"Kolca" the Koala, following us around the Colca Canyon.








Rob outside our bedroom door in Arequipa. This was the most beautiful Spanish hacienda. The rooms were set around many courtyards.











Truck accident on the way from Lima to Huancayo. Our bus trip took 8 hours on this very winding road.








Gayle and Maxine overlooking Pisac. We all walked up to this point, then down the other side.








Dennis, Gayle and Maxine on the road from Puno to Cusco. We took the Inca Express (great bus trip).







Gayle and Dennis' final night in Peru. What a great night.








The view from our bedroom window on the Isle de Sol at Lake Titicaca. Got very sunburnt here.

Photos

Here are the children at the school in Huancayo dressed up in the gorgeous knitted garments that were donated by everyone in Australia.







These are the foundations and first floor of the new school that we have been fundraising for over the past 2 years. It has been wonderful to see all the work we have put in actually coming to fruition at long last.







Maxine and Gayle show off the new uniforms that were donated last year for the primary students as they headed off to secondary school.

Photos????

Sorry everyone, but the photos didn't show up. I will try again tonight when Cassie is here to help me on her computer.

You will never guess!!!!!

Last night (Monday) we arrived home in Melbourne. Our plan was to travel the south island of New Zealand, but if you have been watching the news, you would have seen that New Zealand is in "freezing mode" due to a cold blast from the Antartic. We stayed in Åuckland for one night and the following morning we were at the airport ready to fly to Christchurch to pick up our motorhome (for a 2 week tour of the south is.). All flights to the south is. were cancelled as well as roads etc, so we rang our "trusty" travel agent Frank and we were on a Qantas Flight home to Australia by lunch time.
Cassie and James had a delicious LAMB roast ready ... you just cannot beat a lamb roast after what we have been eating!!!! Today we are off to see Kate, Chris and our darling grandson Owen. I believe he has grown so much. Can't wait to see him.
We should be back in Benalla by the weekend, and look forward to seeing all our friends.
Our last week in South America was great. After our trip to the Colca Canyon, we did a few tours around Arequipa, visiting agricultural areas, volcanoes, old Spanish towns, monastaries, churches, museums etc. The area around Arequipa is Spanish orientated, not like the rest of Peru, which is mainly Inca/Spanish.
We then flew to Santiago in Chile. This is usually a 3 hour flight, but it took us nearly 6 hours as the plane stopped at two airports within half an hour of each other - one to go through customs and one to pick up passengers. A long flight but we are so glad we didn't bus it, as we had planned.
We arrived in Santiago to riots... the students were protesting against education policies. The whole town was full of police with armoured vans etc. On the whole, we enjoyed our two days there.
We went on a walking tour for a day and were getting ready to have dinner, when we thought we had better check our flight time for the next morning (Sat). We were shocked to read that our flight was leaving that night (Fri) at 11.50pm. What a rush to organise our packing, taxis etc but we made it.

We do hope you have all enjoyed our blog and thank you for your comments. I'm sorry there were hardly any photos, but some Incanet shops we went to were very old and slow, so here are a couple of photos of the children at Esperanza.

Peru is coming to an end.....

We are now is Arequipa. This is the first time we have visited this town and we love it. So clean and vibrant. There is so much to do and see that we have decided to stay a week then fly down to Santiago, Chile, instead of the two and a half day bus trip. The last two days.. Sat and Sun... we went on a tour of the Colca Canyon. This was awesome. At one stage we were 16,000 ft above sea level, sourrounded by magnificent volcanoes covered in snow. These volcanoes are all active and the last one erupted in 1995 or thereabouts. Also there have been many earthquakes in this area, but life still goes on.....
On the tour we went right into the centre of the canyon and many many condors were flying over head. These birds have a wing span of three and a half metres and are the second largest bird in the world. The largest being the albatross. This was a sight to see.
There are many small villages along the way and most of them do not have power. Their main source of income is agriculture as water is plentiful but not my idea of life. On the Saturday evening our tour guide took our party of 25 to a restaruant and dance show. This was a typical Peruivan night of fun and laughter with the Peruivan dancers getting everyone involved.
Today, Monday, is a day of rest, sleep in and washing, before another tour tomorrow of the outskirts of Arequipa.
We only have a few more days here in Peru, then we fly to Chile and head for New Zealand next Saturday.
Thank you to Cassie and Betty for their comments. We are so happy that you enjoy our moments on the blog. If you still cannot comment, then either comment on facebook or email us on.. rob.max@hotmail.com.
We would love to hear from you. Bye for now. xxxx

Travelling South towards Chile

Here we are in Southern Peru at Arequipa. We have not been here before and find this place very clean and very old. Our accomodation is a 16th century Spanish villa with huge dome ceilings and beautiful garden settings around many courtyards. Absolutely fantastic. The price for the room is around $65 Aus a night. Fairly expensive for here but well worth it. It is a shame Gayle and Dennis are not here as they would have loved this place... a bit like Cusco on a grand scale.
The last two nights we have been in Nasca. We did not fly over the lines as we did that two years ago, but we did visit many museums and the plantetarium, which explained the heritage listed Nasca lines. We also viewed the Milky Way, Southern Cross, the Moon and Saturn through a large telescope. You could see the rings around Saturn and the craters on the Moon. We are now planning to buy a huge telescope and leave it at our friends house in Tatong to watch the stars at night. ha ha.
We travelled here overnight by bus (cheap accomodation) but were very tired this morning as the trip was nine and a half hours. Today was a day of rest... very hot days and cool mornings and nights.
Will continue next week. Love to you all.

The children of Esperanza

We have been with the children of Peru Luz de Esperanza for 2 weeks and have been so busy with them, that time has just flown by.
Robert and Dennis have been organising the renovation of the old Alanya School and Community Centre. With the donations we have received from the many clubs in Victoria ie. Lions, Rotary, Probus etc. and the personal donations from family and friends, we have started building a toilet block for this community along with new windows, flooring, ceilings etc. in the old classrooms. Rob and Dennis met with the local Presidento of this community and with the help of another volunteer, Max, a Columbian born American who speaks fluent Spanish and English, they were able to make a deal and settle on a plan for this renovation. The locals were so excited that they held a party and much food and drink was consumed. By food I mean, potatoes, corn, rice etc.
The children remembered Teachers Robert and Dennis from last year and there was excitement when they entered the room. Gayle and I spent most of our time teaching the children in the kindergarten to grade 6. This has been an experience for Gayle, who has not been to Peru before. The children greet you each day with many hugs and kisses and at the end of the lesson they are usually hanging onto your arms or legs and they do not want you to leave. Two days ago, two Austalian girls arrived at Peru luz de Esperanza and we have thoroughly loved the time spent with our Peruvian family and the other 3 volunteers.
Unfortunately, Gayle and Dennis have had to leave Peru and head back to Australia due to family health reasons and it was very sad to say goodbye to them last night. They did go out in style, as we celebrated with many Pisco Sours and a sore head in the morning.
We are now in Lima and will start heading south on Monday. We have two weeks before we leave from Santiago to New Zealand.
Hope you are all enjoying our travels. Will keep you posted next week. Love to you all.

The Dodgy Bros. nearly got us in prison!!

Yesterday - Sunday, was a rest day in Peru. The four of us (Gayle, Dennis Robert and Maxine) decided to take a bus tour to the valleys around Huancayo. We organised a bus tour from the travel agent and this was the start of an eventful day.
Starting at 10.30am there were 9 tourist on this small Toyota Van. Also two tour guides, the driver and the door opener, that is right, a door opener, can you believe that. The tour started with a visit to an Artesian market. This was a very ordinary market, not the great ones we have seen throught our travels. Then onto a milk/ice cream factory. The only thing good about this was the ice cream. Then on our way to a silver factory when travelling along the road was a police check point. They were checking drivers to see if their licences were up to date. Our dodgy driver drove into the petrol station rather nervous. He waited a few minutes then drove back onto the road and sped through the road block. This was such a shock to all of us tourists. We turned and looked out the back window only to see the Police jump in their car and CHASE us along the highway. They chased us for about a kilometre then our driver thought he had better stop. He got out of the bus and was with the police for about ten minutes, then the door opener joined in the act and the two dodgy bros. were prattling on with the police. Couldnot understand a word. Then the two guides decided to help.
In the end, money was exchanged and we all survived the day.
The rest of the tour was great. We visited the magnificent historical convent used by missionaries in the 1500s. It is now a museum of all their teachings, books, clothes etc. even stuffed animals of that time.
Next was lunch at a trout farm. Great food and this little village was full of restaurants all set on the cliff face, looking down on the trout farm.
Today, Gayle and I went to teach the kindergarten children in the village of Bolivar. It was a beautiful day and we had our lesson outside. The topic of this lesson was the BODY and all the children are taught parts of the body in English. Rob and Dennis went to the main town of Huancayo with the President of the community, to buy materials for the construction of the new school.
A lot has happened over the past week, but time is running out, so I will blog again very soon. Bye for now. Maxine and Robert. xxx

Cusco to Pisac to Lima

Our hotel here is Cusco is rather quaint, but a terrible entrance to try and get into the hotel door. The footpaths are only wide enough for one person and the cars fly along .. one way only.. so you must try to balance yourself and make a run for the door when there is a break in the traffic.
The four of us walked to Saqsaywaman via the beautiful old churches, tiny little villages etc. It took us about 1 hour and the view of Cusco from the top of this mountian was one we will never forget.
Saqsaywaman is an Inca ruin with the largest stone rocks ever assembled. Due to earthquakes, the government are trying to rebuild this site, but they are spoiling it by using small rocks to stop the erosion. No one could ever replace the Inca stonework.
Rob and I have been to these ruins four times now and it still amazes us as to how the Incas carved these stones.
That evening we all went to a traditional Peruivan Theatre Dance Show. This was another night full of all the Peruivan culture and costumes. A great show.
The next morning we awoke to drama in the Scott's room. Dennis had been for his normal run and when he arrived back and closed the door to his room, the lock jammed and Gayle and Dennis were locked inside. All staff tried to open the door to no avail. Dennis was starting to hypoventilate. We thought he was going to knock the door down. But a locksmith from a nearby hotel managed to save the day. phew!
After this episode, we caught the local bus to Pisac. The local bus is a great way to get around and met the people and see the way they live. It truly is the way to go. Once at Pisac, we organised our hotel room then to a taxi to the TOP mountain to see the ruins here. We have seen many ruins, but they are all different in style, construction, rocks etc. We decided to walk back down through the old Inca terraces. On the way we met a young boy called Orlando. His English was very good and he walked down the mountain with us, explaining all the sites and playing his flute. It just looked like the Pied Piper and the four of us following behind. Another fantastic day. Boy are we sleeping..
The following morning we were woken at 4am to the sound of local bands practising for their parade that day. Rob and I didn't see the parade as we bussed it back to Cusco and Gayle and Dennis are heading for Macchu Picchu. We will catch up with them next week at Esperanza.
Rob and I are now in Lima. Today the Peruvians celebrated their Independence Day and we had VIP seats in the stands due to Rob chatting up the guard on duty at the entrance gate. They just love Australians and are only to happy to please us.
That's about enough for today. Next post will be from Esperanza. Looking forward to seeing all the children again. xx

Bolivia

We have been in Bolivia for 5 days. This is a very poor country with the average wage being $200 US a MONTH. It is so busy and congested in the city streets of La Paz that they are now trying to bring in pedestrian crossings and people dress up as zebras and stop the traffic to train the public and motorist.
Our friend Dennis had gone on a tour so Rob, Max and Gayle went to a coffee shop in La Paz. I had my bag resting by my chair. An Asian girl came in and put her back pack on the spare chair by her side. Four men came into the coffee shop. They had been looking through the window watching all the time. Two of these men came up to us to give out phamplets. Rob told me to hold my bag. The other two men were trying to distract the Asian girl when one picked up her back pack ready to bolt out the door. ¨Hawkeye¨Robert was out of his seat in a split second and grabbed her bag. The men spat at him and they headed out the door fast. BRAVO !!!!!!
We spent 2 beautiful days on Lake Titicaca staying on the Isla del Sol. This lake is the largest high altitude fresh water lake in the world. It covers 8,000 square kilometres. The view from our bedroom window was spectaular. On one side of the island it is surrounded by snowy mountains and the other side is surrounded by the most beautiful scenery. I will send photos soon.
After leaving this island we travelled to Puno, just over the border of Bolivia. Puno is a lovely clean city with many modern restaurants. A bit of a change from Bolivia.
Our next adventure was the bus trip from Puno to Cusco. This is one day we will never forget. We travelled on the Inka Express, which is a fantastic double decker bus, so comfortable and the best service.
We stopped at five ancient historical sites on the trip. We visited museums, churches etc. The hightlight was the town of Raqchi. The most magnificent temple ruins, second best to Macchu Pichhu. The 9 hour journey went very quickly. The two tour guides were sitting next to us and we were given the ¨royal¨treatment. THEY LOVE AUSSIES!!!!
We are now is Cusco. This is our first day and we are just relaxing after a hectic five days. Sorry about the delay in posting this blog but the ÏNCANET¨is not reliable in the outer areas. We start to type and the computer freezes.
Anyway must go, as the weather is beautiful and we don´t want to spend time indoors.
Until next blog. Chau Chau. Rob and Max.

Have arrived in South America at last.

Hi everyone,
Yesterday (Tuesday6th) we arrived in South America. We cancelled all our flights with Aerolineas Argentina and rebooked with Lan Chile. Will never travel with AA again. They really stuffed us around in the end and promised us so many things only to reneg on everything.
We flew from Melbourne, Sydney then to Santiago Chile via Papeete. This took 24hours and we were so tired that we couldn´t sleep at all that night. We spent one day in Santiago then flew to La Paz in Bolivia. Here we caught up with Gayle and Dennis after almost three weeks of being on standby in Australia.
Not much news to report yet, but tomorrow we start our travels through Bolivia on our way to Peru.
Will keep you posted. Bye all. Rob and Max.

Still on standby

OMG! (oh my god - to our friends who do not understand this jargon).
Here we are back in MELBOURNE, staying with our daughter and son in law. C & J.
We were in Sydney for 10 days, but this was costing us too much money so we came back to Melb.
Argentina Aerolinas (AA) are still not running flights to Buenos Aires. We have contacted other airlines but because of school hols, the price has doubled, so we just stay here and wait, wait, wait, while our friends Gayle and Dennis are waiting for us in South America.
One good thing about this is that we spent the day with our baby grandson Owen. Oh how beautiful he is!!!!!! Now 11 weeks old.
Will be in touch with good news next time. XXX

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting!!!!

Here we are still in Sydney (Tuesday 21st)just waiting for that all important phone call from Aerolineas Argentinas to say that we are ""off""
Gayle and Dennis are in Buenos Aires as they flew Qantas and took another route. AA will not change their flight path, so we have to sit.
If we cannot get a flight by Thursday we are travelling back to Melbourne and will stay there for about one week, then have another go at flying to Sth. Am.
At least the weather here in Sydney has been perfect. Lynne and I went to the pictures Saturday and saw "Bridesmaid". Definately a "chic" film. We all went to Coogee for lunch on Sunday and walked along the beach. Absolutely beautiful sunshine. Quite a few in swimming but too cold for us oldies.
Well, keep your fingers crossed and hope that the next blog will be from South Am.
Bye for now.

The "bloody"Ashes

Here we are stuck in Sydney till the airport opens in Buenos Aires. Our dear friends Lynne and Peter have kindly put us up for a few nights.
The airlines say it will be Sunday or even Tuesday before we can fly out.
Living here is Sydney with only our hiking gear. Great look!!!
Will keep you all posted. Bye from the trekkers. Maxine and Rob.

Our journey is about to begin... 2011

Hi everyone,
On June 16th 2011 Rob and Maxine start their journey, along with friends Gayle and Dennis First stop is Buenos Aires then north to Iquaza Falls. From there our adventure begins.... heading through northern Argentina, Boliva, Peru and Chile.
Following our amazing trek as we backpack our way through these high mountains, volunteering in Peru then down to Chile and back to Argentina.
If you would like to reply on this blog, you must register with blogger.com
There is no fee and we can keep in touch.
Well, here we go. Keep watching this post.
Maxine and Robert.