Hey all. After a very long hiatus (and a few computer glitches) I decided I had more than enough material to update the blog again. I finally managed to find a Sony camera card reader from a tiny electronic store in Cusco so this post will contain my own pictures. Be warned, there are some exotic haircuts that I will touch on soon!

I believe the last post left us after the boat cruise in Galapagos. After the cruise we spent the next 10 days in the town Peurto Ayaro on Santa Cruz Island. The first thing Adam and I did was find a diving outfit to get our Open Water Diving Certification to see what all the talk of Galapagos diving was all about. We managed to find an outfit (Macarones) where a fellow Canadian worked. It was an easy choice.

The very next day we were in the pool with our instructor Jorge who didn't speak much English although we found out pretty quick that language means absolutely nothing under water and he turned out to be a great teacher. After the pool and a test run to a nearby ocean bay we were ready to tackle real dive sites. We went to Moscara Island and saw turtles, very tiny jelly fish (I think I got stung on the lip), sea lions, various schools of fish, a sweet sea urchin and an eel. Unfortunately we didn't see any hammerheads which the Galapagos is known for. The two highlights for me included Adam dropping his weight belt from the surface to the bottom 18m down as he tried to hand them to the boat captain...hilarious. And second when a fellow student ran out of oxygen while we were making our 3 minute rest stop on ascension and had to use my reserve regulator. If anyone plans to dive in Galapagos and has the money, the best spots are Volf and Darwin Islands which are northwest of the main islands. They feature massive schools of hammerheads and superior wildlife.

The rest of the time on Galapagos we chilled on Tortuga beach tossing the Frisbee, playing loads of Scrabble (James has yet to record a win much to his chagrin), body surfing, cliff jumping in Las Grandes, and eating 2-3 soft icecream cones a day. Victor was the icecream legend who managed to pile 4.5 inches of icecream on top of a cone...legendary. From Galapagos we flew directly to Guayaquil and headed straight away down south to Peru.

Ecuador Scorecard:

Food- 5 (chicken feet in soup and too much rice)

People-6 (hit and miss, a smile can go a long way)

Landscape -7 (Cloud forest was great)

Nightlife-4 (not a comfortable setting)

Adventure- 10 (racing buggies, zip lining, tarzan swing, waterfalls)

Highlight-10 (Galapagos is unbelievable)

Overall- 7

The beginning of Peru couldn't have started worse for me. At the border crossing at 2am, we got out of the bus to get our passports stamped. In my dozy state I assumed the building was right outside the bus. Turns out it was across the street. By the time I got back my day pack was stolen from someone who was seated on the bus. b******. They got my ipod touch, cash, visas, sunglasses etc...it was an expensive lesson to learn. That is one of the reasons the blogging has been slow of late as I don't have my touch to add quick updates. The boys have been great in sharing their gadgets as I mentally recuperate from the loss.

20 hrs later we arrived in Lima after our first of many overnight bus rides. We found the best bus company is Oltursa which features massive reclining seats, great food, and a comfortable interior temperature (the bus ride in Bolivia reminded me of cold nights in Kingston). We were in Lima for 3 days with the epicentre of enjoyment falling on James birthday. We stayed in Miraflores (the ritzy, cleaner part of Lima) and puzzled over the immense number of casinos. We must have walked by 10 casinos in afternoon walk...Chris you would be in heaven. For James birthday Buzz and I got him two books, Game of Thrones and Ender's Game, a 40 of rum we shared for under $10 and two special cards. I let James shave any pattern into my facial hair (hence the goofy pictures) and Buzz gave him a mule card allowing James one free day of bag carrying at any point of the trip.

Overall Lima was by far the cleanest and wealthiest city we have been in however I still left unsatisfied. This may have been because I was suffering from Galapagos withdrawal.

NFL POOL: Just remembered the three amigos decided to create an NFL survivor pool. The idea is simple, pick a team each week that will win regardless of the spread. Catch is you cannot pick the same team twice meaning as the weeks go on, you have likely used up the good teams. Two strikes and you lose. Loser has to sport a FRIAR cut for 24hrs and cannot done a hat nor shy away from the paparazzi. After three weeks into the pool, James lost. The NY Giants lost in thrilling fashion with Seattle running back a 94yrd interception for the win...too bad. Buzz and I are continuing the pool for bragging rights and a few beers. At the time of writing I took Steelers and Buzz took Jets in Week 6.

The next stop on our adventure was Huacachina. This desert oasis just 4 hrs south of Lima is definitely my favourite stop in Peru, minus the Inca Trail trek. The pictures will do a superior job of explaining the landscape but think of a small lake in the center of charming village surrounded by giant sand dunes engulfing the oasis. It was epic and it was warm! We spent 4 or 5 days there and met some very cool people. A few Australian, and many Israelis, added to the overall experience.

We went on a wine tour to learn about Peru's traditional wine. Never heard of Peru's wine? Probably a good thing as it was near the bottom on my wine list (my 'wine list' consists of maybe 10 wines so take this analysis with a grain of salt). The tour was more famous for its Pisco shots and Pisco sour which tastes like a mix of tequila and grape. Buzz seemed to deeply enjoy the beverages and ended up truly 'experiencing' Pisco as the tour offered free shots/wine.

Next on the list was dune buggy and sand boarding. This I was excited for. I wanted to compare snowboarding to sand boarding in terms of movement and speed. We began the afternoon with the owners saying we had to pay a 'sand tax' which did not impress the entire group as this hidden fee wasn't mentioned prior to booking. The driver quickly made up for the dilemma by taking us on a dune buggy joy ride. It was exactly like a roller coaster in terms of speed and turns...minus the track! The driver was insane. We caught air in a 15 passenger buggy flying over dunes left right and center. This was the best part of the day.

Once we arrived to the sand boarding dunes we wobbled out of the buggy and strapped into the boards. Sand boarding is quite comparable to snowboarding however once the slope even outs, you stop abruptly. There is little to no glide as the friction on the underside is way to great even with rubbing on a ton of wax. That being said we climbed to some higher dunes that were hidden from the sun and proved to be faster and crisper. Once done we hopped back into the roller coaster, beat a few land speed records, and ended back at the hostel.

The quality of Peruvian food thus far has definitely surpassed Ecuador. One of my favourites, Lomo Saltado, is a beef stir fry with tomatoes, onions, peppers, French fries, and rice (a glorified poutine). Also it seems they use tomato sauce on their pizza which was impossible to find in Ecuador.

After lounging around a few days pool side working on the tan in Huacachina, we headed for Cusco and the revered Inca Trail. I'll split up the blog and post Cusco, Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca in a separate post coming soon!