I came to Ica simply to get a final fix of board sports before heading inland, but due to the bus timetables I found myself with the best part of a day to kill before heading onwards to Puno.

I probably would’ve spent the day sun bathing, chilling by the pool or maybe having a stroll around the sand dunes, but luckily for me Megan already had plans for the day and invited me along for the ride…

Usually an invite to a winery would be something that A) would never really be extended my way as I don’t run in those circles and B) would be turned down if it was put out there!

However with a day to kill I decided to try something new and maybe even act a little cultured for a change – after all I’ve done nothing but party and chill on the beach for the best part of 4 months!

Lazy Start

After a relaxed breakfast we headed out alongside 10 others (a mix of ages and nationalities) into the outskirts of Ica.

Yup - I thought they looked nipples too!

The first winery wasn’t really quite what I had expected – a plot of land covered in clay pots , dusty floors and the smell of alcohol thick yet fragrant in the air.

And the tour itself didn’t really pick it up either! Both myself and Megan wondered what we had let ourselves in for!

Still the whole thing perked up alot at the end of the mini tour when we got to sample a heap of Pisco – the spirit that the Peruvian drinking culture is built on!

We had everything from the sweet and aromatic vino tinto through to neat Pisco itself – it’s an interesting spirit in different forms. The creamy pisco and fig mix slid down and was pretty lush, yet the unflavoured, neat cocktail base was something that had Megan cringing in her seat and the rest of the group subsequently chuckling at!

An Added Extra

The next stop on our 3 hour tour was rather odd. It was actual a ceremonial base for witchcraft. I still have no idea why it was slotted into the trip – but it turned out to be pretty interesting.

Witches practicing African Voodoo has salted the earth around a palm tree – causing it to grow horitzontally in a way that can only really be described as snake like. It has split into 6 trees from the same root. According to our guide the witches stated that if it was to grow a 7th “head” it would symbolize the demise of Ica itself.

Another part of the site contained a golden statue. We were informed that a mother brought her child to the white witches as he was mute. The witch healed him and fortold that her would become and important person in the community. Years later he became one of the governors of Ica and subsequently had the monument built as a tribute to the witch that had cured him.

Magic and voodoo behind us we headed on the second winery tour. This one proved rather more like what I had envisioned when signing up for the trip. Nestled next to a vineyard where vines criss crossed across wooden fencing was the winery itself.

A Bit More Cultured?!

Our tour guide this time round spoke heaps better English and talked up through the entire process – from the ceremonial stamping of the grapes after harvest through to the wood fire separation process and the fermenting stage.

And of course after learning so much about how it’s made and how different processes create different flavours and strengths it was only right for us to sit down for tasting number two!

Down in One

Much like the first we were served shots of various types. Again the vino tinto went down a treat but the entire group were posed this time around for Megans reactions on the neat Pisco.

She took it like a trooper though – sculling each shot back much to the amusement of everyone including the guide!

…and even though she’ll probably send me some Facebook abuse I’ll share them with you lot too!

Megan Taking One for the Team!

Overall the tour was worth the 30soles (approx £8) we paid and it included the tasting. There was of course also the option to purchase a few bottles of Pisco to take away after mastering what you did and didn’t like!

I’d definitely recommend it you have a spare day and want to try something different – however I can’t say it would live up to the expectations of wine buffs or winery tour veterans.

As for the Pisco – I can say I’ll probably be sculling a few pisco sours throughout the rest of my trip!

With my new adventure now underway I thought I’d share my updated packing list with you all.

Having massively overpacked for Australia a few years ago, successfully completed my 25 litre backpack challenge in Thailand last September and then cramming in too much surf kit for Ecuador and Peru I realised I needed to do some serious thinking n my original kit list.

There were a few key points I narrowed it down too; location, duration, weight and extras.

Location

After scoring some cheap Bangkok flights Asia was to be my first stop on the second part of my RTW adventure. And after chatting to some travel buddies from South America I’ve extended it from my original plan (I foresaw this may happen and booked flexi tickets!) so this is now one of the biggest stops.

All Packed And Ready to Go...

That means I’m going to be in summer wear for the bulk of the trip, and will now be trailing into summer on my jump into Australia and NZ at the end too.
With this in mind along with a prolonged surf stop in Indo clothing needs to be light and leaning heavily in favour of boarded and wife beater tshirts!

Duration

Having extended the Asian leg of my trip to around 5 months I’m going to be enjoying heaps of sun.
This also means my whole trip is longer too though so I had the bear in mind I’d be buying clothes on the go to replace those I inevitably destroyed! However this also meant I wouldn’t be experiencing winter climates for a while so I could cut out heavy hoodies and trousers – not that I wear them much anyhow!
Due to the extended time limit before I got to NZ I also decided that once I’d landed I’d get the lovely parentals to ship over a few warmer pieces of clothing, or even pick them up before leaving Asia.

Weight

With bouncing around quite a few countries I was very conscious of weight whilst packing. This resulted in me retiring my 80+20litre rucksack (which was borrowed off my brother anyway!) and slimming it down to a 60+10 Berghaus Jalan courtesy of the guys from Blacks – which I shall review in a couple of weeks.
This immediately meant weight was cut down significantly and I was forced to rethink my packing.

Extras

I’m a sucker for taking things “just in case”. There’s always kit in my bag because in the spur if the moment it seems like the sensible thing to pack! I used South America as a test run to see what I would and wouldn’t use – and it resulted in a lot of things being stripped out.
Even still I have a few added extras like snorkel kit and medi kits because they’re always handy things to have – even if you don’t use them for a while!

The Final Cut

With all that considered my final kit list is as follows;

Clothing

Tshirts x 6
Wife beaters x 2
Boarders x 3
Walk shorts x 1
Boxers x 5
Socks x 2pairs
Flip flops x 1pair
Trainers x 1 pair
Hiking Sandals x 1 pair
Hoody x 1
Flannel shirt x 1
Heaps of fake Ray Ban Sunnies from Montanita!
Spirit hoods x 2

Extras

Micro fibre travel towel
Snorkel kit
Medical kit
Portable speakers
Head torch
Toiletry bag (paracetamol, Imodium, rehydration sachets, condoms etc…)
ENO portable hammock
Water bottle

Tech kit

iPhone
iPad
MacBook air
Portable hard drive
GoPro HD2 + Mounts
Canon 40D
Canon 20D
10-22mm lens
17-55mm lens
Tripod
Chargers and Cables

Luckily my little brother is coming to join me in Thailand later next month so I have a fall back plan if I suddenly realise I have forgotten anything major – or even better that I’ve packed too much!

Anything extra you guys would be packing?!

I’ve only just left but there’s already certain things I miss about backpacking South America through Ecuador and Peru, but also equally things I don’t – so here’s my Top 10 Things I Miss and Don’t Miss;

I DO miss the sun, yes it’s meant to be the beginning of summer, and yes I live in Costa Del Devon, but somehow it’s not quite the sunny 30degrees I’ve acclimatised too!

I DON’T miss not being able to flush toilet paper down the loo…it’s the simple things!

I DO miss the surf. It’s flat in the UK at the moment – in craving the peeling blue lines of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian coast.

I DON’T miss the mozzies – I freaking hate those things, and sleeping under a mozzie net in the heat is not fun!

I DO miss cheap drinking – $2 mojitos, litres of beer for a $1?! Even Wetherspoons can’t compete with those prices!

I DON’T miss cramped single dorm hostel beds, star fishing in my double bed is bliss!

I DO miss the people. Meeting heaps of new faces with heaps of stories is what backpacking is all about.

I DON’T miss bouncing around every day or so. I told you all that travel sucks when your on your own and bouncing around, it’s nice to have a solid base again!

I DO miss not knowing what lies around the corner. despite being adverse to long haul bus journeys every other day I hate the mundane routine of home…I’m craving adventure again. Luckily I don’t have to wait long!

I DON’T miss having to struggle with language barriers. I was rubbish at learning Spanglish, it’s nice to be able to communicate properly again with people! Altho I must admit some Spanish phrase are now embedded in my vocabulary!

Thai Island Paradise

I thought it was apt to share a image relevant to the fact I’ve just landed back in Thailand for the second part of my RTW trip this year – so here’s a slice of paradise in the form of a water taxi down in Koh Tao on the Thai islands, I’m stoked to be heading back there in a month or so!

Over the last few months I’ve been on the road and writng hard to build up the blog, networking and working with a range of companies along the way – and I’ve been rewarded by getting some great sponsors on board to help me out.

As I head off again I thought I’d introduce a few of them as they’re heaping keep the site going and generally pretty awesome!

GoPro

I’ve long been a fan of the GoPro camera ever since they launched a wrist mounted 35mm film camera for surfing. Since then they’ve grown heaps and are now the market leader in extreme sports photography and film equipment. They’ve hooked me up with a pimpingly good HD2 Hero and Mount set to document my trip and make some tasty videos for you all!  www.gopro.com

ENO Hammocks

My Montanita buddy Elliott was kicking back in an amazing travel hammock, so I got in touch with ENO and they sent me over a 2 person hammock to take around the world with me and photograph for them. It’s so lightweight it nestles easily in my rucksack and is no problem to chuck in a day bag for a hike! www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com

Spirit Hoods

Another 2 of my Montanitian buddies were brandishing some pretty epic headwear during their time on the road and put me in touch with the PR of Sprithoods – a Californian based company who produce some pretty unique designs. After a bit of a nightmare with Fedex they managed to ship me out two to keep me warm and take around the globe! www.spiritshoods.com

Blacks

One of the most exciting sponsorship deals I’ve managed to negotiate is with Blacks Outdoor Leisure. They’ve sent me through a whole heap of backpacking gear to set me up for my next adventure and allow me to review things on the road for you all – testing it in real life backpacking situations and passing on my honest opinion of everything. Keep an eye up for reviews on bags, camping equipment, nifty gadgets and what not! www.blacks.co.uk

But don’t worry guys the blog won’t become a huge shameless plug for companies and nor will I be compromising the integrity of any advice or reviews I pass on. If somethings not good I’ll let you know! Just thought I’d thank the companies above for getting on board with Backpacker Banter, hooking me up with some extra kit/discounts and helping me create some awesome content for my readers.

*CHEERS*

If you’d like to advertise on this site, or are interested in joining our list of sponsors head to the contact me page

One of the top bucket list items when backpacking Peru is undoubtedly Machu Pichu. But even more so is the chance to trek the infamous Inca Trail to arrive there via the sungate.

I’m not a hiker (nor a massive fan of walking!) but my Peruvian plans were an exception to this rule – and I headed off to trek the Inca Trail with the amazing G Adventures.

Hitting the G Spot

Having worked at STA Travel for a long period of time I was well aware of G’s reputation and to be honest I had some pretty high expectation of them.

But having dealt with them during my time in the travel industry I knew I was in capable hands. I was also pretty excited and nervous as this was the first full on organised tour I’d ever undertaken (another tick off the bucket list) and as a solo traveller I was keen to meet some new faces.

From the off though they were super on the ball – with a full introductory brief on our first evening, all the boring paperwork side of things out the way and a teaser into what we could expect.

The Itinerary

Our itinerary was broken down into 5 main days;

The Intro Day – where we would explore the ruins of Olyantytambo, the pace in the valleys and one of  the Planeterra (the charitable arm of G) projects.

The Easy Day – our first day of proper hiking on the trail – steady inclines, and beautiful scenery

The Challenge Day – the most grueling part of the trail including steep steps and an incline that would take us to our top altitude of 3,900metres at Dead Womans Pass

The Unforgettable Day – a welcome wind down from the previous day, winding through jungle, beautiful ruins and amazing outlooks

The Final Day – and early rise to get through the sungate at dawn followed by a solid amount of time being shown around and exploring Machu Pichu off our own backs

A more in depth breakdown of my time on the Inca Trail can be found in the post of my Inca Trail Diary, which goes live early next week.

Throughout the whole tour there was a good balance on tour time vs personal time. We saw everything we would want to see, we’re pointed in the direction of optional things of interest and learnt a whole heap about the trail, what we were visiting and the culture and religion of the Incas.

Grubs Up

Our Fabulous Chef

The most pleasant surprise of the trip was undoubtably the food – as sad as that may seem!

From the word go I was immediately outstanding by the quality and quantity of the food served up to us – and the bar continued to be raised throughout the entire trip.

On day one we were awoken with a hot mug of cocoa tea delivered to our tent doors, followed by pancakes complete with the G Logo in caramel syrup! It’s the little touches that made a big difference!

We sat down to 3 course meals, from buffet lunches to carefully constructed food which tasted delicious and fuelled our hike. And we’re presented with snack packs every morning full of sugary treats and fresh fruit to keep us going throughout the day.

Our chefs produced epic food in the most basic of tent kitchens and took real pride in their work – despite using chopping boards on their laps, sat on stools in a tent in the cold evening air they donned their chef hats and chef whites. True professionals.

On our final day they even cooked a cake and lemon pie – complete with a sugar nest encasing it! EPIC!

The Crew

Man or Machine?!

This commitment and professionalism was apparent in all the staff who crewed our trip.

Our guide Henry and his assistant were knowledgeable, chatty, fun and most importantly organised.

They got us where we needed to go, at the time we needed to do it at and did the whole thing with a smile on their faces. Despite trekking tone inca trail over 500 times Henry is visibly and genuinely stoked to share this part of the world and his heritage with anyone who wants to explore it.

The porters are the epitamy of the perfect work ethic – and man they work hard.

Each of them lugged 25kg of kit on their backs each day – from tents, to chairs to food – and by the time we arrived at each check point thy had erected our camp and started on the food. They’re machines when it comes to trekking, basically running each section.

The tour took 4days to complete, but each year the porters hold a competition – the record for completing the inca trail is a mere 3 hours 45 minutes.

That’s insane!

The Backpackers

The demographic in my group was a bit of a surprise to me. I was expecting a younger crowd but there was a pleasant mix of age ranges and nationalities. From an 18 year old Aussie travelling its her parents in their 50′s through to Canadian couples in their 30′s. To be honest I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people.

Team G

As G is an international company your always guaranteed a good mix of people, for me that makes the whole experience that much better and I know have sofas to crash on in many different places!

Value

Our trek with G wasn’t the cheapest option for completing the Inca Trail (it retails around £600) but to be honest the value for money was amazing.

Throughout the whole experience I felt like I was being taken care of, fed well and getting the most out of the beautiful places I was exploring. I didn’t feel rushed, isolated or like I’d paid too much.

My opinion on the whole tour setup is that to a large degree you get what you pay for. With G I paid more but had great service, good pre tour support and customer service.

I also know for a fact that G also looks after their staff on the ground too – and that the G porters get paid a higher wage than average and are kitted out with all the safety and trekking gear that they require.

That alone for me justifies the money.

The Bottom Line

Overall my experience with G and on the Inca Trail itself was everything I hoped it would be and more.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this tour to my fellow backpackers and if I ever undertake another tour type trip G will definitely be my first point of call for booking. Plus if you fill out the evaluation form post tour you get 5% off your next trip!  What a bonus!

Check out the G Adventures website for all their products, follow them on twitter and likes their Facebook page for heaps of competitions …and of course you could nip into your local STA to chat through anything!

**I received a discount on my Inca Trail tour – but rest assured that all opinions are honest and my own**

As I finally strayed from the coast for the first time since landing in South America back in January I was headed the furthest I’d ever been away from the sea, and to the highest altitude I have ever experienced.

The destination – the highest navigatable lake in the world – Lake Titicaca.

LT sits at 3,900 metres above sea level and nestles between the border of Peru and Bolivia.
My reason for heading here was to check out the infamous floating islands and to experience a home stay, in which a local family take you in for a night or two and show you around – allowing you a brief insight into the culture, food and lives of the people that live there.

Unlike most backpackers in South America I didnt have time to head to Bolivia and explore it from Cococabana (which I’ve been assured is the better way to do it!) so I opted to use Puno as my base.

After arriving at 8pm my hostel managed to get me booked into a tour starting the next day.

Reed Islands

Another Day in the Office...

An early rise, breathless from the thin air and filled with coffee got the experience off to a rather disheveled start to say the least!
A mere 20minutes boat journey from the shoreline lay the floating islands themselves – navigating through the reed beds as they came into sight they were ever but as picturesque as I’d hoped for.

Yellow reeds clashed against blue skies, peppered with small boats and the bristly coloured fabrics of the local clothing.

We were greeted by our host island (the name of which I regrettably forgot!) and promptly sat down for any explanation of how the islands were formed, daily life and a heap of intriguing facts about the history and culture this unique culture is based upon.

The base of each island (there’s around 30 inhabited ones, plus a school and what not!) is actually a buoyant root ball from reeds located about 30km away. They are cut into blocks before being bounded together and anchored down.
This base is then thatched over with reeds, which are built up to instated the floor and keep dry. Upon this reed houses are built and hey presto – one floating island!

We spent just over an hour chatting (in a mix of Spanglish and local Quechuin), buying all manner of hand made crafts (it’s how the locals make some money) and shooting some beautiful pictures before heading to the next island for our homestay.

In At The Deep End

Reed Boats

A snoozy 3 hour boat trip took us to our main island base for the 2 day trip. Here the 30 strong group were divided up amongst the local families – with everyone being temporarily adopted by a Quechuin Mum!
The scenic walk back to the family home was breath taking – the mirror like water of LT stretched in every direction, with the faint outline of Bolivia on the horizon.

I was pleasantly surprised with my accommodation for the night – a single bed in a private room with heaps of alpaca blankets for warmth…a far stretch from the basic straw hut I had envisaged!

Having started bedding in my walking boots after being barefoot for so long I welcome the hike we were offered.
I wouldn’t have been so eager if I’d contemplated the fact I’d been at altitude for less than 12 hours and that an hour of uphill hiking wasn’t easy without that issue!

Still it was good training for my upcoming inca trail trek.

I coped reasonably well, but was definitely out if breathe at the top – something that was soon forgotten which 360 panoramic views of the surrounding lake and islands from the Pacha Mama temple.
There was of course the obligatory 3 rotations anti clockwise for good health, good wealth and good love…let’s hope it was worth the hike!

Do as the locals Do

The evening entailed a stodgy local meal of quinoa soup with rice and veg before we were promptly dressed up in the local attire for the night.

Ponchos and alpaca hats we the order of the day for the guys and the girls were treated to dresses, corsets and pashminas.

And if your getting dressed up theres only one thing to do – and that’s party Peruvian style!

The community hall was filled with the sounds of the local band, a few cold beers were cracked open and the dancing commenced. A blurry mix of drunken backpackers, sandal clad locals and the traditional dress – when culture meets carnage!

With a lack of lighting in the small community the party wrapped up pretty early, but after a long day of exploring, hiking and good food a warm alpaca wrapped bed was much appreciated, I’m sure the beer jacket helped too.

Never too much of a good thing

My Peruvian "Mum"

A sad farewell to my Peruvian Mum was the start of a new day and a new island adventure as we headed across the water.

A winding walk up the cliff side to the local village greeted us, but after another solid feed we were more distracted by the views than our aching feet.

The main stop of the day was dinner overlooking the island for an intriguing talk on local customs and the history of the formal penal colony.
Lunch was top of the agenda though as we we tucking into fresh, line caught trout from the surrounding waters…definitely one of the best meals I’d had in a while!

The rather daunting downward stroll back to the boat helped walk off the food, and fuelled by cocoa tea it was a breeze.
An amazing and relaxing couple of days (after the insane amount of gave I’d undertaken in the few days prior) was finished off nicely as the sun blazed high in the sky for the 3 hour boat journey back to Puno – any excuse to whip off my t-shirt and top up my tan is greatly appreciated!

…and what did the whole experience cost? A mere 80soles (approx £20) for a 2d/1n trip including all food – a bargain considering a nights accommodation in Puno would’ve set me back 25soles and food would’ve been around 15soles per meal!

Make sure you hit up LT if you can. Even if you’re pushed for time a half day trip is and 20soles – well worth pencilling it in for some amazing great shots!

Reflections in Lake Titicaca

A couple of weeks ago I got to spend a few days exploring Lake Titicaca in Peru (the posts going live tomorrow!) and this is one of my favourite images – the view from our boat as we headed out to the floating islands – tranquil water reflecting gorgeous sunny skies.

I’m back in the UK now – frantically packing, editing photos and catching up with my buddies…because my next backpacking adventure is already fast approaching!

So where will I be causing chaos now? Well the answer isn’t as simple as usual – because on the second half of my RTW 2012 trip I’ve left room for alot more flexibility – mainly due to the fact I’m not working during this period (bar the blog of course!) and for a change I’ve got nothing booked to constrain my time!

Flight Path

The easiest way to describe what I’m getting up to is to simply divulge my flight ticket;

LHR-DXB-BKK//SIN-BNE//SYD-AKL

Now for any of you not down with the travel agent lingo its as follows;

London Heathrow via Dubai to Bangkok

Overland to Singapore

From there I’m bouncing into Brisbane before flying out of Sydney

And finally ending up in Auckland

The first thing that you may notice is that there aren’t many places in that list – and you may also have picked up on the fact it terminates in NZ.

Now all my work at STA Travel has opened up my eyes to the joys of flexible and cheap tickets (the entire route has cost me less than £550 on an Emirates contract!) but it’s also taught me that I want room to explore – so I’ve picked key entry and exit points for each destination

Asia

Asia is a destination that I’ve only just learnt to love – but I’ve fallen hard. After my brief 3 week trip to Thailand last year I’ve been gagging to get back. Landing in Bangkok is the perfect bouncing point to the rest of the continent via cheap Air Asia flights.

The plan was to head into Laos, down into Cambodia, through the Thai islands and into Malayasia.

However I’ve decided that after 4 months of surfing in Ecuador and Peru I don’t fancy being landlocked – and needing some serious salt water therapy it looks like I’ll be heading up to Chiang Mai/Pai/Chang Rai for a week before jumping on a plane to Indo!

I’m then heading back to Thailand mid June for some birthday carnage around Phi Phi and Koh Lanta, followed by buckets of fun (literally!) at Full Moon at Haad Rin…and of course a trip back to the gorgeous Koh Tao.

Now I was dropping into Malaysia after and finishing off Asia in just over 3 months. But I’ve met heaps of awesome backpackers in Peru and it seems I’m now rendezvousing with the awesome Swoobs (aka Sandra) in September. Again the plan isn’t set by any means – but Laos, Cambodia and maybe even Vietnam are on the cards.

Basically I have a limit on my Asian funds, and when I hit that I’ll bail out!

Travel Buddies

After moaning on about how travelling solo can suck after a while I’ve rustled up some more travel buddies for this trip!

First up I’m amped to have one of my best buddies Matt on board for the first month. He’s a fellow surfer so expect heaps of waves – but more interestingly he’s barely travelled, so it’s going to be a fun experience watching him launch into the backpacking bubble with me!

He’s never even visited London – so Bangkok could be rather hilarious from my perspective!

Second up my little bro and his buddy are joining my just before my birthday for some island hopping awesomeness! We stayed put when he visited me back in Byron Bay, Australia – so it’s going to be good to actually travel with him!

There’s also a few other in the pipeline – but needless to stay I’m stoked to have some company this time around!

Oz

The original plan with Australia was to land in Brisbane and head back to Byron Bay for a couple weeks.

Again the travel buddies I’ve made have opened up heaps of opportunities and couches to sleep on! I’ve now got the possibility of Perth, Darwin and Adelaide to add to the list.

More importantly though I’m heading back to Sydney. Two of my fave Aussie buddies from Montanita have set up an amazing fashion company inspired by their travel called Wolftress. They’re working on launching their first collection – so I’m heading to Sidders to help out with photo shoots. In the meantime go check out their website, twitter feed and Facebook page!

One of my Devonian buddies has just had twins over there too so I’m sure I’ll have to pop my head round and say hi!

Kiwi Land!

My final flight takes me to the enchanted New Zealand – and it’s here where my most exciting adventure begins; a 2 year working holiday visa.

Yup I’m ditching the UK for the foreseeable future and trying to make a life amongst the rolling hills, snow capped mountains and of course – pumping surf!

I have no real idea what I’ll do (although surf coaching and STA Travel are probably choices!) but I fully intend on living in a campervan again, exploring and catching up with yet more travel buddies – including shooting the wedding of a couple I met on my Inca Trail tour in Peru!

Exciting Times

There’s many an adventure ahead, uncertainty, waves and generaly carnage! I’m stoked to see where it heads and I hope you guys will be stoked with the stories I tell and the lessons I pass on along the way.

…and when does this all kick off? In true impatient style I fly out next Saturday – the 12th of May! Let the countdown commence!

By the time you read this post I should be safely nestled back in my own double bed, probably freezing my arse off in Devon, England.

Yup – my South American adventure has come to an end after 4months of sun, sea, surf and mojitos!

Good Times

It’s been an epic chapter in my life on the road – and a fitting start to my RTW 2012 trip :)

There have been plenty of waves, babes and bad decisions that have kept me (and hopefully you) entertained!

I’ve worked in my dream job, got stung by stingrays, survived Carnaval, made the spontaneous decision to explore the Galapagos Islands, made many a surf roadtrip and failed miserably at learning Spanglish- and that was just my time in Ecuador!

Heading into Peru I surfed the epic left that is Mancora, got bored of travelling, tore down giant sand dunes, hit up the floating islands of Lake Titicaca and undertaking the gruelling 4day Inca Trail to Machu Pichu (posts of the latter two are on the way!)

Thanks

Its the people that I’ve met that have had a lasting impact though – massive shout out to the following faces who’ve made this trip so memorable;

Gijs the bearded charmer, tiny face Leah, Swiss roll Katja, fellow surf instructor Luis aka Vago, my Spanish hermana Karen, April and Jorge, all the staff of Montanita Spanish School, Scottish dancing John (I’m still rocking the dance moves bro!), the Swedes, Eva the truffle oil queen, Ecuadorian man eater Liza, my favourite…Johanna, Rasty, Eugeno the cocktail guy, Malene, Linnea, Jordan and Yvonne, Beefy and Prawny, Berit, smooth talking Felix, everyone else I got wasted with in Mancora, Megan for the Pisco bus carnage, Sandra/Giulian/Jamie/Deborah aka PO5, my inca trail group, Henry our tour guide, Judith and her housemates, Bernie and the Lima crew…and of course there are heaps of others too…I’m getting rather bored of trying to remember names now though!haha!

And I’ve also had the oppotunity to work alongside some great companies and businesses too – so thanks to the following;

Montanita Spanish School, Montanita Cabanas, Montanitours, Loki Mancora, Bothy Hostel, G Adventures, Wild Rover Hostels, ENO hammocks and SpiritHoods

So I’m back home – but don’t worry, I’ve still got a ton of stories and shots to publish from my last couple weeks in Peru…and I’m hitting the road again in a mere two weeks on the second half of my travel plans – and this section is even better than the last.

Make sure you “like” the Facebook page and follow me on twitter for all the latest announcements and carnage, I can’t wait to get on the road again!

Cheers South America – until next time!

Over the last week or so I’ve decided that there is one element of backpacking that I’m beginning to truly despise.

But it’s something that’s so fundamental to backpacking as a whole – whether it’s a 2 week jaunt in Europe or a full continent hopping year.

It’s also something I’ve discussed in some length with other backpackers and we’ve all come to the same conclusion;

The worst thing about travel is travelling!

I’m currently writing this sat on yet another long haul bus journey – my fourth of this week alone – which has brought my total bus time since leaving Montanita a mere 2 weeks ago to 47 hours + terminal transit time!

Thats a hell of alot of time to be spending sat on my arse and not achieving anything (bar writing a few blog posts when I’ve been sensible enough to keep my laptop charged!) when I should be out seeing the world.

But the double edged sword of wanting to fit heaps in and see a country the size of Peru is that you have to put in the boredom time.

Yawn!

That boredom time comes in many shapes and forms – not just long haul buses!

Take planes for instance, the whole process of flying somewhere has now lost it’s novelty. Instead of butterflies and being stoked to jet off somewhere I now dread check in lines, security checks (seriously how many times to I have to empty my freaking pockets!?) and sat starring like a zombie at the departure board.

Flights themselves suck too. I seem to have lost the ability to sleep properly on them without half a dozen g&t’s and no matter how good the airline plane seats are just uncomfortable full stop!

And then there’s things like taxis and ferries – same sh*t, different mode of transport!

Not only is it the actual journey but booking them on the move is a massive buzz kill too. Language barriers, waiting in line, blunt and unfriendly travel agents…the list goes on.

The last few weeks of travel have been extremely draining both physically and mentally.

Physically I’ve been lugging around a back chock a block with surf stuff so it’s pretty heavy and cumbersome to move around – let alone when you have no idea where your departure terminal or bus stop is! Not to mention having to repack your life into a bag every other day – although practice does make perfect!

The lack of sleep on long haul buses is taking it’s toll too – I feel like I just need a few lazy days of achieving nothing simply to get my self back on form!

All in the head

But it’s the mental drain which is the worst at the moment. Having to think of plans, schedule things in and balancing out the budget is a right pain. Repeating this every few days is even worse.

Living and working in Montanita over the last few months chilled me out heaps – I had plenty of time to sort things and the whole south american vibe of “I’ll do it tommorow” ruled supreme.

Now with an international flight to meet at the end of the month that can’t be shifted means I’m on an increasingly diminishing time budget – and over staying in the surf mecca of Mancora pushed this even more!

Not to mention the fact that I’ve done this whole stretch solo – so I’ve had no one to help me out with planning nor someone to keep me company during the long stretches of overland travel. At one point I literally went 28 hours without so much as a word to another human being! That just sucks!

Lesson learnt

What I’ve learnt over the last few weeks is that you should never push yourself to see too much in too little a time, nor should you underestimate travel distances…you would’ve thought this would’ve been something I would’ve picked up during my time at STA – I told it to enough people, I guess I just didn’t take my own advice!

It’s something that will be at the forefront of my mind during my next adventure (which I shall announce in a week or so) and I shall make sure that I over budget time wise to afford myself some down time and to accommodate days in places I hadn’t pre planned.

It has also got me stoked for my next adventure – where I will be travelling with one of my best friends and have alot more time to play with. There’s a start and finish point to the next chapter – but it’s very much flexible and is already being moved around to accommodate opportunities that have arisen through my current travels.

Yup – the worst thing about travel is travel – but in a weird twisted way I wouldn’t change it for the world, because if it was easy some of the most beautiful places and experiences in the world would be over run, and you wouldn’t appreciate your destination!