All posts by A Scotsman in Suburbia

I am not a Grumpy Old Man I am a middle aged man who occasionally gets slightly hacked off with things. My politics are greenish and to the left of centre. I am married again, following being widowed. I own two bikes, one car, one campervan and half a cat. I love cycling (hence the bikes) and cycle sport especially road racing. During the winter I enjoy watching football (soccer if you are North American). I sometimes paint and enjoy cooking and eating.
Peru, Ecuador and The Galapagos, Travel

The Galapagos Islands – Part II

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Friday 6th Isabela and Fernandina Islands

Overnight we sailed from Santa Cruz round the north of Isabela and by breakfast time we were anchored off Punta Vincente Roca.

After breakfast the first item on the day’s agenda was getting kitted out for snorkelling. HX supply all the equipment required, including short wetsuits. It didn’t take too long to find a wetsuit that I could fit into. As well as the other kit, I needed fins, a mask, a snorkel, and a buoyancy vest. The latter was fairly important for me initially. I wanted to snorkel, but I hadn’t done it for about forty years and had never snorkelled in deep water before. I was understandably slightly apprehensive. The buoyancy vest reassured me.

It may seem surprising that a wetsuit is needed to snorkel on the equator (Punta Vincente Roca is actually on the equator). The water in the Galapagos can be surprisingly cold. The Humboldt (a.k.a. Peru) current brings water all the way up from Antarctica, and while it does get warmer on its trip north it is still only 18-19 °C by the time it gets to the Galapagos. Spend twenty minutes in that and you will begin to feel cold.

Isabela Island – Punta Vincente Roca

It was slightly overcast when we set off in the Panga. We went initially on a tour around the base of the cliffs of Punta Vincente Roca. Our naturalist guide Alex explained the geology of the islands. The Galapagos Islands are volcanic and very young geologically. Isabela, the island we were visiting, is less than a million years old. It still has active volcanoes. The most recent eruption was in 2018.

Ready

The cliffs are home to many birds, including flightless cormorants and blue-footed boobies, as well as sea lions and Galápagos fur seals. The Galápagos fur seal is actually a sea lion, just to confuse you.

Flightless Cormorant
Fur “Seal”

Having had our geology lesson and a close look at the wildlife, it was time to discover the underwater fauna. We were already suited up, so all we had to do was slip our masks and fins on. We had a short briefing on what to do in the water. Basically, we received instructions on how to signal the Panga and other snorkelers if we were in trouble, and how to indicate that we were okay. We were also told that sea lions are quite curious and not to worry if they decided to investigate what we were doing.

We had bought an underwater video camera before we left home. What I should have done was learn how to use it. There are a couple of fairly decent clips, which I might include in later posts, but most of the footage is, unfortunately, rubbish.

However, even though I have no photographic evidence, the experience was amazing. Within a minute of entering the water, a couple of sea lions came close enough for me to touch. Parrot fish and Yellow Tailed Surgeon Fish were everywhere. There were also several Green Sea Turtles swimming around, completely ignoring us.

Underwater at Punta Vincente Roca

This video was shot by the professional photographer/videographer on board. It is not my handiwork (unfortunately).

After our underwater excursion, it was back to the ship for lunch and to recover before our afternoon hike on Fernandina Island.

Fernandina Island

Fernandina Island is the youngest island in the Galapagos group. It is also the westernmost. It is less than half a million years old, geologically speaking, hardly even a toddler. It is still an active volcano. Its most recent eruption was in March 2024.

Geological interlude
The Formation of the Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands are a group of volcanic islands situated in the eastern Pacific Ocean. They lie approximately 600 miles west of the coast of mainland Ecuador.

Geological Origins

The archipelago was created as a result of volcanic activity. This process began when the Nazca tectonic plate moved eastwards across a stationary hotspot—an area where magma from deep within the Earth rises up towards the surface.

Island Formation Process

Each volcanic eruption over this hotspot gradually deposited layers of lava. Over time, these successive eruptions built up the land, eventually forming the islands that exist today.

Variation in Island Age

The Galápagos Islands display a range of ages resulting from the movement of the Nazca Plate. Eastern islands such as Española and San Cristóbal are the oldest in the archipelago and have ceased volcanic activity, They are now geologically stable.

In contrast, the western islands, including Isabela and Fernandina, are comparatively young. These islands continue to experience frequent volcanic eruptions, indicating ongoing geological processes.

Isabela Island Formation

Isabela Island stands out as the largest landmass within the Galápagos archipelago. Its size is the result of the merging of six separate volcanoes. This unique formation has contributed to its prominence among the islands.

Physical Features

The majority of the islands possess a conical shape typical of volcanic origins. These formations are characterised by steep slopes and elevated peaks, with some summits rising more than 5,000 feet above sea level.

Back to the adventure

We had a dry landing on Fernandina, which was good as I could wear my walking shoes. The lava floes would have been a bit rough with any other footwear.

Upon arrival, our first job was to pick our way through the sea lion bodies arrayed along the shore and in the scrubland behind the beach.

Sealion
Another Sealion
More Sealions
Sealion playing dead

In addition to sea lions, there were marine iguanas everywhere, along with a few lava lizards.

The scenery in the Galapagos Islands is generally quite rugged and barren. This is not surprising given the recent origin of the islands. The wildlife, however, is very varied. In general, the animals act as if you don’t exist, which is great, and you can get close enough to take most of your photos with your phone.

Arriving back on board, we had time for a shower and a change of clothes before pre-dinner drinks on the after deck. The sunset was spectacular. This meant that we were able to take lots of romantic looking photos.

Me and Di
Helen & Tony
Helen and Di

Dinner was good, then it was time for bed, as another busy day was scheduled for tomorrow.

Peru, Ecuador and The Galapagos, Travel

The Galapagos Islands

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Thursday 5th – Arrival

We were finally off for the main part of the adventure: our voyage around the Galapagos Islands.

After a week of living out of partially unpacked suitcases, I was looking forward to unpacking properly and not repacking for eight days.

We hoped this morning would be the last early start for a while—and we were mostly right.

On our way

So it was up early again, a slightly rushed breakfast, then onto the coach to the airport.

The flight had a brief stop in Guayaquil to refuel and pick up a few extra passengers. We were finally off to the Galapagos Islands.

Bio-security is taken very seriously in the Galapagos. You must make various declarations that you have no prohibited items, your bag is searched and sealed, and you cannot break the seal until boarding the ship. The arrival process resembles New Zealand’s: the plane is sprayed before doors open to kill stray insects, and you must certify you have no prohibited foodstuffs. One additional step is that bags are X-rayed after arrival. The process was seamless.

The transfer from the airport on Baltra to the ship was equally seamless. Our baggage was collected at the airport and delivered to our cabin. Buses took us from the terminal to the dock, where we boarded a Panga (the local name for what we would call a RIB or Zodiac) to the ship.

Intrepid adventurers on their way to an adventure
Frigate Bird

On arrival, we were greeted with a cold drink and shown to our cabins. After a welcome briefing, boat drill, and lunch, we had just enough time to unpack before our first hike.

The Western Route

HX, the company we were traveling with, has three routes for the MS Santa Cruz II around the Galapagos Islands. We initially followed The Western Route, visiting Santa Cruz Island, Isabela Island, and Fernandina Island, then returned to Santa Cruz Island before visiting Floreana Island and finally returning to Baltra Island, where some passengers disembarked and others boarded.

While we were having our briefing, boat drill, and lunch, the ship cruised along the north coast of Santa Cruz and anchored off Dragon Hill. We went ashore for a hike. Dragon Hill (Cerro Dragón in Spanish) likely gets its name from the dragons that live there.

The “dragons” are iguanas: Marine Iguanas and Land Iguanas.

Land Dragon
Sea Dragon

We were divided up into groups of ten or twelve for our hikes and other excursions. Our group was The Gulls. Each group had a very knowledgeable local naturalist to guide us. They also made sure that we kept to the designated paths to avoid disturbing the wildlife. The landing at Dragon Hill was a wet landing, meaning the Panga runs up onto the beach where you jump out into the shallow water and wade ashore.

The first part of our walk took us past a brackish lagoon inhabited by flamingos, black-necked stilts, and a couple of lava gulls.

Pelican
Blue Footed Booby
Beach
Lava Gull

The Lava gull, also known as the Dusky Gull, is the world’s rarest gull. It is only found in the Galapagos islands.

Diane (and Diane) after a wet landing.

After an interesting hike during which we saw Land Iguanas, Marine Iguanas, Flamingos, Black-necked Stilts, Lava Gulls, Blue-footed Boobies, and Pelicans, we returned to the ship for a shower and change of clothes.

Before dinner we were given a briefing about what to expect tomorrow. That was followed by Captain’s welcome cocktails, or in my case a beer, and an introduction to our crew. Dinner was excellent. Then it was time for a small whisky as a nightcap and then bed.

While we were asleep the ship sailed to our next destination.

Peru, Ecuador and The Galapagos, Travel

Our Peru, Ecuador, and Galapagos Adventure – Quito

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Tuesday 3rd – Cuzco to Quito

Another early start, though not as early as yesterday—a civilized 5:30 a.m. wake-up call. We actually had time to sit down and eat breakfast before heading for the bus to the airport.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, our hotel, in Cuzco, the Palacio del Inka, was a remarkable hotel. It offered excellent food, luxurious rooms, and brilliant staff. There was also a lot of history associated with the building. We didn’t get time to appreciate it. Because of the schedule we were on, we might as well have stayed in a Travel Lodge.

This is my only criticism of the holiday. I would have liked this phase to have been slowed down a bit. An extra day in Cuzco would have been good. Our son did a tour of South America a few years back and said that he really loved Cuzco.

On with the journey.

To get to Quito from Cuzco, we had to fly via Lima. The first flight left Cuzco around 9 a.m. and arrived in Lima about an hour and a half later. We had about another hour and a half to wait for our flight to Quito. That flight took about two and a half hours. By the time we had cleared immigration and customs and got the bus to our hotel, it was 6 p.m. There was not much to report about today. The quinoa bars that Latam Airlines serve as an in-flight snack are OK. Still, I would have preferred a packet of crisps.

Our hotel was another Marriott hotel. All the hotels we stayed in were Marriott hotels. This was The JW Marriott Hotel to be exact. It was a modern glass and concrete building, but reasonably attractive. The rooms were comfortable and the food was good.

A pair of very curious travelers.

Wednesday 4th – Chocolate, policemen and The Centre of the World.

We had a moderately sane start to today—our tour left at 9:30 a.m. Waking up at 7:30 a.m. gave us enough time to actually sit down and enjoy breakfast.

Chocolate

Ecuadorian chocolate is probably the best in the world. A visit to an artisan chocolatier was the first stop on our tour of Quito and its surrounding area.

Indemini Baez has been going for about twenty years and is the product of an Ecuadorian-Swiss couple Bertrand Indemini and Cristina Baez. The chocolate pedigree is there. We were given a short history of the origins of chocolate. We were then introduced to how they make their chocolate. Their beans are carefully sourced. All their beans are fairly traded, and they track the source down to the community and plantation level for each batch.

We were given a demonstration of how the chocolate is made. Samples of their various products were tried. Most of their chocolate is in the 55% to 100% cocoa solids range. (The 100% stuff is an acquired taste.) They also make an interesting white chocolate, based on cocoa butter and barley.

They also add ingredients such as chilli, black walnuts, and Inca peanuts to their bars.

Obviously there was an opportunity to buy some of the chocolate, which we did, with the intention of taking it home as presents. Some of it even made it back to the UK. It is very good chocolate.

Policemen (and Jesuits)

Following our chocolate experience, we went for a walking tour of central Quito. We walked to the Plaza Grande, home to the Presidential Palace, various other government buildings and more police than you could shake a stick at. They were all very friendly, almost cuddly. (Unlike some of the police we met later when we were stranded in Guayaquil, more of that in a later post). I think they were meant to be a reassuring presence, which they were. But there were a lot of them.

Friendly Cop
Probably Friendly Cops
Presidential Palace

Moving on from the Plaza Grande we visited the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús (the Jesuit Church). It is, to my taste, a bit over the top. They have overdone the gilding to the extent that if the church were melted down, it would probably solve Ecuador’s national debt. Check out the gallery to see what I mean.

By this time, it was more or less time for lunch. We were whisked off to the El Cráter Hotel, which as the name suggests is on the edge of a volcanic crater (no longer active). The Cráter Pululahua to be precise. The views from the terrace were impressive.

Moderately interesting useless fact: the city of Quito is built over the craters of seven inactive volcanoes.

The lunch was also good.

The Centre of The World

After a short llama encounter, we travelled on to Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World). Ecuador, as its name indicates, is bisected by the Equator. Quito is very slightly to the south of the line. It was fun to stand with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern. Giving Diane a kiss across the hemispheres also had to be done.

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Other than taking a few photos there wasn’t that much else to be done there. There were a few shops and places to get a coffee. There was a reasonably interesting display of the history of Ecuador inside the tower, but other than that nothing to keep you on site for longer than an hour.

It was then back to the hotel for what we thought would be our last night on mainland South America.

There was a bit of time to kill before dinner. As the hotel had a pool I decided to have a swim. I had sort of forgotten about the altitude (2,850 metres). Being about five hundred metres lower than Cuzco, and because I was becoming acclimatised to it, I was no longer getting out of breath just walking. Swimming was different. I found I could only manage about ten meters before needing to stop for a rest. It was nice to have a swim though.

Then it was dinner and bed, before another early start as we headed off to the Galapagos Islands and the reason we had spent the amount of money we did.

Peru, Ecuador and The Galapagos, Travel

Our Peru Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands Adventure – Machu Picchu

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Monday 2nd

Today was a day that held the possibility of being disappointing. Machu Picchu is a place that is on everyone’s bucket list, and possibly the most Instagramed place on earth. What if it didn’t live up to the hype and expectations?

The day started early, very early, a wake up call at four a.m. early. Our wonderful hotel had breakfast waiting for us, with the option of a take-away. It was difficult to drink enough coffee to wake me up properly. I filled the largest cup available to take with me.

We had to be in a place called Ollantaytambo to catch the train to Machu Picchu. The bus journey there was uneventful, I dozed most of the way. Well, apart from when we hit random speed humps placed in unexpected places. We travelled down the Sacred Valley, also called the Urumbamba Valley, as it follows the course of the Urumbamba river.

We arrived in Ollantaytambo in time to catch the 08:00 train to Aguas Calientes.

The train journey takes about an hour and a half. We travelled along the banks of the fast flowing Urumbamba River, through spectacular Andean scenery. On the way we were entertained by a shaman who gave us some of the history of the place. There was also quite a lot about the spiritual and practical uses of coca leaves. I didn’t quite follow all that he told us about the spiritual significance. Still, the practical uses are helping relieve altitude sickness and keeping you awake. There were coca teabags in our hotel room for that purpose. (For relieving altitude sickness, rather than keeping you awake). They are also the raw material for the manufacture of cocaine, but he didn’t dwell on that.

Our Shaman
Coca leaves
Urumbamba River
Urumbamba River

After we arrived in Aguas Calientes, we took a short walk from the station. We then caught a bus to Machu Picchu itself. It is a very long and winding road up to the ruins. Spectacular, but it can also feel slightly scary. Especially if you are not keen on looking down vertical drops of a few hundred meters. After about twenty five minutes we arrived safely at the ruins. But it was the easier way. Well compared to the route our daughter, and also a couple of our friends, took to get there. They walked the Inca Trail. I would point out that they were a lot younger than we are now.

The number of visitors to the site is carefully controlled. Likewise, the parts of the site we were allowed to visit were restricted. There are three designated routes. I went on route two, which has a fair amount of climbing. Diane was still having some trouble with her knee. She chose the low level route three. She also had her own personal guide.

My one piece of advice to anyone planning to visit Machu Picchu is make sure you have decent footwear. You need at least a good pair of training shoes. This is not a place for flip-flops.

Now that I had arrived, what did I think of Machu Picchu?

I was not disappointed. It is as spectacular as the publicity suggests, possibly more so. The choice of my photos below only hint at how spectacular the site is.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining, but I did not absorb everything he told us. This Wikipedia article on Machu Picchu offers a more detailed account of the site than I could manage. It is also more accurate than I would have produced.

One thing I do remember, though: The tree pictured in one of the slides above is there because someone put their walking stick in the ground. Then forgot about it. It took root and grew into the tree that is there now.

It took about two hours to walk around the site. I don’t know that we saw everything, but we saw enough.

The trip back down to Aguas Calientes was slightly less frightening than the trip up. This was possibly because I knew what to expect with the views of the drop offs. After we arrived back in the town we had a short walk to a restaurant for lunch. It was fine if nothing memorable.

After lunch we had about an hour to spare before we caught the train back to Ollantaytambo. So naturally we spent it looking for toy llamas for our grand-kids. Diane also liked the look of some of the silver bangles that were for sale. So she bought some.

The trip back to Ollantaytambo was similar to the trip out. We had entertainment on the way back as well. This time, we had a theatre group. They presented the tale of two star-crossed lovers from the pre-Columbian times. It was entertaining.

It’s also worth noting that the train had an observation car. This car, with its glass roof, gave an amazing view of the valley.

We arrived back in Ollantaytambo after about ninety minutes. It was beginning to get dark. We found our way back to the bus to take us back to Cuzco. Two hours later we were back at our hotel.

We had dinner and then straight to bed, ready for another early start the next day.

It was a very long day. It was worth it though. Machu Picchu was everything that I hoped it would be. It was visually spectacular. It was historically and architecturally interesting. Possibly arriving at dawn, having walked the Inca Trail, might have made the experience even more memorable. Even so I will remember the day for the rest of my life. A genuine bucket list experience.

Please note that the feature image is AI-enhanced.

Peru, Ecuador and The Galapagos, Travel

Our Peru, Ecuador and Galapagos Adventure – Cuzco and Sacsayhuamán

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Sunday 1st

Welcome to the “If it’s Sunday it must be Cuzco” phase of the holiday.

We had breakfast early, to allow enough time to get to the airport for our flight to Cuzco. Lima’s traffic is diabolical.

There were a few problems with Diane’s wheelchair assistance at the airport, but they were overcome. We arrived in Cuzco without any further problems.

The only problem we encountered was due to the altitude. Cuzco is situated at 3,399 meters (11,152 feet) above sea level. This can lead to altitude sickness, especially if you arrive straight from sea level, as we did. Diane and I only suffered from shortage of breath, due to the lack of oxygen. Some of our party were quite ill.

Our hotel, the Palacio del Inca, was spectacular. It is housed in a five hundred year old colonial mansion.

It has a large number of original paintings from that period.

We arrived late morning and after a quick lunch we were whisked off to explore.

First we called at Museo de Sitio Qorikancha, which was more or less next door to the hotel. The museum is situated in the former Church of Santa Domingo. This church was built on an Inca Temple called Qorikancha which was a temple of the sun. The small museum gave a picture of what life was like in the temple, before the arrival of the Conquistadors. The ancient city of Cuzco was the capital of the Inca empire.

Our time in the museum was short but interesting. The artifacts on display were not that much different from those we had seen at the Larca museum in Lima. What was interesting was the way that the temple had been constructed to withstand earthquakes.

If you look closely you can see that there was no mortar used in the construction. This allows the blocks to move freely during an earthquake. You can also probably see that the openings are trapezoid shaped, rather than rectangular. This gives extra strength compared to a normal rectangular shaped opening.

After about thirty minutes we were whisked off to our next stop: the fortress temple of Sacsayhuamán. On the way there we stopped for a view over the city.

Diane made a new friend.
Cuzco

Sacsayhuamán is an incredible place. It was probably built in the 15th century during the reign of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui. The blocks of stone that it is built from are huge. It is difficult to conceive how they were moved and put into position. The Inca did not have slaves as we understand the concept today. But there was a system of conscripted labour. There were around twenty thousand labourers working on the site at any one time.

Archaeology carried out on the site indicates that it may have been occupied from around 900 CE. Some theories suggest that the site was first built upon during the Killke period (900 to 1200 CE), which preceded the Inca.

The site is still used today. Peruvians continue to celebrate Inti Raymi, the annual Inca festival of the winter solstice and new year, held near Sacsayhuamán on 24 June. Another important festival is Warachikuy, held there annually on the third Sunday of September.

The photos give an indication of the size of the blocks that were used. The site is not as spectacular as it would have been when the Spanish first arrived. Just as every farm within fifteen miles of Hadrian’s Wall is built with stones from the wall. Similarly, almost all the older buildings in Cuzco were constructed using stones from Sacsayhuamán. Fortunately it is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

From there we moved on to an alpaca and llama farm, where we met and fed some llamas and alpacas (but did not lick them). We also got to see some of the amazing woven wall hangings that they did. The designs are based on Inca designs. They were wonderful, but unfortunately out of our price range. There was also some very attractive knitwear, fashioned from alpaca wool.

By the time we got back to Cuzco it was getting dark. We were dropped off in the main square which was near our hotel. It was an attractive space, but again we didn’t have a lot of time to explore.

We needed to be back to the hotel for dinner. The next day was going to be a very early start.

Note: the featured image is AI generated

Peru, Ecuador and The Galapagos, Travel

Our Peru, Ecuador and Galapagos Adventure

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We have been off on our travels again. This time to South America.

Diane and her friend Helen like the occasional exotic holiday. They have been to Costa Rica and Namibia in the past. About this time last year they started planning again. The Galapagos Islands were suggested. Various options were explored, but they eventually settled on this trip with HX Expeditions. This time, however, they generously allowed me and Helen’s partner Tony to tag along.

For my part, I left the planning to Diane. I did have a problem finding suitable clothing for a tropical expedition in January in Kingston. If I had been going skiing, or ice climbing, no problem, but lightweight quick drying clothes, not so easy. I eventually found some trousers, but couldn’t find the type of shirts that I wanted.

We were told that the ship would supply all the snorkeling gear we needed, and they do. I decided to get a couple of SPF50 rash vests from Decathlon. You don’t normally need to worry about getting sunburn swimming at the Malden Centre.

Friday 30th January: Getting There

Our car turned up at 03:15 to take us to Heathrow. There are no direct flights from London to Lima, so we flew with Air France via Paris.

Diane unfortunately managed to damage her knee during our Pilates class the Sunday before. Although it had improved, she was still having trouble walking, so we asked for assistance at the airport. Having assistance made getting through security easier. But it also meant some hanging around waiting for a person with a wheelchair to show up.

All aboard the love train

The flights were fine, if long, at twelve hours. Diane decided to upgrade us to business class, which was worth it.

We landed in Lima (Peru) about 17:00 local time. We retrieved our bags and then fought our way through Lima’s traffic. It was about 20:30 when we arrived at our hotel, the AC Hotel Miraflores. We ordered a sandwich and a beer from room service, then went to bed.

Saturday 31st January: Exploring Lima

This would be the last morning for a while that we would have breakfast at a semi-sensible time. After breakfast, we met at about 09:30 for a walking tour of Lima. The hotel is situated a fair way from the centre of Lima, so a bus was laid on to take us there.

We commenced our tour in the Plaza José de San Martin. It is named after the liberator of Peru, General José de San Martin, who proclaimed Peru’s independence in 1841. It is an attractive square, but had rather a lot of police hanging around. Not sure what for. Our guide did mention that the plaza was often the focus point for demonstrations and protests. I don’t know if they were expecting one later in the day.

We walked along Jiron de La Union, the main street. We passed the impressive Basilica de La Merced on the way. We didn’t go in, we didn’t have time.

c19th drawing of the facade

I hadn’t realised it initially, but we had started on a whirlwind tour of Peru and Ecuador—hitting major sites with limited time in each location.

We carried on down Jiron de La Union until we reached the Plaza Mayor (Main Square). It has the Presidential Palace on one side. The Town Hall takes up the second side. On the third side, we have the Archbishop’s palace and the Basilica Cathedral de Lima. The fourth side is shops and restaurants.

Archbishop’s Palace
Presidential Palace
Town Hall
Inside the Cathedral
Wedding
Impressive Nativity Scene

We had a look round the Cathedral. It looks very much like any other Catholic cathedral. However, because Lima suffers frequent earthquakes, the cathedral has been destroyed several times. It is now largely constructed from wood and adobe bricks. The Cathedral also holds the bones of Francisco Pizarro, the Conquistador—though the bones on display are replicas.

We left the cathedral, and the wedding that was in progress. We gave our regards to President Balcázar then headed back to the bus. Our next stop was the Museo Larco. On the way there, we passed a pre-Inca pyramid.

The Museo Larco is an impressive collection of pre-Colombian art. Their website tells how the collection came about, and explains the museum’s purpose today. The museum is situated in a private house and is privately owned. On display are pre-Colombian textiles, pottery and metal work. It was all impressive, but as with the conquistadors, it was the gold that caught the eye.

Part of the museum houses a collection of Inca and pre-Inca erotic art. The collection is mainly pottery and were quite graphic in some cases. This being a family friendly blog, I have not included any photographs. For those of you interested, this link takes you to the Erotic Gallery website.

We had lunch at the restaurant attached to the museum, which I would recommend. After lunch, we headed back to the hotel. Diane decided to have a nap. I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a wander. I found a statue of Paddington Bear, said to hail from Darkest Peru.

We thought about going out for dinner, but I didn’t see anywhere that caught my eye on my wander. We were going to start early the next day. So, we decided to have dinner at the hotel. Then we went to bed.

Whisky

Exploring Global Whisky: A Personal Advent Calendar Journey (The conclusion)

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With Christmas Day my Advent Calendar came to an end. There are no more whiskies to try. There are still thousands, millions maybe, of whiskies still out there. I could drink a different whisky every day, from today until I run out of breath. By then, I would just about have scratched the surface of all that this wonderful drink has to offer.

Dec 25th – Christmas Day

Our final whiskey is a Bourbon from the United States, from Kentucky to be precise. Made by Michter’s, they claim to trace their lineage back to America’s first whiskey company in 1753. I do suspect that whiskey had been produced unofficially long before then.

It is Michter’s US★1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon. It has an ABV of 45.7% and is dark amber in colour. Its nose has leather, dried fruit and just a hint of smoke. They char their barrels, and I think that is where the smoke comes from. On the palate I got sweetness, somewhere between maple syrup and caramel, with nutmeg and cinnamon. Followed by a hint of the oak char.

I enjoyed this whiskey. Online the price it is offered at varies considerably. But I think it is reasonable value. It and the other Bourbon (Maker’s Mark) in the box have made me think. Maybe I should try a few others.

My Advent Calendar whisky journey has taken me from the far North of Sweden. I traveled south to New Zealand, then west to Kentucky and Tennessee in the United States. Finally, I went east to Japan and Taiwan. We have visited quite a few other countries en route.

I won’t say I liked every whisky, but I did enjoy the experience of trying them. As the blurb on the box says, in the worst case scenario, it saves you from having twenty-five nearly full bottles of something that you don’t really get on with. Every whisky drinker has one or two of those.

There are a few that I wouldn’t drink again. There are many that I would happily accept as a gift. Some of them I would pay hard-earned cash for.

I didn’t get on with any of the Rye whiskies. I was surprised by how much I liked the Bourbons. I have never been a fan of sherry cask whiskies in the past. Still, I was surprised by a couple of them. When it came to the whiskies that I liked best, well, I am a huge fan of Islay malts. Especially the slightly less peat prominent ones, like Caol Ila. So it is no surprise that the two whiskies I liked best, have similarities to Islay Malts. Those two are the Connemara 12 year old and the Yoichi single malt.

All of this is purely my personal opinion and taste. As I said right at the start, I am no whisky expert, just someone who enjoys a dram. And I did enjoy tasting these twenty-five, very different drams.

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Exploring Global Whisky: A Personal Advent Calendar Journey (Part 6)

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I am coming to the end of my Advent Calendar. I have five more whiskies to experience. I shall write about the next four (up to Christmas Eve) in this post. I will do a separate post about the Christmas Day whisky. Which I hope will be something special, but fear will be the World whisky equivalent of a generic blended Scotch.

I will also try and summarise my experience. I will try and decide my favourite whisky from the twenty five.

Dec 21st

Today’s whisky comes from Sweden. The distillery is near the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, about five hundred kilometres north of Stockholm.

High Coast Hav comes in at 48% ABV. “Hav” is the Swedish word for sea.

It has an attractive pale amber colour. I found notes of peat, smoke and oak on the nose. Tasting it gave me fruit, spice and peat smoke.

This was another whisky that I found a drop of water helped to open the whisky up.

The distiller likes to experiment with different mash combinations. They use a variety of barrels to achieve different effects on the final product. Clearly, in this case the experiment works. This was a whisky that I liked. While it is not cheap I feel that it is reasonably priced.

Dec 22nd

We are back to Ireland to sample another Mitchell and Sons Spot Whiskies. We tried their Red Spot on the 17th.

Today’s offering is Green Spot Single Pot Still Chateau Léoville Barton Bordeaux Cask

Taken from the Website:
Green Spot Château Léoville Barton represents the coming together of two historic families, two stories of Irish endeavour and enterprise who together are the inspiration for this special edition whiskey.
Our whiskey is finished in Château Léoville Barton French oak casks, the very casks that play a vital role in the wine’s distinctive balance, bouquet and flavour, that we’ve used to bring something extra to our Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey.

As you can see from that, the whiskey is finished in Bordeaux Casks. This is where, I would suppose, that the very dark gold colour comes from. The nose, I found is heavily influenced by the cask. I got fruit and wine as the main elements . Taste wise fruit and spice were the main elements.

I have never been totally convinced by wine barrel whiskies. This one did nothing to change my mind.

Dec 23rd

The whisky today comes from Canada. It is made by Hiram Walker. It is a blend of Corn and Rye whiskies aged in rum barrels

Pike Creek 10 year old comes in at 42% ABV. It is brown in colour. on the nose I found that the rum cask was the predominant theme, followed by a hint of sweetness. Taste wise, again rum was prominent, as well as spice from the rye and sweetness from the corn.

This was a pleasant enough whisky. It is reasonably priced, but there was nothing about it that said, “buy me”

Dec 24th

Our Christmas Eve whisky came from New Zealand. When we were on holiday there, last year, I found that New Zealand creates some very drinkable whiskies. The Cardrona distillery produced some exceptional ones. The Cardrona distillery is situated in the South Island. Today’s whisky is produced in the North Island, in the small town of Pokeno, about fifty kilometres south of Auckland.

Pokeno Discovery is a single malt with a 43% ABV. It is matured in Bourbon casks and Oloroso sherry casks. It has an amber colour. I found the nose to be fruity with a hint of honey. Its palate gave me dried fruit and cinnamon, with a hint of chocolate.

This was a whisky that I enjoyed drinking. I was one of the few that I did not feel the need to add water to. Most of the others needed a drop of water, either to open them out, or in some cases alleviate the alcohol burn.

It is not a cheap whisky but I would say worth paying for.

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Exploring Global Whisky: A Personal Advent Calendar Journey (Part 5)

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Dec 17th

For today’s whiskey we go back to Ireland. Red Spot is a 15 year old single pot still 46% Irish whiskey. Matured in Bourbon, Sherry and Marsala casks, it is amber in colour.

On the nose I got fruit and nuts. Taste wise, there was again fruit, with a hint of pepper, and vanilla. While I found that it was fine straight from the bottle, a couple of drops of water improved it. This opened it out.

I quite like this whiskey. The price tag is well over £110 for a bottle though. I didn’t like it enough to pay that money.

Dec 18th

This Japanese whisky is the only one in the calendar, so far, that I have previously drunk. I was given a bottle as a gift by my step-son who had been on holiday in France. I don’t know why someone would buy a bottle of Japanese Cask Strength whisky in France. Especially as a gift for a Scotch whisky drinker. It does mean that I have a 50 cl bottle of Nikka from the Barrel sitting on my sideboard. It comes in at 51.4% ABV. It is blend of various malts and grain whiskies.

It is pale amber in colour. I found caramel and fruit on the nose. The palate gave me toffee, a hint of fruit and chili. Though as with most whiskies over 45% ABV, I needed to add a drop of water to get the nose and the palate to open out.

This is whisky that I would recommend.

Dec 19th

Our whisky adventure takes us to Canada today. To Nova Scotia to be exact. Nova Scotia, having been settled mainly by the Scots, has probably been producing whisky since the c17th. Red Bank, which has the actor Keifer Sutherland as one of its founders, only goes back to 2022

The Red Bank Blend comes in at 40% ABV. It combines mainly wheat whisky, with corn and rye whiskies also added. This process gives a reasonably balanced and quite drinkable product.

The colour is pale gold. I found fruit and oak on the nose. The palate was sweetish, with some fruit and spice. It was a pleasant enough whisky, but without anything to make it stand out from the pack.

Dec 20th

We journey back to India for today’s offering. I wasn’t too sure what to expect of this whisky. I was not overly impressed by the last Indian whisky in the calendar.

Amarut Fusion single malt comes in at 50% ABV. It has an amber colour. The nose gave me smoke and fruit, with a hint of sweetness. It tasted of pepper, oak and sultanas, with a gentle touch of peat smoke. Again I felt that a little water opened up both the nose and the palate. I liked this Indian whisky much better than the first one.

Click on the names of the whiskies. You can also click on the pictures of the bottles. Both actions will take you to the appropriate distillery website.

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Exploring Global Whisky: A Personal Advent Calendar Journey (Part 4)

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Moving on, with my thoughts on the next four whiskies in my advent calendar. Blogging about the very varied whiskies that I am finding in the calendar is an interesting experience. I am finding that it is making me think about what I am drinking. Instead of just drinking the day’s whisky, I reflect on it. I consider whether I like it or not and share my thoughts. Drinking mindfully, if you like.

Dec 13th

We journey back to Japan for today’s whisky. The Yoichi distillery has been producing whisky since 1934. It is situated in Hokkaido, in the far north of Japan. Their stills are heated by coal fires, which gives their whiskies some of their character.

My whisky today, was the Yoichi single malt with an ABV of 45%.
It has a lovely pale gold colour. I found the nose had a little bit of smoke, sultanas, and other fruit. The palate had apples, honey, and citrus, with a hint of spice.

This was whisky that I liked a lot.

Dec 14th

Today’s whiskey surprised me. I have mentioned, in an earlier blog, that I am not generally fond of cask strength whiskey. But I found that the Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Kentucky Bourbon at 55.1% ABV was surprisingly approachable, even before the addition of some water.

The colour of the whiskey is dark amber, almost brown. Its nose gives aromas of vanilla and maple syrup. On the palate I found, caramel, chocolate and spice, with a slightly herbal finish.

I found that the addition of a little water opened up the nose. It also enhanced the palate. But, I found it very drinkable at cask strength.

Dec 15th

For today we have an English whisky. Fielden is an English Rye Whisky at 48% ABV. According their website the name “Fielden” comes from the Old English and means “from the fields”, or “of the fields”. They apparently use rye wheat and barley in various combinations. Still, I am fairly sure that my whisky was at least 50% rye.

Colour wise the whisky is an attractive amber. It has quite a floral and sweet nose. Taste wise, like the earlier rye whisky, it had a hint of rye bread, as well as nutty sweet marzipan notes.

It wasn’t a whisky that I was particularly fond of. I have never drunk that much Rye whisky in the past. It is possible that they are not my thing, or that I have yet to discover the one for me.

Dec 16th

Our whisky today comes from down under. Melbourne to be precise. The Starward distillery has been making whisky since 2007. Recently they have been exporting to the UK. I noticed a bottle of today’s sample in my local Waitrose.

Starward Left Field single malt comes in at 50% ABV.
It is very dark in colour, almost brown. The predominant note on the nose is fruit. The whisky is matured in red wine casks. (There is a lot of wine produced in Victoria.) So I assume that is where the colour and the nose come from. The palate is fruity and quite sweet, I would describe it as a biscuit sweetness.

I tried the whisky as it came and also with a drop of water, but it didn’t appeal to me. I calls itself “Left Field” and their website talks about “moving beyond tradition”. Often things are done traditionally, because that works.

Click on the names of the whiskies. You can also click on the pictures of the bottles. Both actions will take you to the appropriate distillery website.