21st - The Amazon Jungle

We got picked up early at the hotel in Lima to go to the airport where we got a plane to Puerto Maldonado, a small town 30 minutes by plane into the jungle. After packing a duffel bag each with the things we would need the next couple of days, we drove in a small bus for almost an hour on a small gravel road until we arrived at where we would get onto a small boat which would sail us for three hours to the lodge we would call home the following days. The boat was long and narrow, so when seated we were not able to move around as it would distort the equilibrium of the boat and make us tip over.

The bus ride was uneventful, but sailing the boat gave us several viewings of many birds (especially macaws) and capybaras (the largest rodent in the world).

The lodge was much bigger than expected. There were 32 rooms with two beds, large common area and enough room to be able to be alone for yourself if that was needed. But despite that privacy was non-existent. The rooms were placed in 4 building, 8 rooms in each. The building was a big high roof, where the rooms had been separated by 3m tall walls, and the space towards the jungle (away from the walking area) was completely open. This meant that you could hear everything your neighbors where doing, and vice versa.

We arrived at the lodge in the evening, so after dinner we went for a caiman-hunt from the boat. It was completely dark (for some reason no lighting has been installed along the Amazon river – what kind of service is that?!), but we had a guide sitting in the front of the boat with a big flashlight trying to lure the caimans out. It did succeed, and we did see some decent-sized animals, but from a photographer’s view it was a slight disappointment as the best viewings were on the other side of the boat.

The next day we went for a walk in the morning, where we saw several birds, tarantulas, bats, monkeys and more. In the afternoon we went for a walk at a fruit plantation on the other side of the river where we saw what kinds of fruits they would grow in such a place, There was a lot of known fruits (bananas, star fruit, cocoa, oranges etc.), but he also had some that we had never heard of before and only used locally.

We would be leaving very early in the morning the next day, so no nightly activities where planned that night.

Sitting at the hotel in Lima, waiting for a pickup to the airport where I am to look forward to an almost 13 hour flight to Paris, followed by a couple of hours home to CPH. I have only 1½ hours in Paris, so I am looking forward to how that will go – the Charles de Gaulle airport is not the easiest airport to navigate…

Spider monkey.
The closest we got to a puma. Frightening, isn't it?

Tarantula.
Cicada
Caiman.
Macaws.
Blue and yellow macaw (yes, it's there).

15th - The Inca Trail – the place with amazing views

This post will be written according to my memory as I hadn’t brought any means of taking notes, so don’t expect too many details.

All lunches were 3-course dinners cooked on location, so the porters set up the dinner and kitchen tent at the lunch location to feed us, after which they took it all down again and continued to the location where we were to have dinner and stay the night. The dinners were “only” two courses. We were 15 tourists, 7 couples and me. This meant that I had my tent to myself, unfortunately the one-man tent was not the longest, so when stretching I hit my head and feet against the tent’s walls.

From the entrance of the Inca Trail where we were checked in, we had an app. 6 hours long walk to the first camp at Wayllabamba, at 2980m. It was quite an easy walk, not much climbing. We had a short distance at one point where we climbed a couple of hundred of meters, but apart from that the walk was quite eventless. At the lunch location a cow was literally staring at us – if we had had beef for lunch I would have started to become paranoid.

Second day was the absolute hardest of the four days. Got up at 0600 and around 1½ hours later we left camp. We were to climb the tallest point on the trek – Dead Woman’s Pass at 4201m. Our guide, Fernando, informed us that on the way up to the top point there would be two sites where we would be able to take breaks (longer relaxed breaks than just stopping up on the path). First site would be at 3300m and the next would be at 3800m. For each of the stretches he said it would take app. 2 hours, plus 1½ hours on the other side to get to our camp which was at 3600m. This would both be our lunch and dinner camp, so no more walking after lunch. We later found out that was a very good thing… Personal times on the four stretches; 1:10, 1:20, 1:20 (the record in the group was 1:00!) and 1:00, respectively. The complete distance that day was app. 8km, where probably 1½-2 of them were downwards after the top. Simple math will tell the average steepness of the day, though the steepness was much higher the second half between the second break and the top. No wonder the pass is called Dead Woman’s Pass – you feel like one when arriving…

Third day started with a climb to 3780m at a Inca ruin overlooking our camp. The 200m climb was done in a couple of hours, and coming over the ridge we got a beautiful view of ice and snow covered mountains in the distance with clouds surrounding them. From then on there was quite a steep descent to 3500m, after which we continued our walk a couple of hours through the cloud forest; a forest/jungle environment with plenty of fauna. Unfortunately the forest lived up to its name; the view was completely ruined by thick clouds 50m from the path. The path followed the sides of the mountains, and there was nothing but the width of the path – several places there was a literal 90 degree edge down where you couldn’t see what was growth and what was ground. We ended at our lunch site at 3600m, and afterwards we continued down. Here we walked down Gringo Killer – a row of very steep steps that took us down 1000m over a distance of 4-5km. We ended up at a ruin beautifully overlooking the mountains and valley. Just below, 20 minutes of walk later, we ended at our camp.

The fourth day started with a wakeup at 0340, so that we could queue up the final stretch when the check point opened at 0530. A brisk walk later, a couple of hours, in a gentle downwards direction, we ended up at the sun gate, overlooking Machu Picchu. An amazing sight – if the view hadn’t been obstructed by solid clouds. Being only 0730 in the morning there would still be plenty of time to get a good view. Reaching Machu Picchu the clouds slowly began scattering and you could start getting a view of the huge site. We had a couple of hours’ tour, after which we had free time until we had to catch a bus down to the train station that should take us back. During these two hours you realize two things: Firstly, no clouds can result in some great photos if you find the right location. Secondly, this is a huge tourist magnet. After 4 days with hard work you can’t help but feel just a little cheated by the fact that people who arrive in bus and train have all the same access possibilities as us. We would have liked to see that people who had walked the distance somehow had some advantages over the others, but alas.

Many people have asked me if it harder than Kilimanjaro. Simple answer; no. It’s much more scenic, though. The second day is slightly harder than the first two days on Kili (probably harder than the four first days), but on Kili you have four days that are almost as hard, followed by a night that is much harder. You don’t ascend as fast on Kili as on the second day, but the overall difficulty is still much higher. But if you have done the Inca Trail and want a new challenge, I can highly recommend the 6-day Machame Route on Kili.

Now sitting in Cuzco, and going to the Amazon tomorrow morning to stay there for 2 nights after which I go back to Lima and home. Four people from the Inca Trail group will also be going.

The "before" photo at the start of the trail.

Standing at 4200 meters. Not all were present as they were still up to 1 hour away, and it was getting too chilly to wait for all (the clouds were rolling in).

Standing at the Sun Gate, getting first view of Machu Picchu. Oh... wait...

Machu Picchu, well worth the walk.

And Machu Picchu as a panorama shot.

10th - Quito

When we landed at South Plaza Saturday afternoon we encountered more land iguanas which were even more colorful than the ones we had seen in the morning. We also got a chance to spot some exotic birds that pass by the islands. These were horribly fast and therefore very difficult to get a decent photo of.

Land iguanas

Exotic bird

When returning to the boat and started sailing to our last destination, we were followed by more than 20 frigates, that went from flying next to the boat to sit in large amounts on the roof. We also got a brief sighting of a small whale (only the fin came up a couple of times, so it was impossible to see what kind it was), and shortly afterwards we saw in the distance a manta ray jumping out of the water several times (which it does to get rid of parasites). Later at night we were met by a couple of sharks and a sea lion.

Jumping manta ray

Frigates sitting on the boat

Sunday morning we got up very early in an attempt to beat the other boats at landing at North Seymour to see frigates where the males have their front sack (the red patch you see in the other photos) inflated. After an hour we came back to the boat, had breakfast and were dropped off at Baltra Island where we got the plane back to Quito.

Frigate with inflated sack. Very manly!

They can only fly for a short while with the inflated sack, and it's usually because another male has forced them away from where they were seated.

The trip was very rewarding, and I can recommend it to anyone who wants to see some unique wildlife and environments. But be prepared to get sick and tired of sea lions… The people who only did the shorter trips actually said that they would have wanted to stay longer, so if possible, choose the 10-day trip. Big thank you to Raul our great waiter/bartender who was always happy (and was going on 2 weeks leave after 6 weeks on the boat at the same time we were leaving, which basically made him sunshine on legs the last night on the boat), and to Diego, our great guide who seemed to be all-knowing and very competent.

Now, Monday morning I am sitting in the hotel room, finishing this part of the blog, and waiting to depart to the airport to get to Lima.

8th - Galapagos

Lunch

Yesterday afternoon we did a wet landing on a beach where we were free to take a walk back and forth on the long beach and do some snorkeling. I stayed on the beach, though, as I didn’t fully trust my stomach yet.

Sea lion

Getting back I gradually felt less and less well until the point where at dinner I couldn’t eat a thing – and had difficulties even looking at the food. Took a sea sick pill and went to bed around 2000. Slept all night which gave me more than 10 hours of sleep. That was apparently all I needed, as I have felt fine all day (yet). I have been eating as I usually do, which was pretty lucky as we had pancakes for breakfast.

Today we did a wet landing on Santa Fe Island where we saw a lot of sea lions on the beach, and a couple of land iguanas, some very beautiful yellow ones. Afterwards we did our last snorkeling session on the trip; a deep water snorkeling where we saw a couple of sea lions, some very big sea turtles, and a sting ray. Also saw the usual large amounts of fish.

After lunch we are going to South Plaza where we will have a short dry landing, and then we will have a small relocation until we stop for the day.

7th - Galapagos

Lunch

The trip to Española was… not as I had expected. I never get sea sick – until today. The conditions to sail in where quite horrible, so around 0230 I had to let go of my pride and visit the bathroom. Ironically, less than an half an hour later we reached our destination and the anchor was cast. That means that I today has been quite groggy and a little beside myself – and the worst thing is that I was the only that got sick. Several people had taken sea sick pills before hand, but that was only because they tend to get sea sick. Considering we will be having a similar trip tonight I guess I will be loading up with pills before we depart.

We did a dry landing at Punta Suarez where we saw a lot of sea lions, they were literally lying across the path. Later we saw boobies and albatrosses before we came back to the boat.

We have now relocated to Gardener bay where we will be free for 2-3 hours to walk on the beach and snorkel.

Stomach still feels a little unstable…

The sea lions relax whereever they want

Nazca booby

Blue-footed booby

Blue-footed booby with chick

Albatross

Courting albatrosses

Falcon feeding on a sea lion placenta

6th - Galapagos

Lunch

Before lunch we did a wet landing on Floreana Island and a deep snorkeling. The wet landing took us up to a lava tunnel which was quite difficult to access due to steep ladders, no light and at some parts a very low ceiling. But when we finally got in we were standing in a cave with 10 meters up and across. Going deeper we were able to take a swim if we wanted before we returned. On the way back to the zodiacs we saw a mailbox used by the whalers; you put in a post card you want sent, and when looking through the cards already there if you find one with a recipient that lives near you you take it with you and hand deliver it when possible. You don’t pay anything to have it sent, but on the other hand you have no idea when it actually shows up.

The deep water snorkeling was the first snorkeling for the new people which resulted in some nervousness for some of them. But everybody got a great experience; we saw a sea turtle and a large group of sea lions where spending time on the rocks and with regular intervals they would come by and take a look at us. Several of them came within 1 meter. They are fantastically elegant when found in the water and very beautiful.

For lunch we had lobster soup and half a lobster tail each.

Lava tunnel

Friday lunch

We did a wet landing where we had a gentle walk where we saw various birds, sea lions on the beach and tortoise nests. We did some snorkeling after that, but there was not much to see.

Tomorrow we are going to Española Island which is quite a bit away. It will require that we sail for 7 hours and being in the open it is going to be interesting…

Why did the sea lion blush? Because seaweed!

5th - Galapagos

This is the first day where we didn’t go snorkeling. I like snorkeling, but I don’t mind skipping it as it tends to be such a hassle getting back and forth to the water with all the equipment.

We started with going to Darwin Research Station where we were introduced to the tortoises of the islands, which was quite interesting. We also saw Lonesome George, the last of its species, which the scientists have tried to find a genetically compatible mate for. We also saw Super Diego, a tortoise that has fathered more than 1500. Unsurprisingly our guide Diego couldn’t help mention the similarities of his and the tortoise’s name….

For lunch the new group showed up. For the afternoon they visited the Research station, while we visited a private property where the tortoises lived in the wild. We finished with seeing a lava tunnel that was 4-5 meters tall and wide. A lava tunnel is when the lava solidifies on the top which is in contact with the air, while the lava below still flows. When the lava is gone a tunnel has been created.

On the way back we bought a bunch of lobsters for use for the dinner tomorrow.

Tonight we will sail to Floriana Island where we will have a walk and do some deep water snorkeling, and in the afternoon we will go to Puenta Cormoran where we will have a walk and snorkeling.

Lonesome George

These things are huge! And this wasn't the biggest - far from it!

Lava tunnel

4th - Galapagos

Lunch

We started early this morning at Puerto Egas so that we would get a head start in front of the other tourist that also had arrived during the night. Breakfast was therefore served at 0630 so we could be ready at 0700. Breakfast this morning was pancakes and eggs, which helped compensate for the early start. The weather wasn’t perfect, though. Low clouds, windy and high humidity. But it cleared up, though the wind didn’t ease up much.

We did a wet landing on black sand, and we had a 2-hour walk where we saw a lot of marine iguanas and sea lions. There were also a few very young sea lions, all of which we could get close to without them reacting.

Afterwards we did some shallow water snorkeling. This was at times quite hard as the current at places was fairly strong, and there were a few rocks close to the surface that we had to be careful not to hit. A few were struggling with the currents and waves at times, but luckily nobody got hurt. But we got to see several sea turtles swim around which was a beautiful sight. Somebody also saw a very playful sea lion pub, but that had only been for a short while.

Back at the boat we are now on our way to Isla Rábida located just south of Santiago. Here we will be doing another wet landing, walk and shallow water snorkeling.

Sea lion pub

A lot of marine iguanas were gathered at Puerto Egas.

Evening

We did a wet landing on a beach where there were several sea lions sunbathing. After a short walk back and forth on the beach, where we also saw a couple of blue-footed boobies and several iguanas.

Afterwards we snorkeled from the beach, unfortunately there was not much to see and the sea lions did not come out and swim. The current made it quite hard to get back to the beach, so most people gave up and jumped into the zodiacs that where keeping an eye on us.

Getting back to the boat we started moving to our new location. We only sailed for two hours so we could eat dinner without having to do it with the ship rolling. While sailing we saw for a short while a small pod of dolphins swimming in front of the boat. Not much jumping going on, but it was still very easy to follow them while they were there.

Before dinner we had a goodbye cocktail as the group that was present on the boat when we showed up are leaving tomorrow early morning. Dinner was as usual very good, and soon thereafter we continued the voyage, and we will probably reach our destination around 2300.

Tomorrow there will be no snorkeling, instead we will be spending time in Puerto Ayora at Darwin Research Station, and after lunch when the new group arrives we will go to the Giant Tortoise Reserve.

Booby!

Marine iguana

Dolphins following the boat

3rd - Galapagos

Lunch

We started the morning with breakfast at 0700, and at 0745 we did a wet landing at a place call Chinese Hat on Isla Santiago. The name comes from a small hill top that has a shape of a Chinese hat and in Spanish it’s called Sombrero Chino. Here we saw sea lions (in the water and also circling the zodiac and a couple sunbathing on land), marine iguanas, and lava lizards.

Coming back to the boat we did deep water snorkeling. Wearing wetsuits we took the zodiacs out from the boat and jumped in from there. The depth was app- 5-10 meters. Here we saw several different colorful fish, a couple of white-tipped sharks and one large sting ray.

When coming back to the boat around 1100 we sailed on to Isla Bartolomé. Here we had lunch, and at 1430 we will be doing shallow water snorkeling (from the coast, as yesterday).

Marine iguana

Lava lizard

Sea lions playing

Sunbathing but still keeping an eye on us...

Evening

After lunch we went on a shallow water snorkeling. The visibility wasn’t bad at all, and it was easy to see the many fish swimming around. They were surprisingly un-afraid as they hardly reacted when we came swimming, despite being within reaching distance. We got to see a couple of Galapagos penguins sitting on the rocks. Mike, my friendly American roommate (cabinmate?) saw a shark. The shark came pretty close, apparently; circled a few times and hit his flippers, which made him decide it was time to get out of the water and into a zodiac. A few others saw the shark too, and they quickly swam in the opposite direction. It isn’t clear what shark it was; it wasn’t a white-tipped shark but apart from that nobody was quite sure what it was. But Mike didn’t feel it necessary to stay around and find out.

Getting back we soon after went for a walk on Bartolomé. The island is – like all of Galapagos – created by lava and previous eruptions (last eruption was back in 2008) which gives it all a moon-like look. Bartolomé had a redness which made it look more like Mars. On our way back in the zodiacs we went past some of the cliffs we were at while snorkeling so we got some shots off of the penguins. Sitting with a long-range zoom lens it is really hard to get a steady shot when sitting in a small boat…

The boat has just stopped and cast anchor which means that we have arrived at Puerto Egas (on the other side of Isla Santiago from Bartolomé) where the first part of tomorrow is going to take place. A walk followed by shallow water snorkeling will be taking the time until lunch, after which we will be going to Isla Rabida where another walk will be followed by another snorkel.

Panorama of Bartolomé

A galapagos penguin in all its might. 1 foot tall.

2nd - Galapagos

We got picked up early at the hotel at 0615 to go to the airport. We departed at 0740 and flew to the airport at Galapagos on Baltra Island, via Quayaquil. When coming to Galapagos and seeing the airport from the air you realize how short the landing strip is, and if the pilot screwed up the landing there would nothing but water to greet you. There was also quite a lot of wind when we were landing, so the pilot had to almost throw the plane onto the tarmac, making the landing quite rough. But any landing you can walk away from is a successful landing, so no problems there.

After passing through security and having paid the necessary fees, we were put on a bus which took us to a small harbor. Here we were picked up by a zodiac which took us to our boat, our home away from home the next 8 days.

There were already tourists on the boat; they were the 10-day trip people that had started the trip on Wednesday. When they disappear on Wednesday (including a couple of us that are only on a 4-day trip) they will be replaced a new group of people doing the 5-day trip, so we all will leave the boat on Sunday together.

We started off with some lunch, and after sailing to Santa Cruz, a place called Las Bachas (a frigate bird sat on the boat for some of the time, so a couple of close-ups were possible), we did a wet landing (sailed with the zodiacs to shore, but had to walk the last couple of meters in the water). Here we had a walkaround in the near area, where we saw iguanas, crabs and a single flamingo. Getting back to the beach we had time for an hour’s snorkeling. As a first time snorkeler it was some scary shit to getting used to breathing under water. After getting used to it, it was quite pleasant, but unfortunately the water was quite murky so the visibility was close to nothing. Saw a couple of fish, though, but not much else.

Got back to the boat, and after some resting we had dinner.

During the night we saw a great sunset, and a couple of pelicans sitting on the boats zodiacs (which we now hanging on the sides of the boat) looking for fish. Also a single sea lion was circling the boat eating. Unfortunately we are not allowed to use flash, so it was limited how good photos could be taken. But it was quite a sight.

Pelican

One of many crabs found on most islands

Frigate

Raul was our bartender, waiter, cleaner and almost everything else. He was a very cool guy always happy.

Night guest on a zodiac

Sunset with frigate