So, where exactly is Ecuador? Where is Peru?

Given that some people have asked where exactly Ecuador and Peru are, I thought I'd do a quick post to put you in the picture so to speak.

The Plan is that we fly into Santiago in Chile (toward the top of the skinny country that Chile is, then we fly to Quito which is towards the top of Ecuador, very near the Equator - hence the name Ecuador.
From Quito we go west in Ecuador for a cruise around Amazonia, then back again to check out Volcana - Cotapaxi, then out to those tiny white islands on the Equator to the left of Ecuador - that's the Galapagos Islands.
Then eventually to Peru, to Lima on the coast, Cusco inland and finally Macchu Picchu, before returning to Santiago for a few days before flying home.

Back on the home front, things are progressing slowly, lots to be done in the next 10 days at work, then packing and final preparations, then it's off. Can't wait.

Again feel free to comment.

Here's to a great week.

Less than four weeks to go...and counting!

Well, the time has flown since booking this trip. Aunty Sue and I spent a few days here and there getting the details sorted and Uncle Keith did an AWESOME job of arranging flights, once we had sorted out our itinerary and accommodation.

All the planning was done by us thanks to the wonders of the Internet, Trip Advisor, Google etc.

Aunty Sue also put me onto a fabulous APP - Trip It! - which I have been using and it basically keeps track of your itinerary and accommodation bookings on the phone...it counts down too, so it is actually 25 days till we leave.

I have been studying the "Lonely Planets" and checking out a bit more about what we might be in for.

Also trying to learn a bit of Spanish, thanks to Janine who gave me a CD set for Christmas. Last time we went I was basically ignorant to the language issue and it created a few hassles. We have a Spanish speaker at work, and I think I am doing pretty well till I say 'hola' and she answer - in Spanish, firing off like a machine gun and I'm left pretty much clueless. Oh well  I can only try.

Most of the medical stuff is done, I only had to have a polio shot this time, as all the shots from last trip are still good -phew! Now just one more appointment to finalise the malaria and altitude sickness and general medications.

The package arrived from Aurora last week - with final details and luggage tags etc, so it is very quickly becoming very real.

The packing and preparation is somewhat easier than the Antarctic trip - a. because it is not going to be as cold and b. I have purchased most of the necessities last time.

Got a really excellent tip from a photography workshop I attended a couple of weeks ago. Louise Sedgman - our tutor - suggested that all memory cards should be reformatted in preparation and then for each card take a picture of your luggage tag/business card, that way if you lose a card, your details will be the first picture on the card... so that took a bit of time today. Thanks Louise.