Peruvian Woodcock is not black pudding with a feather in it.....DAD!

Hola from South America!

After a rather bumpy flight from Cuba to Peru, we spent a few days in the very cold capital city of Lima. Temperatures were way below normal for this time of year and the governemnt had declared a state of emergency in some parts of the country, good job we still had our thermals!

Whilst in Lima we visited the museum of the Spanish inquisition. We saw models of the prisoners being tortured and having their bodies stretched on the rack, hung upside down, water torture, and burned with them having their feet roasted! It just goes to show that nobody expects a Spanish inquisition! But nothing like the Monty Python sketch with fluffy cushions and a comfy chair!

After a visit to the cathedral in the main square (visited by the pope about 10 years ago) we went back to the hostel balcony to watch the biggest festival ever put on by a Supermarket, called Wong. ( Urvy thought it was Wing but as Pete points out, you dont want to get your Wings Wong!!) It lasted for about 7 hours and they had floats for everything from Toy Story to a Spanish rap about the importance of cleaning your teeth. It finished with a big fireworks display in the park. There were literally thousands of people crammed onto the streets - it was more than a bun fight to get to the front!

The next day we headed down the coast to the town of Paracas, which was severely damaged by a massive earthquake two years ago and still suffereing from the effects. Although hotels and hostels are up and running and rebuilding, some of the locals are still living in shacks.

Here we went on a boat trip of the "Poor Mans Galapogos Islands" - the Isla´s de Ballestas. On the way out to the islands we saw the "Candelabra", a huge three pronged Geolith carved on the side of a hill, thought to be carried out by either a pre-inca civilisation, or aliens, nobody knows for sure. The islands are home to thousands of birds, hundreds of Sea Lions and tonnes of Guano (bird poop), which is quarried and exported. The guide told us the men work on the island for at least 30 days in solitude and have no company but tourists on the boats. The main inhabitants were Perviuan Boobie birds, its the most boobies Pete´s ever seen in one day (with permission from Urvy!) although there were also Pelicans and Humbolt Penguins. This was definitely a day for a hat and a nose peg, fortunately we didn´t receive any direct hits.

Next we took the bus to Nazca where we went on a flight over the famous Nazca lines (hold onto your breakfast!).

Love Pete & Urvy.

XXXXXXX

Cuba diving - heels, cigars, rum and revolutions

Hello from the Carribean man! (and carribean woman)

After our brief stint in Mexico City to avoid capture by the US immigration service, we touched down in Havana. We stayed in a Casa Particulares, which is a bit like staying with a family and having bed and breakfast but with only two bedrooms, as this is all the government will allow. We stayed with a lovely family, Alleyn and her daughters Amanda, Amelia, Ameya and son Andy. We think she may move on to the letter B for the next child!

Again we met up with some other couchsurfers who were in Cuba at the time and hung out on the famous Malecon drinking rum and coke, although in Cuba they drink rum then a coke chaser! We also wandered around the old town and drunk several Daquiri´s at Ernest Hemingway favourite bar, La Floridita. However, when we found out they were half price next door, we moved sharpish (despite not being able to see Hemingways bronze bust from there. The barmaid had a low cut top on though to make up for it).

As a communist country, Cuba is the most different place we have been to so far. Most of the things in Cuba were made or grown there. Everything is used until it is broken and then fixed again, and as a result there are hundreds of classic 1950´s cars still being used. Mobile phones were only allowed 2 years ago, and the internet is only to be used by tourists. if the locals want to use it they get charged double! it even has two currencies, one for the locals and the other for Castro to tax the tourists with!

Amercia and its large conglomerates have not been allowed to trade with Cuba since about 50 or so years ago (since Kennedy was in power) and therefore there are no fast food chains, hideous advertising or mass obesity there! (no offense to our american pals!).

The downside of this is there are only a few food shops with little in them, although plenty of cheap rum and cigars, cooking oil and toilet rolls available.

Whilst we were there we visited the Museum De La Revolution and saw Castro and Che Guevera lead Cuba into the revolution. And we also saw Granma. This is actually the tiny boat he and his 80 men sailed to the island on from Mexico - and not his mother's mother. After that we watched the world cup final in a bar with David, Enrique, Natalie and Paul and several other couchsurfers. Its fair to say there were not many dutch fans in there, so the result made everyone very happy.

We then spent a couple of days in Viñales, the tobacco growing region also wonderful for trekking into the limestone hills (geology reference from the resident geologist). On the bus journey there with our American casa mate - Mark we met 2 more Americans. Hi to Jen and Daniel and hope you have a good trip in Cuba.

Although after an hour of a salsa lesson on our first day there, our calves were killing us and we were walking like a bunch of old cubans - so went to the local big fancy hotel and looked out onto the town whilst drinking rum.

Hello to Mark and thanks to David for helping to arrange our acommodation and making our stay in Cuba as good as it was. We hope all our good friends keep in touch, and wish them much felicidad! ( Spanish for happiness)

Much Cuban love, Urvy & Pete.

XXX

What the hell am I doing drinking in LA........and Mexico

Hello

So we arrived in LA and immediately went into a Sushi restaurant where we had arranged to meet our couchsurf host Ted, as recommended by Ted. Unknown to us was that Ted had never been in the place and it was slightly more interactive sushi place than usual. This meaning when any new customers opened the front door the staff would cheer loudly and everyone in the place spun around to look and did the same! so we tentatively opended the door 2-3 times with our back packs on to check if we had the right place!

The place was full of hen parties and grad students, and then 2 confused backpackers! When the DJ asked where the furthest place people had come from, the Americans all started naming their hometowns and their places of origin, so it was safe to say the England shout won!

Ted finally turned up after we had been made to join in an embarassing adult version of the Birdie song, and took us to an English bar for a pint of 'Boddies'.

During our stay at Teds, we went to Hollywood Boulevard and did the Walk of Fame, Madame Tussauds - Pete got close to Salma Hayek (finally!) and Urvy got around Justin´s trouser sna- er sexy back! We also went to universal studios where Pete pushed his rollercoaster count up to a whopping 4!! We went on some of the rides twice (really!) Careful Pete - you'll be on double figures soon! On Santa Monica beach he went for a round rollercoaster 5! Ted then took us to a place called Titos Tacos which had people queing across the street. Ted almost u-turned towards some cops to park up - whoopsie! The Tacos were worth the wait, and an American lady in the que told us they it would be better than the food we'd get in Mexico! Well there's an American endorsement!

Luckly for us Teds lovely neighbours Charles and Anna held a 4th July party on the 3rd (we flew to Mexico on the 4th in our divine wisdom!). All of his neighbours, housemates and family looked after us well - seeing we had a hot dog and beer at all times!

Thanks for everything Ted, and we look forward to seeing you again in the future.

Viva Mexico.......

We had a short stop in Mexico before we went onto Cuba - as instructed by the man in Trailfinders 'so the feds would't get us for going to Cuba!'

It got off to a bad start before we left LAX as they have no internet - and when we phoned to confirm the Hostel reservation they couldn't put anyone up as there had been an explosion - taking out electricity and water for 3 streets each way. So a kind pregnant lady loaned us her laptop to check the replacement hostel was ok (thanks random lady!).

Once in Mexico we checked into the hostel (which had clean smelling tenants and lighting), we met a nice French bloke who had arrived in Mexico 2 days before his bag was due to! Pete traded his clean t-shirt, spare toothbrush and some soap, for 2 days worth of Spanish interpreting - Merçi beacoup Jeremy! or should that be Graçias! (Pete would do well in Prison!)

We had enough time to mooch around the Zocolo, and eat a few enchiladas, then onto Cuba!! Ariba ariba!

Take care all of you - not to get sunburnt or drenched - whichever the case maybe!

Pete and Urvy xxx

Gay Pride took no Prisoners in San Fran!

Hello all!

Hope everyone is well!

The bus journey from Vegas to San Francisco was hellish. The journey was 20hrs (should have been 15 - like that makes it better!) and went via LA. Everyone in America was also trying to get to LA for the first anniversary of Michael Jacksons Death. So the bus was full of junior gangsters and Beyonce wannabes wearing Michael t-shirts, who sang (if you can call it that, more like swinging a bag of cats against the wall) all the way there. Lovely. After arriving late, and thinking we would miss our connection, we found out that it was also about 3 hrs late. So we hung around the bus station in LA for a couple of hours from 1am until 3am in the morning in a que of about 100 or so people. Its in a really glamourous part of town called South Central! Eventually, after stopping in every backwater town in California, we arrive in San Francisco about 5 hrs late.

On arrival we phone´d the person we were couch surfing with to find out he had mis-read our information and had nowhere for us to stay...... just what we needed! Thankfully he found one of his couch surfing friends who put us up for two nights. She was lovely and we had a great time with her, eating at the best Vietnamese restuarant in town! many thanks Hang! We love you Hang! (no we do - shes a great lady!)

Our first full day there turned out to be the same day as the San Francisco Gay Pride Carnival, and we thought Las Vegas was an eye opener! We spent a great afternoon there with Hang and her other couch surfing friend, with the highlights being watching the gay line dancing and a set by the Backstreet Boys! After that we drove up the coast over the Golden Gate bridge to the mountains north of SF to Mountplais, and the beach which was really beautiful, despite Pete sitting on an ants nest and getting his bum bitten!

In the next few days we moved to a hostel in downtown, rode the cable car to the pier and went on the Alcatraz tour which was really great. We would definitely recommend it if you ever get the chance. We especialy liked the spaghetti throwing riots in the dining hall!, and the fake heads the prisoners made for the night of their escape, plus the infomation about the Native American takeover of the island was also very interesting.

We couldn't spend much longer in SF as we had to get to LA for our last three nights before our onward flight, so we booked a bus (not Greyhound) to LA for the 4th of july celebrations!

We know we are a bit behind with the blog (currently in Peru writing this!) but hopefully will catch up soon enough. We are well and have had a fantastic time so far, and hope everyone is also well and enjoying a tradition English Summer (hosepipe ban and torrential rain from what I understand)

To all the people reading this blog - thanks and please add yourselves on as followers so you can make comments!

All our love to everyone,

Urvy and Pete. XXXX