Cycling Ecuador’s mountains and jungle

In 5-day cycling trip around central Ecuador, we rode down snowed-capped mountains in the snow and rain as well as sweltering in jungle terrain visited by parrots and a massive wild Macaw, and cycled past a (gently) erupting volcano billowing enormous dust clouds. Breakfast time in a little town called Banos was also where we watched England loose 4-1 to Germany in a small cafe, along with 4 Brits, 4 Germans, and our football-mad Ecuadorian guide, Fernando, strategically cheering for his clients’ team, but we could see his heart wasn’t really in it! After a day trip white-water rafting, and Sarah’s 20km solid uphill training session on the way back to Quito we celebrated our last night together before Sarah headed home to London. I think Ecuador deserves a higher profile as a holiday destination - its like the whole world in one country: cold 6000m mountains, hot amazon rainforest, boiling coast and incredible Galapagos. It’s also home to Chimborazo (6310m), which due to the earth bulging at the equator is the highest mountain on the planet when measured from the centre of the earth. Fact.

Cycling Ecuador

Tomorrow we start a 5-day cycle trip around the mountains and jungle of Ecuador. Off to pack...

Other sights from Galapagos

Hammerhead sharks we saw whilst diving (North Seymour Island)


The blue-footed booby. No gags there then.

A lucky sighting of a Galapagos Owl. Taken a-back by Rich's choice of haircut.

The playful sealions are everywhere. One tried to play with us whilst diving, and chewed at Rich's fin. Another is seen here instructing a fishmonger on correct preparation of his catch, whilst the Pelican supervisory board look-on.

One of the many white-sanded crystal-watered beaches. Home to Pelicans, Frigates, Albatross and Boobies fishing.

Lonesome George

He looks so sad, and its such a sad story. He's the poor chap who's the very last of his particular sub-species from Pinta island. Aged around 90, he is surrounded by scientists supplying him with females of different sub-species, encourging him to do his best. If he doesn't reproduce the sub-species will be extinct. Puts a different spin on "not if you were the last man on earth".

Galapagos Giant Tortoises

The amazing giant tortoises, unique to Galapagos.

They're funny.

They're hard to copy.

And no wonder they're endangered; the females know all the tricks in the book, simply rotating to scupper the advances of the enthusiastic-but-certainly-not-agile male.

Beardie wierdie - PART 3

The surprising thing about this photo is that it was hailing at the time, whilst we were in Ecuador, on the equator. We were at 4300m climbing a mountain overlooking Quito at the time.

Oh, and Rich lost a bet and shaved all his hair off too!

"I am tax-free!"...

...was one of the more bizarre greetings we received from one of the many shopkeepers we encountered in Buenos Aires, in Sarah's assault on the handbags of South America. At last Rich found something of interest in a handbag shop.

Buenos Aires

We spent a few days soaking up Argentinean wine and scrumptious steak in B.A., and did the tourist thing watching a Tango show. As well as watching Argentina's world cup win over Nigeria in a lively bar, having first consulted the trusty phrase book for essentials: "we still remember the hand of God in 1986" and "i was only joking". Awesome city.

Safari

Our final 3 days in Kenya were on Safari in Amboseli park, under Kilimanjaro (see photo). Am about to be thrown out of internet cafe in Jo'burg airport (carnival atmosphere all around, mainly revolving around horn blowing), so more on this later, but the Safari was awesome!

Beardie wierdies - PART 2

Happily we waved goodbye to the beard before sitting in the train's first class restaurant car.

Nairobi-Mombasa train

Our week in Kenya started with an overnight journey on the optimistically named, but deliciously romantic Nairobi-Mombasa overnight express train (the destination and implication of speed being the optimistic bits). While dinner is served in the dining car, the steward makes the beds, and you wake up in the morning travelling through the open plains of the Tsavo national park. Ok, so the creaking of the ancient carriages, and challenge of the squat toilet on bumpy track bring you back to earth, but considering this is the only operating passenger train in Kenya, its a pretty cool experience! Its notorious for massive delays, and having to get a taxi for the last hour, but we were lucky we got there, and almost on schedule at around 14 hours.

We then spent an amazing and relaxing 3 days at a secluded lodge on a beach outside Mombasa (Tijara Beach) with Rich's cousin Jonny and family. It had all the best things about a family holiday, including witnessing Joe's (nearly 2) cracking choice for his first 2-syllable word: TANKER, and also Bella's (4 and a half) swimming a width unaided. Sharing G&T time with Jonny and Kate watching the roaring waves of the Indian ocean break on the reef was also pretty special. We also squeezed in a couple of scuba dives, the highlights being several turtles, a box fish and octopuses, despite low (8-10m) visability cos of the season. What a place!

Spit

Two noises you hear a lot in Asia are throat-clearing and spitting - both loud and both very sociably-acceptable. Although as Sarah points out if blowing your nose in public is considered rude in Turkey but not Britain, is it nothing more than historical custom that determines what's rude and what's not? Does this mean we shouldn't have minded being woken at 5am sharp on the Annapurna trek, by the cook in the next room clearing his throat consistently for about a minute whilst preparing to make our breakfast.

Spitting often follows shortly after throat-clearing, although all our guides were smart to the fact that many westerners find both noises pretty surprising.

Until I saw one by our Hotel swimming pool in Kathmandu, I never thought that signs forbiding spitting actually existed. My Dad spent many years in India and I half remember the following, which he often quoted on family holidays when explaining what a limerick sounded like:

There once was a man from [West Ealing],
Who got on a bus for Darjeeling,
It said on the door,
Don't spit on the floor,
So he looked up and spat on the ceiling.

Kathmandu-Doha-Nairobi (2 June)

I've never been on a flight that took off 30 mins before it's scheduled time before. Admittedly we didn't see it in it's best light just before the boarding of the last flight of the day, but Kathmandu airport at 11pm is a pretty wretched place, with it's almost complete lack of shops, facilities, or even passable toilets. Even the ever smiling Nepalis can't make up for the prison-like waiting areas (there are many you are directed between with precision) the best ones resembling oversized school toilets and the worst are like some kind of small lecture theatre in a WWII-era army barracks. An optimistic sign in lurid colours points you to the Cyber Cafe, which is easy to miss given the complete lack of computing, internet or cafe facilities. We found it hard to tell if the early departure was more down to the Qatar flight crew's or the Nepali ground crew's eagerness to get home asap. Apart from an bizarre incident 2 minutes before landing, with a stewardess doing a mercy-run to stop a Nepali teenager casually heading towards the lavatory, the flight passed without incident.

This overnight 17hr journey starting at 11pm consists of two 5 hour flights, broken up by a 7 hour stopover in Doha at 1am-8am local time. Hopefully it will be good practice for our 8pm-10am stopover in Johannesburg next week before a 12 hour flight to Buenos Aires. We have no accommodation for the stopover as the opening ceremony of the world cup the next day made it a popular choice. We will need ideas to while away 14 hours in an airport.

In Nairobi we are looking forward to a long-awaited stay at the home of my (Rich's) cousin Jonny and family before braving the notoriously unreliable overnight Nairobi-Mombasa train for a weekend beach break with them. We hear it takes around 14 hours, if it makes it at all.

Beardie wierdies

Mirror mirror on the wall, whose is the wierdest of them all? I think my beard's a strong contender. God ran out of folicles when he got to my face, because, as Stuart my (thinning) best man, pointed out for a cheap laugh at our wedding, my head hair is infeasibly thick. So we were hardly in classic beard territory to start with. But a month working hard on length, despite limited coverage, was well worth it as I've never had the chance before. I admire people who can grow a proper one, but it seems a lot of people travelling like me just grow inadequate wierd ones. And if we're honest it being a different colour to my head hair is not helping matters either (ginger as it happens). I'm going to experiment a little, y'know, while I've got length, but I think my days of trying to look like Brian Blessed are numbered. For the rest of the trip maybe I'll concentrate on that golden brown tan my Scottish heritage has denied me so far. I'll let you know how it goes, but I think I've got a bit of catching up to do as a shave will inevitably turn facial hair to facial glare.

If this is what discovering yourself whilst travelling is all about then maybe I should just go home.

The Banana

The ever present banana. Small, yellow, tasty. Its protective wrapping appealing to a lazy traveller in Asia as you don’t have to wash it. If only it was as easy to buy as to eat. In my first attempt fresh off the plane in Hanoi, my contribution to Asia’s inflation problem was probably as big as my contribution to the seller’s pocket, when I was too confused to barter down from the requested 15,000 Dong (about 50p) per banana. The bemused banana seller found it hard to hide her joy at selling 5! Much to Sarah’s amusement. Four weeks later in Pokhara, Nepal, my cool-headed, hard-nosed bargaining skills were proudly put on display to deny a Nepali man the same windfall. Out came my best “I’m completely prepared to walk away from this transaction, and I mean it” face when I was quoted a shocking 25 Rupees for 5 bananas. I instantly recognised £2.50 for 5 bananas was a rip-off in this country. But keeping my cool I cleverly reduced the transaction down to a single banana and walked away, to the amusment of the onlooking local Tourist Policeman. By the time I realised my currency mistake - the poor man was only asking 5p per banana - it was too late and he’d gone. Very embarrassed I was.

Perhaps peeling a banana is less controversial. Are monkeys more intelligent than humans? An Australian named Adam we met in Laos (who talked knowledgably, having seen a documentary about most things we talked about) pointed out that monkeys peel a banana from the “wrong” end. The one without the stem. Try it. You’ll like it and you won’t ever go back.

Our guide and porter

No-one else had booked on the last trip before the Monsoon season, so we had to ourselves, Ram our 39-year old knowledgeable and friendly guide who never walked without his umbrella sun-protection, and smiley Dipesh our 20-year old skinny management student of a porter. Their humour and efficiency kept us sane, and their experience kept our itinerary relaxing yet challenging. Ram was kind enough to invite us to a family dinner at his home when we were back in Kathmandu, to meet his wife and daughters along with his brothers’ families, which was a real insight into Nepali city life and customs (see photo). We’d definitely recommend him, and can forward you his email address if you’re planning a trek.

Excuse me. Where is the nearest Waitrose?

Nepalese food is growing on me. Dal bhaat is the national dish - it's a platter of lentil soup, vegetable curry, rice, pickle and poppadam. Its really very tasty, and unlike similar Indian food it's mild enough to keep you regular rather than constant. My only complaint is that when they say national dish they really mean it - pretty much the whole nation eats it twice a day (they don't do breakfast). I'd love to see Brits cope on fish & chips twice a day. We had dal bhaat twice every day of the 10-day Himilayan trek, partly because it's tasty and healthy and it's also easier for the cooks if we eat the same as our porter and guide, but also because the menus (which list far more western than Nepali food) are rarely more than cruel reminders of the delights on offer in peak season. Eg Chocolate cake: advertised everywhere, available nowhere. Much to Sarah's disappointment. The afternoon thunder storms, lasting from 2-12 hours, told us the monsoon (low) season this year arrived earlier than the normal rule of thumb date of 1 June. One night we tried some supposedly western options still on offer, which were pizza and pasta, plus an odd snickers/pastry combo for dessert. They were all mistakes.

In two weeks in Laos, then two in Nepal, we've proudly been avoiding western food as a rule (my BK whopper in between the two in Bangkok airport was a weak moment). It surprised me that western food was more readily available in Laos than Nepal, perhaps because the average tourist is about 10 years older in the latter, or perhaps because the majority of Nepalese are vegetarian Hindus making meat much less available. Still, pringles, coke and mars bars are available high into the Himalayan tourist trails, at 2 x London prices, having probably been carried up in a 20 kg pack by a 40 year old female porter. Nepalese strength and endurance is even more staggering than I am at 4000m.

Our demand for western drinks (mainly coffee) has been more persistent than for food. The best excuse we can come up with here? Because sitting in western-style coffee shops (yet to find one in Nepal, mind) allows access to life-critical wifi. Its still a bit hit or miss, and our best beverage discoveries so far have been a tea latte (apparently a brilliant literal interpretation of 'tea made with milk') which we plan to patent, and Beerlaos (superb beer) which we plan to import.

Annapurna Himalayas, 10 day trek, Nepal

We encountered more than 1 stinky old cow in Nepal. And the odd buffalo.

Trekking within some of the most impressive mountain panoramas in the world was one of the main aims of our whole trip. The views didn’t disappoint – as we looked upwards from the highest point on earth we’ve been, Annapurna Base Camp (4130m), Annapurna South’s 7219m golden-lined ridge at dawn was just one of five 7000+ m summits towering close overhead. And the vast snow-capped horizon we saw from the top of Poon Hill (3210m, which makes it over double the height of Ben Nevis and still a mere ‘Hill’) was incredible. To the left end of the panorama was Dhaulagiri (8167m), the 7th highest summit in the world and the most majestic mountain I’ve ever seen, with a ridge falling symmetrically either side of a crown-like summit, gently at first before hitting steep symmetrical buttresses to east and west. Pure magic. Not enough skill or time for the photo of a lifetime, but that didn’t stop me trying. Before Sarah dragged me back off to yet another Nepali bread and honey breakfast, with odd milk tea.


We were lucky with weather throughout. We had squeezed the trek in just before they all stop for monsoon season, and despite it starting a little early this year (from around Day 2 onwards we had between 2-12 hour storms most days) we finished each day’s trek before the rains started, arriving at the simple tea-lodge accommodation anytime from 10.30am onwards. This was thanks to our guide getting us walking around 7am most mornings (and two 4.30 starts, yawn), which also gave us the best chance of seeing views in the early morning clear skies.


We followed the most popular circuit to Annapurna base camp, which took 10 days doing around 3-5 hours walking a day, although we knocked a day off at the end, having felt we’d done our share of long afternoons playing cards. Some days were easier than others, but our total vertical ascent was nearly 8km in the 10 days (Everest is only 8.8km high!), including some frustrating cross-valley days, where we discussed at length the benefits of a zip-wire with our polite and patient Nepali guide, Ram. Another alternative, ‘contouring’, following the contours instead of the path, is apparently something that doesn’t translate well into Nepali, either linguistically or conceptually. The direct route is always favoured, however steep, especially for the many porters carrying infeasibly heavily loads.


Other highlights included seeing a troop of Langur monkeys (the big ones with black faces and geriatric grey hair); soaring eagles; many buffalo either grazing or working; a dog who followed us for several miles we named Dave (after a dog-mad Ozzie vet we met in Laos, who would have been disappointed with our sexing skills as we later noticed she was clearly a girl); many devastating landslides of the past including a terrifyingly vast top-slice taken off neatly manicured steeply- terraced farmland; much marijuana growing wild; and briefly joining in with a group of kids sitting on the path singing and clapping to a traditional Nepali tune led by a 10-year old on a guitar.

PHOTOS: Annapurna Himalayas, 10 day trek, Nepal

We did it! What an amazing place. Its nice to be back in Kathmandu, exhilarated, and enjoying sitting on toilets again. Some highlights:

The long walk home.

5.50am: We did it! 4130m, Annapurna Base Camp. World's 10th highlest, Annapurna I in background.

Annapurna South in background.

Rich and Dhaulagiri (world's 7th tallest). He likes tall ones.

Large Nepali village at start of trek, 1000m.