We flew from Auckland to Santiago by LAN Chile Airlines. They were poor. Food was terrible and cold (fish) and Christine made the mistake of eating some to her detriment. Trying to get it heated was impossible. From Santiago (Chile) we then had a around 6 hour flight to Quito (Ecuador). But in the brilliance of LAN they put us 20 rows apart on the plane!! Pathetic.
In Quito Christine was sick - our first thought it was the altitude but on reflection it was probably the fish.
Luckily we had a couple of days there which enabled her to recover. I also felt a bit queasy so we started taking the altitude pills but in my case they were working outside the hotel and think my problem was the dust in my lungs.
After Quito we flew to Baltra then onto the Galapogos. The visit there was great but then I got seasick but after a jab from the doctor and taking seasick pills I was 100%. The pills were an immediate success. The terrain and animals (especially the tortoise) were incredible. Christine did some deep water snorkelling. The trip included a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Centre.
We then returned to Quito and started touring Ecuador. All along the as the tour moved through the various countries we visited various sites, markets etc.
Ecuador was interesting - they pay the parents about US$30 per month against proof of school attendance and vaccination.
Then we flew to Lima, capital of Peru for a tour before busing to Cuzco (3395 metres). It was here we saw a free 2 hour display of a religious festival that I thought was the highlight of the tour. We were lucky to see it from the start as we didn't know it was on.
After a couple of days there we left for Machu Picchu for a chance to climb over the site for two days. It was my No.2 highlight of the tour. Again we were lucky as we hadn't had a drop of rain. At 2400 metres it was lower than Cuzco but still it was a struggle; one is always aware of the difficulty to breath.
After leaving Machu Picchu we entered Bolivia and went to Lake Titikaka which I found boring. Onward to the amazing La Plaz (3600 M) which looks as if it is on the moon.
We left then for the lower climes of Argentina (Beunos Aries) before heading into Brazil to see the No.3 on my highlights list - the Iguassu Falls which although 75% Argentinian were much better from the Brazilian side. We had a terrific and wet boat trip under the falls.
After staying in Rio de Janerio we then flew home which was a better trip but the food was still awful.
I will comment later about some impressions and put up some photos.
