The Anakonda - my ship for five days

After a fast and very wet ride down the river (it is the rainforest after all); I arrived at the ship. The Anakonda.


It is an impressive vessel. Built eight moths ago with no expense spared, the Anakonda boast two diesel engines, with a combined 900 bhp. A crew of ten ensure the ship runs perfectly and that guests are very well looked after.  Housing a mixture of standard rooms and suites, the Anakonda can proudly boast itself as the most luxurious vessel in the Amazon. 







As I boarded from the canoe I was greeted by the team.  They were extremely friendly and very welcoming on what turned out to be my very own private trip. That's right, we were the only passengers on board for this trip.







We were the only passengers due to a combination of our trip being out of season and the ship being brand new, (so word has yet to go out). So we were very lucky to have the ship to ourselves and to be well looked after by the most amazing staff and crew.







I stayed in their best suite which housed a jacuzzi bath and extremely high tech shower with nozzles of water coming at you from very direction. A measure of the importance of sustainability for the Anakonda was that all water on board came from the very river we were sailing down. It is then treated on board to allow to be used for washing, flushing and brushing. There is of course copious amounts of mineral water available for you to refil your own bottles (they encourage you to use the same bottle, again to minimise the environmental impact).







Once I had settled into our room I was served lunch. Meanwhile I'll upload a video tour of the ship to the agingerabroad YouTube channel - the links are below too.


http://youtu.be/8VERCB76y8Y


http://youtu.be/Y8_Dv8C9N2M

Heading to the Amazon Rainforest

It was a crisp early Wednesday morning when we left our hotel, Patio Andaluz, to head to the airport. The hotel was famous in the history of Quito and is the oldest hotel in the city. 










Our taxi arrived and in an effort to avoid the busy rush hour traffic we took the back roads through some amazing scenery. However, it turned out that everyone else also took the back roads too and it became a heart stopping moment when we would realise we would miss our check in.


Now, I'm not one to rush to airports. I think I've managed it quite well in the past. You see, I think that you should walk in, check in, go through security and then walk straight on the plane for the doors to be closed behind you. That's success for me.  This morning however, we might not even make check in.


Our taxi driver, a friend of the hotel reception staff, did his utmost to get us through the traffic and skidding to a stop out side Spanishf or domestic terminal. Noy and I planned for her to run to check in whilst i pay and collect our bags.


The check in attendant wasn't too pleased with our late arrival. But reluctantly let us through despite looking at his watch in disgust several times. Through security we lined up to get in the shuttle bus to board the plane. Perfect timing!


The flight from Quito to Coca was short. You barely had time to recline your chair before it had to be out back up as we prepared for landing. The plane made some beautiful passes over the very rainforest that we were going to be travelling through for the next five days. Lucious thick green vegetation that hides the most amazing mammals, insects and birds.


At the airport we were greeted by Freddy, our personal guide for the trip. Freddy, one of eight children in his family, is indigenous to the rainforest. He shared with us the history of Coca, originally a small village, now grown into a large town of 50,000 thanks to the oil industry. The area around the town is home to some oil reserves that national and international organisations are capitalising on. It's actually quite sad to see this lovely, though now oily town, subject to the greed for oil that we all share directly or indirectly.







The flip side of course is that it brings much needed development and employment to the community. It too creates a port of harbour for tourists to explore the rainforest from a different side (most people assume the rainforest is only in Brazil), and provides an opportunity for the more economical transportation of cargo from the east to the west of South America (avoiding the expensive Panama Canal).


We arrived by taxi to our motorised canoe. The next stage of our journey towards the ship we will spend the next five days on. Life jackets on, ponchos at the ready and we were off.

Quito - Celebrating carnival

When you think of a South American carnival the first thing that would pop into your head is Rio! But in fact carnival is a continent wide celebration and you will find many cities, towns and village celebrating it in one way or another.


In Quito, the streets were packed with locals, all out enjoying the entertainment from local bands, the military brass band and street performers. What was really interesting is the other form of celebrating that I more than happily partaked in; foam fights.







Around the streets people are selling areosol cans packed with foam, and basically any person walking past you , you squirt them with some foam.







You'll also get cars driving down the street squirting you with foam whilst you walk down the pavement. It is such a very friendly enjoyable atmosphere.

The foam fun we found to be best is in the main plaza. Kids and adults alike are foaming anyone and everyone (with the exception of the police of course who are watching over the proceedings). There is a video on my YouTube channel of an ambush against me from all angles. Great fun!

Quito, Ecuador - the middle of the world

For many years I've always wanted to visit Quito, the highest capital in the world. It's such a historic city that I actually planned to visit there with my friend Michele. I never had a chance to go then but I'm now lucky I can go with Noy.

I met a pilot from Delta Airlines who happily gave us a guided tour of the final approach to the airport, advising us of when we are about to bank left or right. But what was good about Larry is that his Spanish was perfect! and so we engaged in a three and four way conversation with a new Chilean mother who had a cute three week old baby.


When we arrived at Quitos shiny new airport (only a week old), we were met by our host for the day, Dario.


Dario, originally from Quiito, spent twelve years in France workings at a hospital. He decided to come back and support his parents in the family business of running a guesthouse. Seven years have passed and ther lovely home is now a 16 room place for visitors to sty and enjoy some lovely home cooked food.


On hand, his parents were there to help us speak better Spanish! and his dad in particular - a well known artist in the area, proudly showed off his work.


After a very good sleep Dario took us on a trip to the equator and a collapsed volcanic crator now habitted by farmers.


The drive there allowed us to see more of the city, outside from the old district. It's a city that like many others is very busy. Cars hecticly vere in and out of each other, flashing lights if the person in front is going too slow.  It is a place that feels like there is no speed limit. This makes the journey exciting as Dario navigates the maze and the craze of Qutios commuters.


The crator


My first stop was the crator. Formed over many many years ago, the collapsed volcano now harbours the most beautiful of scenery. Now a popular tourist attraction in Quito, the visitor centre provides a lofty view over the landscape onto many beautiful farms managed by Ecuadors older residents.























The real Equator







I say the real equator because for centuries it was believed the equator was 200m for the actual position confirmed by GPS. Now this is no criticism.  To think that all those years ago, people were able to calculate the position of the middle of the earth - really incredible.


Well the site of the real equator is a must visit. I would describe the place as very ecological (in the look and feel), but also there are activites and information that really is engaging and fun to do.


One example is observing the way the water goes down the plug hole on either side of the equator. Another is how, travelling along the line, you can actually lose your sense of balance. But my personal favourite is trying to balance an egg on the head of a pin (very difficult; Noy was the only one with patience and skill to do it!).
















The Famous Equator


Of course we walked the short 200m to the famous equator location. Way more popular than the actual location, in fact a whole tourist resort was built around it, with lots of shops and restersunts. A small museums and planetarium were there but the place was pretty run down.

Santiago, Chile - Dogs, Palace, and Mary

In our short time in santiago I had a great opportunity to visit many of the local sites. The one that impressed me most was the presidential palace. Every two days there is a very fancy, elaborate, and perhaps over the top, changing of the guard. And yes, I'm one to talk about over the top pomp and ceremony since I'm a Brit. I'll try and upload a video of the ceremony on my YouTube channel.

Whilst walking around we discovered another interesting quirk about the city; It's the dogs. On each street corner a stray dog lives. This dog patrols it's patch very proudly and is loved by the locals. It's rare for these dogs to stray on other dog patches. And when a stranger or tourist enters their patch - they know. They decide to show you around, escorting you. If at any point you could be in danger (e.g. A motorbike comes by, or someone is innocently walking out of an alley ahead of you, the dog will bark and have your back.

In addition to the palace, another great site to visit is the statue of Virgin Mary. You can chose to walk up the hill, or take the more easy option of a cable tram ride. There is usually a twenty minute queue, but it certainly saves your legs, especially in the hot weather that we had.

At the top of the hill, arriving at the statue you are greeted with a spectacular view of Santiago. Well worth the visit just for the photo opportunity.

Santiago, Chile - Arriving and grabbing a coffee

After three movies, a few chapters of a book and a poor attempt at trying to sleep, I made it to the Chilean capital; Santiago. A bit bleary eyed I jumped off the plane and proceeded down to immigration.

Thankfully not being an Australian I didn’t have to pay the $117US entrance fee. A gentle bit of payback against Australia's immigration rules for fellow Chileans.

Once through I grabbed a taxi to take us into the city. This came to around $US 35. Alternatively you can take the bus and then change to a train which would cost $US 7 each. Being still a bit sleepy the taxi was best.

Rather than grab a hotel room I decided to rent an apartment. Giving me a bit more space and better value for money for the centricity of an inner city location.

First thing I did when I got there was to fight the tiredness and get my bearings. One of the things great about Santiago from a tourists perspective is how easy it is to navigate around. The city is divided into a grid pattern with each intersection.

Santiago does have a hop on and hop off tour bus like most cities, but with Santiago being so easy to navigate we didn't see the need for it. But that didn't stop us using their bus route map for our own, thus ensuring I visited all the best places the city has to offer.

With the population at over five million, Santiago is the commercial hub of Chile. The city is divided up into a number of sections, or districts. But as a tourist you tend to know them as:

- the shopping area
- the dining out area
- the touristy area
- the markets

Admittedly it is a little simple, but when you go there you'll know what I mean.

Now on my bearings trip, I grabbed a coffee. Now I have an expectation that on this side of the world they will know how to make a good coffee. Interestingly it can be a bit hit and miss. Fortunately that wasn't at the first place I went.

The coffee shops in santiago I would describe as a mixture of American dinner and a bar. The diner in part because of the polished steel and the outfits that the waitress wear and the bar because there are no seats (though I know you do get seats in many bars). Both outside and indoors were many tables and bars where locals would lean up to them, grab a coffee, and catch up with friends or business.

Purchasing a coffee is a little different than normal too. You have to make your purchase at a separate cashier area manned at the centre of the door, where you will be given a ticket. With this ticket you take it to the bar area and the staff will make your coffee for you.

The coffee was quite bitter but very nice. Most people here take sugar with their coffee (from what we saw, and from the look of horror from one lady in another shop when we asked for it without sugar).

I finished the day in the dining out area of the city. Across the river were a mass of restaurants serving all different kinds a food from around the world. In fact it felt quite difficult to locate a place that serves just nice looking Chilean food rather then serving other touristy Americano needs.

More about food in later posts :-)

See ya.

Next stop...South America

The next big adventure begins (or in some way you can say it continues).  Over the next three weeks I'll be heading over to the continent of South America. A place encapsulated by the Andes, Amazon and the amazing wildlife in the Galápagos Islands.

I will be heading to a number of destinations in this part of huge world and catching far too many flights.

We will be heading to:
- Santiago, Chile
- Quito, Ecuador
- Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador
- Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
- Lima, Peru
- Mach piccu,
- São Paulo, Brazil
- Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Like with my previous trip I've booked a tour with G Adventures. This time heading on about to cruise around the Galápagos Islands. I've also booked a cruise down through the Amazon Rainforest with a company called rainforest cruises. More details on how those go, once I've been on them.

I've packed slightly differently than I had for my Asia and Australia jaunt, but more on that in a later post.

Until the next post, I'll see you in South America!