In 2000, to my great delight, I spotted a three-week South American trip that included a visit to Machu Picchu, a boat ride down the Amazon, and a flight plus boat ride in the Galapagos Islands. I’d wanted to visit all three and booked immediately; it was the first trip I’d made solo, although it was with a company.
We flew from London to Lima then on to Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas, high in the Andes in Peru. As we were leaving the airport, we heard a group playing pan pipes, they were selling CDs of their music, so I bought one. I was very fond of the music – it’s very iconic and on hearing that music, I’m immediately transported back there. I also went white-water rafting - a new, noisy and fun-filled experience - along the Urubamba River which flows from south east of Cuzco, to way below the Inca Trail to the ‘hidden city’ of Machu Picchu, feeding eventually into the Amazon.
The second part of the trip involved travel from Iquitos in Peru to Letitia in Colombia - a paddle boat trip along the Amazon that was full of nature’s music. We docked at night, and the sound of the cicadas was unmissable, as were the amazing calls of exotic birds and wild animals all around us. On arriving at Letitia on the morning of our fourth day on the Amazon, we were greeted by a thunderstorm - the sound was deafening. There can’t be anything quite like a tropical thunderstorm!
The incoming plane which was to take us to Ecuador was unable to land, so it flew back to Iquitos. We had to stay a night in Letitia and experienced the sounds of city activities until dawn. We woke to a bright, clear morning and boarded the plane to Bogota, where we changed for onward travel to Quito in Ecuador. After further flights to Guayaquil, and on to San Cristobal Island, we entered the Galapagos Islands volcanic archipelago in to our own little boat with a guide.
The natural music was outstanding. Once clear of the island, we saw and heard enormous rays [skate-like fish] leaping up out of the sea, flipping over and falling back. There were all sorts of other musical noises - from the sounds of people buying and selling their wares, including fish and produce for our meals, to the tropical rain pelting down on the tin roofs.
We lived on board for the full six days. One day when snorkelling in a bay of one of the islands, I heard a squeaky noise and felt something tugging; it was a pelican taking an interest in the bright blue neoprene shoes I was wearing in the sea!