CAUTIOUS CARGO ↑ This way up ↑: Overland backtrack (Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru) and onto Ecuador, May 2014

To get back to our starting point in Lima, Peru, we travelled overland from Uruguay through Argentina (stopping for two days in lovely Salta) and northern Chile. It took us one week. The hostel where we´d met, The Point, was sadly fully-booked so after a day or two in Lima we continued north to Mancora, my favourite Peruvian location, where our diets improved immeasurably and by that I mean in variation and certainly not in moderation.

Once into Ecuador, we huffed it to Montanita where we stayed for a week. Matt surfed, and we hung with English couple, Bianca and Simon, some nights. One night, Matt suffered the consequences of Russian hospitality. And vodka. Played cards and chilled at the beach where the polluted river would occasionally flood.

Inland to Banos, where there were massive Lord of the Rings landscapes. Several waterfalls. Stayed at Jewish-ran hostel, hiked up to the cross that overlooks the town. Watched a bungee jumper get pushed off the bridge, just like Bianca had been. Mountain-biked all the way to Mera where we crossed various bungee and rope swing set ups, forward-facing and upside down zip cords across valleys and canyons. We had to bomb it back to the hostel lightless on our bikes, as we missed our stop on the bus.

Whilst in Banos we both had piping hot, body-tingling thermal baths (not good for my glasses). The next day I saw a man selling multi-coloured chicks in paper bags to school children. Toffee slapping in doorways, Banos´ local speciality. The next stop was ´sleepy jungle town´. Misahualli, which was the first truly sweaty location and where we would access the outskirts of the Amazon jungle.