Cusco is renowned for its party scene so it was time we got involved. We spent the next 4 days bouncing between Jacks breakfast cafe which was amazing, Nortons biker bar and the numerous night clubs around the main square that lure you in with free drinks. Some of Clarkey's mates from Coffs were...
Day 1 - Km 82 to HUAYLLABAMBA We were picked up from our hotel at 6:30am and met up with some of the other people in our group before hopping on a large bus. Our tour was a bit of a mixed bunch, everyone was pretty young and the group consisted of heaps of Argentinians, some Peruvians, some...
Julie and Farina were headed in the same direction as us, so together the 4 of us hopped on a bus headed for the Peruvian border. The border crossing was fairly uneventful and we arrived in Piura at about 9pm. It was a seriously dodgy place and we all felt unsafe. We had dinner at a dodgy Chinese...
After a week in Banos it was time to start heading south towards Peru. My 7 nights at Plantos Y Blancos hostel including breakfast and bar tab only cost me $80US ... amazing! We decided to head to Peru via the mountain route instead of the coastal route as we had already had heaps of beach time....
On the bus ride from Quito to Banos, my small backpack which was between my legs on the bus at all times was slashed and all the stuff in the front pocket was stolen. They got my underwater camera, normal camera, Lonely Planet, laptop charger (so laptop is now useless) plus heaps of little stuff....
Flew back to the mainland and checked back in at the Backpackers Inn in Quito. The next day we caught the cable car to the top of Teleferico which is one of the mountains overlooking Quito. From there we then hiked to the top of nearby Volcan Pichincha. It took us about 2 hours to reach the top...
Situated about 1000km off the coast of Ecuador and consisting of 15 islands, the Galapagos Islands are a truly unique and beautiful part of the world. They are home to a vast number of endemic species of plants and animals. Galapagos means saddle in ancient Spanish and the islands were given this...
I met up with Clarkey again at Quito airport and together we caught a shuttle to The Backpacker's Inn in Quito. We stepped out of hostel the following morning and were greeted by a vagrant hurling a brick at us! Fortunately it missed but we decided to head the other way down the street. Not the...
I did a solo mission to Panama for a couple of nights as it’s the only Country in Central America I hadn’t been to and I’ve always been keen to see the Panama Canal. I stayed at an awesome party hostel that had been recommended to me by numerous people called Lunas Castle and it didn’t disappoint....
We arrived in Colombia quite exhausted after the Carnival festivities in Rio. Clarkey’s uncle Peter met us at the airport in Bogota and took us back to his apartment. After a couple of good sleeps we were back in the game and spent the next few days relaxing and exploring the city. Bogota is...
Another overnight bus and a short ferry ride and we found ourselves on Illa do Mel, an island off the East coast of Brazil. The island is car free and is fairly basic and has a few surf beaches but unfortunately there wasn't a wave in sight. There wasn't much to do which suited us as sleep wasn't...
After a slight detour to Santiago, Chille due to bad weather, our flight eventually made it to Buenos Aires. It was a long 20 hour journey. We made our way to the hostel only to discover that it was full of weirdos and had the atmosphere of a wet blanket. We were absolutely exhausted but managed...
Desmond's latest movie. Filmed on Bondi beach New Years Day 2008. We had an absolute ball filming it! Or view it on You tube here:
Well I've been back in Australia for almost a week now. My parents and sister met me at the airport in Sydney last Sunday holding "Welcome Home Dan" signs .. quite embarrassing .. hahaha. We went to my sisters house in Glebe for lunch and the first thing I did was order a pie ... loved it, missed...
After an epic 14 hour flight from New York I arrived in Tokyo quite exhausted. With the help of a very friendly Japanese business man I found my way to the hostel in Asakusa. Jetlagg ensured that I was awake by the crack of dawn each day which created plenty of time for sightseeing. The first day...
After a stopover in Miami where I felt like I was still in Central America due to the Spanish speaking influence, a few grillings by US Immigration (they are so strict now) and a couple of bag searches I arrived at Philadelphia airport. Kate picked me up which was really nice and we drove into...
Monday was my first day of Spanish classes and talk about brain overload!! It was an intense experience! The classes consist of 4 hours of one on one tuition every morning (8-12) and are a mixture of speaking and grammar. Great way to learn! It´s got slightly easier as the week has progressed but...
The Lonely Planet describes Antigua as a haven for backpackers who want to half ass study Spanish ... not too far from the truth really. It´s a very beautiful city nestled in a valley surrounded by three volcanoes, one of which is still active! It´s a Colonial town and has a cool town...
Our introduction to Belize was transferring from a Luxury Mexican Coach to an ancient ex-American school bus (they call them chicken buses) just before the Mexico-Belize border. The bus ride to Belize city was total mayhem, the bus seemed to be going around in circles and took forever to arrive in...
From Cancún we checked out nearby Chichen Itza which is an ancient Mayan city. It was pretty spectacular! The huge pyramids were particularly impressive. The acoustics in the Ball Court were amazing .. you could whisper at one end and be heard 40m away at the other end. My high pitched Cooees...
Dan's Capers used to be a blog about my travel adventures but it has evolved into a collection of my thoughts and things I like. Enjoy
