Here is my route so far in South America. [View Full Entry]

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I returned to Cuzco and spent a few days getting ready for the next part of my trip. I'd planned to go through Bolivia and then on to Argentina before heading for Brazil and the end of my voyage. Che Guevara had joined me in China, had been with me every step of the way since then and I wanted to bring him home to Argentina. I'd sublet my apartment to someone and we'd each made a commitment to the other: I not to return before mid-February 2009 and her not to leave before then. In mid-November she sent me an [View Full Entry]

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For those who are interested, these are the major stops on my planned route, essentially the flights and overland routes I'll be taking. [View Full Entry]

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The heart of the former Inca empire, Cuzco sits in a valley and you could call it the terra-cotta town. Seen from the hills, it's all red tile roofs and red adobe walls. At night the lights spread up on the hills like electric amber. The main square, Plaza de Armas, is large with a cathedral and a church. The former is massive, of yellowish stone - a real colonial construction. The streets in the historic San Blas district are very narrow with lumpy cobblestones that are round, not flat, so they're uneven and difficult to walk on. As Cuzco is [View Full Entry]

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Peru is less expensive than Chile but the buses are just as comfortable and, unlike in Chile, they come with a steward or stewardess who serves snacks and drinks. With low-cost airlines challenging them for business, they've had to augment their service. They even have announcements over the internal public address system telling you this is a no-smoking flight...er, trip...and to keep your chairback in an upright position. At first I thought it was for takeoff, but I realized they meant you should do so while eating. I arrived at Arica at 22h00 and took a taxi to where Isabel Villanueva [View Full Entry]

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Even unremarkable towns are called home by some people, usually with a sense of pride and affection that is mysterious to those who aren't from the place. Iquique (pronounced ee-KEE-kay) is like this. I had only two reasons for being there. It was on the way to Arica, which is further north, and it had been home to my friend Juan Villanueva, who lives in Geneva, so I stopped by for a short visit. In this part of Chile the land is a high plateau that drops abruptly to sea level. Iquique is a city of about 200 000 people that [View Full Entry]

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Bus hell comes in different forms. What you find in Chile are not chicken buses. The cross-country ones have air-conditioning, overhead Tvs and comfortable seats in three classes: normal, semi-recliner and nearly full recliner. But from Valpo to San Pedro de Atacama is 1 350 kms, which means 28 hours of legs slowly turning to stone. There is a plane from Santiago to Iquique, a few hours' drive from San Pedro, but it was too expensive. The small town of San Pedro de Atacama huddles around the only water and bit of greenery left in the region. The rest has been [View Full Entry]

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Anyone who thinks San Francisco is hilly should come to Valparaiso, or “Valpo” as locals call it. I asked a guy from Oakland if he thought San Francisco was hillier. His vote went to Valpo. For non-hispanophones, it's pronounced “Balpo” and it's a place with tremendous character. It seems like two cities, lower and upper. The lower is the flat part, a narrow ribbon of stores and offices that winds along the seafront where most of the business gets done. The upper part consists of houses clinging to steep hills along twisting cobblestone streets. The cobbles have bee [View Full Entry]

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Eleven-hour flight from Auckland to Santiago. I arrived with granny ankles - all swollen up. As I went through customs they X-rayed my bags and a stern woman wanted to know about a couple of electronic items and some electric cords. She was entirely without humour as I explained to her what they were. She said she wanted to see them. Playstation and iPod, not drugs. But in Mumbai about a week earlier there had been attacks by terrorists entering the city by boat and I suppose she was being vigilant for bombs, not dope. She reminded me of a security [View Full Entry]

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Here is the route that I took in Australia and New Zealand. [View Full Entry]

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