Having weighed up the various options we decided that the best mode of transportation was the bus to Oruro followed by the 7 hour train ride to Uyuni, which was infinitely more comfortable than the bus. We arrived at about 10:30pm and were instantly surrounded by people selling their tours into the Salar and so having sourced the best deals and found a hostel we headed to the local burger stand for dinner.
The following morning we joined 11 other people outside the offices of our chosen tour company waited patiently for the 'jeep' that would be our transport for the next 3 days. When our not to old toyota landcruiser arrived we weren´t too disappointed and we piled in with 4 other tourists, the driver and the ´wife´(cook). We considered arguing the point of having to carry the cook on the basis that having one less person would make it slightly more comfortable for the rest but held our tongues on advice received previously by a Swedish couple we met on the Inca trail. They had successfully disputed the cook point only to find themselves firstly surprised when the girls in the group were asked to do the cooking and secondly disappointed when, after they refused, the driver had to do the cooking. As they sat looking at the lavish meals prepared by the cooks in other groups, they had to be satisfied with filling but not particularly tasty meals put together by the driver. And so we departed with 2 chilean boys and a swiss boy who were travelling together and a danish girl Tim and I had met on the bus from Puno and had been hanging out with since.
The salar itself was pretty impressive. It´s hard to make miles and miles of clear white salt sound impressive but as you drove through this desert you really couldn´t help but be transfixed by the view. Our first stop of the day was the Cementerio de Trenes which really was just a great big area of land packed with decaying and rusting trains. And as uninteresting as that sounds for the non-train lover, we actually had loads of fun clambering on the trains and taking photos - it was kind of like being in the playground at a big McDonalds, with loads of exploring to do! Having entertained our childish side here, we moved on through the salar next stopping at the Salt Hotel. The book tells us that this is now an illegal structure because of the pollution caused by people staying there (there are no toilets etc and damage was being done to the salt flats) but I was assured by the people running the place that it is okay to visit the place as a museum. Still, I felt slightly uncomfortable and so only went inside for a second.
Next, we moved on to a place called Isla de los Pescadores which was incredible. It was just a small mountain in this sea of salt with these incredible cacti growing all over it. Here, we also had lunch and were quite pleased to have the cook with us! We continued on through the salar eventually arriving at our resting place for the evening, which was another salt hotel, apparently legal because it is built outside of the actual salar. It was kind of cool to stay somewhere where pretty much everything was made of salt... beds, tables, chairs ...
For us, days 2 and 3 weren´t really as impressive as day 1 because they consisted mostly of lots and lots of driving with stops along the way at some pretty cool lakes and lots of flamingo spotting. Whilst it was still nice to see the lakes and flamingos and other bird and animal life, they were things we had already seen many times so became less impressive. Our final visit on day 3 was at a place called Laguna Verde. I can´t actually tell you anything about the lake because when we arrived it was covered by low cloud and lots and lots of snow! Instead, we had loads of fun building snow men and having snow fights.
There really isn´t much to hold your attention in Uyuni so after arriving back from the tour we got on the first bus out, headed back to La Paz. Now, our decision to catch a bus out was made reluctantly but as the train wasn´t running again for a couple of days we really had no choice. Throughout our travels we had heard many stories of this bus ride including waking up at about 3:00am with the bus on a rather precarious angle and the bus driver telling all the passengers to move to one side of the bus (to stop it falling into the river as he seemed to have misjudged the bridge) along with other stories of passengers having to get out of the buses to push to bus along as it got stuck in the mud. We didn´t experience anything quite so adventurous but again, the difference in bus travel was highlighted.
As we arrived to the street where the buses depart from we were pretty pleased with our choice of bus as we saw a double decker cama bus with our companies logo on the side. Tim wandered off to load the bags and I surveyed the scene. And it was a bit like forgetting to read the small print ... in front of bus 1 was bus 2 and the comfort of bus 1 was not to be ours. We seemed to be the overflow passengers who got to travel on the less than salubrious older brother! Still, it had seats and it wasn´t raining so we set off feeling confident that we would make it in one piece. Shortly into the 12 hour journey we began to understand the difficulties that may face the drivers. There really isn´t much of a road and what is there is quite possibly the bumpiest ground I have ever driven on. Fortunately, I find the bumpy movement quite relaxing and so was soon fast asleep. That is until amid much noise, shouting and light I awoke to find that the bus ceiling had fallen in on me. All that was left were the precariously hanging lights and electrical cords waving above my head. Having extracted a promise from Tim that they wouldn´t fall on me in the night and electrocute me and figuring there wasn´t much else to do, I wrapped myself tightly in my coat and hood and scarf and went back to sleeping soundly until we arrived in La Paz. I have discovered that this is actually the only way to do bus travel in Bolivia - the alternative to sleep is heart attacks and anxiety as you wonder if the next corner could be your last!
Anyway, we eventually (several hours late) arrived in La Paz safe and sound and only slightly shaken up where we spent a day recovering before heading our into the jungle.
Stay tuned for the next installment ...
Take care
Tim and Tracey
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Puno, Lake Titicaca and on to La Paz - 11.03.09
We arrived in Puno bright and early and started doing the rounds of hostels, looking for the cheapest option. Having found our home for the next couple of nights we set out in search of a tour that would take in the best of Lake Titicaca, which was of course, our reason for being in Puno.
Feeling slightly disappointed with the one size fits all tours we headed down to the port so see what else we could find. On our way we stumbled across a tour agency that was able to offer more of what we wanted, so satisfied with our plans for the next two days we headed back into town to check out the local area.
Day 2 in Puno and we had a civilised beginning to the day, being picked up at 9:00am to start our tour of the islands of Lake Titicaca. Our first stop was one of the Uros Islands - the so called Islas Flotantes (floating islands), that are made entirely of reeds. They are called the floating islands because, originally, they did just that. Nowadays though they are well anchored so no more floating. It was interesting to hear how the islands are constructed and see a short demonstration (yes, the need for the tourism dollar is alive and well even on these tiny islands) and to take a ride in a reed boat. After our first island visit, Tim and I were dropped off at another Uros Island which was to be our home for the evening. We arrived in the early afternoon and there was really nothing to do so we spent the afternoon sitting in the sun reading. The island we stayed on was probably the most developed with a little shop (made of reeds) that was also the restaurant and kitchen and eating area for the families who live on this island. There were a few small 'cabins', also made of reeds, one of which we slept in, a few small houses, occupied by the few resident families as well as two areas of water where they seemed to be breeding trout and kingfish.
We were picked up at about 9:00am the following morning and continued on to check out another island - Isla Taquille. There wasn´t really much to do on this small island and tourist services aren´t hugely developed, which was nice because it meant you could look in the shop at the traditionally made items without lots of hassle. After walking around the island and having lunch we began our long departure back to Puno.
Our last night in Puno was quite fun. We went to a restaurant for dinner and were thoroughly entertained by the traditional music and dancing and really nice food. Early the next day we boarded a bus for Copacabana, Bolivia, to check out their side of Lake Titicaca.
Other than the rather confusing border crossing the bus ride to Copacabana was pretty uneventful, however, after arriving to grey skies and rain and a pretty dismal forecast we decided that the best thing to do was get on the next bus to La Paz - we had no real desire to spend a day or two touring islands in the rain so moving on seemed the next best option.
And here begins our first real experience of bus rides in Bolivia. Tim and I were one of the last ones on the bus so ended up on two seats right at the very back. On taking our seats we realised why they were empty - they were soaked through and the rain was still dripping through the roof. I requested a towel or something to cover the seat and the lady disappeared for so long I had given up hope (as the bus was driving off) when she appeared with a large bundle of blankets. Having made sure that my raincoat was securely fastened and the seats were well covered with the blankets we settled down for the 4 (or so) hour journey to La Paz. Other than the occasional rain shower the rest of the journey passed without incident.
Arriving in La Paz late in the afternoon we were able to see the city from above as we came down through the mountains. It really does make an impressive site with the surrounding snow capped mountains. Other than that, there really isn´t much more to say about La Paz. It´s another big city with lots of pollution and loads of people. We checked our the local sights and got ourselves onto a bus / train to Uyuni for a tour of Solar de Uyuni (salt flats), which were pretty impressive.
But more on that later.
Take care
Tim and Tracey
Feeling slightly disappointed with the one size fits all tours we headed down to the port so see what else we could find. On our way we stumbled across a tour agency that was able to offer more of what we wanted, so satisfied with our plans for the next two days we headed back into town to check out the local area.
Day 2 in Puno and we had a civilised beginning to the day, being picked up at 9:00am to start our tour of the islands of Lake Titicaca. Our first stop was one of the Uros Islands - the so called Islas Flotantes (floating islands), that are made entirely of reeds. They are called the floating islands because, originally, they did just that. Nowadays though they are well anchored so no more floating. It was interesting to hear how the islands are constructed and see a short demonstration (yes, the need for the tourism dollar is alive and well even on these tiny islands) and to take a ride in a reed boat. After our first island visit, Tim and I were dropped off at another Uros Island which was to be our home for the evening. We arrived in the early afternoon and there was really nothing to do so we spent the afternoon sitting in the sun reading. The island we stayed on was probably the most developed with a little shop (made of reeds) that was also the restaurant and kitchen and eating area for the families who live on this island. There were a few small 'cabins', also made of reeds, one of which we slept in, a few small houses, occupied by the few resident families as well as two areas of water where they seemed to be breeding trout and kingfish.
We were picked up at about 9:00am the following morning and continued on to check out another island - Isla Taquille. There wasn´t really much to do on this small island and tourist services aren´t hugely developed, which was nice because it meant you could look in the shop at the traditionally made items without lots of hassle. After walking around the island and having lunch we began our long departure back to Puno.
Our last night in Puno was quite fun. We went to a restaurant for dinner and were thoroughly entertained by the traditional music and dancing and really nice food. Early the next day we boarded a bus for Copacabana, Bolivia, to check out their side of Lake Titicaca.
Other than the rather confusing border crossing the bus ride to Copacabana was pretty uneventful, however, after arriving to grey skies and rain and a pretty dismal forecast we decided that the best thing to do was get on the next bus to La Paz - we had no real desire to spend a day or two touring islands in the rain so moving on seemed the next best option.
And here begins our first real experience of bus rides in Bolivia. Tim and I were one of the last ones on the bus so ended up on two seats right at the very back. On taking our seats we realised why they were empty - they were soaked through and the rain was still dripping through the roof. I requested a towel or something to cover the seat and the lady disappeared for so long I had given up hope (as the bus was driving off) when she appeared with a large bundle of blankets. Having made sure that my raincoat was securely fastened and the seats were well covered with the blankets we settled down for the 4 (or so) hour journey to La Paz. Other than the occasional rain shower the rest of the journey passed without incident.
Arriving in La Paz late in the afternoon we were able to see the city from above as we came down through the mountains. It really does make an impressive site with the surrounding snow capped mountains. Other than that, there really isn´t much more to say about La Paz. It´s another big city with lots of pollution and loads of people. We checked our the local sights and got ourselves onto a bus / train to Uyuni for a tour of Solar de Uyuni (salt flats), which were pretty impressive.
But more on that later.
Take care
Tim and Tracey
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Arrive in Cusco - 03.03.09
We finally made it to Cusco, arriving at about 6:00am and heading straight to the hostel where we got lucky surprising the staff, who only had the door open to let somone out. We made our way in, organised our dirty washing, had breakfast and headed out for some exploring. First stop, confirm the trek. This was more difficult than it sounds. To begin, the office had moved and we didn´t have the new address. The old address gave us some directions to the new address, which seemed to be a long way from the main square and all the other tour operators. Anyway, after much walking and searching we found the office, made our confirmations and as this had taken up most of the day, we headed back to the hostel for an afternoon nap.
The first thing to realise about Cusco is that, in terms of travel, it really exists for Machu Piccu and other Inca sites. The level of tourism here is incredible and you are simply not left alone for a minute by the tour touts. I guess one of the key impacts for those who make Cusco their home is that they must get increasingly frustrated at having their city invaded and for us this translated into encountering some of the least friendly and most harrased local people so far. Essentially, we just wanted to get out as fast as possible! Despite that, Cusco does have some incredible sites and one of these (or three) is the Cathedral, the Church of Jesus Maria and El Triunfo, Cusco´s oldest church. These three buildings are actually joined and we spent a good couple of hours, with informative headsets in absolute awe of the beauty of this place. The architectural structure, the history, the paintings, the silver and general decoration was incredible. There was a painting of the last supper with a 'cuy' (roast guinea pig) as the central feature, an alter covered completely in silver and a hand carved 17th century choir, among so many other features. This place was definately worth the visit.
Our third day in Cusco, and the day before we started our trek, we took a tour of the Sacred Valley. This was a bit of a rushed tour but did allow us to see some of the 'other' Inca ruins and check out some villages on the way.
Finally, the day dawned (well, not quite because we were picked up before dawn but ...) and we headed out, excited about the trip ahead and the idea of seeing one of the world´s most famous landmarks up close and personal.
Our group consisted of 16 tourists, 1 guide, 1 assistant guide and 21 porters. We had 2 Aussies (us), 6 Swedes, 2 Norwegians, 3 Americans, 2 Canadians and 1 Brit, with a mix of ages. As with all group activities people had varying levels of fitness and ability and so the group didn´t really stay together on much of the trek but breakfast, lunch and dinner were always entertaining and we were lucky to have a good group.
Day one involved lots of 'officialdom'; paperwork to be completed, borders to be passed etc. When we actually got going, we spent the first part of the walk on easy tracks with lots of stopping to check out the wildlife, explore some ruins and generally get lots of information from the guides about the local area. Then we stopped for lunch and were in for a real suprise. When we arrived at the lunch spot, the tent was erected, the chairs and cutlery were in place and we were served a three course meal that made the afternoon walk quite difficult! Given that our experience of trekking and camping when its just us is slightly different (ie. pasta with a tomato sauce poured over) we were pretty happy with how things were turning out! A relatively easy walk follwed lunch onto camp where again we were greeted by another lovely suprise - tents were up, snacks were served and dinner was on its way - this is civilised camping!
A bit of rain through the night left us feeling slightly concerned about what awaited us on day 2 but luck held out and the rain had departed. We were up early for the second and most difficult of the days. Following a hearty breakfast of quinoa, fruit, toast, pancakes and mate de coco we headed off, with instructions of the first meeting place. We agreed that given the size of the group, the different levels of ability and the difficulty of the day we wouldn´t stay together as a group and we wouldn´t stop for lunch, instead we would have sandwiches which we could eat as and when we chose, arriving at the days camp site in time for a later lunch. This turned out to be an excellent idea. The highest pass of the day was 4200 metres and although the walk was not long (maybe 40 minutes) it was steep and breathless and difficult. Having made it to the top (and may I say, rather speedily) we thought the worst of it was over but, as with most things, what goes up must come down and down and down ... Anyone who says that walking down hill is easier than up has never really been down a hill!! We arrived at camp at about 2:00pm that afternoon and spent a lazy afternoon sleeping and then chatting with Stion and Trina (Norwegian couple). About 2 hours later the next part of our group arrived and about another 1 hour later the rest straggled in. By now, we were cold and hungry and were ever so relieved when the guide said we would eat now (lunch!), rather than waiting for the final two group members - who subsequently arrived about 5 hours after our original arrival!
That night it rained like I have never experienced rain - it really sounded like glass was raining down on us and I was filled with trepidation as we awoke early for our final day - but again, our luck held and the rain disappeared. Although not as difficult as day 2, day 3 still meant a consistent up hill walk for most of the day but what made day 3 almost easy was the most incredible, breath taking, awe inspiring views imaginable (I know, I need to work on my descriptions). We spent the day mostly walking with Stion and Trina and had a really great day just enjoying the view, laughing lots and taking great photos (Tim is working on getting these on the blog as we speak). Having reached the day 3 pass with not to much time difference within the group it was really cool to just be the only people (other groups would come later) taking in the never ending views of mountain, sky and forest. It was also nice to achieve this level with the group, rather than individually. And then came the inevitable - the down hill run to camp. Well, having watched the porters literally run down the thousands of stairs the day before, we figured there has to be something in it. So we followed suit. And the difference it made was incredible. Obviously we weren´t quite as fast as the porters but for us time wasn´t actually the issue, the issue at hand was the pain in your knees from such a descent. The difference from one day to the next was amazing. I can highly recomend, on such downhill descents, go as quickly as you safely can and your knees will thank you!
The final nights camp was really luxurious with warm showers (if you wanted) and cold beers from the nearby restaurant. And knowing that the walk the next day was relatively short we had our first late night of the trek (about 8:30pm) before being up and back on the trail by 5:00am the next morning, waiting for the gates to open and the two hour walk to the Sun Gate, with everyone praying for sun and no low cloud. This walk was tough. Hundreds of people all leaving at the same time, heading for the same place, but not all walking at the same pace. Overtaking was not easy and it really is difficult walking at someone else´s pace. The final stage was the killer. Maybe 20 steps, ranging between 1/2 and 1 metre in height had people faltering at the final gate. But eventually we got there and again our luck remained - the sun was up and the cloud was high, providing us with an uninterupted view of Machu Piccu from above. As we spent the next few hours walking around, we couldn´t help but question how they managed to achieve these structures. The rocks, the steepness, the lack of machinery - how did they do this??
The first thing to realise about Cusco is that, in terms of travel, it really exists for Machu Piccu and other Inca sites. The level of tourism here is incredible and you are simply not left alone for a minute by the tour touts. I guess one of the key impacts for those who make Cusco their home is that they must get increasingly frustrated at having their city invaded and for us this translated into encountering some of the least friendly and most harrased local people so far. Essentially, we just wanted to get out as fast as possible! Despite that, Cusco does have some incredible sites and one of these (or three) is the Cathedral, the Church of Jesus Maria and El Triunfo, Cusco´s oldest church. These three buildings are actually joined and we spent a good couple of hours, with informative headsets in absolute awe of the beauty of this place. The architectural structure, the history, the paintings, the silver and general decoration was incredible. There was a painting of the last supper with a 'cuy' (roast guinea pig) as the central feature, an alter covered completely in silver and a hand carved 17th century choir, among so many other features. This place was definately worth the visit.
Our third day in Cusco, and the day before we started our trek, we took a tour of the Sacred Valley. This was a bit of a rushed tour but did allow us to see some of the 'other' Inca ruins and check out some villages on the way.
Finally, the day dawned (well, not quite because we were picked up before dawn but ...) and we headed out, excited about the trip ahead and the idea of seeing one of the world´s most famous landmarks up close and personal.
Our group consisted of 16 tourists, 1 guide, 1 assistant guide and 21 porters. We had 2 Aussies (us), 6 Swedes, 2 Norwegians, 3 Americans, 2 Canadians and 1 Brit, with a mix of ages. As with all group activities people had varying levels of fitness and ability and so the group didn´t really stay together on much of the trek but breakfast, lunch and dinner were always entertaining and we were lucky to have a good group.
Day one involved lots of 'officialdom'; paperwork to be completed, borders to be passed etc. When we actually got going, we spent the first part of the walk on easy tracks with lots of stopping to check out the wildlife, explore some ruins and generally get lots of information from the guides about the local area. Then we stopped for lunch and were in for a real suprise. When we arrived at the lunch spot, the tent was erected, the chairs and cutlery were in place and we were served a three course meal that made the afternoon walk quite difficult! Given that our experience of trekking and camping when its just us is slightly different (ie. pasta with a tomato sauce poured over) we were pretty happy with how things were turning out! A relatively easy walk follwed lunch onto camp where again we were greeted by another lovely suprise - tents were up, snacks were served and dinner was on its way - this is civilised camping!
A bit of rain through the night left us feeling slightly concerned about what awaited us on day 2 but luck held out and the rain had departed. We were up early for the second and most difficult of the days. Following a hearty breakfast of quinoa, fruit, toast, pancakes and mate de coco we headed off, with instructions of the first meeting place. We agreed that given the size of the group, the different levels of ability and the difficulty of the day we wouldn´t stay together as a group and we wouldn´t stop for lunch, instead we would have sandwiches which we could eat as and when we chose, arriving at the days camp site in time for a later lunch. This turned out to be an excellent idea. The highest pass of the day was 4200 metres and although the walk was not long (maybe 40 minutes) it was steep and breathless and difficult. Having made it to the top (and may I say, rather speedily) we thought the worst of it was over but, as with most things, what goes up must come down and down and down ... Anyone who says that walking down hill is easier than up has never really been down a hill!! We arrived at camp at about 2:00pm that afternoon and spent a lazy afternoon sleeping and then chatting with Stion and Trina (Norwegian couple). About 2 hours later the next part of our group arrived and about another 1 hour later the rest straggled in. By now, we were cold and hungry and were ever so relieved when the guide said we would eat now (lunch!), rather than waiting for the final two group members - who subsequently arrived about 5 hours after our original arrival!
That night it rained like I have never experienced rain - it really sounded like glass was raining down on us and I was filled with trepidation as we awoke early for our final day - but again, our luck held and the rain disappeared. Although not as difficult as day 2, day 3 still meant a consistent up hill walk for most of the day but what made day 3 almost easy was the most incredible, breath taking, awe inspiring views imaginable (I know, I need to work on my descriptions). We spent the day mostly walking with Stion and Trina and had a really great day just enjoying the view, laughing lots and taking great photos (Tim is working on getting these on the blog as we speak). Having reached the day 3 pass with not to much time difference within the group it was really cool to just be the only people (other groups would come later) taking in the never ending views of mountain, sky and forest. It was also nice to achieve this level with the group, rather than individually. And then came the inevitable - the down hill run to camp. Well, having watched the porters literally run down the thousands of stairs the day before, we figured there has to be something in it. So we followed suit. And the difference it made was incredible. Obviously we weren´t quite as fast as the porters but for us time wasn´t actually the issue, the issue at hand was the pain in your knees from such a descent. The difference from one day to the next was amazing. I can highly recomend, on such downhill descents, go as quickly as you safely can and your knees will thank you!
The final nights camp was really luxurious with warm showers (if you wanted) and cold beers from the nearby restaurant. And knowing that the walk the next day was relatively short we had our first late night of the trek (about 8:30pm) before being up and back on the trail by 5:00am the next morning, waiting for the gates to open and the two hour walk to the Sun Gate, with everyone praying for sun and no low cloud. This walk was tough. Hundreds of people all leaving at the same time, heading for the same place, but not all walking at the same pace. Overtaking was not easy and it really is difficult walking at someone else´s pace. The final stage was the killer. Maybe 20 steps, ranging between 1/2 and 1 metre in height had people faltering at the final gate. But eventually we got there and again our luck remained - the sun was up and the cloud was high, providing us with an uninterupted view of Machu Piccu from above. As we spent the next few hours walking around, we couldn´t help but question how they managed to achieve these structures. The rocks, the steepness, the lack of machinery - how did they do this??
View of Machu Piccu from the Sun Gate
Feeling pleasantly exhausted, we headed down to the local town (Agua Calientes) for lunch, hot springs and where Tim and I were going to spend the night. After a lazy night, we headed back to Cusco for dinner with a couple from the trek and the night bus to Puno.
Before I leave this blog, I have to make special mention of the porters on the trek. 21 men carried enough food for 16 tourists, guides and themselves (and we are talking decent food, no pasta and tomato sauce here), tents for the 16 tourists and guides along with the cooking tent and eating tent (which they slept in) and all necessary cooking equipment. They went quicker than us, they were always smiling, chatting and laughing with each other and just generally amazed us with the weight they carried and how they carried it - no technically advanced backpacks or specially made hiking boots or walking poles. Truly incredible.
And that was Machu Piccu and the Inca trail. Definately worth the money, time and effort.
Hope you are all well and healthy and enjoying our tales.
Take care
Tim and Tracey
Arica to Tacna - 27.02.09
Now our whirlwind tour of Chile comes to an end and we board the train in Arica to take us across the border into Tacna and then board a bus for a place called Arequipa. As far as border towns go, neither Arica nor Tacna are that bad but not really places were we would want to spend much time.
Arequipa however is really a lovely town. Lots of tour and travel agents asking for your attention but not in the same offensive, in your face manner as we have experienced in other places. Had a bit of a lazy day today, just organising a trip to nearby Colca Canyon and checking out the Monasterio Santa Catalina, which occupies a whole block and is a 'citadel within a city'. This place is over 600 years old and at one time housed Spanish nuns from the wealthiest of families so the nuns had houses built within the monasterio and generally had a minimum of three 'staff' to take care of all the mundane chores of cooking, cleaning, washing etc. The nuns entered the monasterio at about 13 years of age and never left; only having occaisonal contact with their families through a solid brick wall with a few bars allowing them to see each other (not so different from a prison really). Other girls, as young as three years old, entered the monasterio for their education but then never actually left! Today, it is still a convent but houses much fewer nuns who enter at about 18 years of age. Inside though, it really was like a small town. Each nun had their own house, there was a bakery, fruit trees, water - everything needed so that the nuns never had to leave.
Day 2 in Arequipa was slightly different. We were collected by bus at about 4:00am and headed off to the Colca Canyon (Cañon del Colca) which is one of the world's deepest canyons at 3191 metres. Our first stop of the morning was at the Cruz del Condor, home for the Andean Condor. We only managed to see one that morning but it was pretty spectacular to see this huge bird flying so high and so protected from predators (ie, humans!). The bus then dropped Tim, me, Marcus (a Swiss guy) and our guide off to begin our two day trek in and out of the canyon. Now, you may recall that just a few days ago Tim had injured his back to such a point that he could barely stand or breathe, let alone carry his pack. The imagination doesn't have to stretch far to realise who the poor sucker was then that had to carry the pack, with enough warm clothes, bedding and raingear for the two days for both of us. By the time we had completed the 3 hour, rather steep (remember this canyon is 3191 metres down!!) downhill part of the trek I could barely walk, was almost in tears and would have gladly pushed Tim over the edge if only we weren't already at the bottom! Anyway, after I calmly (!) explained to him the situation he agreed to carry the pack for a while. Camp for the evening was a place called the Oasis and it really was. Natural spring pools in an oasis of green and palm trees which made such a striking contrast to the colours of the canyon.
Day 2 of the trek dawned bright and early (5:00am start) and the inevitable climb out of the canyon (again remember 3191 metres ...). After 2 1/2 hours I finally reached the top and I was truly exhausted. Just over half way up I had even tried hitchhiking a lift with a passing mule but to no avail. And just as I was congratulating myself on having made it without tears, swearing or threatening to kill Tim, the guide, Marcus or the passing Mule, the guide took off again on the final leg of the trip back for breakfast and the bus back.
At the time and even looking back with rose coloured glasses, I can honestly say that this was, without doubt the most physically and mentally demanding thing that I have ever done, everything since has simply not been comparable. My toenails are still an attractive purple colour and I am not sure they will ever recover! It was beautiful though - just wait 'til you see the photos!!
The adventure didn't end there though. Having thought that the tour would have us back in Arequipa by 6:00pm, we confidently booked our tickets for the next leg of our journey to Cusco, to begin the Inca trek. (It was at this point that I told Tim that following the Inca trail I was never again walking anywhere and any future mode of transport would involve me sitting). Anyway, on the way back from the Canyon our bus broke down and we eventually made it back to Arequipa at 8:00pm, in time for our bus to board. Unfortunately, we still had to get back to the hostel, collect the rest of our bags and make our way to the bus station. Luckily for us we had a great bus driver who clearly explained the dilema to the taxi driver who managed to get us there in record time and we found ourselves settled on our overnight trip to Cusco with seconds to spare. Dirty, stinky and tired but on our way.
That about sums up our first few days in Peru and next comes the truly magnificent Inca trail.
take care
Tim and Tracey
Arequipa however is really a lovely town. Lots of tour and travel agents asking for your attention but not in the same offensive, in your face manner as we have experienced in other places. Had a bit of a lazy day today, just organising a trip to nearby Colca Canyon and checking out the Monasterio Santa Catalina, which occupies a whole block and is a 'citadel within a city'. This place is over 600 years old and at one time housed Spanish nuns from the wealthiest of families so the nuns had houses built within the monasterio and generally had a minimum of three 'staff' to take care of all the mundane chores of cooking, cleaning, washing etc. The nuns entered the monasterio at about 13 years of age and never left; only having occaisonal contact with their families through a solid brick wall with a few bars allowing them to see each other (not so different from a prison really). Other girls, as young as three years old, entered the monasterio for their education but then never actually left! Today, it is still a convent but houses much fewer nuns who enter at about 18 years of age. Inside though, it really was like a small town. Each nun had their own house, there was a bakery, fruit trees, water - everything needed so that the nuns never had to leave.
Day 2 in Arequipa was slightly different. We were collected by bus at about 4:00am and headed off to the Colca Canyon (Cañon del Colca) which is one of the world's deepest canyons at 3191 metres. Our first stop of the morning was at the Cruz del Condor, home for the Andean Condor. We only managed to see one that morning but it was pretty spectacular to see this huge bird flying so high and so protected from predators (ie, humans!). The bus then dropped Tim, me, Marcus (a Swiss guy) and our guide off to begin our two day trek in and out of the canyon. Now, you may recall that just a few days ago Tim had injured his back to such a point that he could barely stand or breathe, let alone carry his pack. The imagination doesn't have to stretch far to realise who the poor sucker was then that had to carry the pack, with enough warm clothes, bedding and raingear for the two days for both of us. By the time we had completed the 3 hour, rather steep (remember this canyon is 3191 metres down!!) downhill part of the trek I could barely walk, was almost in tears and would have gladly pushed Tim over the edge if only we weren't already at the bottom! Anyway, after I calmly (!) explained to him the situation he agreed to carry the pack for a while. Camp for the evening was a place called the Oasis and it really was. Natural spring pools in an oasis of green and palm trees which made such a striking contrast to the colours of the canyon.
Day 2 of the trek dawned bright and early (5:00am start) and the inevitable climb out of the canyon (again remember 3191 metres ...). After 2 1/2 hours I finally reached the top and I was truly exhausted. Just over half way up I had even tried hitchhiking a lift with a passing mule but to no avail. And just as I was congratulating myself on having made it without tears, swearing or threatening to kill Tim, the guide, Marcus or the passing Mule, the guide took off again on the final leg of the trip back for breakfast and the bus back.
At the time and even looking back with rose coloured glasses, I can honestly say that this was, without doubt the most physically and mentally demanding thing that I have ever done, everything since has simply not been comparable. My toenails are still an attractive purple colour and I am not sure they will ever recover! It was beautiful though - just wait 'til you see the photos!!
The adventure didn't end there though. Having thought that the tour would have us back in Arequipa by 6:00pm, we confidently booked our tickets for the next leg of our journey to Cusco, to begin the Inca trek. (It was at this point that I told Tim that following the Inca trail I was never again walking anywhere and any future mode of transport would involve me sitting). Anyway, on the way back from the Canyon our bus broke down and we eventually made it back to Arequipa at 8:00pm, in time for our bus to board. Unfortunately, we still had to get back to the hostel, collect the rest of our bags and make our way to the bus station. Luckily for us we had a great bus driver who clearly explained the dilema to the taxi driver who managed to get us there in record time and we found ourselves settled on our overnight trip to Cusco with seconds to spare. Dirty, stinky and tired but on our way.
That about sums up our first few days in Peru and next comes the truly magnificent Inca trail.
take care
Tim and Tracey
Friday, 13 March 2009
After days on buses and in the desert it was a really nice shock to wake up on the bus to the view of the ocean as we arrived in Iquique. We had only planned one day hear, thinking that there would be nicer places further on and it struck us as we arrived that this would have been a really good place to just hang out and chill for a while. As we had arrived really early in the morning we had the opportunity of walking through the well maintained, boardwalked, pedestrianised mainstreet, flanked by the Georgian - style buildings all by ourselves. It really was beautiful. At the end of this street, you arrived at the beach where we again got to wander along boardwalks as the sun came up (you can maybe understand why we wanted to stay a while!) As you can imagine, we spent the day on the beach, except for a brief visit to a church, which was a bit of a waste because it was closed and I really wanted to see the star sparkled ceiling. Just to keep things in perspective, it is now the 22nd of February (although you may have noticed the blog is written just a little bit after that) and we were due to be in Cusco on the 3rd of March. Time is ticking ... so we boarded a bus to Arica, which is a border town of Chile that will take us into Peru. Other than the beach and the border crossing, we were looking forward to accessing National Park Lauca from Arica, which we did on a 3 day trip with just us and a guide. The Lonely Planet describes Lauca as ´at woozy heights with snow-dusted volcanoes, remote hot springs and glimmering lakes, Lauca is an absolute treasure´and it really was. We saw flamingoes, vicuñas, llamas, alpacas, vizcachas and loads of other birds along with the incredibly rare Andean dear - the huemal. The lagunes were clear and sparkling, the mountains were high and imposing, the thermal springs were at boiling point and we saw only one other car with tourists and a few park rangers. At a minimum of 3000ms, breathing was hard (especially when Tim had to push start the car), the nights were freezing (no central heating here) and the days gave us frost, fog, snow, rain and sun. We got to visit a number of rural settlements, experience the fun of carnival (including being covered in flour and shaving cream) and visit one church (about 400 years old) that has a table tied in the corner because, as the story goes, this table once escaped on turned up on the door of an unfortunate resident who subsequently died the next day. It really is hard to describe any more the beauty, tranquility and near perfection of Lauca but it has certainly been one of the highlights of our trip so far. Sadly, our time hear had to end and we headed back to Arica to continue our journey northward and into Peru to make our way to Cusco. The only downside of our time here was as we were walking to the train station to get the train to Tacna (Peru) and Tim somehow managed to hurt his back. You know, we have been climbing, walking through difficult and unmade paths, we´ve walked up stairs and down hills and walking on a flat piece of pavement Tim all of sudden stops and nearly falls over because of the pain in his back!! Well, I then had to carry his pack and the two days packs, whilst he struggled with the weight of mine until the train station - at least we weren´t boarding another bus for a bumpy ride! He had now recovered but more about that later. Next time you hear from us we will be in Peru which we are quite excited about. Take care Tim and Tracey
San Pedro de Atacama the gateway to the driest desert in the world and at 2440 metres above sea level, pretty high as well. There really isn´t that much to do in San Pedro and there really is a limited amount of exploring of the desert that we really wanted to do, so we approached the numerous tour operators and settled on two tours. Day one we headed off at the reasonable hour of 7:00am to visit Él Sector Soncor´in the eastern section of the Salar de Atacama (Atacama salt lake) and were able to see the three different species of flamingoes - Chilean, Andean and James. We then went on the visit the town of Socaire and it´s church before heading out to Lagunas Miñiques and Miscanti (and some more flamingoes). I think that the draw card of these lagunes is that they are at 4100ms and there is very little else around except some mountains, quite a bit of snow and a few volcanoes. On the way back to San Pedro we visited the ´Hidden Oasis´, which is a naturally growing orchard of plums, pears, quinces and variety of other fruit, farmed by the local indigenous community (about 6 families) but not for sale to the general public. It was kind of impressive because it is so unexpected out in the middle of the desert, in such a high and dry area, to stumble across such a fertile valley. Our final stop was a tourist town, called Tocanoa where we had an ice cream and patted a Llama. Day two (and tour two) started at the incredibly unreasonable hour of 4:00am for the long drive to the El Tatio geysers. The first thing that hits you as you get our of the car is the incredible cold. I had on pretty much all of my clothing and still my hands were frozen and I lost the feeling in my legs. The second thing that hits you is the steam jets that are all around you and as you walk through the geysers you do start to feel warm for some time. From what I could understand the geysers are produced when the cold water hits the warmth of the rock and the jets of water and steam (or vapor) explode through the earth probably in the weaker surfaces. (I have no doubt that someone out there has more knowledge of this than me and could offer a much more scientific explanation but that will have to do for now ...). There is also a thermal bath there which we chose not the take advantage of at this time, mostly because it was early, it was way to cold to get changed in the open air and there were lots of people in a very small area of water and not very many toilets around! Instead we walked around and checked out some of the other geysers and pools where apparently people have died because they got to close and fell in or got disoriented in the steam and fell in (now there are rangers and stone fences to stop such things happening to poor unsuspecting tourists). On our way back from the geysers we stopped at a small village who farmed Llama´s and saw some incredibly cute llama´s and lots of baby llama´s, all with very cute and colourful ribbons in their hair which apparently denote ownership. There was one little boy here, with his baby llama who clearly did not like the tourists and kind of hissed (the boy not the llama) at people who came by and tried to pat the llama. The sad thing about this was the tourists who ignored the child´s discomfort and clear message and just kept talking very loudly to him in English; thankfully one of the guides intervened and he was left alone. I know it shouldn´t but it does constantly surprise me the amount of people who really need to learn some travel manners. So, having had two luxurious nights in a bed, it was time to get back on a bus and this time head to a beach town called Iquique. Time is moving so quickly for us now, it seems like the year is flying by. I hope all is going well for everyone at home (England and Australia) and work and weather aren´t treating you to harshly. Take care Tim and Tracey
So I think last time we spoke I was about to tell you about the longest bus journey ever. Having had the opportunity to spend the day re-organising and planning we realised that our time management had not been so great and having spent so much time in Argentina we now needed to re-arrange our plans and get ourselves heading north ready for the Inca trail in just less than a month. So we boarded our midnight bus our of El Chalten, following Ruta 40 (the tourist route) all the way to Bariloche. Despite the long, rough and bumpy road things were going well until we got to Perito Moreno (the town, not the Glacier) and as we all sat there waiting to go again, we began to realise that our bags were actually being taken off the bus - a not so subtle way of telling us that we needed to change buses. Unfortunately no-one really seemed to know when the next bus would arrive but thought it might either be in 5 or 6 hours or at 5 or 6 o'clock. As we were near pretty much nothing we all sat down for the long wait. All was not so bad though, we managed to spend most the time chatting with an American / Polish couple (Brian and Aga) and the time passed quite quickly. The bus finally arrived about 6 hours later and so the journey continued. Our plan at this point was to get to Bariloche and get an another bus as soon as possible to cross the border back into Chile and work our way up to Santiago before going across to San Pedro de Atacama. As with all the best plans, this one went quickly awry once we arrived in Bariloche. Whilst trawling all the bus companies we soon found out that the next bus vacancy was in four days. So with the help of another new friend (Rafael) we managed to all get on a bus to Mendoza, where we hoped to be able to cross the boarder into Chile and directly to Santiago. So, after a four hour stop over in Barlioche we continued on our way to Mendoza. Whilst on that journey we were seated next to another American couple who were also going to Santiago and had a bus booked out of Mendoza 1 hour after our bus arrived. At some point during the night the bus stopped at some station so we quickly booked some onwards tickets and continued on our way. The trip between Mendoza and Santiago was broken up only by the border crossing, which took some time and one of the customs officer´s there seemed very concerned that Tim and I were transporting fruit and vegetable products across the border and so went to great pains explaining the consequences of such actions - most of which we didn´t understand but the general point being if they did find such contraband in our bags we would be fined 120 000 Chilean Peso´s. Anyone who has ever flown into Brisbane airport will be well aware of the penalties for transporting such illegal items and so we were probably the only ones he didn´t have to explain to!! After having made it through customs our kamikaze bus driver got us down the race track mountain road in record time, overtaking buses, cars, trucks and pretty much everything else in his way - I think we descended about 1500ms in about 5 minutes! Still, it made for some incredible views and the photo´s are pretty cool. So, after nearly 40 hours, we made it to Santiago - I think this may have been my favourite city so far. Having encountered one really rude hostel employee where there no vacancies (thank goodness - the American couple we met on the way stayed there and said the staff continued to be really rude) we found a nice hotel, close to restaurants etc, had a long and hot shower and headed out to find dinner before a good night´s sleep so we could make the most of our short time in Santiago. We really just a couple of lazy city days in Santiago. We did a Lonely Planet walking tour of the city, had lunch at the fish markets, caught up on some internet stuff and finished the day with a dinner of cheeses, salamis and biscuits at a little pub that we found (not much is open in Santiago on Sunday nights). Monday we finished off the sites that we hadn´t managed to catch the day before and got an afternoon bus to San Pedro de Atacama. Once I leave this continent if I never have to catch another bus, I will not be unhappy!! Next San Pedro, the desert, the beach and some incredible national parks and really cool animals... Take care Tim and Tracey
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