Quito to Santiago
Why is it that only tourists are foolish enough to travel on the roof of a train while the locals tuck themselves away safely in the carriages ? The view below me is from the journey from Alausi down to Devil's Nose along a precarious piece of zig-zag engineering. Taken while we were 'zigging' , you can just see the section of track which is the next 'zag' and right at the bottom the final 'zig'.
The fresh vegetables at Otovalo Market look tasty and appetising...
...which is more than can be said for the 'fast food stalls' !
The market is the main reason for visiting the town. It's so bright and colourful that no other reason is needed.
Heading down into the jungle for a few days, our guides take a bit of a nap.
Chan-Chan is an archaeological site. It's a mud city and at first glance looks very impressive. That's before you discover that ninety precent of it - including everything on the photograph - is reconstruction. Seems a bit of a cheat somehow.
Who wants to travel on the roof now ? The guard attempts with the aid of leaves and twigs to put the train back on the tracks after the first of our four derailments in one day.
One of the views from our drive out before the start of the jungle trip. Included here just because I like the view.
A toy soldier guarding a toy palce, or possibly a scene in Lima which is a city that could use a few more regular policemen. Our boots were stolen from the roof of the truck
while we were moving.
The boat trip in Paracas National Park was full of interesting birds and sea life none of which are on this picture. The rocks are pretty interesting though. Aren't they ?
The Chauchilla Cemeteries are near the Nasca Lines. The current theory about the lines is that they were 'ceremonial walking routes'. This member of the Nasca Ramblers Association seems to have had enough.
Sunrise at the geysers at 'Sol de Manaña'.
When we went down the mines at Potosi this was as far as we got, three levels down and about an hour in. We couldn't go any further because these miners were repairing a cave-in.
One of the greatest things I saw all trip(and it had a lot of competition) was the Sal de Uyuni. The rain on top of the salt turned it into a mirror that strteched from horizon to horizon. The picture doesn't begin to do justice to the scene.
What description of a trip to South America would be complete without a picture of some llamas ?
The Uros Indians live on floating islands of reeds on Lake Titicaca. Note that nevertheless they have solar panels on every hut. That's progress for you !
