramatic as Machu Picchu, but it’s still a fascinating day out. The setting is superb and the llamas, as always, are photogenic.

My next destination was Cajamarca, south-west across the Andes. Most buses travel at night, which I hate, particularly since you miss the scenery. However, I found one company, Rojas, which runs a minibus leaving at 5.30am. The road was one of the most spectacular so far, with incredible views. The route clings to the side of mountains and climbs up and down valleys. If you saw these hairpin bends first, there’s no way you’d want to do this journey at night!

Cajamarca has a sad and tragic history. It was here that Francisco Pizarro arrived in the highlands and where he met the last Inca King, Atahualpa, in 1532. The latter came peacefully to meet the Spanish invaders, but Pizarro and his men turned on them, captured Atahualpa and brutally murdered 7000 local people in the name of Christianity, the King of Spain and imperialism. Yes, 7000! And that was just one day of the Conquest.

The story continues with Atahualpa promising to fill a room with gold and silver in return for his release. Over the next few months wealth arrived from all over the Inca empire, but the perfidious Spaniards still executed Atahualpa. You can visit an Incan building which may be where Atahualpa was imprisoned or where he deposited the treasures. The next day I took a tour to Cumbemayo, a site of pre-Incan water channels which were carved out in this rocky, dramatic landscape over 2000 years ago.

So far in Peru I’ve noticed far more people in traditional dress, in particular the women who wear the most extraordinary high hats. Sadly, I’ve also noticed more poverty and all the beggars on the streets are indigenous people. The Spanish conquered this continent through force, but also a lot of luck, since their arrival coincided with a civil war between the Incas. It’s fascinating to think how different things might look if the Spanish had lost and never colonised South America. There could be an Inca Kingdom still in place today.

Cuenca and the scenically stunning but alarming road south to Peru via Zumba

The bus slowed down as we approached another 180 degree bend high up in the mountains in southern Ecuador. I heard the gears crunch and glanced out the window. And then down. The wheels were centimetres away from the edge. There had been a lot of rain and, although it was now nice and sunny, several parts of the unpaved road had been washed away. I caught my breath as I saw the muddy track crumbling under the tyres and cascading to the valley below.

It was my last day in Ecuador and I was heading south on what is described as the less travelled route to Peru. There are three border crossings: the Panamerican along the coast, the road through Macará which is less hassle and this one via the remote town of Zumba. The lush green scenery more than compensated for the hair-raising sections. It was the first time I felt compelled to take out my camera on a bus this trip. The scenery is sure to get even more dramatic as I move further into the Peruvian high plains, the altiplano.

Even though the heat and humidity in the Galápagos had sometimes left me drained, I told myself I’d miss the sun once I was back in the mountains. And, sure enough, as soon as I arrived in Cuenca on the bus from Guayaquil, the temperature dropped and the drizzle and clouds moved in.

Cuenca is Ecuador’s third city and gets rave write-ups for its colonial architecture. I found it a little underwhelming, to be honest, although I really liked that it’s not just a tourist town, but a real working city. There are some distinctive churches and the usual attractive streets, but it was the curious hat museum which really caught my attention. Panama hats are made all over this area and the Museu Municipal Casa del Sombrero provides some history and insight into the process.

I saw pretty much everything I wanted to on the first day, so on the second day I caught the bus for the long 4/5 hour round trip to Ingapirca, Ecuador’s only real Inca site. It’s certainly no Machu Picchu, but the setting is nice and it whetted my appetite for the bigger glories to come in Peru. Around the site you can see the beautiful flowers called angel’s trumpet which are in fact poisonous. They are also being used in scams and attacks. If inhaled or ingested, it can disable the victims and render them helpless and susceptible. Our guide told us of someone he knew who’d been robbed of $7000.

Loja was my next stop. It’s another colonial town and probably missable in favour of nearby Vilcabamba. But I’d been there before and this time decided to stay in Loja. I ended up staying three nights, as I came down with the usual travellers’ sickness. It turned out well, however, because I did nothing and ate nothing, thus saving a bit. My Galápagos trip had severely damaged my funds, to the extent I needed to rob a bank. Or worse, get a job. But a few days’ rest did the trick instead.

I caught a 9am bus to Zumba which was supposed to take 5 or 5 1/2 hours depending on whom you ask. It took almost 7. But I wasn’t complaining, because the view out of the window was so exhilarating. We climbed up and down valleys along a twisting, vertiginous road. The highest point took us through the Podocarpus National Park, where visibility was reduced to almost nothing in thick rain clouds. But on the other side the sun came out to reveal small towns and farmlands thick with fruit trees, papayas, lychees, guanábana (soursop) and bananas.

I decided to break the journey and stay in Zumba for a night. When you’re constantly on the road, you don’t always realise how tired you can become, especially if, like me, you try to be doing something every day. But my enforced rest in Loja had also reinvigorated me mentally. When I boarded the bus to Zumba and the sun came out, I felt a new lease of life and excitement as Peru and a new country awaited.

The Galápagos – Part 3 – San Cristóbal – my last stop

In many cities and towns around the world public spaces are overrun with pigeons. In Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on the island of San Cristóbal it’s sea lions. Swimming in the shallow waters by the port, basking in the sun on benches and snorting and grunting as they heave themselves onto land. Just a few kilometres out of the town, you can also swim with them, which was a hugely privileged experience.

San Cristóbal is east of Santa Cruz and another two hour boat ride away. The main town is a bit more developed than Puerto Villamil, but still quiet and relaxing and you can walk everywhere. It’s still hugely expensive, though, and there weren’t so many cheaper places to eat that I’d found elsewhere. There are several attractions close to the port itself, as well as boat trips further afield. Again, I had to make a choice of what to do according to my limited budget. I spent day 9 of my trip heading back to Santa Cruz and overnighting there before moving onto San Cristóbal on the afternoon ferry of day 10.

Day 11. A short walk out of town takes you to an Interpretation Centre which has some displays on the islands. Behind the centre I walked along the trails up to Cerro Tijeretas with wonderful views, then wandered down to the bay and watched sea lions swimming and pelicans fishing. The sea lions are incredibly tame and curious and one came right out of the water and onto the steps where I was sitting. In the late afternoon I walked in the opposite direction out of town to a dramatic beach, La Loberia, with huge breaking waves and a colony of sea lions. Cost = Free.

Day 12. I caught a taxi to take me up to the highlands in the interior. It was my first opportunity to see giant tortoises in the semi wild at La Galapaguera. On the way back I stopped at a lagoon, Laguna El Junco, which, due to its altitude was misty and refreshingly cool. There a short trail I took which goes all the way round. Cost = $40.

Snorkelling through these narrow gaps at Leon Dormido was not easy

Day 13. My big splurge here was a boat trip to Leon Dormido, a huge rocky outcrop an hour away. Snorkelling was not easy here, as we were in the deep ocean which meant large swells and cold water. I’d recommend hiring a wet suit. It was worth it, however, because we saw Galápagos sharks and more turtles. Blue-footed boobies nest high up in the rocks. After lunch on the boat we had some free time on a beautiful beach, Cerro Brujo. Cost = $100.

Day 14. My last day in the Galápagos I returned to Cerro Tijeretas and La Loberia this time with a mask to snorkel with the sea lions. One sea lion played for ages with me and two others and when I dived down it also dived and spun around, a lot more gracefully than I could manage. Cost = Free, but mask hire was $3.

I’d spent a lot of my time during the trip wondering if it was worth the outrageous expense, and on the whole I think the Galápagos are overpriced for what you get. There are many places around the world where you can snorkel with exotic marine life and spot other types of wildlife. But swimming with these sea lions on my last day made me realise how special these islands are. Are they worth the money? No. Are they worth visiting anyway? Yes, absolutely.

	ianworldtraveller on All the world’s a stage…
	Bharat Taxi on All the world’s a stage…
	ianworldtraveller on Temples of Bagan and upriver t…
	Lacy Turner on Temples of Bagan and upriver t…
	richardselvidge on Myanmar – from Yangon to…