Eccentric encounters

Angel (pronounced in the Spanish way: "an-khel") is a cute, 10-year-old boy that I met this afternoon, on day 3 of the Santa Cruz-Llanganuco hike. He was sitting all by himself on the side of the track, minding a small herd of donkeys and horses, while his father went off to catch trout in the river nearby. I chatted with Angel for a little while (he spoke good Spanish — not just Quechua!), and I gave him a pen, which all the kids around here ask you for (they need them for school). Happy little chappy: who knows, he could be a tourguide one day.

Chris and I met Sharon at the end of last week, in Huacachina, where she was chilling out with the rest of us. She followed us to Lima, and she's been hanging out with us this past weekend. She's a London girl, of Filipino descent, who enjoys splurging on some cheap Peruvian clothes shopping, and who is never hungry when it's meal-time. Very laid-back, and a bit indecisive, but good fun.

Troy's been hanging out at Casa de Arena, the resort / hostel in Huacachina, even longer than us. Apart from being completely stoned, he's also a funny and a somewhat unbelievable guy. He's been travelling through Central and South America for 15 months, and he hasn't got a ticket back home to Oz. He spent a year backpacking in the Middle East, through countries like Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. And his facial hair is serious enough to even compete with mine. Total tripper.

Roy was our guide on our three-day hike in the Cañon del Colca, and he's one of the funniest and craziest guides I've had so far on my trip. Every time we asked him how much hiking we have left for the day, he'd say something like: "nueve horas mas" ("nine hours more"). Sometimes it was hard to tell whether he was joking, or being serious. But we all loved his humour, and he did a great job of leading us through the canyon, and of then helping us get safely back into Arequipa at the end of the trip.

Lovely couple from Seattle, USA, that came with us on our three-day hike in the Cañon del Colca. Sarah's a nurse for psychiatric people, and Dan's an ESL teacher (also a qualified Spanish teacher — he spent many years living in Central and South America). Dan also has a massive patch over his left eye, which he lost to cancer a few years back. These people were good fun to take hiking, and to share a few beers with.

Great little kid, and the eldest son (out of three kids) of our tourguide for our three days in the Salar de Uyuni, Raul. This was Willy's first time tagging along with his Dad on a salt flats tour, and he loved it. He was brought along mainly to help with the cooking, but also to see how the tourguide thing is done (he'll probably be a guide too, one day), and just to enjoy the ride. I gave him my salty dice at the end of the trip.

Leila is a blonde-haired young girl from Basil, Switzerland; and Christina is her high-school friend from southern Germany. These two girls were in our tour group, for our three-day tour of the Salar de Uyuni; and we then kept travelling with them for a few days, until Iquique in Chile. They're great fun; they're rougher than they look; and speaking of which, they don't look too bad at all.

Issac was the guy who took me up the crazy climb of Huayna Potosí this weekend. He's an incredibly fit and ready-for-anything guide: he climbs the mountain as much as three times each week; and he knows it like the back of his hand. Couldn't have got to the top without him.

Orlando is a guide who takes his job very seriously. Like all the jungle guides in Madidi, he's a real character. When he walks you through the jungle, he goes stealthily, on tiptoe; and he motions for you to do the same. When he thinks he can hear an animal nearby, he turns around rapidly, and brandishes his machete, as if daring you to make another step or to produce another sound. And when he discerns that some animals are on the move not too far off, he suddenly breaks into a run, and you have to follow accordingly if you want to see what he's chasing. But also a relaxed, friendly, and amicable guy.

Another great Juan Carlos that I've met on my travels. This Juan Carlos took care of us during our three days in the pampas, mainly just driving the motorised canoe, but also catching anacondas for us, and taking us piranha fishing. A very relaxed and friendly guide, who knows his terrain like the back of his hand.