The last first?

Our trip to Quitaraju wasn't quite as successful as previous ones - As the 5th expedition our bodies were getting tired and I had a passing fever which stopped me getting to the Alpamayo col camp. Two of my friends did, but even they didn't make it to the summit. When we got back from that trip we decided it would be our last trip into the mountains - there is a limit to how long and how far you can push your body and going beyond it wouldn't be sensible. So the two of us that are left have been using up our last few days at the beach and doing a bit of surfing. 5 months is a long time to be away, and I am ready to come home now. I know that I'm not the type to catch the wanderlust and become a perennial traveller. I'm looking forward to having roots and work to focus my energies on.

People keep saying to me that I've packed a lot into my gap year, and looking back, I suppose I have - but none of it felt rushed. And in the main, I wouldn't change the things I've done or the way I've done them. The highlights for me have been learning Spanish and climbing the mountains. Others have used the phrase "trip of a lifetime" - but I don't like this phrase because for me the implication is that I will never do anything as exciting again. It's all about your horizons - and each time you do something new they are expanded a little bit further.

Looking back, it is hard to overestimate how much a trip like this can mature you and give you confidence. Before I came, I was nervous about travelling solo in an unknown culture across a language barrier. But now these things are familiar and not daunting. There is plenty more of South America to see - now that I have some Spanish I am keen to visit Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Mexico... But although I still have many places I want to explore, travelling will be less daunting, and I don't need to prove anything to myself. Travelling now holds less firsts, though of course there are many challenges in other parts of life which I feel ready to take on. I also know myself better and have greater discernment in deciding the things I want to do.

So this will be my last entry from South America. Whether my new life as a PhD student is interesting enough to keep me blogging is an open question.

Earthquake

Yesterday evening an Earthquke of magnitude 8.0 on the Richter Scale hit Peru, with the epicenter near Pisco. 70% of Pisco is in ruins according to BBC news. The current death toll is at 350 and likely to rise. I was in Pisco and Ica myself just a few weeks ago. Lima felt the earthquake very strongly and people were scared but damage and casualties there could have been a lot worse.

Here in Huaraz we felt it for about 30 seconds but it was fairly mild and there was no damage or casualties here. I was sitting playing chess in the very nice Cafe Andino and we felt the building move. At first I asked "Is that the wind?" but quikcly realised it couldn't be. We then started headed for the "Zona segura en caso de sismos" which every well built building should have marked - but by the time we got there it had passed. After a few minutes everyone went back to their coffees. We didn't actually realise until today how serious it was when we heard the news.

So myself and my friends are all fine. Whether we will be affected by ongoing problems remains to be seen. However, any inconvience to us is nothing compared to the devastation of the lives of many thousands south of Lima.

FC

Vallunaraju, 5686m

So we made it up another 5000er, Vallunaraju. There were some spectacular views from the summit - we spent an hour there to enjoy them .


(More) Pics from the last few trips


One of our number is heading home on Friday, but I should have time for two more trips. Certainly next week we are heading out on a long trip to climb one more 6000er - with a 2 day walk in its a long way - but we will get great views across to Alpamayo - "The most beautiful mountain in the world".

After this the question is whether we will have the motivation and mental energy for another trip - each trip is an expedition in itself and quite draining. But when we look back on our time here I am sure we will be happier if we did climb one last mountain in our last week, so we should try to find the energy.

Tocllaraju, 6032m

We made it up Tocllaraju without any major problems. We had a high camp on the glacier at 5100m with spectacular views. We set of 2.30am in the morning, so most of the hard work was done in the dark and we were on the summit by 10am. Of the 5 groups on the mountian that day, it was gratifying to be first on the top - especially as a queue formed for a tricky step and steep bit near the top - as we abseiled down others were waiting to go up. Photos to come.

Off today for another 5000er - a new friend has arrived and needs to acclimitise before we atempt another 6000er.

Into the Cordillera Blanca

I arrived in Huaraz with three climbing friends three weeks ago. Huaraz sits at the edge of the Cordillera Blanca (white mountain range), the highest tropical mountain range in the world - only the Himalayas are bigger. With some Alpine experience, we have signed a disclaimer and are climbing without guides, being careful to progress gradually.

Having all just arrived from the UK, my friends needed some days to acclimatise before attempting to climb and big mountains. We also had to wait for 3 bags to arrive which the airlines had lost, one of which ended up getting sent all round Peru. Unfortunately, two of them got sick just as we preparing to head out our our first expedition; their stomachs not yet accustomed to Peruvian food.

So two of us headed out for our first peak, Ishinca. We enjoyed the novelty of having donkeys carry our heavy packs into our base camp. Despite being an "easy" acclimatisation peak at "only" 5530m, we both found ourselves stopping for breath every 20 steps as we neared the top. Everything is slow and difficult here, even in comparison to the Alps. There can be no rushing of the acclimatisation process.

Still, the views were incredible, and once again reminded me of one of the reasons we climb - if you think the views from the valley are good, they are nothing compared to when you get up high. In the valley you can only ever see the two or three mountains closest to you, but up high you get a vista of the entire range.

By the time we got back from the first trip, our friends were recovered and ready to climb. We headed out for a week to climb Yanapaccha and Pisco . For Yanapaccha, we first headed to a high camp next to the glacier. But our arrerio (donkey driver) had mislead us about far the donkeys could take our gear. So the next day we struggled to ascend 400m to the camp with full camping packs.

As we finally neared our destination, we saw a group coming up behind. Two guys were gaining on us whilst carrying enormous packs. We soon realised they were Peruvian porters. One overtook us, just before we arrived at the campsite and nabbed all the best camping spots. An hour or so later, their clients arrived - a guided group doing a 6 day mountaineering course. In comparison to us they were living in luxury, with mess tents, gas cookers and heaters and a cook producing gourmet dishes. Despite the competition for tent spots, we made friends with the guide and he complemented us on our choice of campsite and route away from the hoards.

Yanapaccha was more technically difficult than Ishinca and the cold wind didn't make it any easier. Having made it to the summit our views were spoilt by seemingly the only hour of cloud of the day. But there were plenty of views on the descent, and we returned to our camp pleased to have completed our first tricky route at altitude.

Pisco was a different proposition - higher at 5752m, but one of the easiest and most popular peaks. It has a refuge at the bottom, where we enjoyed eating a proper meal. We shared the amazing summit views with lots of Italians and other assorted Europeans.

Tomorrow we head out to climb our first 6000er, Tocallraju. After Pisco, we should be acclimatised, but the route will be the hardest yet. The MPS website has a more detailed diary of our activities.

The quest for the perfect photo

Despite the strikes, we got to Machu Picchu. Apparently the train had been cancelled some of the days before, but we were lucky. We were held up for half an hour whilst protestors blocked the line, but were soon through. On the way back, each carriage on the train had two riot police. They obviously expected trouble, but there wasn't any.

The afternoon after we arrived in Aguas Calientes, just below Machu Piccu, we walked up mountain Putucusi. The "walk" involves lots of steep ladders, but when you reach the summit you get a view across to Machu Picchu. It was quite exciting just to come over the summit and discover it there, you could almost imagine you were discovering it for the first time.

The next day we went to Machu Picchu itself. We arrived for dawn, but clouds meant that we missed the classic sunrise. Only 400 people a day are allowed to climb Huayna Picchu, the bigger peak behind Machu Picchu, so we made sure we were near the front of the queue for that. I was number 14 through the gate at 7.11am and decided to race to try and get to the top first. I ended up second to the top, after a German who had been first through the gate at 7am.

Once we were down, the sun came out we joined The Quest for the perfect photo of Machu Picchu, but we were no match for some of the tourists with their huge cameras and zoom lenses. As the day drew on, more and more tour groups were traipsing round the key sights of the site. But we found that Machu Picchu is impressive as a whole, for its setting, not for each individual wall or stone.

Despite the number of tourists, it is such a big site that it is actually quite easy to get away from everyone. You just nip round a corner away from the big attractions and you can have a corner of the lost city of the Incas all to yourself.

Machu Picchu itself is quite tastefully done - no people hassling you or endless gift shops - thankfully that is all confined to Aguas Calientes and Cusco. In Cusco, people ask you to buy things so often that it possible to buy t-shirts that say "No, Gracias".

These last few days travelling with people who have little or no Spanish has made me much more appreciative of what I have. When in Lima, I was always with Peruvians or volunteers who spoke better Spanish than me, and I was constantly wishing mine was better. But on the gringo trail amongst other travellers who spend all their times with other gringos I became aware just how much I have learnt.

Advice from the foriegn office

From the Peru foreign office travel advice:

Since late June 2007, there has been civil unrest, with widespread strikes, in the departments of Ucayali and Puno. A State of Emergency has been declared in the province of Coronel Portillo, Ucayali (including the tourist jungle town of Pucallpa) until mid July 2007. There have also been severe disruptions to road and rail services between Puno and Cusco. You are strongly advised to check with your travel company or airline before travelling to the area.

Well we just travelled through all this. We couldn't take the train from Puno as planned and there were some problems with buses: Delays, never getting the tourist one you paid for, and constantly having to change between local buses. But we made it through and are now in Cusco.

One of the other volunteers still at the school in Lima told me that one of the reasons for the strikes was that the Government had decided to give all the teachers a literacy test which might result in a third or them being laid off. And then the miners, with a different grievance decided to join in too, and then everyone has to. In Peru, a strike doesn’t just mean not going to work – it means putting up road blocks and preventing everyone from travelling – to the extent that on some days stones were hurled at any taxis in operation.

Machu Picchu here we come. It just got voted into the new 7 Wonders of the World. There's been enough hype about this in the last few weeks in Peru, to encourage people to vote. It obviously paid off.

Corrupción, no puede pasar

So I hopped over the border to Bolivia for a couple of days, in part because I wanted to see La Isla del Sol, partly to meet up with a friend, and partly to get an new 90 day Peruvian stamp in my Passport without paying for it in Lima.

When I crossed from Peru to Bolivia on Thursday, the Peruvian police were searching selected persons for drugs, and I was one of the selected. They searched my day bag, my pockets and my money belt, everything I was carrying, but not my larger bag which was on the bus. At the time I hadn't really thought anything of it.

But today, when I got on the bus to return to Peru, I realised that 3 x 100 soles notes in my money belt were blatant fakes (300 soles = ₤50). I had earlier briefly checked that everything that should be was in the money belt, but had not actually taken the notes out to look at them. It was not possible that such notes had come out of the cash machine where I had originally got the notes. I also felt it very unlikely that a switch had taken place when I used the safe at the hotel, for three reasons: a) I trusted the lady at the hotel b) it was all sellotaped up c) It seemed unlikely that someone in Bolivia would have fake sole notes.

So it seemed to me that the most likely answer was that the two cops who had searched my money belt had deftly switched the real notes for couldn't watch them both closely at the same time.

So with the help of the el cobrador (the bus conductor, the same one as the first time I had crossed) I warned my fellow border crossers to be vigilant, and when we got to the border he took me police border office. I explained the situation, and the time I had crossed. I didn't particularly want to start making accusations at the police lest it get me into more trouble, and I wasn't hoping to get my money back, but I just wanted them to know there was a potential problem so they could try and crack down on it.

All the police, particularly the chief were very helpful, friendly, concerned, and indignant for me that such a thing should have happened. Corrupción, no puede pasar. They very concerned that I shouldn't have a bad impression of Peru.

We knew the time I had crossed and the office that had searched me, but there was no record of which officers were working it. In private, the chief told me not to be afraid and to help him by pointing out the culprits. All 8 officers who worked the posted were brought in, but there was no way I could remember which were the ones who had searched me. I wasn't going to point the finger without being sure because I could see they were going to get into trouble - perhaps even physically beaten up. I kept repeating that I couldn't remember, but I think they thought it was because I was afraid.

There was discussion of all the officers behind closed doors, but I don't think they got anywhere in finding out who was behid it. In the the end, the police chief gave me 300 soles from his own money, and we parted on very friendly terms. At a guess this might be half a weeks wages for him. I certainly didn't leave the experience with a bad impression of the Peruvian police.

I suppose the fact that he gave me the money on just my word shows that he believed there was truth in my story. I just hope that it was at the police post that the switch happened, and that my logic wasn't wrong - because otherwise I have thrown a cat among the wrong pigeons.

FC

Pinching the centimos

Tomorrow I am going to hop across the border to Bolivia and I will meet a friend there for a two day visit to the Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca before going on together to Cusco and Machu Piccu. I should also get a new stamp in passport when I return to Peru, allowing me to extend my stay over the single visit 90 day limit.

Today I made a resolution to try and limit my spending in my final two months so I don't arrive home up against the overdraft limit. I haggled for cheap menus, and didn't let a shop vendor charge me gringo prices for water, and opted for a basic hostel at ₤3 a night (private room but no private bathroom, what a hardship!).

I was pleased with myself for ringing round the bus companies in Las Paginas Amarillas (yellow pages) to get prices and times for the Buses to Puno tomorrow - because Spanish on the phone is something I am still not confident at. But having found a company at the right times for the 6 hour ride to Puno for less than ₤3, I was a little uncertain of being able to catch a bus from Puno for the 3 hour trip (probably about ₤2 more) to the Bolivian border before it closed at 5pm. I should have held my nerve, and done it independelty, it would have been fine. But I walked by a travel agency that could arrange the connections, on more luxurious buses and with people to take me to the bus terminal from my hotel. I don't need this kind of pampering, in fact I have been a little disdainful of other tourists on completely prearranged packages. But the security it was just too tempting given that the total cost was still only ₤12, and that I wnated to be sure of making it to Bolivia tomorrow. So in total I was annoyed with myself for having taken the easy and secure option costing all of ₤7 more. The problem is that everything is so cheap that you keep thinking its only a tiny amount relatively - but if I really want to travel on the shoestring that is possible here I can't think like that - I have to start pinching the centimos.

The lady in the travel agency asked if I had learnt Spanish in Quito - apparently she could hear it in my accent which I thought was quite exciting - at least it wasn't an English accent!

Yesterday I was on tour of the Colca Canyon, impressively deep but not quite what I expected. The condors were impressive and they flew very close to us. Maybe I'll be able to add a photo later. In comparison with the other Gringos I was feeling a little smug about my level of Spanish - I could understand most of what our guide said before the English transalation came. And I met my first Spaniards since arriving in South America. Sharing a hotel with them, when I boarded the bus I started speaking to the Aussies and Irish in Spanish before realising that I needed to switch back langauges!

FC

Exit Lima

My last couple of weeks in Lima evaporated quickly - getting myself involved in the computer finally allowed me to make the kind of difference I wanted; rushed, but better late than never.

Once it became clear that my friends and I really were going to make a donation, the teachers warmed to me and everything started happening quickly, of which I mentioned a bit in my previous post. Last Monday we did finally go to buy the computers and I ended up buying 5 new Pentium 4's as well as keyboards and mice and some parts to repair some of the existing machines. I was accompanied by parents, teachers, spouses, brothers, and a technical guy (I think there were 9 in total, quite a party). In total I think I spent the equivalent to 6 months wages for one of the teachers - an amount we could easily spend on one computer, or earn in less than 2 weeks. It made me uncomfortable flashing so much cash in front of them - having money and privilege makes me uncomfortable but at least it was being spent for a good cause.

The rest of that week, I worked hard with two technical guys to get everything installed and set up in the computer room, whilst others worked on the security and power outlets. I was a little disappointed that the Peruvian ability to repair everything seemingly doesn't extend to old computers - at least not with these guys. We spent a lot of time tinkering with the older machines but in total only managed to get 5 of 13 working. I also felt that I needed to supervise everything to make sure things got done and didn't succumb to any lackadaisical .

I then had two days off and when I returned there had been a transformation - everything had been cleaned, painted and smartened up immeasurably. With donations to get the ball rolling, a little persistence and supervision to keep things on track, the transformation in a week was impressive. Although rushed, the deadline of my departure, and the accompanying inauguration ade everything get done.

So the school now has 6 new networked fast machines (far better than my PC at home!) with WinXP to qualify for the government plan, plus 5 older machines Win98 for teaching basic computer skills.

The inauguration of the computer room took place on Sunday, my last day in Lima. It was a festive atmosphere, with pomp and ceremony, flag and national anthem, dances, speeches and me being treated like a bit of a celebrity. Not at all what I had wanted when I started this idea, but it was a big occasion for them - It would have been rude not to go along with it. It was also sprung on me that I had to perform the lost sheep play again without preparation in front of everyone and the friends I had invited. But it was fun, and everyone seemed to enjoy it and found the play hilarious. Finally we got around to opening the computer room - I and the director of the LEA got to unveil a plaque and break champagne bottles to christen the room!

I've enlisted the help of one the volunteers who has just arrived to report back to me on how things progress in the next few weeks. The computing lessons should have already started, and there a few reaming things to be tided up. The school is also progressing towards entry into to the government computing plan - once the LEA director saw all that had been achieved, she promised to facilitate this, as well as sending more furniture for the room. The amount of excitement is is good because it means they all have a lot invested in seeing it through.

I will return to the school in late August. If all is going well, I may try donate some some more computers. I know some of you said you would like to help but were still considering. If you could let me know by early August that will enable me to decide how much more I am in a position to give when I return. After this there will have to be a cut off.

FC

Computers update

It looks like we might be going to buy the computers on Monday. This week has been really hectic - everyone is getting really excited but I only have one week left. The headtecher took me to the LEA to meet all sorts of important people, the highest up of which reports directly to the minister of education. I think she's just playing politics and trying to further her career, but the more people she invites to come and see the computer room, and the more they have invested in it, and the more certain it is to work out well. The local director of the government computer plan came to the school yesterday and complicated matters by advising us to get a different spec than I had got the quotes for - but hopefully it will be worked out by Monday. I'm also staying in Lima this weekend to work with a couple of tech guys to repair some of the older existing computers.

I am getting the school and parents to agree to a few things before we go ahead - it's not a completely free lunch for them - a two way process. They have to make the security satisfactory, and get the older computers mended, and sort the transport, and send me pics every so often. I'm also going to come back in August to check everything is working out, and then I may donate more later. I am also trying to arrange a maintnence contract with a guy who has an internet cabin 50m from the school, so the teachers can easily go and find him if there is a problem.

Computers for a Peruvian school

I am coming towards the end of my time volunteering in Lima. I want to leave something a little more permanent behind, so I planning to buy some computers for the school. As I mentioned in a earlier blog entry, they have computing lessons, but since there are no computers the teachers are limited to showing them pictures and teaching them what the different parts of a computer do. In the modern world I think it is hard to overestimate the importance of learning computing skills, so access to a computer is important.

Over the last few months they have been getting a building ready for the computers, with electricity and security. The ministry of education say that once the school has at least 6 computers that meet a minimum standard; they will provide an IT teacher and help with an Internet connection. On Saturday, they did an inventory of some computers that had been donated to find that those that did work were very old and well below the required standard. But they have monitors and keyboards that work.

Yesterday, I went with some of the teachers to get quotes for second hand computers that meet the required standard. We got a quote for $120 per computer (spec below), which given the dollar to pound exchange rate at the moment doesn't seem like much to us - only £63.

There is a little bit of politics between the school and my volunteer program, which I have been unavoidably drawn into in trying to make this happen. Such are the problems of developing countries - corruption is the biggest inhibitor to growth. But I don't want to become so cynical as not to do anything. The best people to work with are the elected representatives of the parent's association - as they truly have the children's interests at heart.

So I will personally preside over the purchase of the computers, and return to the school later in August to see them in use, and get pictures for you all. As such, I want to place the order soon so that I can see the computers installed before I leave at the start of July. I will also ask subsequent volunteers to report back to me on how the computers are being used.

I would like to start by buying the 6 computers required. If I end up with more money than for this, I will purchase more computers once I have seen the first 6 in use by the kids in lessons. I also may try and set up a maintenance contract for someone to come in once a month or so to service the computers.

So over to you, please donate if you would like to. If you are minded to do so, please do it now rather than later! Let me by email know how many computers you would like to give (fractions are allowed). Or if you would like to make a small monthly commitment for the maintenance contract, that would be useful too.

Thanks for any help you can give,

FC

Tech Spec
PIII 1Ghz, 256Mb Ram, 20Gb HD, CD writer, Floppy, Network and Sound Cards, XP

The Pied Piper of Lima

So what has been keeping me busy for the last few weeks and away from this blog?

I've been at the school five days a week, helping in lessons, getting to know the teachers and the kids, and acting in the school play! I played the part of the shepherd in the parable of the lost sheep - adapted with a bit of artistic license to include an evil wolf who poses as a donkey, and some helpful butterflies. All in Spanish, of course. I've also been a little tied up with the politics of the school which I will write more about in my next entry.

In the maths lessons some of the content the older ones have been doing is quite hard - stuff that I didn't learn until A-level - such as algebraic division, geometric and arithmetic sequences, and binomial expansions. I think they just do more because they have more maths lessons than in British schools - there is less diversity of subjects generally. It's nice when they all seem impressed that I can do maths! The other day the teacher didn't arrive for her class, so I ended up taking the 2 hour lesson and going through their homework to rationalise irrational fractions.

Outside of school, I've been seeing different parts of Lima, and making friends with Peruvians through the other volunteers - good for my Spanish. I've also been making weekend excursions to places within reasonable bus distance of Lima.

• Pacahacamac, for Inca and Pre Inca Ruins
• Tarma, for picturesque Sierra valleys and impressive jungle valleys.
• Pisco and Paracas for an island trip, heaven for ornithologists.
• Huachina for sandboarding on massive dunes - safer, softer and warmer than snowboarding

Some of you wanted to see a few more more pics from my travels, so here they are:

• Ecuador
• Peru
• Sandboarding

FC

Post pending

Apologies to anyone checking here that I haven't written in a while. There are a number of reasons for this, but I plan to post something soon, so don't give up hope!

FC

How best to make a difference?

I've now been in Lima a week and half. It's a big city with as many people as London. Complicated in comparison to Quito, it took me a few days to get my bearings. It's winter here, which means that you might need a jumper if the sun isn't out. It never rains, but some days the sky is filled with coastal haze.

I'm staying with a very hospitable Peruvian family and will be doing some volunteer work for the next few weeks. My volunteer program has placed me at an under-resourced state school in a poor area of Lima. The school has children from the ages of 7 to 16; I have been working with the secondary classes. Conditions in the neighbourhood aren't quite as bad as in Nairobi slum I once visited, but it is poor.

Last week I quickly found that I could be most useful in the English and Mathematics lessons and so opted for those - my Spanish is not yet good enough to help effectively in other subjects. I enjoyed getting back into some easy maths and figured that if I coach operators in Spanish, the first year undergraduate tutorials in English should be no problem next year. People have told me that I am patient when teaching, and I do feel it is worthwhile. Maybe when my academic career is over, I will see if they are still crying out for maths or physics teachers.

The English classes suffer from the same fundamental problems as foreign languages in the UK: The students don't have a reason to learn English, because they don't see how it can impact their life. And, just as in the UK, a couple of hours a week is not enough to make real progress.

I had in an expectation that the school would be similar to my mind's picture of a poor African school, where all the children are well behaved - because they appreciate the value of education. I'm not sure why I had this expectation, but it was wrong - the discipline in the school could be a lot better. Having said this, I think the teachers are gen rally good, despite the low wages they receive.

All the children I have worked with so far seem to be able to read and write, and was thus awakened to one way in which South America and Africa are a world apart - in South American countries the literacy rate is generally 85% or higher, whilst in many African countries it is 30% or lower.

I think if I carry on helping in the way I have been so far, I will be dissatisfied with myslef when I leave. I have high standards about doing something worthwhile, perhaps unrealistically high. I want to do more: I might run some additional English classes after school for those that are keen. Or perhaps something to make a more permanent difference.

There are no computers in the school for the pupils to use, but they have lessons about computers in which they draw pictures of the various components and describe what they are used for. So one idea that came to mind was procuring some computers for the school. However, once I started to think about the practicalities of doing this a number of problems come to mind - there needs to be a secure place to keep them, a teacher that can maintain them, time in the timetable, subject matter to teach, etc.

A simpler plan, which could achieve the same result, might be to make an agreement with a nearby Internet cafe to secure regular timeslot for the pupils - eliminating many of the above problems. To make this a permanent would require money - not a huge amount, but a regular amount. It's still an early stage idea, and I need to think through the problems, but perhaps some of you will be hearing from me. Maybe let me know if you'd be prepared to commit a very small regular sum, knowing that might help me develop the idea. I'm aware that my time here will be over before I know it.

STOP PRESS: I just found out that the school may be getting a computer room soon despite what I said above. I think there will be oppurtunities to donate money there.

Thanks for the positive comments you've been sending me by email - it helps to know I'm not boring you - I'm still a little self conscious about the self obsessed nature of blogging!

Tengas suerte,

FC

Sierra a Costa, Ecuador a Perú

So, I have arrived safely in Peru. Tomorrow I fly to Lima. My route has taken me through:

Riobama - For a bike ride down volcan Chimboarzo (the highest in Ecuador, pic) and through indigenous valleys. Also for the start of the incredible 'Nariz del Diablo' - the most difficult railway in the world, descending down a vertical gorge (pic).
Cuenca - Pretty colonial city, Ecuador's third largest - but sedate and relaxed in comparison to Quito or even Riobama.
Machala - On Ecuador's southern coast. As you descend from the sierra to Machala, the change of climate hits you with the heat you expect of the equator. The sierra is temperate by comparison.
Tumbes - Dusty Peruvian border town with its share of con men and rip offs.
Mancora - Lovely Peruvian beach town full of surfers. I tried to surf a little but didn't have the same determination or energy to succeed as I has last time I tried surfing.

It's true what people say - travelling solo is actually very sociable -in a whole week I have only eaten alone twice. And I have made many friends along the way.

On the train ride from Riobama through some beautiful valleys, I had appreciated the juxtaposition of an indigenous girl chatting on her mobile phone with flashing lights. There are very few places untouched by the modern world - and I think the mobile phone may be the most ubiquitous of modern technology because the infrastructure needed to set up a network is realtively little.

There is a line between vigilance and paranoia - and at certain times during this journey I may have been on the wrong side of it. One example was at the bus station in Cuenca when I dropped a coin - I wouldn't accept it back from the nice girl trying to give it back to me. I was being hyper-vigilant given that my friend had had her bag stolen in the same place just a week ago. But when vigilance means that you trust no-one, it has overstepped the mark.

The border crossing was a particular source of anxiety. There were two possible routes to choose from, and having heard a number of horror stories about the coastal one, I was inclined to take the apparently easier inland one. But doing this, I would have missed Mancora. But in the dorm of my hostel in Cuenca, I chanced upon two other travellers who wanted to do the coastal crossing, and we joined forces.

The difficulty with this border is that the immigration offices for Peru and Ecuador are 5km apart, each inconveniently a couple of km from the border itself - and you have to get your passport stamped at both. Many con men and dodgy money changers operate in the area between these offices.

The key to a hassle free crossing was to get a direct bus over the border which waited for us at both immigration offices. Our 2 hour cross-border bus ride only cost $2, and there were only 4 passengers who crossed the border - so I found it hard to believe it was worth their while to wait for us, but they did. The bus tout was very helpful, coming into the immigration offices with us to make sure there were no problems. Why another company hasn't setup more expensive buses for tourists on this route that make everything easy, I don't know. I would have happily paid $10 to know everything would be smooth.


In my last post I mentioned "We shall meet twice in life". This was exemplified when a friendly Peruvian surf instructor whom I had met in Quito two weeks ago turned out to be staying in the room next to me in the Mancora hostel. My friends and his friends all passed an evening together and we agreed to conduct the whole evening in Spanish, despite the fact that he speaks good English. Spanish is easier after a drink or two, but harder after three or four! And the next day I got some free surf tuition.

Another gratifying outing for my Spanish was when I ended up translating at my hostel for an Australian couple.

The next challenge is to find a way to make myself useful as a helper at a school in Lima. Finding the right niche in which to help may require a little provacticity.

Chao amigos,

FC

The Lonely Planet ticklist

I'm a little stuck between a rock and hard place with this blog - some of you chastise me for not writing often enough - others chastise me for writing in English, other chastise me for having too much time on my hands. So I won't try and artfully craft a work of literary art this time.

The truth is you can't be doing and seeing things all the time, nor should you try. I have reached the stage in Quito where I don't need to be doing the sightseeing anymore - this is the transition from visiting a place to living in it. The Lonely Planet is not another ticklist for me to work my way through - I don't have a need to do and see and everything. The trick is to live in the present, enjoy experiences and relationships without worrying too much about what you could do or haven't done. Nice words, now to live by them. On the next leg of my journey to Peru I shall try to savour the experiences and the places without having to do all the sights.

I am travelling over land by bus to Peru next week. Hopefully I can get there without being robbed - three of my friends had things stolen last week, so vigilance is definitely on the cards.

I would like to stay here to get better at Spanish. The school is good; I do enjoy the learning, and meeting other students. And I am also starting to get to know the family better, another result of living and not visiting. But in other ways I am ready to leave Quito, for new challenges.

The Spanish school has a transitory feel to it with new people arriving and leaving all the time. It is sad to keep meeting people, making friends and parting, but this is unavoidable when travelling. A saying a friend told me recently: We shall meet twice in life, ...

This week I have been learning and reading a very little about South American politics and history. In particular, I am interested in the idea of a United States of South America. This was first proposed by Simon Bolivar in the 18th Century and is currently undergoing a revival in part due to Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela. He wants to move South America away from dependency on the world bank, the IMF, and the subsequent need to subscribe to the washington consensus.

In 2004, the countries in South America signed the Cusco Declaration - the intention being to build a union modelled on the EU, with open borders, free trade, and a single currency.

The more things I learn about, and the more I see of the world, the more I realise how little I know. But life is so short there will never be enough time to learn about everything of interest. Is it better to know a little about everything or a lot about a few things? I hope with my forthcoming PhD I picked the right specialism.

And the Lonely Planet is not infallible - I found a mistake in it when I discovered the climbing wall was not where they said it was. So perhaps I will get my name in the next edition in the list of contributors of corrections. Other things I did recently include: visiting the overrated market town of Quito, attending a local football match, straddling the Ecuador at the tourist musem with suspect scientific experiements, and ascending the cable car for a view of Quito. Tuesday was a national holiday for Labour day.

Will probably write next from Lima, in a couple of weeks.

FC

Salud, Deniro, Armor

In Ecuador, when you sneeze, there is a three tiered progression of what you say equivalent to "bless you" - but there are three words for consecutive occasions: Salud, Deniro, Amor.

Salud - health
At the weekend we visited Baños, a small town nestled under an active volcano, named after its thermal baths. With 12 students from the school going, the group was almost unmanageably big and there was a lot of waiting around for people. Contrary to foreign office advice, we didn't check the volcanic activity before we left.

The baths themselves came in different temperatures from scalding to pleasantly warm to freezing. Despite being packed, moving between the pools was a calming experience. In Baños there are wheelchair ramps on and off every pavement in the town - this was the first time I had seen this in Ecuador. From this, I deduced that there must be a belief in the healing properties of the baths, which calls to mind the gospel story of Jesus healing the crippled man at the baths (ref, anyone?). Whether my deduction is correct or not, the baths were certainly very good for the muscles after a day on mountain bikes.

Unlike some of the other students, I have have yet to fall foul of any nasty bugs in food.

Dinero - Money
In tourist towns such as Baños, all you need is a very little money and everything is easy. Our mountain bike tour took us east and downhill through breathtaking scenery, where the startling Andean valleys run into to the dense Amazonian jungle. Standing close to the bottom of the Cascada del Diablo (waterfall of the devil), you get soaked - but it is well worth it - being so close to the awesome power of the water is an almost spiritual experience. There are then vans on standby to drive you back up the hill - hence why everything is easy! The next day we all went rafting in the rapids lower down the river, where the massive waterfalls give way to the flatness of Amazon basin.

But cash can be a problem here. Cash machines dish out $20 notes, but in many contexts people won't accept anything bigger than a $5 - and small change is much more convenient. Consequently, one has to make a conscious effort to hoard change and break a note whenever the opportunity arises.

Amor - Love
Or Not? There a slightly unsettling phenomenon in Quito of "Gringohunters" - Locals who try to start a romantic relationship with tourists with the hope of being taken to a western country. (I suppose this could have fitted under Dinero, but I needed something for the Armor space!) But I think I am safe, as I don't think I am the type to fall for this - I intend to have more contact with locals in the coming weeks - It is the best way to practice my Spanish.

Enjoyable as all this tourism is, I am now starting to look forward to getting a little off the beaten track - both in the hopefully more challenging volunteering role I will be doing in Lima, and later, atop mountains in the Cordillera Blanca. Feeling settled here with the other students in the school, I am also starting to look forward to the next challenge of travelling solo to Lima - something I had earlier been apprehensive about.

Deseo te tener mucho Salud, Deniro y Amor,

FC

Subimos una montaña, ahora somos andinistos

This weekend a referendum took place in Ecuador on whether the constitution should be changed to try to reduce corruption. Interestingly, voting is compulsory, and no alcohol could be sold or consumed all weekend.

With the political instability of Ecuador, anything could happen. So it seemed a good weekend to get out of Quito. With a couple of German gringos (K and A) I headed 50 km south to climb Volcan Illiza. At 5118m, this would be the highest mountain I had ever climbed (pt. Lenana on Mount Kenya is 4985m). Given this, I was worried that my atitude to this trip might have been too relaxed. I needn't have been. As it turned out, I was the most prepared of anyone to climb the mountain.

On Friday (Viernes) night we were the only people in the hostel in the small town of Chaupi at 3800m . On Saturday (Sabado) we climbed to the refuge at 4600m. "A" then decided to climb the rest of the mountain that day with a big Ecuadorian party who were at the hut. He was pretty intent on it, despite our advice on acclimatisation and the daily weather patterns (clearer in the morning, wet in the afternoon) . Myself and K climbed a little higher then waited out the rest of the day at the hut.

Just after dark, the Ecuadorians and "A" returned, wet and cold, and about three hours late. A tricky scramble with a big inexperienced group does not make for a quick outing. The Ecuadorians wanted to descend to the town that evening. They set out down the path but soon returned, having decided that they had got wet and cold enough for one day. They were completely unprepared for a night in the hut, so we shared our clothes and food with them. Unsurprisingly "A" had a horrible headache and got no sleep.

The next day, myself and K ascended in the dry of the morning to the summit of Iliniza Norte. We had some great views, although the summit was cloudy. Ilinaza Norte sits hidden behind Illinza Sud which takes the brunt of the prevailing weather. Much of the time the southern sister has its own lenticular cloud and the associated extra snow makes it a technically difficult climb.

The route was not dissimilar to a Skye scramble with a small snow patches - except at 5 times the altitude. An enjoyable scramble, but not beyond our abilities. We were back at the hut in 4 hours - it had taken the other group 7. I was pleased that the altitude had not been a major problem. This bodes well for the later higher Peruvian peaks I plan to climb. Being in Quito at 2800m was definitely a good start, and the acclimatisation process above was just about sufficiently slow.

Overall it was great to get out of Quito and away from western malls and the such like - these are not what I came to south America for. In the rural areas, travelling on the chaos of the local buses it suddenly became much clearer that Ecuador is very much a developing nation. The cost of the weekend was incredible: Buses $4. Hostel $10. Hut (El Refugio) $8. Food $8. Return "taxi" up some of the mountain $8. Park fees $5. Total $43. In the Alps, the same would have cost $150+.

My Spanish is progressing, but not as fast as I would like. Some days progress is exciting and I come in after 6 hours of Spanish wanting to do more. Others days, lack of progress is frustrating, particularly when locals don't understand me. One of our teachers in particular is a real personality and enjoys telling us dirty jokes in Spanish! This week I will take some private lessons with the intention of speaking more than we get to in the group lessons. Soon I want to get to the stage where I can speak without thinking first - I need to start thinking in Spanish.

Andinisto is one of my favorite words so far - it means one who climbs in the Andes.

Hasta la proxima vez,

FC

The langauge barrier - Quito, Ecuador

So I changed my mind on having a blog. Puede ser, far from friends in an alien environment, it can be an outlet to express myself.

The journey here, although long and tiring, went fine with no problems. So here I am, in Quito, Ecuador - with 5 exciting months on this amazing continent ahead of me.

I'm not sure why I have this drive to set myself challenges. This language barrier is not going to be an easy one, but there really is no backing out of it now.

My expectations of what Spanish I had already learnt, and the rate at which I would progress were probably a little over optimistic. But one guy arrived here two weeks ago without a word of Spanish - and from what he says I’m fairly glad I didn’t attempt that! I can usually express myself on simple matters, but struggle to understand most of what is said back to me.

I've only had two days of lessons, but I can see that even with an easy language such as Spanish, there are no shortcuts, and no substitute for time and effort. I've upgraded to the intensive course with 6 hours per day - this is what most others seem to be doing. I only have a month, and I have a lot to learn. I’m hoping that even with this there will still be plenty of time to explore Quito and its environs.

“Solo Espagnol” is the mantra of the college. Whilst I understand the motivation behind this it does create some difficulties. The mantra applies to administrivia too and on the first day this left me with a feeling that I might be missing some important information! In the lessons I sometimes feel that time is wasted trying to explain new words with charades or roundabout descriptions using existing Spanish vocabulary. As a scientist, I think the way I learn requires an understanding of the how and why of things – and for now it can be difficult to get to the bottom of complex questions in Spanish. So whilst I appreciate Spanish only philosophy, I question whether for me, at my level, it is the ideal approach. However, I know it will only get better as I progress.

Despite the above gripes, the college, students and teachers are great, and I am sure my Spanish will come on leaps and bounds. It probably already has – though it may be hard to see this at the time. I seem to know more grammar than the other students in my group. But I have a lot of vocab to learn and I am wondering whether I this may be a weakness of mine. New words don’t stick as easily in my head as I would like. But perhaps there are just too many too quickly, and my expectations are again too high. I hope to find a procedure for fixing new vocab (suggestions welcome). Reading through lists doesn’t do it – I think it has to be used in context, repeatedly.

The language college has a great international feel with Swedes, Swiss, German, French Canadian, Americans, Australians - but no other Brits. I think perhaps this indicates something about our nation's attitude to languages.

Outwith lessons, English is the lingua franca between the students. For most of them it's not their first language and so they get some educational benefit by using it. For me, of course, using English is a hindrance to my progression in Spanish. In my first 48 hours I spoke no English to anyone. Not having any outlet to express oneself is mentally quite challenging. I think realistically, for my sanity, with my current and foreseeable level of Spanish, I will be using English with Los Gringos (and yes, Ben, I accept your disdain).

The family are nice, but there are not many opportunities to be social and practice my Spanish with them. They don’t naturally talk down to me - so I expect to be using “¿Peude abla mas despacio, por favor?” plenty more times! It’s a lot easier to understand the Spanish of the students, even those much better than me - so I must the effort to use Spanish with them whenever possible.

After reading the Lonely Planet’s over-cautious section on crime in Quito, one might be reluctant to ever set foot outside the front door - or travel on the buses, or visit the town center. Thankfully I got past this and with a little vigilance and sense am now confident enough to explore, though I have not had much time to do this as yet.

The person next to me in the internet café just googled “manifesta communista” – but of course it would be foolish to read anything about south American politics from such a single anecdote.

Quito is a great place from which to make excursions out. A number of plans are in the offing, and there will always be people up for doing stuff. It may even be possible to find a companion for the overland journey down to Lima.

Comments welcome, then I will know someone is reading this! I don’t expect later entries to be quite this long!
Asta luesta.

FC

The convoluted trip

i left norwich on thirty first jan and took three trains not via london saving eighty quid but costing half an hour to go to warwick for an interview after which i very briefly met up with richard before taking three more trains to beeston where i stayed with neil and sarah for one night also popping in on sean and maureen. next morning damo picked me up and we went to get me a minibus license before getting steve and going to ashbourne to get minibuses in which we would later convey thirty members of mps to kingussie. the winter skills trip was a good laugh and despite being useless at ice climbing with damo i had a good time meeting new mps members philippa and kat and also chris' friends rob and paul who took us out to a nice meal in dalwhinne. did raeburns gully route in creag meagidh with vince jim steve and damo leading in total thirteen of us were in the gully all at once whilst chris and lou had sensibly decided to take other people up to the window by an easier route given the discussions of the night before where all the ice climbing fever started my mid munro crisis - on the way back already late mps then made a detour to aberfeldy ostensibly to get chips but really to drop me off for my winter mountain leader course with stuart johnston. the course was with a great bunch of people who all discovered just how long it takes to dig a palatial snowhole through solid ice and how wet you get so doing and how tough it can be accurately navigating in the dark and snow on the cairngorm plateau in minus thirty windchill and how awesome the indian restaurant in aberfeldy is. my bro then came up to aberfeldy although we actually stayed in weim hostel which seemed to have a lot kids in it and we spent three days bagging munros in glen lyon and kept bumping into this same random couple in a camper van. without a road map we sucessfuly made it to perth where he dropped me to catch a train to dundee to spend a couple of days with jo who whilst i was there passed her driving test first time well done her and we saw blood diamond which i found very hard to watch despite it being a very well made film. on way back from dundee i planned it nicely so as not to have to change trains trains until peterborough only problem was that the whole east coast mainline seized up due to power lines down south of peterborough at one point sat in york station for and hour they announced that we should travel tomorrow unless there was no alternative and i was just on the verge of calling fabian to see if i could crash when the train pulled out of the station but proceeded to spend half an hour at every station between there and peterbro eventually arriving three hours late with the whole of peterbro station jammed up due to trains going nowhere and lack of platforms at this point i decided that waiting for the already delayed norwich train was a bit of a gamble and i just wanted to stop travelling and nottingham seemed like a better bet so i went and crashed at damos and got to meet laura and be absolutely useless at table football. managed next day then to squeeze in a visit to sheffield to lunch with sarah who i had felt guilty about not seeing last time i was in nottingham before finally getting on a train which chris randomly happened to be on so i spent an hour with him trying to get peru in order then chatted to a girl who was on her way back to norwich for a big night out with old friends and had to starting drinking on the train to be in sync when she met up with them and the train did take me all the way to norwich a whole day later than originally planned and arrived home slightly weary and thinking a bit of a normal nine to five routine might be a good thing. apologies mr kerouac for imitating your style so poorly.