Mexico

Susan Kerr

What can I say; I was offered a trip to visit Mexico City, Playa del Carmen and Cancun by one of our operators and who would say no?  I travelled with Air New Zealand to Los Angeles in their Premium Economy class which gives you not only extra leg room and your own cabin, but from Auckland to Los Angeles you get the same cabin service as their Business class, so beautiful wines and superb food!  Only drawback was I had to sit at LAX airport for 6 hours with the transfer times but at least they have an outside grassed area where you can relax.

Mexicana airlines were o.k. but the chicken and mash potatoes were a shock after my previous leg. Mexico City has more than 23 million residents, so more than the population of Australia and is located at an altitude of more than 7,000 feet and surrounded by mountains so it is in a spectacular setting and I initially put the ‘giddies’ down to flying but discovered the altitude was more the culprit.

I stayed near the Zocalo which is local name for village square but this one is huge with, as you can imagine, impressive churches, public buildings, museums, etc. and also an archaeological digging site showing the cities below.   The Aztecs used to rebuild a new city over the top of the old one regularly.   We visited Frida Khalo’s house, an artist who is highly revered and has a reputation as being a rebel.   Being a particularly non-religious person, I found all the churches a bit of hard going but the one that is stand out is Templo de San Lito.  Not only does it lean mightily like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it is absolutely huge and during our visit an impromptu dance performance was given by some of the Mayan people visiting from the country side, this is a regular occurrence to give thanks for their bountiful lives!

We also spent a day at Teotihuacán and climbed the Pyramid of the Sun which was an achievement considering the size of the steps and the heat that hits you late morning/early afternoon. Our lunch was well earned and I thoroughly enjoyed this days outing.

A couple of days later we flew to Merida, a small local town on the eastern seaboard side of the country, and on our arrival were greeted with weather reminiscent of Melbourne in February;  42 degrees with a very, very hot wind, wow!   Of course we did not know it was this hot and after unpacking our bags at our gorgeous hotel, Casa Del Balam we found our way to the local zocalo for an al fresco lunch.    The food was excellent and the Corona’s very cheap!  Our guide had advised us that you can recognise the local Mayan people by ‘their small bodies, large heads, fat faces and no necks’ not the kindest description, but boy was he right.

Merida on Saturday night comes alive! The city closes the main streets, all the restaurants move their tables into the cobblestone streets and a big party happens every week.   It was spectacular and the handmade goods in the local market and the silver jewellery in the stores were particularly fine. I would highly recommend visiting this town for a few days and ensuring you are there for Saturday night.Next morning after a hosted breakfast and a couple of hotel inspections, we headed off to Chitzen Itza, again 42 degrees in the shade with a hot wind to frizzle your eyebrows.   You cannot climb these pyramids and the difference in the Mayan culture to the Aztec culture is marked, the Aztec pyramids are much bigger and wider than the Mayan ones.  Mexico gave chocolate to the world and if you have seen the latest advertisement showing the Mexican natives and their pyramids – these are Mayan and a copy of Chitzen Itza!

After a couple of hours we headed to the Sink holes which were used for the collection of fresh water by the mayan culture.We then headed onto Playa Del Carmen.  Blessed relief from the hot wind and the drive in was very unspectacular so I was pleasantly surprised by the town.  Cobblestone streets without traffic, a lovely beach and gorgeous shops and restaurants, what more could a tired body want.  The beaches here are very much into the ‘beach club’ culture which is relatively unknown to the Aussie tourist and so staying right on the beach is not a necessity.   With a range of boutique and inexpensive properties to choose from, we visited 9 different styles of resorts and hotels and I found quite a variance between them. You would definitely be careful how and where you selected as the websites are very deceptive. There is a great nightlife culture and the shopping was fabulous.  I have the ‘genuine handmade cowboy boots’ to prove it, oh, and the pottery really caught my eye (and my purse).   Sitting outside at a fine dining restaurant right smack bang in the middle of the main mall, we were well taken care of and the food was excellent and reasonably inexpensive. You can eat really cheaply if you stick with the local peasant Mexican food but it’s nice to spoil yourself occasionally.

Our hotel was lovely, albeit a couple of blocks back from the beach, but great rooms and some with outside spas on their verandas. From Playa we drove to Cancun and checked out a couple of the hotels there, Hyatts, Hiltons, etc., all felt a bit the same to me.   This is very much a place for Spring break crowd or those that just want to sit on a beach without much local colour or flavour.   Beach is great but it has a long row of high rise hotels on it.  Cancun was originally created at the request of the American Government for an ‘R and R’ base for troops during the Cuba crisis/cold war days. There are some spectacular hotels, but I wasn’t fussed for the Australian market. One surprise to me was the lack of Americanisation in Mexico. Perhaps more to the northern border areas and Cancun, but for Mexico City and the regional towns they are very much geared into their own culture and perhaps that of Spain more so than anywhere else and English is not widely spoken outside of the tourist areas.

On our return to Mexico City we stayed at the Holiday Inn Zocalo, which is a lovely old hotel and doesn’t feel like a Holiday Inn at all with a great outdoor terraced restaurant that has fabulous views of the Zocalo and the surrounding mountains.   On the last day the view of the snow-capped mountain and the smoking volcano in the distance, from this terrace was a great way to end the trip. A return leg with Mexicana to Los Angeles was ordinary but the business class lounge of Air New Zealand was very welcome and one of the very best I have visited.  I had picked up a ‘food bug’ and couldn’t really enjoy the fresh mussels and oysters they had on offer but the shower and comfortable seats eased my pain.  The lie-flat beds were fabulous and I tucked myself under the doona, put the movie screen on, laid back and fell asleep until we reached Auckland.  The last leg home was uneventful.  I would love to go back and visit the other areas I missed out on such as Oaxaca and Puebla where the other half of our group visited and came back raving about. Our operator proved to be reliable, courteous, knowledgeable and friendly and I thank them very much for their company.
Susan Kerr

New Zealand

Denise Prowd

Recently I had the chance to travel with a small group of travel agents to Christchurch for a tour of the South Island of New Zealand and had a wonderful experience. Even though the Air New Zealand flights were quite full, the service, on-board facilities and meals were excellent.

Got off to an early start the next morning and boarded the Tranz Alpine Train from Christchurch to Greymouth on the West Coast. The 4 hour journey through the snow capped Southern Alps provided us fantastic views as the train went through the many tunnels at Arthur’s Pass. The staff on board was mostly friendly and helpful.

After arriving in Greymouth, we drove down to Franz Josef and visited the Hukawai Glacier Centre. The Glacier Hot Pools in Franz Josef was certainly the place to be at the end of the day to relax.   I would love to return for a longer visit.  The next day we experienced a glacier walk on Fox Glacier, a great eco-adventure and a definite must, this was the highlight of the trip, even though I am not the best with heights.  I survived the walk along the track through the rainforest which winds down to the edge of the ice.  We then climbed the ice steps (cut by the guides each day) up onto the middle of the glacier for some spectacular views. We were on the ice for about 30 minutes before making our way down a different track. The sun shone brightly and it was fabulous.

Next port of call was Queenstown which is known as an ‘Adventure City’ and we tried several adventures.   Dart River Safaris was the first.  After a 30 minute walk through the Heritage Trail we travelled along the Dart River in a Jet Boat enjoying lots of spins and the views were great with stunning scenery as seen on "The Lord of the Rings" movie. One of our group did a bungy jump and said it was a real adrenalin rush - I left that up to her. I did do the Shotover Jet Boat Ride however and oh my goodness, the speed, the thrills & the 360 degree spins in those narrow canyons - it was certainly an experience I won't forget.

Next we travelled on the Skyline Gondola, with gorgeous views of Queenstown. I even kept my eyes open and managed to enjoy the restaurant overlooking the town.We then headed off to Milford Sound to enjoy a cruise, but didn't make it. About 35kms from our destination our access was blocked due to SNOW, in May!   It was a spectacular scene but the decision was made to turn around as we knew we would not get through. It was a shame to miss as I had heard so much about it.

Dunedin was next and we enjoyed a Gourmet Walk tour including a Scottish Bar where I tried haggis for the first time, unusual taste.  We visited Larnach Castle, built in 1871, the only one in the country, the gardens and the architecture were beautiful. Certainly worth a visit and you can stay there as a treat.  For all the beer drinkers, you must take the Speight's Brewery Tour, a variety of beers to taste and even I did the taste test. Not bad for someone who doesn't drink beer!

Next we travelled from Dunedin to Christchurch via Oamaru and walked around the Historic Precinct with its lovely Whitestone architecture, before heading off to the Penguin Colony. Accommodation throughout was of a very good standard, comfortable, clean, well located and with great views, I am happy to assist with recommendations.

Another visit to NZ is a must!

Denise Prowd

Japan

Susan Kerr

I managed to get frequent flyers to Tokyo in business class for my husband and I and blew all my points with Qantas.   This is not bad as Qantas plans to sell off their programme and the number of points has already doubled and will double again to get yourself off the ground soon.

Two days in Tokyo went by in a flash of great food in little local cafe s where you were hard pressed to spend $10 for lunch for two of us with a bento box each, soup, salad and Japanese tea!    Great for the diet!    Our hotel, The Palace Hotel is right opposite the Royal Palace and 10 minutes stroll from the Ginza which is still the most remarkable area in Tokyo to visit.    My previous trip was 10 years ago and what a change!    Buildings constructed in the shape of a Camera lens or a huge Rado Watch, crowds everywhere, the Sony building where you can trial all the new gimmicks, kids in crazy gear, Tokyo is just an assault on your eyes!   We loved it!

Japan has been in recession for more than 10 years and 2006 was the first year they moved above zero growth to 3%, so it is really, really cheap but won’t stay that way beyond the next 3 – 5 years I suspect.    Hotel prices are reasonable for accommodation but food prices are ridiculous and you have to get out and mix it with the locals.    Japan is also so unbelievably clean and health conscious, you are always given a hot towel to wipe your hands prior to eating and restaurants are spotless so be adventurous and eat anywhere and everywhere!    Some of the best value eating is in the railway stations or at least, under the railway lines usually in the caves where you have to point to displays in the window or to what your neighbour is eating if it looks good.    But don’t fear if you have any problems, some business man or woman will more than likely speak some English and jump to your aid.

The train service is still incredibly efficient and we caught the Azzuzu 11 directly from Tokyo to Hakuba in the Japanese Alps for our one week of skiing we had prebooked.    This train trip takes about 2 and a half hours and by the time we arrived the only other people in our carriage were a couple also from Melbourne.    The trains not only arrive and depart on time, the carriage door stops exactly where it is marked on the platform – the Bullet train passes are excellent value for money and you can reserve your seat there but it is much easier to organise before you depart if you can.

Our arrival at Hakuba station we were met with the latest Toyota Tarago,  heating on full blast and our driver in a uniform with white gloved hands to assist with our luggage!    A 5 minute drive through the town and past chalets had us in our hotel in the Wanado area (Toorak of Hakuba) at the La Neige Chalet which was a bit like a French Country manor house.   With superb efficiency, we were check in, bags unloaded, tea poured and left to unpack in about 5 minutes!    The beauty of Japan also is absolutely No Tipping!   Blessed relief!

We had paid for half board and the first night, Saturday, the restaurant was quite busy.   Beautifully located amongst the spotlit trees the elegant restaurant serves 5 course healthy style Japanese version of a French dinner, we were in heaven!   The only blight was the very noisy Australian guy and his wife bleating on about emus and kangaroos to some of their local friends, that made us laugh as the stories got more and more ridiculous, we decided to become Kiwis for the night!

The next morning after breakfast we got kitted up in our ski gear, me with my brand new French ski suit feeling a million dollars that the chauffeur waiting to transport us to wherever we wanted to go, took one look and decided we knew what we were doing and drove us straight to the gondola – no problems he said, this is the best place for us to ski – it took off all the way to the top, no stopping, straight out into the whiteout!    Luckily, I didn’t know anyone there so the skier screaming down the mountain and abusing her husband for not checking the route, in the brand new French Ski suit went unrecognised.

The next day we had a dump of 75 centremetres in 24 hours and fresh snow every night after that made for the most spectacular skiing, sunshine, great food, friendly natives, empty runs, polite snowboarders (unheard of) and all so very, very cheap, $45 a day for your lift pass and about $5.00 for lunch each day.   The Japanese Alps are specatular and stretch for over 200 kms and there are more than 600 ski resorts in the region.   This is great treeline  skiing!

From Hakuba, with its great restaurants, lots of space, and great scenery, we headed over a mountain pass to Takyama for a couple of nights.    Takayama is a beautiful mountain village that retains its old wooden houses which are world heritage listed and the only way to stay is at a Ryokan.   Ryokans are traditional Japanese inns that used to be inexpensive but now are a rarity and priced accordingly.    You have breakfast and dinner included and generally wear traditional clothes provided for you, so it’s a lot of fun, especially as we don’t speak Japanese and their English was almost non-existent!    The food was spectacular but I draw the line at raw and slimy octopus for breakfast!

After Takayama, back on the bullet train to Kyoto where we spent 6 days just wandering around through the beautiful gardens and palaces that are everywhere.   Don’t stay in the city of Kyoto if you can avoid it, stay on the edge of the city centre either near the Imperial Palace or on the hill to the east at the edge of the Gion area where the Geisha's call home and some of the best restaurants are located.   The city centre is just a high rise shopping hell, whereas the surrounding areas have beautiful gardens and quiet back lanes to walk through.   We stayed on the hill behind the Gion area overlooking Kyoto walked everywhere, it was a great adventure!   Breakfast each morning was taken at a little café done up in a Japanese version of rock n roll with some amazing local characters chatting over milk shakes with Elvis playing in the background!

We took the train to Nara one day and visited the largest wooden structure in the world, a buddist temple which was spectacular and wandered through the tame deer that the locals feed too much!    Nara is a hour by train from Kyoto and the day trip was enough, I was happy to stay for a week in one place and day trip around! From Kyoto back to Tokyo for another couple of nights was a great way to finish our holiday, the only problem was by this time I had enough of Japanese food and hit the gorgeous French style coffee houses and restaurants so all the good, healthly food and living was blown out the window with the pastries and cakes I consumed at the end.

Japan, we will be back!

Sri Lanka

Susan Kerr

After months of late nights spent trying to organise our Sri Lanka holiday, we finally settled on an itinerary and on 25 December (after a very early Christmas lunch with the family) we caught a flight with British Airways to Singapore. I hadn’t been to Singapore for more than 10 years so was in for a big shock, what a change! We stayed at the Fullerton Hotel which used to be the Post Office, located on Boat Quay; it’s a bit like staying in a converted GPO Melbourne. Our heritage room was sublime with balcony access to the pool and overlooking the quay.

An hour after checking in we were sitting at an open air food stall overlooking the waterfront and eating the best Nasi Goreng we’ve had in
years. I had forgotten how good the food is in Singapore and the wine! Singapore was not the best place for wine when I was a regularly traveller-used to buy either spirits or beer only-now we’re sipping on beautiful inexpensive wines with the smartly dressed local young groovers!

Next day, after walking through some of the most beautiful gardens I have seen for a long time we hit the shops, boy did we hit them. Had a break to check out Raffles and have a drink, it was about midday and whilst sipping my drink, I noticed that Alan’s glass was shaking and moving across the table and yet not a breath of wind anywhere and nothing else moving, weird! Being the well-travelled fountain of information I mentioned that it was common to have earth tremors in this region, but he seemed not to believe me and just laughed.On returning back to our hotel to shower and pack for our trip that night with Emirates to Colombo, Sri Lanka, I turned on the TV about 3.00 pm local time to see all the drama of the ‘tsunami’ starting to unfold through the BBC. I telephoned Emirates immediately to check our flights and they had no idea what was happening, called my family to tell them we were still in Singapore and o.k. and my sister-in-law laughed thinking it was a joke! Reception staff and manager at the Fullerton ended up in our room watching the TV with us as they also had no idea.

Eventually, we decided to continue our holiday, no-one at this point had any idea of the magnitude of what was to unfold. I am not a timid traveller and figured at worst we could get on a plane and come home in a couple of days. Problem was, we had family staying at our house and everyone else was away, not sure where we would go.Flew in to Colombo to a total mess, but I believe this is the general state of affairs, and after trying to find someone to transport us, spent the first night (3.00 am by this time) at the Taj Garden Hotel not far from the airport near Negombo. We were checked into a suite, nothing to get excited about, a very ordinary hotel similar to a Flag city hotel. Problem was the next day we were asked to leave as all of the government officials started to return and we started to hear the stories about what had happened.

This was about the only time I saw anyone in tears, the reception boy was devastated and unsure how his family in Galle were. After mix up with transfers as the hotel thought they were collecting us at 1200 midnight, it transpires this is quite common and we had many, many mix ups with transport over the next two weeks. We finally were on the road to the Elephant Corridor. Made it there late afternoon after driving over dodgy road, mangy dogs and anything else that got in our way. Our driver tooted his horn all the way for five hours, he did not stop. The new and fabulous ‘Elephant Corridor’ is situated in the cultural triangle near Sigyria Rock, on a tank (local name for a lak).  Elephant Corridor had been difficult to book into and we had to change our itinerary due to peak season demand,but of course, with the Tsunami, everything changed and we were upgraded to the Royal Suite which was so huge it was the size of a house almost with it’s own plunge pool. In fact, the veranda had a metal contraption overhead that had five wooden hand fans attached and when you hit the on switch these fans waived backwards and forth, just like in the old movies.

We were originally booked in for two nights only due to lack of space and supposed to head to Kandy, but decided to stay on longer. We spent four nights at Elephant Corridor. The first day was spent trying to find out what was happening and offering advice to fellow guests who were very distressed. So while all this was going on, we enjoyed the beautiful surrounds and that afternoon climbed into the back of 4wd jeeps and chased wild elephants through the jungle. We climbed Sigirya Rock, visited Polynawara, ate and drank lots of good food (some local food) and wine and watched all the horror of the tsunami on the TV at the same time.The roads were crowded with many trucks delivering food, clothing and other essentials from inland villages to the devastated areas on the east coast. In Sri Lanka the colour white is a sign of a death in the family. As we travelled through the land nearly all the houses in the villages had white flags outside and the local girls dressed all in white. What a time to be there!

At the end of our stay in this most gorgeous setting, we caught up with the head chef who had just returned from a few days off. He told us the story about how he spent Christmas day with many of his close relatives in Colombo and the next morning waived them off from the railway station. Six members of his family were on the train to Galle that was swept out into the ocean by the freak wave, all dead! He told us so calmly. I started crying, I have tears in my eyes now remembering. Everyone was so calm, so concerned about us, amazing stoicism.We were supposed to be going to Bentota after two nights in the north and three in Kandy but when we finally got through to the villa, they told us everyone was fine but not to come down yet, very messy and hard to get through and the water was not back on yet, so we moved to the hills in the centre of Sri Lanka to the old capital -Kandy.

The middle of Sri Lanka is like a long spine of mountains. When we climbed to the top of Sigirya Rock we could see this amazing sight for miles
to the south towards Kandy. Sigirya Rock has an amazing ancient fortress built on the top and is classified as a world heritage site.  Being driven is an experience here because as most of the driver’s do not own their vehicles they tend to drive in top gear when passing a bus in traffic four lanes across with a truck coming at you is the best way to save petrol. A six hour road trip through foggy and soggy hills in a car with saggy springs! It’s just lucky no-one drives much past 40 kph, you can’t anyway as traffic is so heavy and so many old trucks. I think the Singhalese can put anything together with a piece of wire and keep it running.

There is no where to stop for lunch or a toilet break except for the government run guest houses, so you need lots of water with you and a good bladder!  I know some people talk about travelling by bus, never! The local buses are absolutely jammed packed to the rafters and veer around corners so scarily I am surprised they don’t tip over, there is no way I would get on a bus and the trains don’t look much better, very slow!  Kandy, is in a lovely setting built around an artificial lake where we had booked into a hotel that was highly recommended by some of the locals, yuk!!  The ‘Tree of Life’ looks like something left over from the 60’s and the room they gave us was right up the back had a gorgeous view but it was awful. The furniture in the lobby was original furniture from the 50’s and so was the carpet – dark, dank and dusty, no atmosphere and no-one else there I think.

We checked out immediately, sourced our and told the tuk tuk driver to take us to the best hotel in town, according to our Sri Lanka guide books the ‘Swiss Residence’!  Well, this place was up the top of a hill in the middle of a very ordinary area and had once been the Embassy of the Swiss Consulate, I don’t think it has been renovated since it changed hands and also had been furnished by the same decorator as our previous hotel I suspect. Again, at the back of the hotel and up many, many stairs into a very drab room with yellowing lino and a threadbare bedspread and a small balcony badly in need of a paint job! The view outside our room was to the Giant Buddha right next door and I mean right next door. It is ok to hear the chanting at sunset, but because of the tsunami disaster they were now chanting at sunrise also, fine, except who was the bright spark that gave them megaphones!

By this time it is New Year’s Eve and all celebrations and fireworks have been cancelled for the last night of mourning and now alcohol allowed. Alan and I went to the buffet and with 8 other people had the quickest and quietest New Years Eve ever, quite appropriate, however, they not only banned alcohol at the hotel they locked up our room fridge and we couldn’t even get a coke! Never mind, we were checking out the next day.

I have stayed in some flea pits before, but this literally was - I got the bites to prove it!!  Finally, we check into the ‘Thi Lanka’ Hotel on the other side of the lake, an old guest house that has been added on and added on to, we had the new Japanese rooms overlooking the town and with the jungle directly behind us. The Sales Director lived in Melbourne for 7 years, at Bayswater. We had a couple of very nice days wandering around and watching the monkeys stealing everything not nailed down including handbags, shoes and cameras from around the pool, they are so cheeky you have to lock the balcony doors or they will steal items from your room. Our room opened directly to the terraces and they got really cheeky coming right up to us and trying to open the door while we were standing there.

Alan was sitting in the garden on a deck chair reading one morning very quiety until I screamed, he jumped, and the mongoose which was sneaking past his legs got the fright of his life and we all went scattering in different directions, too much wildlife for me!  Had a couple of great meals at local restaurants (believe it or not, it is very hard to find good places to eat in Sri lanka outside of the capitol) and hit the shops!

We were taken to the main market place where all the locals shop and met up with several other tourists and caught up with all their stories from 26th December. One young British traveller had just arrived from Galle and had literally given all his clothes to the locals and was on a buying spree to get some clean clothes, other girls from Sweden had also given away much of their belongings and money, most of them had been in the Galle area and we heard stories of trucks packed with dead bodies and how they would never be able to get the sight out of their minds.

Many people at our first stop had said we should all go home and get out of the way, but most of us agreed we were better to stay and attempt some form of normality and help the local economy along. If we all went home, then the kids working at the hotels would lose their jobs, especially as all the new flights arriving were coming in empty!  Everywhere people were collecting for charity; trouble is you didn’t know who were real and who were scamming!

Don’t ever book a half board room in these places, the meals are buffets set up for the European market and just awful!  We ate out!  Finally, we got through to our hotel, ‘Villa Mahoti’ and friends in Bentota where we were originally supposed to be and they told us everything was now cleared up and it was o.k. to visit.  A seven hour journey later down from the gorgeous hills and through some extremely rough roads and ordinary countryside we hit the coast.  Firstly, we drove through the area where they filmed the old Tarzan movies and the Bridge on the River Kwai – the jungles in Sri Lanka are quite stunning.

We had seen many sights with help pouring through to the east coast and now finally we saw some of the devastation on the coast. One town untouched, the next decimated. The rubbish and mess on television was nothing compared to reality, like a pack of cards, buildings had collapsed and it was like balsa wood everywhere. Generally, the only thing standing was either the mosque or the church because they were solidly built on higher ground.  We made it to The Villa at Bentota where Geoffrey Bawa had resided. Sri Lanka’s most famous architect, he had invented the horizon pool or endless pool that is so common throughout Asia now. His landscaped gardens and hotel designs are everywhere and amongst some of the most stunning in the world. This house had been converted to a private Villa several years ago and it is gorgeous. Only nine rooms, no air-conditioning, no television, no radio, no fridge, no mini bar, Alan thought his throat had been cut!  It was heaven.

I had the best three nights sleep in years under a mosquito net with the fan slowly droning overhead and all the shutters open to catch whatever breeze there was. It was weird though, no-one on the beautiful beach, no boats in the water and a rather overcast sky with still high tides, made for an all too eerie feeling for me to go very far into the water. Luckily, Bentota had been pretty well untouched, although two of the hotels around the corner had been badly affected, mostly the foundations as they have been built on sand right on the beachfront. We heard stories about how the locals had run screaming along the beach telling everyone to run as the tide was sucked out about 3 kms before a huge wave came crashing back in, we now know this was the effect from the tidal wave washing across the Indian Ocean and sucking the water along with it. The wave came tearing back in right into the ground floor rooms of the Taj Exotica hotel and our little property, luckily was the other side of the small railway tracks that run between some of the hotels and town and right on the edge of the beach, very unusual. No-one was killed in this region, this was somewhat comforting. We managed to talk to several of the fisherman who had nothing to do, they had lost their boats and many of their friends were still out at sea and had no idea what had happened.

The Villa is now run by one of the son’s of the Aman group of hotel owners and the food is superb as well as the wine, very inexpensive by our standards but bloody pricey for Sri Lanka. We ended up being the only guests in the place so the service was rather full on. It is a stunning place to stay. The Saman Villas, small luxury hotels of the world chain, had rooms available when I rang -$US400 per night plus tax 25% and no discounts, we were much better off where we were. A very quiet area, a few shops, couple of seafood restaurants and lots of reading and walking, fabulous, but constantly tinged with sadness. Luckily, most of the people we met had not lost any family.Several days later, dragging my feet, I didn’t want to leave, we headed to Colombo.

We now had to drive through many coast areas badly affected by the tsunami and saw huge fishing trawlers sitting in the middle of roads and fields hundreds of metres from the ocean. There were large earthmoving vehicles and cranes starting to move them back off the road and we drove past the upturned boats in the shallow waters that we still see on the TV now but at least they were finally being cleared away.You had to crack a joke or two, I heard someone saying they ‘moved faster than a tsunami’ – the locals are quicker at cracking jokes than we are.   We will return, after they have cleaned up from the tsunami……..

Susan Kerr

Sth America

Susan Kerr

After leaving home at 4.00 am in the middle of winter, we boarded our Qantas jet only to sit on the tarmac for 3 hours before finally taking off.   At least they gave us some water during the delay and I must say the crew were excellent but I was starving by the time we finished our flight, the food was very, very light on and I can eat only so many snack packs.

It is winter in July in Argentina and cold, much colder than Melbourne – 6 degrees on arrival into our first stop, Buenos Aires.  Known as the ‘Paris’ of South America; I guess this is because it has been mostly settled by Europeans and has a strong Italian and French Immigrant background from the early 1900’s, whereas most of the other regions in South America have a much  more indigenous base.  Did you know that the Tango was invented by Italian migrant workers who were brought to the country to work on large infrastructure projects, a bit like our snowy mountain scheme, just after the first world war and through loneliness they invented the Tango dance amongst others, for some social contact and women only became part of the actual dance in the late 20’s.   It’s a ‘must’ to see a Tango show with dinner during your visit; they are very well done and not too touristy.  Buenos Aires is really a series of villages with a centre near the port area that has the famous Florida pedestrian shopping zone, the upmarket Recoleto area, Palermo and St Elmo areas some of the main ones to visit.  There are plenty of markets and on the weekends you may see some of the locals dancing Tango amongst the stalls, lots of little boutique restaurants and many old mansions are being converted to fabulous boutique hotels.  You could easily spend a week here.

We next spent a night in Lima on our way to Cuzco.   Lima is the capital of Peru and located on the Pacific Ocean.  It has an unusual climate with no rainfall to speak of, they have a ‘mist’ that comes over the city most nights that provides moisture and with the water currents coming directly up from Antarctica it has quite a cool climate; the city is actually mostly overcast for 9 months of the year, we were lucky to see some sun apparently.

The private National Archaeological Museum located in Lima is a must to visit, the Manager is so passionate about the history of the Peruvian people and you learn  quite a lot about the tribes preceding the Incas who are considered the ‘fly by nights’ as they were only around for 150 years or so.   The Incas are so well known because they were the tribe that was prevalent when the Spaniards arrived, until wiped out!   The Peruvian people are very proud of the fact that they eventually drove the Spaniards out and so you have a much more indigenous race than found in some of the other countries in the region.  Lima centre is a bit like a small version of Mexico City.

Next stop Cuzco!   Wow, what a flight we had into this amazing city sited on a plateau surrounded by the stunning Andes Mountains.  We circled around and around until the pilot lined up the landing and we touched down.  I must say Lan Chile airlines were fabulous throughout the entire trip.  Cuzco is a town that begs spending several days especially with the altitude issues.   It’s a lovely old town with a population of 40,000 approx. where lots of groups headquarter before heading off for their Inca trail trek, backpacker’s of all age groups abound and it’s just full of energy.    It is difficult to sleep and breathing can be laboured for a few days, but the worst for me was the headache I had for 24 hours until I downed a local beer and a strong coffee one lunch time and it disappeared, maybe I was suffering from coffee withdrawal but all I know was the local tea they recommend didn’t seem to do anything.

From Cuzco we departed at 4.00 am one morning by road to the train station.  We then caught the Vista train in the freezing cold with no heating to Agues Calientes where you then get on the small bus and climb up the goat track, locally known as a road, till you reach the gates of Machu Picchu sanctuary.  There is actually a hotel right at the gates so I was a bit peeved not to be staying there, hah!   You can leave your coats and bags at the cloakroom located at the small café right outside the gates.  It because warmer as the day progressed and  the sights we saw that day were fantastic, we were very lucky with the weather as it is often cloudy and we had a clear blue sky, my photos are spectacular!   It was quiet in the morning but became more crowded as the day wore on.  A surreal experience, especially in the light of recent weather events.

Later that day we spent a few hours in Agues Calientes which is a great little town where the old railway used to finish, however, it was closed due to mud slides and the station platforms are now alive with little cafes and shops which give it a great buzzing atmosphere.

Our journey then took us to the Sacred Valley and sent a couple of days in this gorgeous spot.   There are some other ruins in this area well worth visiting and the local Pisac market is famous for the handmade good available.  Our local operators are involved with a charity to assist one of the local isolated villages and we spent a day at this mountain village, a project to be lauded and supported, however, I’m happy y to assist in a monetary sense, but not one that is keen to sit around chewing the cud with local farmers anymore, been there done that in my younger days and the novelty is well and truly gone, but the scenery was beautiful.

Back to Cuzco for our last night in Peru, I just loved this city and the atmosphere is electric.  We returned to Buenos Aires for a few nights.  The clothes shopping is excellent value especially the leather goods and I did a bit damage to my credit card.  Whilst I enjoyed this city, I think my overriding memory is of Peru.   The people are very friendly and welcoming, the food is excellent and I must say that I have seen some mountain ranges such as the Swiss Alps and The Rockies but the Andes are breathtaking in their height and splendour and the scenery in Peru was so much more than I expected.

Susan Kerr