Tuesday 24 December 2013

The Pink Dolphins and the Brown Water





On the Río Marañón

Christmas and the New Year were getting closer. Bimbino and Bambina had a plan to get till New Year's Eve to Cusco. They had to take a boat as soon as possible. Luckily the boats from Iquitos to Yurimaguas depart daily. The trip would take two and a half days, which was perfect. The monkeys would reach the land just at the right time to celebrate Chrismas in Tarapoto. They got to travel with a boat called Bruno.

The trip from Iquitos to Yurimaguas on the Bruno was quite different to the one with the Arabella-I on the Río Napo. Even that the two boats looked quite similar a lot of factors could not have been more contrary: space, food and hygiene.


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Saturday 21 December 2013

Welcome to the Jungle - Iquitos

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Iquitos, Perú

With roughly 600.000 inhabitants Iquitos is one of the biggest Peruvian cities, nevertheless it is situated completely isolated in the Amazon basin, and only connected to the rest of the world by air and water.

Bimbino and Bambina arrived in Iquitos at a port on the Río Itaya, only a couple of hundred meters away of its confluence with the Río Amazon. It was shortly after midnight and still dark outside. Luckily they were able to stay longer on board so they left the Arabella-I only in the early morning hours when the sun was rising. They found ashore a busy harbor side. All cargo had already been landed during the night, not only from Arabella-I but also from a couple of other boats that lay side by side. The embankment seemed to consist from nothing else but plantains, life-stock and barkers looking for the nearest buyers to sell their goods. A scenario that reminded of old pirate movies, a picture that was only altered by the presence of cars and motor-taxis. Motor-taxis are the counterpart to the Tuk-Tuks of Bangkok and can easily be described as a bastard of a rickshaw and a motorbike.


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Friday 20 December 2013

Instructions How To Get From Coca To Iquitos By Boat



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The whole trip we divided in three parts according to three boats you have to take.


Coca (San Francisco de Orellana) => Rocafuerte

In Coca you'd better spend one day preparing for the trip. You can read about Bimbino and Bambina's preparations here.

First, you have to find a boat to Nuevo Rocafuerte. There were two companies offering this route.


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Wednesday 18 December 2013

From Pantoja to Iquitos


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The boat was supposed to depart on Sunday around 4 a.m., so it was easier to stay there that night. In fact the monkeys were allowed to board and sleep on the boat from the very first day, but they preferred to enjoy the comfort of the clean toilette and shower of the hotel a while longer. On Saturday evening Bimbino and Bambina packed their bags, and stepped on the board of Arabella-1. They hanged their hammocks at the level under the roof as it seamed more spacious and fresh. It was their first experience sleeping in a hammock. To their surprise, it was fairy comfortable.


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Sunday 15 December 2013

To The Other Side


 On the Boat!



It was one of the most beautiful boat rides they had ever had in their life: stunning, a little bit scary, smooth, and chanting. Bambina had to get used to the feeling of instability of the boat, it took some time. But, when she finally could confide in the captain and trust in his knowledge of the river, she was able enjoy the ride. Being so close to the water changed their perception of the river and nature around. It's like the difference between going by car and by bicycle on land. This boat was a bicycle. They were so much more in contact with the surroundings, they could easily touch the water, they saw white birds flying around, and the jungle seemed much closer this time.


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Thursday 12 December 2013

From Coca to Rocafuerte





Puerto Francisco de Orellana => Nuevo Rocafuerte

The boat to Nuevo Rocafuerte was leaving at 9 am, so the monkeys didn't have to rush in the morning. They arrived a bit in advance at the gates of the office, where the salesladies told them to be. The boat was leaving though from the main harbor which was located a couple of hundred meters away.

The boat was able to accommodate around 100 people in quite comfortable seats similar to what you usually have in mini-busses. Other boats on the Coca – Rocafuerte route usually have two long benches, one at each side.


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Wednesday 11 December 2013

Last Preparations in Coca

We have been to Coca


Baños de Agua Santa => San Francisco de Orellana

Hitchhiking started very late that morning. In fact so late that the monkeys started worrying that they would not be able to make it until Coca that day. Reason for that was one promise they had made: the promise to clean Maria’s floors what took way longer than they have imagined.

The first part of the journey was quite easy, but once Bimbino and Bambina had reached Puyo, the provincial capital of Pastaza, the problems started. Standing at the South end of the city it was impossible to hitch a car going West. Waiting was no solution because of the low traffic. Walking however was a nightmare as the bypass road seemed to be endless. Pain in the feet and a sheer endless rain did not make the situation any better. Desperately looking forward to leave that place the monkeys were nearly about to board a coach when a truck driver stopped for them.


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Monday 9 December 2013

Swinging Monkeys


The swing at the end of the world



Cuenca => Baños

To safe some time to make it early into the Amazon Basin the monkeys had decided to go to Baños by busses. First they had to take a bus to Ambato, then from Ambato to Baños. Ambato is the provincial capital of Tungurahua, and everybody who travels to Baños has to change buses here. The first trip takes around four and a half hours. Even though the monkeys left Cuenca late at night, they arrived to Ambato very early in the morning.

Once Bimbino had to leave the bus everything went so fast that still half sleeping he realized that he had forgotten Bambina on the bus only when it had already left the terminal. He had to wake up and react quickly.


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Saturday 7 December 2013

Good Times in Cuenca


Bimbino and Bambina in Cajas




Guayaquil => Santa Ana de Los Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca

Getting out of Guayaquil was quite easy even though there was no information on the Internet about how to hitchhike out of the city. What the monkeys did was what they usually do: go online, open Google maps and scan it for the toll station closest to the city. To find a bus connection they had to look for help from the people on the street. After asking five different people and receiving at least ten different answers they finally encountered a bus going their way. The toll station was called Boliche and located approximately 20 minutes east of Guayaquil.

Hitchhiking in Ecuador is just awesome, better than going by bus. You put your thumb out, wait five minutes, and you have a ride. Bimbino and Bambina made it in two rides, first to Puerto Inca, and afterwards directly to Cuenca. The road climbed and winded up into the mountains, through the mist and cold of the heights to the welcoming sunny valley of Cuenca City.

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Thursday 5 December 2013

Adventures in Guayaquil

Light Tower




Montañita => Guayaquil

The monkeys were standing at the road at the Southern end of Montand ñita holding their thumbs up. They were not worried at all as you always get a ride in Ecuador, especially if you are a cute little monkey. …and of cause they did. After only … minutes a truck driver stopped. Bimbino and Bambina had to jump on the back of the truck were they were sitting beside some huge barrels. Luckily none of them fell over and killed them. The ride along the coast was very pleasant with nice nice views over little fishing villages, beaches and the ocean and the wind blowing in their faces.


In Valdivia the ride was over but the next one was already encountered within minutes.


A friendly driver wanted to give them a lift until Santa Elena, the regional capital. Unfortunately his car broke down just before entering the city which resulted in an one hour walk through the incredibly not beautiful little town.


At the end Northern end of Santa Elena there was a service station, a perfect spot for cars to stop. Two business men were on their way to Guayaquil and were happy to give the monkeys a ride and listened to their traveling stories.


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Monday 2 December 2013

A Lost Sunday






The adventures of Bimbino and Bambina had already started a few months ago, but those tales to be told later. This first story took place in the beginning of December, in a little Ecuadorian village called Montañita.

Montañita is a hot spot on the South American gringo trail, a paradise for surfers, hippies, party animals, and people who like to get high.


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Thursday 19 September 2013

1000 Km of Hitchhiking and Couchsurfing

Máncora is probably the most famous beach town on the Peruvian coast. Warm, clear water, a tropical climate with daily sunshine, and light yellow fine sand beaches make it the perfect retreat for people who are depressed due to the grey skies of Lima. The only problem: Máncora is located more than 1,200 km north of the Peruvian capital.



The monkeys decided to divide the journey into six segments so that they could see the most interesting archeological sites on the way...

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Friday 13 September 2013

5000 Years of the “New” World


When people think of Peru, the images to appear in their minds are of the Incas and their ruined city Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and is the main tourist attraction of Peru. Most tourists visiting Peru see no other archaeological site in the country, although there are many others worth visiting. "Oh, more Inca ruins?" - you might wonder. Sure, but the Incas are only the tip of the iceberg! Many other civilizations settled in Peru: some as old as the Inca Empire, others thousands of years older.


"How old are the Incas then?" - you might ask. The Inca civilization arose at the beginning of the 13th century, but Tawantinsuyu (the Inca Empire) was not founded before 1438. When the Spanish conquistadores arrived at the beginning of the 16th century the Incas hadn't yet been ruling for a single century. By 1572 the last Inca stronghold had been conquered and an empire, that once stretched from southern Colombia to the northern parts of Chile and Argentina was no more.


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Thursday 12 September 2013

Lima Limón 2013




Recently we have written a post about Couchsurfing Camps. What are these camps? These camps are multiple day events with a festival like character, organized mainly for the members of hospitality exchange networks. You can read about Couchsurfing Camps happening in Europe here:

A Brief Guide to Couchsurfing Camps.


Before coming to South America the Travelling Monkeys had already been dreaming about organising a big Couchsurfing Camp in Peru. Moreover, they found out that their friend Zuli, a native Peruvian living in Vienna was about to travel to Lima at the same time like them. Therefore, they decided to organize such an event together in the Peruvian capital.



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Tuesday 3 September 2013

Paracas: Romance at the Sea

BimbinoBambinaBoats





The Poor Man's Galapagos

Most people dream of visiting the Islas Galápagos when travelling to the west coast of South America. The majority of these people, however, never reach that goal. Instead they end up taking a trip to Peru's Islas Ballestas, another marine fauna sanctuary and a place that few people have heard of before travelling to South America.


The reason for this is simple:
While the Galápagos are located nearly 1.000km west of continental Ecuador, the Ballestas are only a stone's throw away from Paracas, a little town in the Ica region on the Peruvian coast. Reaching the Galápagos is really expensive, but it is rather cheap to get to the Ballestas. That's why they are often called the “poor man's Galápagos”.


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Thursday 29 August 2013

Lima: Grey, Strange, and Way Too Big

LimaArchitecture


Transatlantic

Getting to Lima was slightly easier for our two little Monkeys than getting to Madrid had been. Luckily they did not need to hitchhike as they’d found a cheap open-jaw flight over the Atlantic.

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Friday 16 August 2013

Madrid: Europe's Big Mystery

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Jardines de Sabatini. View of the Palacio Royal de Madrid (Royal Palace of Madrid)


Madrid is with nearly 3.3 million people the third biggest city within the European Union, the capital of the Reino de España and the seat of the Spanish Royal family. Despite these facts is Madrid relatively unknown to many people. Reason for this is probably the lack of an outstanding landmark. Rome has the Colosseum. London has the Big Ben. Moscow is home to the Kremlin and Berlin to the Brandenburg Gate. Even Barcelona has more sights attracting the average traveller. But Madrid? What can you find in Madrid? - A good question!



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Tuesday 13 August 2013

By Thumb Express to Madrid


View Hitch Madrid in a larger map


It was a Sunday in August 2013 when Bimbino and Bambina started their big South America adventure. Bambina had found a cheap flight to South America via Holiday Pirates, a blog that is specialized on cheap offers for travelers: 306 Euros for an open-jaw flight, Madrid – Lima, Lima – Frankfurt. The only question remaining was how they would get from Germany?

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