3 May, 2024
A little change on this website
In the past, this website was sort of my place to keep family and friends in touch. I first set it up in 2005, just before going away to Peru on travels. It was a great. Facebook had been invented but wasn’t generally available or popular yet, other platforms weren’t well thought through or scattered, […]
26 September, 2010
Peru, Chile & Bolivia Gallery
A gallery of some of my favourite in-camera images from Peru, Chile and Bolivia a few weeks ago. They’re not necessarily strong photos or selected as such – just photos I myself enjoy. I have more, but they either need tweaking (straightening horizons, etc) or some real work to bring out the best. I’ll post […]
11 September, 2010
A Better Type of Criminal
Arica is a relative crime free city, but as with anywhere it pays to be attentive. Most crime in Chile is opportunistic in nature, as opposed to the occassional strangle muggings and minor ATM kidnappings you have to be wary of in Bolivia and Peru. So I heard this story, of an eminent British archaelogist* […]
9 September, 2010
Border Crossings and Empty Airports
I’m sitting in the emptiest airport I’ve ever experienced. I suspect they only operate a couple of flights a day from Tacna. Consequently my only company appears to be a bored check-in attendant for a different airline and a barman who’s mopping the floor. And I’ve finished all my books. I have little else to […]
28 August, 2010
Arrangements, part dos
Anyone who’s experienced the death of someone close to them will know that there is often a lot to do. No exceptions here, plus the added pressure of limited time. However, I’m not entirely unhappy about the time thing… makes me get things done. Cementaria Parque de Arica So, following the funeral I went yesterday […]
24 August, 2010
Chris Coveney…the Introduction
I’ve started writing this post in Amsterdam airport…I’m on my way to Arica in Chile where I’ll be (hopefully) burying my father, Chris, who died on the 19th of July. I say hopefully not because this is something I’m looking forward to but because I face a number of legal and monetary issues with the […]
6 August, 2010
Differential Pricing with Airlines
The traveller on a budget faces the very real problem that airlines employ differential pricing depending on where you are. Here’s my example – the next post will explain whether I got the lower price or not!
12 November, 2008
Cuzco by Night
Cuzco is one of those places – full of foreigners who got there and thought “hey… let’s stop a while longer” and then don’t leave for years. It’s vibrant, beautiful, friendly and prosperous. See it while it’s still relatively unspoilt. If you like this shot, you may wish to check out my photoblog, which I’m […]
3 April, 2008
Santa Catalina Convent, Arequipa
The water looks dirty, but isn’t. You can see the goldfish clearly enough after all. The Santa Catalina Convent in Arequipa is an astonishing city within a city. In spite of the noise and bustle of the city outside, it manages to maintain a quiet calm. The nuns who lived here (and a small number […]
29 July, 2007
Being a b3tard…
I have a thing about the b3ta.com site. It keeps me tickled in those quiet moments. The fact they mentioned my botfly incident in their newsletter meant this site’s traffic and ranking improved a fair bit for a while, and occassionally I post answers to the question of the week spot. A couple have made […]
9 July, 2006
That Botfly Story You’ve Heard From Me 10 Times Already
In the Peruvian jungle, along the Amazon, lurk mosquitoes carrying botfly eggs. Nothing exotic ever happens to me on trips, so finally, something interesting to write about. I’ve highlighted this post because since I first wrote about it, this page has been visited by over 100,00 people… who are probably somewhat more scared of jungles than they were before.
27 February, 2006
Oh God
There’s a whole lot to catch up on isn’t there? The jungle, leaving South America, and New York. But you know, I’m feeling kind of lazy at the moment, so I’ll describe things in the way of a five year old. That might make for less typing: The jungle was dead brill!!! There were big […]
24 January, 2006
Gin Tonic in Lima Central
It was Douglas Adams that suggested that wherever you are in the universe, asking for something that sounds like “Gin and Tonic” will usually give you the same drink. Of course I’ve only been able to test this theory on Earth, but so far it had proven unbreakable. So in a non touristy town in […]
Peruvian Food
Peruvian food can be quite easily categorised into the following sections: Salty and meaty. Egg based. Dangerous. Salty and fishy. Scary. Salty and vegetarian. Touristic. Lomo Saltado is one of the classic dishes – fried and salted beef, served in a big pile with gravy, vegetables and chips – all mixed together. There may be […]
Machu Picchu
This place is the jewel in the South American tourist crown. An abandoned town at the top of a mountain that never got destroyed by the colonials – partly it seems because it just wasn’t all that important and a lot because of its rather inaccesible location. I won’t bore on about the history of […]
20 January, 2006
Safety when travelling
A lot of travellers worry about being robbed, kidnapped, raped, or jailed for trumped up drugs charges. But they get on a knackered bus, driven by a coca leaf chewing driver for 12hrs at a stretch, along the most dangerous roads in the world, without a second thought. I´m pretty certain more travellers die in […]
19 January, 2006
On top of t’world!
This is a complete re-write of the original, hurried, posting which failed to cover any detail about the Colca Canyon or Arequipa… or anywhere much that had passed between postings. I hadn’t realised I’d been so scarce with information. Arriving High at Arequipa We took what could only be described as a mobile sauna masquerading […]
12 January, 2006
Sand surfing in Huacachina
Would have liked to, but the thought of falling in sand and filling every nook and cranny of my body with sand just didn´t appeal! So instead we climbed up to the top of the biggest dune we could see, watched the sunset, and then ran down using these comedy strides of about six feet. […]
10 January, 2006
The road to Paracas
And now we find ourselves in Paracas – a four hour bus ride from Lima. It’s a tiny fishing village with a lot of restaurants good naturedly touting for business on the promenade, a small beach, a few hostels and a feeling of chaotic charm. It’s clearly poor as hell, but everyone seems happy too. […]
Del Carajo
At the end of the night a few of us were still ready to party. The reception went from 2pm to 11pm and to be honest… that’s not enough when you have the wind in your sails. Myself and Romana had wondered off from the group to investigate another party in the military base that […]
Wedding!
This was the primary reason for coming here! And hey, it rocked. As the bilingual service started I realised the priest had an obvious and clear Dublin accent. Turned out to be known to the extensive family network of John, the guy getting married. You could see a slight tenderness in John’s steps as he […]
Lima
Right – this is a posting from Paracas. Not had much time to post, and even now I only have half an hour before I’m expected to rejoin the group. Not exactly pricey though – it’s 1 soles for half an hour, which adds up to the almighty cost of 16p. I’m coming to the […]