New Zealand

Well, we were scheduled to arrive in Auckland at 4 am on Thursday 6th but a delay in our departure from Santiago meant we arrived a couple of hours later. It’s a hell of a flight and the LAN Chile plane, although comfortable enough, was an old style one. We were very pleased to see our friend,Pauline, arrive as promised at the airport and she, having taken a couple of days off work, took us home to their lovely place in the Auckland countryside where we relaxed for the day and had a little snooze so we could be alert (or almost) when Neil arrived home that evening. It was good to have a relaxing evening with old friends and in a real home for a change. A series of 3 star hotels in Europe and 5 star accommodations in South America, no matter how comfortable or luxurious, pales after some time and hotel buffet breakfasts, even in the best of hotels, are never hot. So we really enjoyed our evening eating Pauline’s good cooking and sampling a few NZ Sauvignons Blancs

Neil and Pauline took us for a long exploration of the Coramandel peninsula near Auckland so we got an idea of how life progresses in that quiet part of the world. The next day, we set off in their 4 wheel drive for the wilds of the North Island (Northland). We tried to deviate into a bit of sightseeing en route but realized that time was running out so drove directly to Paihia, our timeshare destination.

It was quite comfortable and gave us a good base for exploring the northern parts of NZ. It’s where the country was first settled and where Capt Cook landed so we were able to visit a few historical sites and get a better handle on the early relationship between the white settlers and the Maoris. It was a bit difficult to filter through the political correctness but we could see that in the early days, the power lay fairly firmly with the Maori tribes and chieftains. Apart from whalers and soldiers who first established ownership of Russell, now an idyllic port but, in earlier times, a “hell hole” of vice and corruption, the main early settlers were Christians of one brand or another who sought to convert the natives and produce translations into the hitherto oral language of the Maori. Maoris, unlike Australian aborigines, could see the benefit of trade with the white community and did their best to accomplish this. One of their most favoured purchases was the muskets that became increasing available in the world after the end of the Napoleonic wars. For Christian preachers, it was a struggle to finds a balance between facilitating this purchase and teaching Christian values. We visited 3 National trust sites (all mission sites of one sort of another) and the site of the signing of the Waitangi Treaty.

Paihia is a pretty place although the grey skies of our first few days didn’t do it justice. Still we were luck y to have the four wheel drive and in it we travelled north to the bottom of the 90 mile beach that extends to the far north of the island. We also had a relaxing day on a catamaran, and were lucky to see some otters. Having explored the area thoroughly, we left a day early and drove down the very quiet west coast before returning to Neil and Pauline’s where it felt like coming home. Saturday saw us experiencing the sights of Auckland and taking an afternoon walk to the dam near their lovely country house. In the evening we went to a great restaurant with them and with Neil’s sister Brenda whom we had met in France some years ago, and his brother and sister –in-law, Hugh and Jenese.

It was a happy visit but too short and we sadly said goodbye until next year when we will be reunited in France. On Sunday, we finally took wing for Sydney. Living out of a suitcase had become second nature to me so the idea of living in our own house seemed a trifle odd. But there were those whom I hadn’t seen for a long time and it was meeting them again that I really was looking forward to.

When we touched down in Sydney, we emerged from the airport to the welcoming arms of Katie. We were home.

"It takes two to tango" Buenos Aires

The Iguassu Falls (Spanish spelling) was approached by open train, adding to the variety of modes of transport during our travels. We could see across the falls to our hotel of the previous night but this time we could see the falls in their magnificence from the top. Once again, the huge volume of water made the effect even more impressive than normal and I was stunned to see how enormous they were Not only is the spectacular drop (aboout 12 levels in toto, but we could only see 2) but the border of the semicircular falls is 2.7 kilometre. After a morning spent trying to take it all in, we were off to the airport for our last internal flight (fears of excess luggage) and thence to Argentina and its elegant capital Buenos Aires.

Our last hotel, the Emperador, lived up to expectations set by the rest of our tour and we arrived in time to freshen up before leaving for a lovely old Art Deco building for a special dinner and Tango Show. It was along night and the alcohol offered was generous so some of us took the chance to take a nap. Tango was born in Buenos Aires and there are symbols of it everywhere. On the following day we went by bus to a gaucho ranch (although the real gauchos disappeared long ago) where we had a choice between a rather silly coach ride and an even sillier horse ride around a paddock in a group of about 50 people. But the meal (wine included) was a good Argentinean BBQ (lots of meat) and it was followed by a guitar performance and tango show. Then some of us joined in the post meal dancing (thank you Chris for partnering me) and we all dozed happily on the long trip back to the city where we spent our last night as a group recuperating in our rooms.

On the following morning, we were bused around the city, visiting the cemetery and its mausoleums (only 2 like it in the world), the tin covered former slum, now the very trendy Camineto and seeing the main sites of what is certainly the most glamorous city we had seen with its buildings echoing European and especially French style. Then we finished the morning in a lovely Art Deco coffee shop where most of us had tango lessons to recapture the flavour of Buenos Aires ourselves. Lat minute shopping for those who were about to depart and then there we were, Jack and I and a few others waving goodbye to the majority of the group heading off to the airport and home.

Jack and I had one last night so after an hour in the internet café we had a rest and explored a little before having dinner with 2 of the group members, Ken and Mike.
The next day we spent shopping for ourselves – especially in the leather shops and then wandering around the streets with a map to get a better feeling for the city. The tour had shown us the highlights very efficiently but really you need just to wander independently to see how life is lived. One of the features we had seen was the dog minders, leading up to 10-12 dogs on a lead, docilely trotting in the parks and streets.

Come 4 o’clock we were waiting in the hotel lobby for our guide to take us to the airport as transfers were included in this last minute of the tour. Then began our long flight to Auckland via Santiago, crossing for the last time the amazing Andes, then the International Date Line and losing a day in the process.

Our tour of South America was over and in the coming days we were able to meditate on all we had seen and experienced.

Brazilian Scenes

"When my baby goes to Rio"

Our trip deviated a bit from the straight line as we flew from La Paz to Santiago where we had a brief city tour and yet another excellent meal in our hotel and then we flew right across the continent to Brazil (Rio De Janiero) for our three day visit. It certainly was vastly different from the rest of our fairly diverse visit to South America. Our Sofitel Hotel was located opposite Copacabana Beach and adjacent to Ipanema Beach and that may set the tone. On our first morning we went by open jeep to the large statue of Christ the Redeemer on the top of a high mountain in the middle of the city. The statue was erected in 1931 to celebrate the independence of Brazil and was jointly sponsored by the government and the Roman Catholic Church which of course is nominally strong in this country. The trip up the hill in the fresh air was lovely although the actual statue had little significance. On our descent, we went to a jewellery factory and then in the evening to a meal in a rather interesting restaurant called Marius and thence to a cabaret where scantily clad female dancers and athletic male ones performed rather amazing acts.

Towards the end of the evening, the MC in multiple languages welcomed us all and then a series of national songs was played. Representatives of the various countries obligingly went on stage and for the most part, danced rhythmically or simply waved their arms enthusiastically. I suppose it is natural that it was the extroverts who went forward in this way. When it was Australia’s turn, Waltzing Matilda was played and Jack, always keen to uphold his country’s honour, leapt forward taking Daryl with him. We have a photo which I will scan of the two of them, arms on each others’ shoulders, belting out our song. It’s a pity Les Patterson wasn’t there. He would have completed a trio admirably.

The next day, a trip up the cable car for another panoramic view of Rio was followed by a visit to the scene of the annual Rio de Janeiro Carnival. To our surprise, we learned that this takes place in a rectangular stadium where spectators can watch over three days a parade that covers 800 metres and lasts for 11 hours, starting at 7 pm. There are 6 main groups that perform and each group has up to 80 minutes of performance in that time. We saw some of the costumes that had been worn and some took the opportunity to dress up in them. I retrained myself.

We moved on to lunch in a beautiful Art Nouveau restaurant that has been in Rio since the 1890’s. Wonderful décor but being trouped in to join the already large crowd took the gloss of it a bit for me. I think I am wearying of being shepherded everywhere although our tour guides and especially Mick our tour director have done an admirable job.

That night after a walk to Ipanema beach and to the markets with our crew, Jack and I had a meal alone in an Italian restaurant. It was a pleasant break from non stop large scale eating. Tony and Chris and Lorraine and Daryl all took pizza in their rooms.

One of the things that had made Brazil different from the other countries was the fact that it had gained its independence from Portugal by comparatively peaceful means. After being defeated by Napoleon, the Portuguese king moved the throne to Brazil and later Brazil was declared a separate Portuguese Empire, ruled by the son of the Portuguese king. The transition to Independence was less tumultuous than in Spanish speaking countries and as a result there was less evidence of revolution. The relationship between Portugal and Brazil was a much more harmonious one.

However despite its seeming affluence, Rio still had its favellas (“shanty towns”). We were offered two sets of thoughts about this. One saw the favellas as impoverished and with poor facilities, hot beds of crime, dominated by drug barons and crooks; the other saw it as the grass roots of RIO society where the cariocas (local people) lived in seemingly rough housing but were actually very proud of their roots and were protected by the drug lords who saw them as family. Some of theses favellas were very big (250000 inhabitants) and they had one entrance to their commune which actually extended very far up into the hills around RIO. The entrance was guarded and no one had easy access, including the police.


The following morning saw us flying from Rio to the Iguaçu Falls where we stayed in an old style hotel called Los Cataratas. Before settling in to the hotel we all trooped down to the edge of the Iguaçu River where we travelled in Zodiacs through the wild waters below the falls. Not surprisingly we were drenched, not the least because our pilot skillfully manoeuvred the boat (3 times) to take us underneath the tumultuous fall of water. As it had been raining for the previous 20 days, the volume of water was most impressive. The colour unfortunately was no so attractive at the normally clear water had stirred up a lot of mud. Nevertheless the adventure provoked a lot of squeals and shrieks and was certainly fun. After dinner in the restaurant that night, a lot of us gathered in the piano bar and when the pianist took a break, we prevailed on Faith to take his place. A lot of singing and general skylarking made it a pleasant and relaxing night.


Early the next morning we packed our bags again and went by bus across the border to see the Argentinean side of the falls. We took off our Portuguese caps and donned Spanish speaking ones.

Bolivia - A note on costume

We had only 2 nights in La Paz – one day in fact. In the morning we went on another bus tour of the city and visited Moon Valley, a strange geographical structure resembling the surface of the moon. It was originally covered in water which has now drained away leaving weird land shapes. A solitary Peruvian flute player in Inca garb obligingly played eerie music and posed on peaks (for a tip). In the afternoon, some of us veged out but Lorraine, Daryl and I wandered around the markets,looking for treasures such as silver jewellery or dried alpaca fetuses (very lucky if placed in the foundations of your house)

We finally walked back to our hotel in time for dinner in the hotel restaurant/piano bar. Another good meal, much better than breakfast and the previous night’s café meal in the hotel where I had partaken of a cold hamburger. The night had been enlivened however by the waiter’s earnest attempts to remove the cork from a bottle of wine sealed with a screw top. After much sign language, we wrested the bottle from his grasp and demonstrated the new method.

Bolivia is a poor country whose citizens (like most of the Inca countries) wear a distinctive costume. All women wear hates of some sort but in Bolivia, their trademark is the bowler hat, borrowed from English men in the 19th century, a fashion which they felt was more attractive on women. These bowler hats, sitting atop bodies attired in very full skirt, supported by multiple petticoats are a sight to behold. The skirt can indicate the status the women: Thick skirts indicate married women, light but still full skirts indicate that the women is single and the showing of a petticoat can indicate availability.

We spent some time observing women in the markets, and wondering how they managed to keep their hats fixed on their heads. I badly wanted to buy a bowler for myself but accepted constructive advice that assured me I looked ridiculous. Tony and I modeled them in the airport shop. They only cost 14 US dollars. A fashion opportunity missed, I fear.

We flew from Bolivia to Santiago for a brief visit and city tour and I night in the lovely Intercontinental Hotel before ye another early departure on another flight to Rio. We had left the poorer parts of South America and affluence awaited us

Lima and Macchu Pichu

The Sacred Valley and Macchu Pichu

Our arrival in Lima marked the beginning of our tour in earnest. We spent it wandering around the city with Lorraine and Daryl and Tony and Chris. It was a relaxing morning and we saw the beach and the pier where we were to eat that evening. Despite a few deviations, we made it back to the hotel for our group briefing and then the organised city tour. This was a bit perfunctory although we got a fair idea of what the city was like and then had a chance to wander in the central square as well as visit the Franciscan convent.

Peru has returned to some prosperity despite a period when socialist policies enforced an agrarian reform in the 1980’s and a lot of land was expropriated and farms were divvied up amongst the workers. The subsequent economic shift meant that the once prosperous city centre was abandoned for some time and there are still some desolate parts. Still the central square with the presidential palace and cathedral (made in part of mud bricks) is very impressive.

That night we went t a wonderful restaurant that offers one of the highlight dinners of our tour. It is located on a pier on the beach and both the setting and the food was wonderful. It began with the complimentary Pisco Sour we got to know well during our stay in Peru. A little like a margarita with something frothy and lemon juice). Pisco itself is an Andean eau-de-vie Yummy.

The next morning we flew to Cusco and boarded a bus to take us up the Sacred Valley. We learned that Inca means leader or chief (like Pharaoh or Caesar) and that the actual people are called Quechua. The term Inca was coined incorrectly by Hiram Bingham (see later) but is used generally because it is well known. At first glance, as we passed through the outskirts Cusco looked remarkably ordinary and promised little for our future visit.

En route to our next accommodation not far from Ollyantaytambo, we stopped at an amazing hacienda whose owners had supported the famous Simon Bolivar. In the 1980’s in the agrarian revolution, the land was appropriated and given to peasant Incas who unfortunately had no farming skills and who promptly sold the land to buy luxuries or to finance moves to the cities Now only the hacienda remains with the former owners of the very large farm (shades of Zimbabwe).

The setting was wonderful after hours of driving through dusty roads lined with fairly dismal mud brick villages. The road to the hacienda was extremely narrow and bumpy which made the idyllic setting and the wonderful meal even more appreciated. Afterwards we continued to the studio of a Peruvian potter, Pablo Seminario and then to our accommodation, again charming and very comfortable although it was set in the wilds of Peru it seemed.


On the following day we were introduced to primitive weaving and dyeing methods using local products and demonstrated by ladies clad in traditional Peruvian garb. Of course it was possible to buy some of their products. I bought a cardigan but on closer inspection I have come to the conclusion that it was not hand made. Then we set off to visit a local school along bumpy roads just passed Ollyantaymbo where hikers preparing for the Inca trail pick up their provisions. At the school, we distributed gifts that we had donated for to the children and also had preliminary lessons on a Peruvian flute. It was a pleasant break from the touring that we had been doing and allowed us to see the way a small community functioned. Scenic Tours supports a number of such communities in Peru.

More trips along the same bumpy dusty roads through the same impoverished mud brick communities took us back to Pesac markets where we embarked on a shopping frenzy, focusing on silver and local stone jewellery. You may, dear Reader, detect a certain irony here.

Well for many people Macchu Pichu was the focal point of our tour so our trip by train from Ollyantaytambo Railway Station to the base of Macchu Pichu was filled with anticipation. On our arrival we travelled up the very steep and narrow roads by bus to eat lunch at the remarkably ordinary but large cafeteria on top of the mountain. Then finally we embarked on our 3 hour exploration of the ruins. As weather is very unpredictable in the old Inca structure, we were very lucky to have perfect weather: clear skies, unlimited visibility, and a temperature cooled by the refreshing breezes from the mountains.

Macchu Pichu was not discovered until 1911 by a Hiram Bingham who, while associated with Yale, may have been British (?). Locals of course had always known of its existence high in the Andes and told Bingham how to find it. It must have been quite a climb! There were many theories about its purpose and about why it was wiped out, but recent studies have found that tuberculosis is the most likely cause. Bingham thought that it was a female convent and that the annihilation of its inhabitants was caused somewhat by gonorrhoea. This theory conjures up iconoclastic concepts of religion which might appeal to Dan Murphy readers; its purpose is now thought to be a centre of religious and scientific studies and an understanding of the positions of the stars particularly at the summer (21 June) and winter ( 21 Dec)solstices

Lake Titicaca to Bolivia

Cusco to Lake Titicaca

We returned to our hotel in Macchu Pichu, another very interesting place, with its reception and one dining room built between the two sets of narrow gauge railways that lead to and from Macchu Pichu and with cabins so dispersed in the jungle that some of us needed a guide to find them. That night I was the first of our group of 40 intrepid travellers (but not the last) to be struck down with a dreaded lurgy. Whether this was a tummy wog or a result of something I ate or altitude sickness, it set me low for quite a few days and made the subsequent trip by train and bus to Cusco rather difficult.

In Cusco, after a visit by the doctor, I started to pick up and we still managed to see quite a bit of the city, and take photos of the locals clad in their distinctive Peruvian Native garb. We also went (T,C,L,D,J and me to the restaurant Kate had recommended to us after her visit to Cusco, Cicciolini’s and it turned on to be a great place,. We had eaten at many good restaurants as part of the tour but they were for large groups so the intimacy of Cicciolini’s was a good change. One of the not so good was the dinner/cabaret (?) that was part of tour. I had little appetite but those who did assured me that I missed nothing. The entertainment began with smiling,nay grimacing groups of four, dressed in local costume but with Western trim figures (all that exercise rehearsing!, performing quaint Inca dances and when that finished we were set to go home early but our guide assured us the best was yet to come. And it was. Six musicians playing Peruvian flutes, guitars and drums provided a magical conclusion to an otherwise nondescript night. The haunting notes of the original Peruvian melody El Condor Pasa (think Simon and Garfunkle) were followed by Mozart and Beethoven.

As there was a protest on the route south of Cuzco, manifested by the hurling of large rocks on the road/train line, our departure was delayed by a day and a half and finally we had to fly to our next destination, Lake Titicaca, via Lima. We filled in the time with extra short tours and shopping, mainly looking at silver. A tour group relieves the merchants of much of their task of selling as the group members encourage each other in spending frenzies.

We arrived at our hotel at Lake Titicaca very late and in order to make up for time lost due to the protest, we got up very early and were at the Floating islands by 8 a.m. A quick trip to the amazing floating islands, created by linking what looked like thick peat together, allowed us to meet the locals, take some snaps (of course) and then charge on to the shores of Lake Titicaca where we processed our immigration into Bolivia and then boarded a catamaran for a very restful 6 hour trip across the lake. We had one stop on Sun Island which we approached by straw boat. Some of us took the opportunity to don jolly Inca garb and pose as boat rowers. On Sun Island, we climbed a daunting 200 steps, given the very high altitude and saw various performances by the locals, including a blessing of our group by a Sharman clad in the self same boat man’s garb (was it a second job?) and some very pretty vegetable gardens. Jack bought a had bad embroidered with Inc a words of wisdom: "Don’t Steal, Don’t tell lies, Don’t be lazy”. The end of a very long day saw us arriving at La Paz, the administrative capital of Bolivia and the highest capital city in the world.

A bit of history

There’s nothing like being in situ to raise one’s sensibliites to history. Before our arrival I could have summarised my knowledge of South American history in a couple of sentences. Now I think I could extend to a couple of pages. Not a wealth of knowledge I know but a bit better than before.

The Spanish overthrow of the Inca nations was accomplished fairly easily in the 16th century because of their advanced technology and because the Incas themselves were involved at the time in a civil war led by two half brothers based in Quito and Limas. Part of the Spanish conquest, of course, involved the enforcement of Catholicism and we saw some amazing churches which blended Peruvian mythology with Catholic as a way of luring the locals into the fold. The Roman Catholic Spanish, probably with the best of intention, did its best to wipe out the local culture and redistribute their own. The poor Incas often called in as artisans, were a trifle confused, or resistant, and added their own touches as well: guinea pig (the local speciality) served at The Last Supper, black Jesus Christ, and the Inca cross.

The last leader of the Incas was captured by the Spanish to the consternation of his people. His ransom was a room full of silver and a room full of gold. The loyal subjects struggled to amass this wealth and finally succeeded, presenting it to the Spanish. All that remained was for the Inca chief to accept the teachings of Christianity. The priests presented the poor man with a Bible and he looked into it with puzzlement for the sun or other key divine signs, but finding nothing, he threw it away. So they killed him anyway and that was the end of it all really.

The Spanish dominated most of South America for about 300 years and their influence is still strong today. Then in the early 1800’s, the spirit of revolution was streaking across the world. In South America, Simon Bolivar was the major force in inspiring the revolutions in many South American countries against the Spanish. Like a lot of revolutions, this one was born of a sense of injustice (or personal pique).Born in Venezuela, Bolivar was a “misto” ( half Inca, half Spanish) and as such, although a lawyer, he couldn’t hope to achieve a higher status position. He must have been a very charismatic man because his name is revered as the power behind the revolutions in the Spanish speaking countries : Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia as well as a couple of others and his name cropped up a number of times.