Back To England

" A child on a farm looks up to the sky, sees a plane and dreams of a far away place. A man on a plane looks at the the farm and dreams of home"

Today I am that man, but it wont be to long before once again I am that child !!!!!

Recoleta

A visit to Buenos Aries has to include the cemetary at Recoleta to see the tomb of Eva Peron. Like a small town the design and detail of the tombs was fascinating, and many actually dwarfed that of Eva Peron. A simple design with a memorial plaque on the outside it would have been easy to miss had it not been for a small gathering of people outside.

What struck me most was a single white rose gently lit by a soft ray of sunshine. Very moving.

Later I went to dinner on my own and over a scrummy steak reflected on the places I had been, the people I had met, and the memories that will stay with me forever.

Boca Juniors

Home of Maradona, and the best footie team in Argentina. The stadium itself is called the Chocolate Bowl which suggests something it isn't. It's intimidating, hostile, noisy and has 60,000 fans baying for blood in scenes similar to that of a Roman coliseum.

A fabulous experience.

It Takes Two To Tango

Buenos Aries is a fabulous city and in many ways very European. I arrived at 6am in the morning, checked into the hotel (5 on the shower scale) then went straight out to play. First stop was the Pink House, home of the government and scene of numerous balcony speaches by famous presidents. In the square itself was a demonstration by Falklands veterans, a reminder that in war it is always the ordinary soldier that is the victim of the politicians decisions !!

After a sombre and serious start to the day it was off to La Boca for lunch, tango, and a feast of photography. I loved this place so vibrant in colour and with a passion and energy like no other. Of course having done a bit of ballroom dancing at school I had to give the tango a go.

My tutor on the other hand had two distinct advantages ...

1) She could dance

2) She was fit (as in drop dead gorgeous)

As for me well the bit I seemed to master really well was when I had to support her on one leg as she wrapped the other one around me. Have to admit this was the best dancing I had ever done :)

Saying Goodbye

Back to Miraflores to have a goodbye drink with Gwen, Clare and Kathryn, my travelling companions for the last few days. The location was an exclusive peir complete with with bars, restuarants, and a yacht club. Margate for the elite ha ha !!

Obviously we fitted in well with the locals and as the sun set I said my goodbyes and once again headed off on my own.

Lima

After Santiago and La Paz I was expecting my 3rd capital in 4 weeks to be a mixture of noise. dirt and chaos. How wrong I was and the first thing that hit me about Lima was how clean the streets were. The city is huge, sprawling but with some very clear destinations for backpackers, and with it there was actually a sense of order, something I had not seen for weeks. My hotel was in a great location close to Playa Des Armas, the main square. Lunch was a 3 course meal for 60p and a good one at that.

In the evening it was off to Miraflores, an upmarket suburb by the sea. There was a huge American influence with starbucks, TGI Fridays and even a Hooters. Baranca was the livliest area in town witha numerous bars and clubs built into old colonial buildings. A strange combination but it worked well and as always a good time was had by all.

Back To Cusco ...

... and back to Mama Afrikas for another wild night. Probably best I don't go into detail but special mention for Kathryn, Angel (he's a guy), Roseanna and especially Fiorella.

Machu Pichu

Magical !!

I have always wanted to go to this place and finally it happened. To make things even more mysterious the weather obliged by shrouding the site in some fabulous cloud formations. For four hours I just took it all in and despite there being lots of people wandering around it was possible to find some very private spots to just sit and reflect, and of course take numerous photos.

Once again words cannot really describe things in an adequate way but the memories will last forever. As the title of my blog says ... " A dream can be".

The Last Supper

A big group of us went out tonight as many of us will be going our seperate ways. I've met some fab people over the past month, many of whom have turned into very good friends. I got them al to write in my journal so I've got some nice memories that have been captured forever. A few of the Aussie boys will be heading to Europe later in the year so no doubt we will be meeting up for a beer.

On The Trail Of The Inca's

This is the bit of my trip I've really been looking forward to, and it started with a walk throuh the Sacred Valley. The ruins are simply stunning and each one prompted so many questions. It also made me realise what an advanced civilisation they were, and also how they had been ravaged by the Spanish. In many ways it's difficult to describe the ruins, and even my photos will not do them justice. I just consider myself very lucky to be able to experience them.

One minor downside ... al the walking, climbing etc has really takn it's toll on my leg. Luckily Flick (an Aussie physio) was around to help out. She told me that I had very interesting legs ha ha !!

Thanks Flick ... I owe you.

Saturday Night Fever

Met up with Daddy Rob, Baby Rob and Kathryn (the new girl in town). Talk about a party animal !! After a few beers we hit the cocktails starting with a MachuPichu, a mixture of pisco, creme de menthe, and god knows what. Next up were screwdrivers, and the silly season started with B52's.

By then Mama Afrikas was rocking with a live band and some amazing dancers. Sorry to say it was another very late night/early morning but lots of fun. If anyone reading this is planning to go to Cusco then this is the place to go.

Stop The Plane

The plane that should have left at 11am decided to go at 9.30am at which point I was still on the canoe heading upstream !! Being the one and only flight of the day things didn't look good until the tour guide radioed aheadand got them to hold the plane for an hour ... yep 100 passengers had to wait for me to arrive ... how cool was that. Somehow I cannot imagine British Airways or Easyjet doing the same !!!

Snakes, Spiders & Creepy Crawlies

Jungle treking at its best and first spot of the day was a tarantula. I was surprised how quick they were as they scurried across the floor but in many ways it's the name rather than anything else that plays on the mind. Next up was a canoe trip across the swamp and with it a close up view or an anaconda that had recently eaten a wild pig. talk about gross cos the size of its stomach was massive and it was just lying waiting to digest. Just as well because it could have easily swallowed me whole. It was impossible to tell how long it was and I wasn't going to hang around to find out.

From then on it was a who's who of the jungle having seen toucan's, parrots, & fire ants. Later in the day I also got the chance to go pirahna fishing using monkey meat as bait. Things were oing well until a cayman showed up at which point the fish did a disapearing act. Never mind cos a couple of fish were pulled from the lake and even though they weren't pirahna's there's not many people who can say they have been fishing in the Amazon.