Poodling down the amazon in your little canoe, the outboard whirring like an egg beater and the jungle looking like green wool, all knotted up with sticks and tree stumps, it{s easy to think you have arrived in the {real wilderness{. You think that as you drape your fingers in the muddy water - Amazon mud - Amazon water, and as you watch big chest-beating clouds gather ahead for a yodelling session of Pantheon proportions, as you dodge the plate-sized butterflies and the fork-equipped bugs. You think that until somebody cuts the engine.

Then! Then you realise that you are not in the wilderness until you are in its silence. Being freed of the engine fast-tracks you out of what you thought was {peace{ into what IS peace. And the biggest...

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Watching the girls set off for home with their woven baskets, beaded necklaces, sandals, hammocks, urns, plates, pyjama pants and allergic reactions as a tropical storm spilt over the edges of a Simpsons cloudscape last night brought tears to my eyes... and it wasn´t because they looked so..... different to when I first met them. 

A farewell sonnet for Natalie, Renee and Chloe... read this poem the wy I am, with a massive purple sky hanging down over El Cyber Cafe, thunder booming in across the Amazon, and a quiet place inside which understands the words as the password to another world.  with love, Jade xxx

Life is full of strange coincidences and spooky timing, is it not¿

Miss Jen Duffy, you are the Madonna of the meaningful synaptic bleep, and it is a true delifght and a wonder to see traces of your good self here on my blog. Huaraz is not the same without you. Mind you, all of South America is not realy the same without you ... haven´t seen a Smurf (for one thing), nor any sign of green vomit or Kermit and the devil. That could all change soon though, because - just for one more time - I´m back to Vilcabamba - just can´t get enough of that cocktail with the cactus and the chuppa chupps in it! 

What news oh acrobat of the waterfall¿  Still Asia-side¿ No plans to swing by this neck of the enchanted forest? It´s almost been too long...

...

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If you want an unpredictable, streamy, dreamy ride through the smoke and mirrors corridors of the universe, then hitch a ride from the Andes to the Amazon, it´s the Bermuda Triangle of Chaos ... where strange things disappear and even stranger things are simply just true.

I was reminded of Alices´adventures in Wonderland by William on the plane (thank you William, this was just one illumination you gave me and I hope we get to meet again so there may be more) ... for reasons involving tea parties and madness ... and today I feel like I have slipped another notch down my own rabbit hole to find yet another eccentric dimension of reality - one that had been missing for a long time back in the more solid reality of Sydney. For one thing,...

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This morning we met up with Gudrun again and took a taxi ride (tuk tuk thing) to the markets where we bought some fruit & vegetables for lunch.  At the market we also bought 2 turtles which were bound up and being sold to be eaten.  Of course we didn´t want to eat them for lunch.  The poor things were dehydrated and scared.  Gudrun said the one which was tied up with sticks and string had obviously been like that for days.  It was sad.  We took the turtles with us on the boat across to her rescue centre and splashed some water on their head to give them a drink.  They both came out of their shell and started roaming around the boat which was pretty cool.  Although I tend to think they were just trying to escape being eaten.  Now they are safe...

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This moring we all woke up felling positive and looking forward to the day. Yesterday was one of the hardest days so far for me...climbing San Antonio pass was more challenging than I had envisaged. Nonetheless we all did it as a team, and today was meant to be no where near as physical. The trek today took us through a valley, along a massive rivier and culminated in a town called Huaeyappa. The terrain out of camp quickly flattened and transformed into meadows scattered with large boulders and cute little glacial streams. We walked or rather meandered for a few hours through this terrain and after a while the scenerey started to change, in what could only be described as quiet english country side. Trees started popping up, which was unusual...

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My green slime and I havejust watched the Andes slip away under the wing of a tiny plane on our way our of Huaraz and onto the Amazon.

: (

Not sure how the team feels about it, but I was sad not to have more time in the mountains, and another chance to trek... even though the Huayhuash has left me with a blistered eyeball, burnt lips and a deeply imbedded green slime situation which has given me unusual expertise on the quality of Peruvian tissues (mostly only good for one blow, no sneezing, and a touch rough on the skin which is why I have lost about half a pint of blood since coming off the hills). Not that I´m complaining. I love those mountains, and that crazy rubble-strewn town with it´s chickens in all states of life and death, and it´s flowers so incredible they look fake. Could eat the avocadoes and the potato chips as long as the elastic in my pants holds out.. and wouldn´t mind givng it all away to live Peruvian, if only it was with the blue skies and the sweet ocean of home. The mountain makes real men out of the sober ones, and they leave the Aussie suits for dead. Zac, our guide, for example, can re-stitch a sleeping bag in a 5am snow squwal, cook pancakes by 7 and then carry a girl 8 hours over a glaciar if she shouls so wish... and still look freshly ironed, cheerful and bursting with the wealth of an open heart and a healthy soul at the end of it .. evn if said girl is now demanding a hot water bird bath, three litres of soup and a game of Pigs (which it would be best for everybody if she won).

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Today is my 37th birthday and I had breakfast in the Andes and dinner in the Amazon. What a cracker of a way to spend a birthday! Nat, Chloe, Lissy and Jade are all excellent at this birthday business. They organised cake at our farewell to Huaraz dinner with guide Zac and cook Abraham last night. And they showered me with some local gifts this morning at breakfast. I am really grateful to them for putting in such a great effort and it certainly made the day feel even more special.

We spent most of the day in transit from Huaraz to Iquitos. A small 20-seater or so airplane out of Huaraz to Lima and then standard issue plane to Iquitos. Apparently the airport in Huaraz is new, according to Jade it didn´t look as slick last year. We suspect...

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Last night we changed tent buddies - Chloe and I were now budding up! I was secretly grateful that I was still in the bigger tent, although I knew my time would come. By the time we had started walking this morning the sun was up, which was fantastic because it meant I was warm and that I could shed a few of the layers of clothes I had on!My knee injury was starting to get noticable in the mornings...I had a small amount of niggling pain through out the night. I tried to put the pain out of my mind. I had walked well yesterday, and was feeling good, so I was confident that today would go well too.The first part of the walk (there are may parts of the walk...) had quite an up slope. The track thread its way through two large moutains- with a...

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This morning I woke up feeling different.Not only because my stomach no longer had cramps, but today we were starting our journey into the Huayhuash. The whole point of today was to get to our first camp site for the trek. It was a 5hr bus trip into the Andes! Zac, our guide and Abraham (our cook) were with us for the bus ride, so it was a good opportunity to get to know them before the trek. Once we left Huruaz, the scenery quickly changed from mud brick buildings into sparse medows and distant snow capped mountains -it was beautiful and I felt a sense of excited apprehension about the up coming days in the mountains. We passed through little towns which were built into the sides of massive mountains; over muddy glacial rivers and saw numerous...

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It´s about five hours since our team of sweaty, greasy, sun-struck and wonder-lusted Girls on Top made it back to the beeping, bleating, tooting, spitting town of Huaraz with its miracles including laundromats, taps, pillows, coffee and vegetables. The shock of ´reality´ has jolted me, as it always does, into a sort of sleepy overwhelm and shopping madness... the man-made world seems so insane after the infinite silence of the hills where everything necessary is so much quieter, and subtler, and gentler. In a mad scramble to make it all make sense the best thing to do seems to be to spend money - or walk fast -or look at magazines - it´s simply just Too Much to stay moving at mountain pace and watch the helter skelter of the built world in all...

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After a very comfortable stay in the cutest hotel in Chiquean, it was time to head back to Huruaz. Before breakfast, I got up early to sit out in the sun and enjoy the beautiful garden...I was quickly found by the resident dog - a rather large golden retriever who reminded me of the big white luck dragon, Falkor, out of the Never Ending Story. He made me shake his paws a few times, than ran away to play with the cat. It made me smile though, such a simple gesture brought such delight to him. And that was typical of our time in the mountains, everyone was always so happy!!After breakfast and a change of tyre for the bus, we loaded our gear and started on the 4 hr journey. Everyone was surprisingly sleepy...I guess after 12 days of hiking across...

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 Well I made it!!! I am very proud and excited to say that I managed to stay with the trek and to really enjoy it. After my last blog my attitude changed and I was actually enjoying myself. Yes there were still some hard days and yes I still struggled but there was a different attitude about it!!! I was happy to be there and happy to be in the team.

Today we packed up our last tent, sleeping mat and bag, strapped our bags on and headed for home. We had a lovely stroll (well kind of a stroll pushed by Zac into a trot) around the edge of the mountainside, where my footsteps weren´t being watched as my eyes were looking for the perfect stone. (There were so many minerals in the mountains that all the shiny stones were drawing my attencion...

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Today I have bragging rights on 2 accounts so I´ll be taking advantage of themn in my blog. The pass today was  difficult as usual, and glorious views as usual.  At the pass I took an alternative route from the rest of the Girls, and walked along a ridge with Zac (our wonderful guide), with superb views on either side.  Snow capped peaks.  The others hiked straight into camp.  It was an incredibly difficult descent off the ridge and into camp as it was amazingly steep and slippery, with dry grass and shale under our feet.  I was proud of myself for being so fearless and arriving at camp not too far behind the other chicas. At camp we stripped...

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Today was a tough day at the office. 6 hours walking, 5 of which were uphill. I physically felt better today that I have done all trip (great, day 10, now I acclimatise! better late than never). From my perspective it was a good day. However we all found the endless ascent difficult, especially after our luxurious night in a bed last night and a few drinks to celebrate being in a town. I did however have a hissy fit at the ¨fake pass¨ie. the saddle of a mountain which begins the pass but is not and let me be clear is NOT the pass. I was so sick of walking uphill by that stage that I had to express my fustration to the landscape (and Lissy). These Andes are mountains that just keep on giving - just when you think you are nearing the top.... but...

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It´s hailing.  Or rather it´s snowing giant snowballs the size of frozen peas and corn.  The snowman ´Nuevo´, made by Chloe, Zac and Jade has now fallen in the storm.  But Zac is relentless and has not only restored him, but gave him legs to stand on!  We are warm and dry in the mess tent, drinking anis and chamomile tea, and munching on fresh popcorn.  Life surely is tough. Not much to report.  We gunned it into camp today, arriving with the entire afternoon to play.  Chloe and Nat played soccer with the boys, while Jade and Renee scored at the same time as reading their novels.  I was back and forth from the tent to the river to bathe and...

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Wow this was a big decision to make, I had to decide that I could and wanted to continue on. I had to fully appreciate why I am here. I wrote this letter on our free day at the hot springs. Contemplating my true reasons for being here...

 

I do want to be here. Why do I want to be here? Because I chose this. I chose to be in this beautiful countryside. When I first found out I had won I ran into the mailroom and jumped around yelling `Im going to Peru, Im going to Peru`. This is not a trip I would of organised on my own. But one that I want to make the most of. I knew that I would be faced with personal...

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Today we hiked to a peak of 4800m.  I guess we were all pretty proud of ourselves by the top.  The views along the way were unbelievably  stunning -  pristine torquoise lakes and small avalanches occurring in the peaks around us.  Another condor.  A muddy boot.  A horse that worked twice as hard as all of us.  A touch of snow.   Constant temperature changes.  And a few nasty gusts of wind.

I mostly enjoyed the day, although now in the late afternoon, I feel more tired and sore than elated and trusting of my body.  My pack has been rubbing against contact points on my body and is creating a lovely pink and tender rash.  I guess I should be grateful...

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We are sitting in a tent with snow and rain pouring down around us. It is our 5th day into the trek and I am feeling really homesick and not really enjoying it very much at the moment. It is so much harder that I thought t would be, this is no stroll through the mountains. 4500m high and you can hardly breathe, I get exhausted just walking a few metres!!!

The first mountain after we left our first camp was quite large and it was hard but I managed it!. It was very steep and very rocky but I felt great once I had reached the top. It was a sence of achievement and I felt proud that I had done it. However this was not the end, once you reach the pass after hours of walking up up up, you go down down down and walk for another few hours around...

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Our designated rest day dawns much as the others so far - clear and cold but there is a different vibe this morning. We´re not walking today. Last night we collectively decide to have a rest day. Chloe and I are feeling physically fatigued and Chloe is feeling a bit of emotional fatigue. We have both hit a wall after 6 days of hiking - I needed some time out to buy back into why I was doing this. I was finding it pretty full on, rolling out of bed and within an hour starting a steep ascent to a pss. Chloe was feeling the physical strain and was homesick to boot. Our rest day is perfect. We are camping at a spot that has hot springs. Two pools, 1 for swimming and 1 for washing. After breakfast, Nat, Lissy and I head straight for the baths and to wash our clothes. Chloe heads for the tent for some time out with a book....

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First day of walking today. We are being really well looked after by our guide, Zac, the arrieros, Javier, Samuel and Fernando and Abraham our cook. A cup of tea was delivered at 7am to start the day along with a bowl of hot water to wash. This is deluxe camping! With the help or our crew, the only thing we have to worry about is walking. There´s a bit nervous energy as we have a steep ascent ahead of us and its the first official day of walking. None of us really know what´s ahead but we´re keen to get going. Jade tells us that once we get through day 1, we´ll be fine for the rest of the trip. It was a climb to a pass of 4700 metres. This is the highest we have climbed so far. I found it really hard going - being out of breath and doing the equivalent of stair climbing is tough. I kept thinking of how great it would be for my butt and thighs - just think thighs of steel was our catch cry when it got hard. We are all challenged by the ascent and there isn´t much talking on the way up....

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they say it takes sunshine and rain to make a rainbow. 

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What a journey, after many many many hours of flying, transfers, stop overs and bus rides we have finally arrived at Huaraz. And wow what an eye opener this village is. First of all I have never been to a third world country like this before and to see all those people living with no electricity, heat or power it makes me really appreciate what we have. I just want to help them all but unfortunately there is no chance of that. It makes me upset but it is their way of life.

Our hotel is quite cute up on the hill with fantastic views from our bedroom window of snow capped peaks wherever you look. I have never seen a view like it and it is so amazing to look up at those mountains everyday. It took a while to get used to the lack of oxygen...

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