World Heritage Site
Vicky at Machu Picchu

I suppose all of us have places we would like to visit, one day. Vicky and I are tending to run out of those well-known tourist destinations which everyone would like to see, but until October 2000 South America was a closed book to me, and a continent which Vicky had only briefly dipped into on business. Machu Piccu, lost city of the Incas must rate high on the wish-list of most travellers, and the Galapagos Isles will be in the top ten destinations for any lover of wildlife. So too is Madagascar, very much less well trod and a shambles by all accounts, but very beautiful and our next major trip in June 2001. More of Madagascar to come, and a total eclipse of the sun on June 11th will be an added attraction.

Cuzco
Coca tea is one way of combating the effects of altitude

Long flights in economy are the price you have to pay if you want to holiday in far flung places. Vicky's current balance of air miles has reached 350,000 at the time of writing, but a BA gold card, or OneWorld emerald just gets you checked in faster and into an executive lounge for the airport wait before the flight is called. Deep vein thrombosis, crazed passengers invading the cockpit, the unbelievably awful transit room in Miami and other dangers do not add anything to the experience. You realise you have arrived in the US when cabin attendants announce the flight is overbooked after you are on the plane, and offer $800 vouchers and a later flight to anyone willing to deplane. You realise you have reached Lima, Peru when you are just too tired to know which country you are in, and only want to head for a shower and bed.

On the tiles
The balconies in this traditional colonial-style hotel give onto the roof

There is not much to see in Lima, but anyone who thinks South America is a) dirty b) dangerous or c) disorganised will rapidly change their minds after visiting Peru or Ecuador. We had no hesitation in eating anything anywhere we stopped. Restaurants and bars would pass muster in any hygiene inspection. We did not hesitate to walk around during the daytime, and felt quite safe. In Quito we rode the trams to the old city and were accompanied by tourist police as we walked around the main square, so anxious were the authorities to ensure the safety of visitors. The only flight delays were when a tyre was changed on the flight from Lima to Cuzco, or when we were stranded for an afternoon on the Galapagos. Sitting in the sun on the Explorer II drinking the bar dry of free liquor was no inconvenience.

Los Milagros
Christ of the Miracles - street procession in Cuzco

Cuzco is a small city in the Andes, built in Spanish colonial style. The airport was out of town but has now been subsumed in the built up area. Planes have to follow a glide path through the mountain passes then drop suddenly into the narrow flat plain. You can feel the thin air as soon as you arrive, but free Coca tea in the hotel lobby was a (regular) resort. One Japanese lady tourist mistook the contents of the urn for green tea and filled a bottle with the stuff. We imagined her high all night. Walking slowly and carrying water bottles was the recommended antidote and worked fine for us. An unforeseen trouble was exploding deodorants: the pressure popped out the rotating balls and dumped smelly fluid all over the bathroom floor.

Everything in Cuzco revolves around the main square and the streets and squares nearby. The locals sell garments made from alpaca wool, small leather items, pan-pipes and tat to the tourists. The Roman Catholic church displays its wealth in gold and silver, whilst ordinary folk sell chewing gum or sweets. We joined a procession snaking its way around town celebrating "Christ of the Miracles". It stopped at each hastily erected shrine when the locals exchanged flowers or displayed their designs on the streets made out of coloured sawdust and petals. The army paraded in a banana-republic style, soldiers running and high-kicking with small flags and important-looking people dodging the rain and chatting to each other about the next piece of corruption. All quite normal really, and internet cafes everywhere where one could keep in touch for a few pence.

Saqsaywaman
Inca fort Saqsaywaman (Sexy Woman) built of massive stones cut into interlocking shapes and with views over Cuzco

Cuzco is famous nowadays as the starting point of the Inca Trail. It takes 4 days to walk to Machu Picchu, and apart from the last day when there is a steep climb before the descent into Machu Piccu the walk is manageable if you are reasonably fit. Government regulations limit the numbers walking the trail, and you have to use the local guides. Baggage and supplies are carried by porters, generally several porters for each walker. This makes life a lot easier for the backpackers but exploitation of the porters who receive very little pay and may not even be provided with tents for their own use is an ever present risk.

Saqsaywaman (pronounced "Sexy Woman") is one of the must-see sights of Cuzco. A hill fort built of massive stones and covering a vast area, you can walk and admire the precision of the stone work, and try to guess how such huge pieces of masonry could have been carved so beautifully, let alone erected by a race who had never got round to inventing the wheel.

Saqsaywaman
The Christo Blance stands high on a hill overlooking Cuzco. David and Kate Evans at Saqsaywaman with Robert

We may never discover how the Incas built their walls, but there are a great many left standing, not only in historic places but even along all the streets in Cuzco. When the basilica of Santo Domingo fell down in an earthquake in 1950, an Inca Temple of the Sun upon which it was constructed was revealed, and visitors can see the walls of the temple perfectly preserved. If you want to see more Inca sites, you will have to drive out of Cuzco and visit Pukapukara or Tambomachay.

The railway which runs from Cuzco to Machu Picchu is well known, and this is the route favoured by most people who do not walk the Inca Trail. The carriages are more like rail buses than trains really, but the line runs downhill almost all the way, dropping several thousand feet as it passes through gorges alongside the river, from which the Trail can be clearly seen. We decided to take a more leisurely road and stop the night near the half way point near the Ollantaytambo Station. This enabled us to see the ruins of Pisac, which is a sun temple spectacularly set above tiered fields, a 20 minute climb from the road.

Pisac
The sun temple of Pisac, spectacularly set above terraced fields

At the foot of the mountain was the "Secret Valley of the Incas" with a river running through a wide flood plain planted with maize. The settlements looked reasonably prosperous but farming families lived in single storey adobe style houses with dirt floors. In the corner was a pen with guinea pigs running around, a well known delicacy which even made it into a picture of the Last Supper in Cuzco. Near the village of Ollantaytambo, where there is an unfinished temple to the sun god with 200 steps to reach the top and a series of aquifers running around the foot, is a small hotel formed out of an old mission. The nuns' cells have been converted into comfortable double rooms, and the restaurant looks out over a small chapel. This inn provides a useful place to stay overnight, midway between Cuzco and Machu Picchu. The train stops at Ollantaytambo, from where the ancient diesel carriages descend the several thousand feet to Agua Callides. The trail can be glimpsed at a number of points as it crosses the river. Coca tea and swiss roll is served en route. On arrival you transfer to a bus for the vertiginous ride up to Machu Picchu, not an experience for people challenged by vertigo, but with no real alternative. We were lucky enough to stay at the Machu Picchu inn, which is the only hotel. More a crumbling government-resthouse style of place really, but the food had improved markedly since my parents stayed there some years ago.

Ollayantaytambo
The Mission Church in the hotel grounds near Ollantaytambo Machu Picchu

Now for anyone contemplating visiting Machu Picchu (which you should) here's a word to the wise. Sandflies. If you really want to ruin your trip, ignore my advice and within a few minutes your legs will be covered with small red marks. Over the next few days these will itch and swell to an alarming size. You'll still have them weeks later. So take my advice and use Deet or another strong insect repellent before you enter the gate. Luckily we know a lot about insects, but not enough prominence is given to this advice.

As you can see, I've concentrated on the buildings, although like anyone else who's been there (including Gavin Wigginton who showed us an hour of his unedited slides then said how much better the light was in the morning, and we saw them all again - in a different light) I have dozens on slide and CD if you care to call round. No? Well, let's just say that the first sight is of a few terraces and more stonework, but after a short walk the view opens up and you see the magnificent setting which is probably the most memorable aspect of the site. Very little in the way of artifacts was found when Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in 1911, which argues that the site was not abandoned without some notice and time for a planned evacuation. Given the destruction meted out on the country by the Spanish conquistidores, we can only be grateful that they never discovered the site or looted it as they did everything else. That's not a chauvinist comment, by the way, because I am sure most colonial powers did much the same and treated native peoples abominably, but when you hear about the tonnes of gold artifacts melted down, and look at what is left, the scale of the destruction is extreme.

Machu Picchu
The quality of Inca stonework is so extraordinary that present day construction engineers have no clear idea how the intricate angles and joints were achieved.

Ideally you want 3 days to see Machu Picchu, which allows time to climb to the top of the terraces, to climb the alarmingly steep peak at the far end of the site, and to allow for vagaries inthe weather which can really ruin your photographs. Sunrise and sunset are the best times for taking pictures of course, but don't forget to be there early because the sun sets over the mountains in mid-afternoon. Oh and one final tip. They serve great chips with a mayonnaise dip in the cafe by the entrance.

Flying around S America is not the trying experience it is in Europe. The planes are older and if the airport screens have a habit of showing the most alarming Windows fatal errors, the same software did not seem to be used on air traffic control. Aero Continente took us back from Cuzco to Lima where we took in a few buildings in the city and an extraordinary private collection of gold artifacts before an early start to Quito, the capital of Ecuador.

The hotel staff were worried when Vicky and I set off to take a trolley bus to the Old City, where they said crime was rife and we would most likely be robbed. The buses were 15c for as far as you cared to go, and we were immediately surrounded when we alighted - by female tourist police in smart suits with alarmingly short skirts. Just thought I'd mention that... Anyway they were plainly keen on keeping us safe, and trailed round after us as we took them on a tour of the cathedral, the squares and the cafes.

Safety is in the mind. There are unsafe places, and there are places where pickpockets are rife. Jerusalem and Budapest are two of the worst in our experience. There was a lot of talk about Quito being unsafe for tourists. We did not find so at all. In fact, nowhere in South America approached many other places we have visited, where we felt much more threatened.

Machu Picchu
Inca stonework	What is this knob used for?

Talking about software, the Internet has revolutionised communications while you travel, as it has revolutionised so much else. Like everywhere else, even on the Galapagos, it was not hard to find Internet cafes. The speeds were sloooow, and navigating a Spanish keyboard can be a trial, especially as there is no @ symbol, which makes e-mailing impossible until one of the locals helpfully tells you which keys to press. I expect they spend all day telling people about that one.

Quito is the departure point for flights to the Galapagos. There is a refuelling stop at Guayanquil which lies on an inlet just to the south-west. TAMES is a civil / military airline with ancient Boeing 727 aircraft which break down so often that people check the flight has departed the previous stop before setting out for the airport.

Quito
Windows crashes traffic control again and again (above).The old city of Quito (below)

Arriving in the Galapagos is a trial. I hate having my passport taken away from me, especially under a thatched roof. We were on board the Galapagos Explorer II which plies round the islands, taking in all the main landing points on a weekly basis. Most people join the ship for 3 days. It holds about 100 passengers in comfort, and was barely half full. The "hosts" are to be avoided, but the naturalist guides are excellent and the crew otherwise friendly and well trained. As we visited the islands, we saw them drilling. Sometimes painting. Once practising man-overboard recovery from a large inflatable (and much warmer than when I used to do the same on the Solent).

The routine on board leaves little room for rest. The wake up call comes over the public addres in the form of whale noises or soft music. Cabins are comfortable if a little creaky. Beware of the heads - no toilet paper to be thrown in the pan: you put in in a waste bin. Not good news if one has diarrhoea. Which we didn't, being brought up in the 1950's and so having been given immunity to the sort of bacteria life which would knock down any teenager today. Luckily the food was excellent, with a good mixture of salad buffets and heavier fare, always with a choice of desserts, cheese and fruit. The cabin staff have a habit of leaving towels for use on the islands arranged with hats and sunglasses in a variety of human and animal forms. Passengers are divided into groups, helpfully named after birds or mammals. You just have to hope your group does not contain the person who just won't fit in, and annoys everyone else.

Seals
Seals. What more can you say. Noisy. Playful. Ungainly out of water, and aerodynamic in the sea.

After breakfast, the groups with their naturalist guide disembark in zodiacs and head for the landing point. Wet landings are on beaches, and involve removing footwear before leaving the dinghy. Dry landings are on stages or rocks. The Galapagos is a sensitive area and so it is essential to follow instructions to the letter if damage is to be avoided. Here again, damage in the past is very evident, both visually and also from the goats, feral cats, rats and other livestock which were helpfully introduced and now infest some islands.

The first expedition was to the island of San Cristobel, on Stephen's Beach. There were sea lions, marine iguana and a variety of species of birds. There was snorkelling where you could see brightly coloured fish swimming over a reef with sea cucumbers and urchins. Next day we visited Bartholome Island loitering over the volcanic rock formations and admiring the views from the peak over the other islands. A shady spot on the beach out of the hot sun looked inviting, until we nearly sat on a snake in the throes of devouring a lizard, still alive and kicking. The lizard was swallowed head first, a process which took over two hours as the snake dislocated its jaw to consume the prey.

Galapagos
Flamingo and Galapagos crab

The next day we were fortunate in following a couple of Bryde's Whales accompanied by a school of dolphin, a wonderful sight from the fast dinghies. Blue footed boobies dived from the skies in a feeding frenzy onto a shoal of small fish. There were tiny penguins (a pair of which obligingly made peremptory love in front of our lenses) and pelicans. From Isabela Island you can walk across a volcanic area called Darwin's Lake. By afternoon, after lunch by the small pool on the ship, we dropped off on Ferdinadina where there were cormorants, marine iguanas, and a pair of Galapagos eagles with a chick feeding off a dead blue-footed booby.

Land iguanas are harder to come by, but the next day we found some on Santa Cruz - more colourful than their marine cousins but reclusive and shy. A trip in a rickety old bus took us inland to see the giant tortoises. I suppose one cannot visit the Galapagos without seeing giant tortoises, but for my money they are quite the least interesting and attractive species. They are not photogenic and don't move fast. They just sit in swamps or under bushes and do very little. Perhaps one should see them in a zoo instead.

On the final morning we slept as the ship rounded Lion Rock and docked at San Cristobal. Even before breakfast we were told the plane had not taken off from the mainland so we were stranded on the ship. Ah me, what a way to spend an afternoon. We lazed in the sun and drank the bar dry (literally). After a number of free pina coladas the rest of the day was just a blur, but we must have got away in the end, because here I am at my screen typing away and wishing I were still there.

Galapagos
Dolphin	Blue footed boobies

Back in Quito, we had time for a short night's rest before heading once again into the Old Town, and then off to have lunch on a mountain top. The food wasn't up to much (except altitude, that is) but Patrick the guide who didn't just resemble Manuel from Fawlty Towers - he WAS Manuel - kept us amused until in the afternoon we arrived at a monument marking the equator. Taking my trusty GPS I found the line marked on the ground was several hundred metres away from the true equator. Now I can understand this sort of error being made in the days of the Incas, but why would Ecuador perpetuate the mistake by building a tower with a lift on the exact wrong spot? Who knows? Thats South America for you...