We made it to Argentina!
After a Bolivian bus ticket scam, a 3 hour wait to cross the border and an 8 hour bus ride we have finally made it to the charming city of Salta, Argentina. The heat on the Bolivian border was searing, and the queue of people crossing from Villazon (Bolivia) into La Quiaca (Argentina) stretched depressingly far into the distance.
Villazon is a friendly wild-west kind of town, framed by blood coloured mountains. The town hums with vendors selling fake DVDs, clothes, saltenas (a type of samosa) and sandwiches which have probably been out in the sun too long. After a 3 hour wait just to get our passport stamped we trotted across to the new frontier. We were desperate for food and water, but we had to get our bus organised. Unfortunately, after much drama we discovered that our tickets that were issued to us at the Tupiza bus station in Bolivia were fake and that we would be unable to travel to Salta as planned. The bus operator in La Quiaca took one look at our tickets and a dark look came over his eyes. He told us that it was our problem and in no uncertain terms he told us to ´bugger off´ and get out of his office. We started to think that we were doomed to stay in this dodgy border town forever, but we stayed staunch and tried a lot of fast talking to get the bus ticket we had paid for.
The argentinian side of the border was rough and unrelenting. Lightning jarred menacingly across the sky as we walked through the dodgy border town. Gone were the charming smiles of the Bolivian people, gone were the safe villages temming with vibrant markets, gone was our safe little haven. Now we had to be on our guard.
Fortunately a friendly bus company worker made some phone calls and managed to slip us onto an overnight bus to Salta. After all this drama, we are finally in Salta, which is like the ´garden city´ of Argentina. The city is glossed with beautiful colonial buildings, a gondola and a pedal boat lake. A fruit vendor has already tried to rip me off, but I wasn´t having a bar of it!
It has been difficult to find accommodation over the New Year period but after a lot of phone calls in Spanish to various youth hostels, we have sorted things out.
Salta has a sophisticated European charm about it, it´s definitely a lot less hectic and crazed than Buenos Aires. The streets are lined with majestic oak trees and proud old colonial buildings. Nick is hoping to go horse riding in a couple of days, apparently he will get an amazing BBQ complete with hunky Argentinian steak.
Coming back into Argentina from Bolivia has given us all a touch of culture shock. We have just come from a 3rd world country, so it is a real bonus for us that we no longer have to buy toilet paper all the time. (Hostels in Argentina have loo paper.) And it´s easy in Argentina to find soap.
Salta has an edge of urban modernism: Flashy looking banks, boutique clothing stores.....The poverty is not so apparent here as it is in Bolivia. In Bolivia we were surrounded by poor locals desperately trying to make a living. Some would stand proudly by their little cheese stall by the side of the road until very late at night. Whenever I said hello I got a beaming warm smile in return. I find myself looking back reminiscently on my time in Bolivia. Bolivia really is a spunky country doing very well for itself despite its poverty. Immigration systems at borders are very streamlined despite the fact that everything is done manually. The immigration office on the Bolivian side of the Argentine border had no computers, but it was an incredibly efficient system.
I miss the archaic manual systems of Bolivia, like the drawing pins on a big board used in movie theatres to allocate seats and the run down chicken buses that seem to get you from A to B even though you are scared stiff riding in them.
Bye for now,
Brittany
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Tuesday, 28 December 2010
Desert lands and the Salar de Uyuni
Things are interesting in Bolivia at the moment... The entire transport network is on strike, there are blockades and demonstrations across the country. Why? A few days ago the price of petrol doubled overnight. The government can no longer afford to subsidise fuel and is sick of seeing fuel get smuggled cheaply out of the country. This means it is proving very difficult for us to cross the border. The bus station in Tupiza has signs everywhere claiming ´No salidas.´ No departures. Luckily we are only 3 hours from the border, so we are in a better situation than some people who are stuck in the Bolivian heartland.
Our Salar de Uyuni adventure started 4 days ago in Tupiza, the ´Wild West´ of Bolivia. We were amped for the adventure as we had just done a 5 hour horse trek through the steep canyons and rusty red mountain ranges. At various points along the trek my horse spasmodically started to gallop, a slightly frightening experience! Our horses dropped down several steep ravines and we had to cling onto the saddle so we wouldn´t tumble nastily down the ravine. It was an other-worldly experience as our horses navigated through deep red chasms, canyons and through vast expanses of cacti.
The next day we jumped onto a trusty Toyota Land Cruiser, the start of our Salar (salt falt) adventure: Day 1. We shared the 4WD with an eccentric Belgian man called Jerome who was addicted to coca leaves and chomped them while smoking cigarettes in the car. The car weaved through deep canyons and over ridges with steep gullies on either side.
The desertland was like something out of STAR WARS or Laurence of Arabia. At times we felt like we were a space probe on Mars. Eventually we bunkered down at our accommodation at a very poor rural village. Our Christmas Eve dinner was llama meat and delicious Bolivian veggies.
Day 2: We entered a national park and let ourselves simmer in some lovely hot pools near a pink lagoon with pink flamingos trotting through the lime green marshlands. We wandered through some ancient Quechuan ruins and drove past interesting gold mines.
The hills surrounding us were only 25km from Chile, they shimmered with a rusty red hue (iron) and green/yellow tinge (sulphur). I shuddered to think what would happen if our 4WD broke down in the middle of this relentless desert. There was absolutely no greenery or visible signs of life. Our guide told us that this environment was similar to parts of Mars.
Our 4WD ploughed on up to 5200m, possibly the height of Everest base camp. We hopped out and walked through some simmering geysers and sulphuric hot pools. The stench was very reminiscent of Rotorua. At this altitude it felt like someone had tied my stomach into knots and every footstep was a challenge.
We settled down for the night at a collection of shacks at the border of a pink lagoon, near the geysers. One person in our team was having serious problems with the altitude, but some ´Soroche´ pills eventually put him right. Digestion and ´Bolivia Belly´ was a constant nightmare for us all.
Day 3: Our 4WD ploughed through canyons and into an expanse of interesting rock structures. We were surrounded by smoking volcanoes and the relentless heat of the Bolivian desert. Eventually our 4WD surfaced into a land full of coral rocks - the coral was revealed after the lake evaporated at the end of the Ice Age. Our accommodation for this night was stunning - The entire hotel was made of salt. The bed, the tables, chairs, lampshades, the walls...Everything was salty (I licked it just to make sure!)
Day 4: Our jeep powered on to the edge of the Salar. We saw an incredible white landscape stretching 200km: The Salar de Uyuni. The whiteness was blinding and like something from another planet. We climbed to the top of a cactus island, where some of the cacti are 1200 years old. Words cannot describe the isolation and alien nature of this place.
We were given the opportunity to walk around on the Salar - a very special and other worldly experience. The salt chrystallises in a strange hexagonal pattern. I also came across strange potholes filled with salty water. Everyone was in awe at the pure white salt which stretched for miles and we all took some crazy perspective photos with a toy dinosour.
We came across a Salt Hotel, where a NZ flag was flapping on top of a salt altar. It was a very proud moment to see the NZ flag in the middle of the Bolivian salt desertland!
After some more fun four wheel driving to the edge of the Salar, our adventure was over...Or so we thought. We discovered in the village that Bolivia was in lockdown because the entire transport system was on strike. We would not be able to take the bus to the Argentine border after all...
Luckily, we managed to convince our guide to give us a ride back to Tupiza. Along the way we stopped for llama meat and made a sacrifice to the ´driving Gods´ which involved having to smoke a sacrificial cigarette and pour copious amounts of coca leaves and beer into the shrine. Behind a little glass window inside the shrine were little toy trucks, cars and a baby Jesus. Somewhat reluctantly, but respecting this sacrificial practice, I chewed coca the funny tasting coca leaves. The mood was sombre, as our guide took the sacrifice very seriously.
And here we are in Tupiza trying to get across the Argentine border....
Brittany
Monday, 27 December 2010
The Mines of Potosi and other Adventures
To pick up where I left off...
With the animal refuge behind us, Peter, Nick and I blasted off to Potosi, the highest city in the world. Potosi lies at 4200m and the altitude affected us in different ways. First up, at this altitude your nose starts to get very crusty and nose bleeds are common. (Unfortunately, this happened to me several times). Every few steps uphill left me gasping for breath, as if I had just run a school triathlon. My throat dried up and bowl movements were a whole other issue. We discovered to our dismay that it is nearly impossible for Kiwis to digest food properly at this altitude.
Potosi is famous for its silver mine, which has been in action for around 500 years (ever since the Spanish conquistadors first arrived in Bolivia). The safety standards in the mine are medieval, which we discovered on our second day in Potosi.
To our surprise, our bus pulled in at 4am, which was much earlier than we were told. Miraculously we managed to find a taxi at this god-forsaken hour and get to a youth hostel called ´The Koala Den.´ Not surprisingly we found many aussies at this humble abode.
The NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Potosi as ´high risk´ on its website, but we found it to be the most amiable and friendly city we have been to in Bolivia. The city is fringed with majestic stone buildings which are a product of the prosperous silver mine. In the evenings, the whole city came alive and the town square was lit of with thousands of Christmas lights and a nativity scene.
Looming above the city is the deathly silver mine. It´s a rusty brown colour and looks rugged and forboding. On our second day in Potosi we organised a mine tour, which was definitely not for the faint hearted.
In the morning we were shuttled to a slum area to change into grungy looking mining gear. We looked like crusty old miners when we donned our miner´s helmet with headlight, plastic pants and poncho top. We were then taken to the ´miners market´ to buy gifts for the miners working in the mine. Our guide told us to buy coca leaves, soft drinks, dynamite, gloves and alcohol. All essential items for Bolivian miners working in Potosi.
After a sacrifice to Pacha Mama (mother earth) to protect us in the mine, we entered to eerie black abyss. As soon as I walked inside the tunnel, my throat felt prickly because of the levels of arsenic and sulphur. None of the miners wear any sort of mask to protect themselves from the poison gases in the mine. It is thought that most miners only live for ten more years after working in the Potosi mine.
I covered my mouth with a bandana, and ducked to avoid the pressurised air tubing and sulphuric rocks inches above me. The light at the end of the tunnel disappeared. Our guide led us down several levels in the mine and after about 45 minutes half our group had called it quits. Tourists who were perky at the start were almost reduced to tears and had to be led back out. We had to crawl down narrow vertical shafts and down wobbly ladders. Some tunnels were so narrow we had to crawl on our stomachs, and still we had to really squeeze our bodies throught he hole. I struggled to breath, but pressed on. Suddenly, we heard the frightening sound of dynamite explosions above our heads. At that point I said a little prayer that I would get out alive!
At one point some hagged looking miners ran up to us shouting ´gloves, gloves!´We quickly handed over some gloves and some coca leaves for good measure. The miners do not eat for 24 hours, as their shifts are 24 hours long. The only thing they can do in the mines is chew coca leaves and get supplies from tourists on tour groups.
At the end of one particularly hairy tunnel, we were given the option of being winched up several levels, where we could walk easily to the exit. Peter and Nick wouldn´t have a bar of it - They chose to crawl up again through the suffocatingly claustrophobic gap. However, I chose to be brave and cautiously attached myself to the rope. A miner worked a winching system several stories above me, and gradually I escaped out of the narrow tunnel. My harness was so dodgy and basic that I slipped out of once and had to cling to the wall of the tunnel.
On our mission out of the mine, we came across several teams of miners who were pushing a 2 TON barrel. One miner pulled the massive cart with a rope, and 2 other miners pushed it through the scary labyrinth. There was no electric rail system or other automatic means of pushing these incredibly hefty mining carts. Pure man power makes this mine work.
As I surfaced back into daylight, I breathed a grateful breath of arsenic-free air. Then it was time for our own dynamite explosion. Our guide lit the dynamite we bought at the market, ran down to a canyon, laid it on a rock, and had 1 minute to run for his life. The explosion reverberated for miles, it sounded like a death knoll or the first explosion of a world war.
Bye for now,
Brittany
Monday, 20 December 2010
These are a few of my favourite things... (in South America)
- Cama bus! $20 NZD gives you a first class comfy bed on a bus
- Jugo de naranja...Squeezed fresh every time
- Chocolate crepes
- Friendly Aymara women
- Alpaca jerseys
- Cheeky capuchin monkeys
- Balmy evenings lying on a hammock in the Yungas
- Meeting other intrepid travellers
- Conquering language barriers
- Conquering altitude sickness (finally)
- Standing over Machu Picchu at sunrise
- Labyrinths of sprawling markets
- Street vendors coming onto the bus to entertain you with magic tricks
- Crazy Spanish TV programs with the beetle man
- Finally getting to the destination after a hair raising bus ride
- Spider monkey falling asleep in your lap
- Desayuno americano
- Magnificent Inca ruins
- Fruit salad
- Cheap taxis
- Appletinis and Lemon drops in Buenos Aires
- Feedings tortoises and giving them baths
- Catchy latino techno music
- rooftop barbecues
- Border crossings
- The jagged Andean mountain tops
- Crossing Lake Titicaca in a dodgy boat
- Watching our bus cross Lake Titicaca on a dodgy barge
- Sunset over Isla del Sol, Bolivia
- Watching Andean condors glide over the mountains
- Getting happy exclamations of ´Kiwi!´ when I say to a local that I am from NZ
- Conversing with a local at the bus station
- Jugo de naranja...Squeezed fresh every time
- Chocolate crepes
- Friendly Aymara women
- Alpaca jerseys
- Cheeky capuchin monkeys
- Balmy evenings lying on a hammock in the Yungas
- Meeting other intrepid travellers
- Conquering language barriers
- Conquering altitude sickness (finally)
- Standing over Machu Picchu at sunrise
- Labyrinths of sprawling markets
- Street vendors coming onto the bus to entertain you with magic tricks
- Crazy Spanish TV programs with the beetle man
- Finally getting to the destination after a hair raising bus ride
- Spider monkey falling asleep in your lap
- Desayuno americano
- Magnificent Inca ruins
- Fruit salad
- Cheap taxis
- Appletinis and Lemon drops in Buenos Aires
- Feedings tortoises and giving them baths
- Catchy latino techno music
- rooftop barbecues
- Border crossings
- The jagged Andean mountain tops
- Crossing Lake Titicaca in a dodgy boat
- Watching our bus cross Lake Titicaca on a dodgy barge
- Sunset over Isla del Sol, Bolivia
- Watching Andean condors glide over the mountains
- Getting happy exclamations of ´Kiwi!´ when I say to a local that I am from NZ
- Conversing with a local at the bus station
Sunday, 19 December 2010
The Yungas
This post is about our experiences in the Yungas region of Bolivia, since we have spent quite a long time in the La Paz - Coroico environs.
The Death Road revealed....
A couple of weeks ago Peter and Nick mountain biked the world´s most dangerous road...They were lucky to come away unscathed because a few days ago we met a Kiwi who actually fell over the cliff and was only saved by falling into thorny tree.
As we ascended up to the Altiplano in the minubus our breathing became laboured...We were approaching 5000m above sea level. After a fiddle with the bikes, we made an offering to Pacha Mama (mother earth) by pouring some alcohol on the ground.
As the mist cleared, the bikes whizzed down the hillside, bracketed by intimidating stone walls on every side.
Eventually the bus made it onto the death road: Earthy dust, waterfalls and jaw dropping cliffs greeted us for the next few kilometres. Every few kilometres there was a shrine to someone who had perished, usually a careless bike rider who had toppled over the edge.
With everyone exhausted at the end of the day, we were rewarded with a scrumptious pasta lunch at La Senda Verde wildlife refuge.
The next time we faced the death road, we were on our way to volunteer at La Senda Verde. We were intrigued by the stories we had heard about the place, and turned up ready to get stuck in helping with monkeys, turtles and toucans.
Every morning we got up at 7am to feed ALL the animals. Basically we were given the responsibility of feeding all the animals at the refuge, with very little instruction or training.
Every animal was fed three times a day, the work was not too strenuous and we had time to form a bond with some of the cheeky capuchin monkeys. A little trickster capuchin called Niko tried to tear my hair out when he first met me, but after a few days he enjoyed getting rides on my shoulders and playing with buttons on my shirt.
The monkey enclosure was teeming with black spider monkeys, howler monkeys and capuchins. The spider monkeys loved to curl up in my lap, the capuchins loved playing with water and stealing anything they could find in my pockets. They figured out how to turn on taps and open water bottles!
We even got the responsibility of feeding an Andean Bear, called Aruma. Peter distracted it with nuts while me and Nick rapidly scrubbed out his cage....The other volunteers were interesting to talk to, two of them were doctors from Perth who found that their services were needed on more than one occasion.
Every day was varied at the refuge....We experienced Houdini monkeys escaping, a crazy Koati animals, wild dogs....Psycho toucans and squaky tropical birds.
We are off to lunch in Coroico now,
Adios!
Brittany
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Climbing Huayna Picchu
We were saturated with Inca history and had explored the ruins - now for something a smidgen more adventurous: Huayna Picchu (´young mountain´).
Only 400 people are allowed to climb Huayna Picchu each day. Huayna Picchu is the steep, signature mountain behind the ruins of Machu Picchu. After a slightly gruelling climb to the Inca bridge, we embarked on this precipitous climb in the searing heat.
As the path up the mountain became more precipitous, I clung to the iron rail and dared not look down at the deathly drop inches away from the rail. After much puffing and huffing and scrambling through a cave I finally reached the summit. An ancient Inca guard house, terraces and ruins clung to the mountain, it seemed like they would topple over any second.
The way down was precarious - it involved slowly manoevring down narrow Inca stone steps and clinging desperately to rails to avoid the 500m drop over the cliff.
Huayna Picchu really knows how to kick the guts out of you but for all you tramping folk, I would really recommend it :)
Now we are back safe and sound in Cuzco. Every time I walk down the street ladies jump out at me and yell, ´Senorita, massage? Massage?´
A few days ago we all piled into a taxi and were waiting at the traffic light. Suddenly a street kid jumps out onto the busy main drag and proceeds to display his cartwheeling skills. Cartwheel after cartwheel, he weaved in and out of the cars chugging by the traffic light. After a cartwheel he ran up to the window of our taxi and held out his hand. This was probably the only way this kid would get money to survive.
This afternoon I chanced upon an ex-pat British restaurant, which served all the familiar goodies like roast dinners and Worchestire sauce...Yum! NO more guinea pig burgers.
Brittany
Only 400 people are allowed to climb Huayna Picchu each day. Huayna Picchu is the steep, signature mountain behind the ruins of Machu Picchu. After a slightly gruelling climb to the Inca bridge, we embarked on this precipitous climb in the searing heat.
As the path up the mountain became more precipitous, I clung to the iron rail and dared not look down at the deathly drop inches away from the rail. After much puffing and huffing and scrambling through a cave I finally reached the summit. An ancient Inca guard house, terraces and ruins clung to the mountain, it seemed like they would topple over any second.
The way down was precarious - it involved slowly manoevring down narrow Inca stone steps and clinging desperately to rails to avoid the 500m drop over the cliff.
Huayna Picchu really knows how to kick the guts out of you but for all you tramping folk, I would really recommend it :)
Now we are back safe and sound in Cuzco. Every time I walk down the street ladies jump out at me and yell, ´Senorita, massage? Massage?´
A few days ago we all piled into a taxi and were waiting at the traffic light. Suddenly a street kid jumps out onto the busy main drag and proceeds to display his cartwheeling skills. Cartwheel after cartwheel, he weaved in and out of the cars chugging by the traffic light. After a cartwheel he ran up to the window of our taxi and held out his hand. This was probably the only way this kid would get money to survive.
This afternoon I chanced upon an ex-pat British restaurant, which served all the familiar goodies like roast dinners and Worchestire sauce...Yum! NO more guinea pig burgers.
Brittany
Machu Picchu - The realm of Gods.
Sorry it has been a while since my last post, but Peru has kept us busy and on our toes!
Last week Peter, Nick and I ventured to the Inca heartland of Cusco, Peru. The first hurdle was actually getting on the bus itself, since the office man at our youth hostel sold us a phoney bus ticket and pocketed the money!
After a lot of fast talking, we managed to board the bus to Cuzco, sans bus ticket. Even after several tedious explanations to the bus driver, he still stopped in the middle of the Peruvian desert and threatened to kick us off. Luckily, a sweet guy from Argentina helped us out and after a few cellphone calls th driver was able to track down the dodgy man who had fleeced us of our money.
The border crossing was seamless compared to the Argentine-Bolivian border. When we handed over our passports the officials smiled ´Kiwi, Kiwi!´ The bus laboured on throough the Peruvian highlands and locals who were riding in the bus tried desperately to sell us everything from cold lime to big hunks of cheese. I´ll never forget the shrill whines of the locan ladies as the screamed ´QUESO! QUESOQUESOQUESO!!´ (Cheese! Cheese! You know you want my cheeese!´
We met some lovely Australians from Sydney, who have spent 6 months travelling the world from Africa to New York. We ended up bunking down at the same youth hostel, a funny wee nook in the heart of Cuzco city where the manager Manuel tries to sell us ever sort of Inca tour under the sun, and where the floor of the balcony slopes precipitously.
Cuzco is like the Queenstown of Peru. It screams tourist-ville. It is a stunning city laced with old Inca ruins and incredible museums, but everywhere we go, we are harassed by locals trying to sell us everything from ´hot massages´ to fake Ray Ban sunglasses. It gets tiring after a while. Simply ignoring them does not work, we literally need to scream ´NO! NO!´ several times for them to lay off us. A few days ago we were all having lunch in the town square, when suddenly a hoard of boys descended on us, they were standing inches away from our faces hounding us and shoving sunglasses in our faces. Nothing we said could make them go away, so we had to walk away.
Despite this annoyance, Cuzco is blessed with several awe-inspiring museums. At the Inca Museum we saw mummies, ancient Inca pottery, tools, tapestries and the original Spanish Chronicles. We wandered down to an Inca monument, an impressive bronze statue of an Inca Chief which towers above the city. We were able to walk inside it and gaze over the crazy hub of Cuzco.
Cuzco was designed by the Incas hundreds of years ago to look like the shape of a puma. The heart of the puma is the city centre (town square). Inca Kings used to live here, and the roads are still made with the original Inca granite slabs.
A couple of days ago we embarked on our adventure to Machu Picchu, the famous ´lost city´ of the Incas. We were picked up at 3am from our hostel, and driven 2 hours tot he train station. The train was incredibly stylish and we were served an assortment of drinks, chocolates and biscuits. As the train chugged along we were amazed by the sheer emerald mountains rising up from every direction. We were in the Peruvian Yungas, the lush forestland which leads down to the Peruvian Amazon. The mist was just starting to clear, and we felt like we were journeying to the valley of the Gods.
The final stop for the train was Aguas Calientes (meaning ´warm waters.´) We treated ourselves to a scrumptious dip in the hot pools, where we had an incredible view of lush green cliffs and mountains which were so steep they were like a knife edge. Aguas Calientes is a bit of a tourist-trap town, but it has a beautiful river rushing through the middle of it which pounds away throught he night. The river is so strong it is ike hearing rain constantly pattering on the roof. On one side of the river, the people live in leaky shacks and wooden hovels, but on the other side the town blossoms with wealth and fancy hotels. It is a huge dichotomy.
With eager anticipation we got up at 4am to catcht he first bus to Machu Picchu. We planned on climbing Huayna Picchu (´young mountain´) but only 400 people are allowed to climb it each day. The race was on. As our bus chugged up steep cliffs and through lush rainforest, I felt like I was entering the kingdom of Gods. The mist clings to the steepest mountains you have ever seen, the forest looks so green and untouched and beautiful it is like you are entering a whole other world.
For the first couple of hours we hired a guide to show us aroundt he ruins of Machu Picchu. It was worth every penny, as he explained things with such interesting detail - We never would have been able to figure out all the historical intricacies on our own. Our guide (a native Quechua man descended fromt he Incas) led us up to a lookout point where we caught the first glimpse of Machu Picchu. It took our breath away, it was even more incredible than words or photographs can describe. I compare the feeling to the first time I stepped inside Disneyland! A labyrinth of stone ruins sprawls over sheer cliffs. When you look over the edge, the drop is several hundred metres. It feels like its own kingdom in the sky.
We wandered through the Temple of the Sun, which is an example of incredible stone masonry. The labyrinth of stone ruins continued and we found stone sculptures which were carved into the shape of mountains, to mirror the shape of the mountains in the distance.
A 45 minute walk took us to an ancient Inca Bridge, which clung to the edge of a steep cliff - the drop was atleast 500 metres.
We explored old temples and the palace of the Inca King with its bedroom, living room and ancient Inca bathroom. The waterways, sewerage systems and roof bolts were so sophisticated it rivalled ancient Roman technology.
More to come on the arduous climb up Huayna Picchu,
Brittany
Last week Peter, Nick and I ventured to the Inca heartland of Cusco, Peru. The first hurdle was actually getting on the bus itself, since the office man at our youth hostel sold us a phoney bus ticket and pocketed the money!
After a lot of fast talking, we managed to board the bus to Cuzco, sans bus ticket. Even after several tedious explanations to the bus driver, he still stopped in the middle of the Peruvian desert and threatened to kick us off. Luckily, a sweet guy from Argentina helped us out and after a few cellphone calls th driver was able to track down the dodgy man who had fleeced us of our money.
The border crossing was seamless compared to the Argentine-Bolivian border. When we handed over our passports the officials smiled ´Kiwi, Kiwi!´ The bus laboured on throough the Peruvian highlands and locals who were riding in the bus tried desperately to sell us everything from cold lime to big hunks of cheese. I´ll never forget the shrill whines of the locan ladies as the screamed ´QUESO! QUESOQUESOQUESO!!´ (Cheese! Cheese! You know you want my cheeese!´
We met some lovely Australians from Sydney, who have spent 6 months travelling the world from Africa to New York. We ended up bunking down at the same youth hostel, a funny wee nook in the heart of Cuzco city where the manager Manuel tries to sell us ever sort of Inca tour under the sun, and where the floor of the balcony slopes precipitously.
Cuzco is like the Queenstown of Peru. It screams tourist-ville. It is a stunning city laced with old Inca ruins and incredible museums, but everywhere we go, we are harassed by locals trying to sell us everything from ´hot massages´ to fake Ray Ban sunglasses. It gets tiring after a while. Simply ignoring them does not work, we literally need to scream ´NO! NO!´ several times for them to lay off us. A few days ago we were all having lunch in the town square, when suddenly a hoard of boys descended on us, they were standing inches away from our faces hounding us and shoving sunglasses in our faces. Nothing we said could make them go away, so we had to walk away.
Despite this annoyance, Cuzco is blessed with several awe-inspiring museums. At the Inca Museum we saw mummies, ancient Inca pottery, tools, tapestries and the original Spanish Chronicles. We wandered down to an Inca monument, an impressive bronze statue of an Inca Chief which towers above the city. We were able to walk inside it and gaze over the crazy hub of Cuzco.
Cuzco was designed by the Incas hundreds of years ago to look like the shape of a puma. The heart of the puma is the city centre (town square). Inca Kings used to live here, and the roads are still made with the original Inca granite slabs.
A couple of days ago we embarked on our adventure to Machu Picchu, the famous ´lost city´ of the Incas. We were picked up at 3am from our hostel, and driven 2 hours tot he train station. The train was incredibly stylish and we were served an assortment of drinks, chocolates and biscuits. As the train chugged along we were amazed by the sheer emerald mountains rising up from every direction. We were in the Peruvian Yungas, the lush forestland which leads down to the Peruvian Amazon. The mist was just starting to clear, and we felt like we were journeying to the valley of the Gods.
The final stop for the train was Aguas Calientes (meaning ´warm waters.´) We treated ourselves to a scrumptious dip in the hot pools, where we had an incredible view of lush green cliffs and mountains which were so steep they were like a knife edge. Aguas Calientes is a bit of a tourist-trap town, but it has a beautiful river rushing through the middle of it which pounds away throught he night. The river is so strong it is ike hearing rain constantly pattering on the roof. On one side of the river, the people live in leaky shacks and wooden hovels, but on the other side the town blossoms with wealth and fancy hotels. It is a huge dichotomy.
With eager anticipation we got up at 4am to catcht he first bus to Machu Picchu. We planned on climbing Huayna Picchu (´young mountain´) but only 400 people are allowed to climb it each day. The race was on. As our bus chugged up steep cliffs and through lush rainforest, I felt like I was entering the kingdom of Gods. The mist clings to the steepest mountains you have ever seen, the forest looks so green and untouched and beautiful it is like you are entering a whole other world.
For the first couple of hours we hired a guide to show us aroundt he ruins of Machu Picchu. It was worth every penny, as he explained things with such interesting detail - We never would have been able to figure out all the historical intricacies on our own. Our guide (a native Quechua man descended fromt he Incas) led us up to a lookout point where we caught the first glimpse of Machu Picchu. It took our breath away, it was even more incredible than words or photographs can describe. I compare the feeling to the first time I stepped inside Disneyland! A labyrinth of stone ruins sprawls over sheer cliffs. When you look over the edge, the drop is several hundred metres. It feels like its own kingdom in the sky.
We wandered through the Temple of the Sun, which is an example of incredible stone masonry. The labyrinth of stone ruins continued and we found stone sculptures which were carved into the shape of mountains, to mirror the shape of the mountains in the distance.
A 45 minute walk took us to an ancient Inca Bridge, which clung to the edge of a steep cliff - the drop was atleast 500 metres.
We explored old temples and the palace of the Inca King with its bedroom, living room and ancient Inca bathroom. The waterways, sewerage systems and roof bolts were so sophisticated it rivalled ancient Roman technology.
More to come on the arduous climb up Huayna Picchu,
Brittany
Greetings from Cuzco, Peru
Greetings from Cusco, Peru.
As requested by a couple of people, this is a few of the details about
what we have been up to (myself, Peter and Brittany) to date in South
America.
We were in the deep end from the point of the departure lounge in
Auckland Airport. The boarding announcement was in Spanish, along with
the majority of announcements on the plane. We flew with Aerloinias
Argentina, the national carrier The standard of the plane was just a
taste of what was to come.The seats uncomfortable and small, the food
terrible (by airplane standards) and service non existent. The airport
we flew into reminded me of pacific island airports. Basic and
rundown, the major building appeared from the outside to be a throw
away from USSR. Getting through customs and quarantine was largely
uneventful.
We stayed at a reasonable hostel in BA for US$13/night, including a
simple breakfast, spending the first couple of days adjusting to the
culture, trying out our Spanish and seeing the local sights. A major
highlight was a visit to a catholic cemetery which was entirely crypts
made of granite and marble, maybe a thousand in total. For most of the
crypts we were able to look through glass doors and actually see the
caskets, in one I counted a total of 13 caskets. All the crypts were
very ornate and the city was undertaking restoration on many of them.
A lowlight was Peter getting shortchanged at the subway, by about 90
Pasoes (NZD$40ish) and getting lost on the subway. The government
buildings were well worth checking out, a hangover of the Peron
´´think big´´ era. Buenos Aries is a beautiful city with colonial era
architecture but sadly the whole city seamed to be falling apart.
Walking down the footpath we were in constant fear of breaking an
ankle on the haphazard footpaths. Made up for by the excellent quality
(and portion sizes) of Argentine beef.
We quickly got sick of the big city and got ourselves bus tickets to
Santa Cruze, Bolivia. A 36 hour bus ride for NZD$150 each. We totally
stuffed up getting onto the bus by not properly checking in. This
resulted in a sprint from one end of the terminal to the other with
passports in hand and a lot of fast speaking by a Bolivian woman who
spoke a bit of english. If it was not for her we would have been
stuffed. Then there was the bus ride.... The bus had a toilet (banio)
and all manner of hawkers climbing on board at police checkpoints
selling everything from cold drinks to religion. The Bolivian boarder
crossing was very basic. Bolivian customs was a small grotty brick
building with one computer and grumpy officials wearing guns on their
hips. As it was a minor boarder crossing, they hadn´t seen many New
Zealand passports and were very curious of Brittany´s electronic
passport. They had to look up New Zealandin a table to figure out how
many days tourist visa to give us.
Santa Cruse, Bolivia was nothing more than a stopover. The tropical
heat and humidity was stifling and we were keen to get away quickly.
We took the friendly Bolivian lady, who helped us out at the bus
depot, for a wine, giving further opportunity to practise our spanish.
We paid about NZ$4 for a glass of house wine. A packet of cigarettes
costs NZ$2
We headed on to La Paz, another 14 hours in a bus. Santa Cruze sits at
an altitude of 300m, La Paz at 3500m. The bus went up a high as 4700m
on the Alto Plano. As we were going up it felt like I had a telephone
book on my chest and was slightly light headed. We stopped at about
4500m altitude for a toilet break. I made the mistake of walking too
fast and got very dizzy from lack of oxygen. The local saying for
altitude goes ´Move slowly, eat little and sleep by your poor little
self.´ Dropping back to 3500m (La Paz) was a godsend however carrying
our packs up 4 flights of stairs to get to our room at the hostel left
us gasping for air. The altitude effects were cured by Coca lollies,
made from the plant used to make cocaine. The locals chew coca leaves
like the British drink tea. Apparently it´s mildly addictive and later
in the trip Peter chewed Coca leaves to cure a headache.
The highlight on La Paz for me was mountain biking the worlds most
dangerous road. 60km long and 3500m of decent, mostly gravel with big
drop offs, the biggest a sheer 600m cliff. Until recently the road had
a toll of about 200 lives a year the worst accident a truck carrying
100 people that went off the edge. A new road was opened in 2006,
leaving the worlds most dangerous road to the odd local vehicle and
the mountain bikers. It maintains it´s reputation with an average of a
couple of bikers going off the edge every year. Our company had a
perfect safety record and thankfully it stayed that way. That night we
stayed at Corico, at a hotel costing us NZ$8 each for the room. We had
a recommendation to stay there, described as a living version of
Faulty towers, run by an insane french couple however the french
cuisine was excellent.
We tripped onto Copacabana, on the edge on Lake Titicaca and got our
first taste of electric showers. The shower head contains an electric
element to heat the water, which has a nasty habit of electrocuting
people. We got a mild buzz of touching the tap. Dinner that night cost
us NZD$3 each, and another $3 for beer. We crossed to Isla Del Sol, an
island run in a very authentic fashion. There was no mechanised
transport on the island (donkeys played a major role) and the locals
living a very traditional lifestyle in mud brick huts and small
agricultural plots. Isla Del Sol (Island of the Sun) lived up to it´s
name. The combination of clear skies and 4000m of altitude resulted in
a reasonable dose of sunburn. Fresh trout from the lake for dinner was
fantastic, a meal repeated three times in a row.
We pushed onto Cusco, the Archeology centre of south America, and have
visited several museums. In one we saw a Kumura, which was labeled as
a Kumura, in another we saw mummies, ancient brain surgery techniques
and many many vases. The Incan religion was a relatively simple one,
which was overridden by the invasion of the Spanish.
Tomorrow we move onto one of the highlights of the trip, Machu Picchu,
the ancient Inca ruins. From there we are returning to Bolivia to
spend two weeks volunteering at a wildlife refuge (think monkeys,
turtles, birds, a bear and other exotic creatures). We will then head
to Salar De Uyuni, an area of extensive salt flats, then back into
Argentina and down to Patagonia.
I hope this email finds you well and ready for the rush up to
Christmas, and if you are interested in more detail on what we are up
to, check out the blog at
http://2010asouthamericanodyssey.blogspot.com/
Kind Regards
Nick
As requested by a couple of people, this is a few of the details about
what we have been up to (myself, Peter and Brittany) to date in South
America.
We were in the deep end from the point of the departure lounge in
Auckland Airport. The boarding announcement was in Spanish, along with
the majority of announcements on the plane. We flew with Aerloinias
Argentina, the national carrier The standard of the plane was just a
taste of what was to come.The seats uncomfortable and small, the food
terrible (by airplane standards) and service non existent. The airport
we flew into reminded me of pacific island airports. Basic and
rundown, the major building appeared from the outside to be a throw
away from USSR. Getting through customs and quarantine was largely
uneventful.
We stayed at a reasonable hostel in BA for US$13/night, including a
simple breakfast, spending the first couple of days adjusting to the
culture, trying out our Spanish and seeing the local sights. A major
highlight was a visit to a catholic cemetery which was entirely crypts
made of granite and marble, maybe a thousand in total. For most of the
crypts we were able to look through glass doors and actually see the
caskets, in one I counted a total of 13 caskets. All the crypts were
very ornate and the city was undertaking restoration on many of them.
A lowlight was Peter getting shortchanged at the subway, by about 90
Pasoes (NZD$40ish) and getting lost on the subway. The government
buildings were well worth checking out, a hangover of the Peron
´´think big´´ era. Buenos Aries is a beautiful city with colonial era
architecture but sadly the whole city seamed to be falling apart.
Walking down the footpath we were in constant fear of breaking an
ankle on the haphazard footpaths. Made up for by the excellent quality
(and portion sizes) of Argentine beef.
We quickly got sick of the big city and got ourselves bus tickets to
Santa Cruze, Bolivia. A 36 hour bus ride for NZD$150 each. We totally
stuffed up getting onto the bus by not properly checking in. This
resulted in a sprint from one end of the terminal to the other with
passports in hand and a lot of fast speaking by a Bolivian woman who
spoke a bit of english. If it was not for her we would have been
stuffed. Then there was the bus ride.... The bus had a toilet (banio)
and all manner of hawkers climbing on board at police checkpoints
selling everything from cold drinks to religion. The Bolivian boarder
crossing was very basic. Bolivian customs was a small grotty brick
building with one computer and grumpy officials wearing guns on their
hips. As it was a minor boarder crossing, they hadn´t seen many New
Zealand passports and were very curious of Brittany´s electronic
passport. They had to look up New Zealandin a table to figure out how
many days tourist visa to give us.
Santa Cruse, Bolivia was nothing more than a stopover. The tropical
heat and humidity was stifling and we were keen to get away quickly.
We took the friendly Bolivian lady, who helped us out at the bus
depot, for a wine, giving further opportunity to practise our spanish.
We paid about NZ$4 for a glass of house wine. A packet of cigarettes
costs NZ$2
We headed on to La Paz, another 14 hours in a bus. Santa Cruze sits at
an altitude of 300m, La Paz at 3500m. The bus went up a high as 4700m
on the Alto Plano. As we were going up it felt like I had a telephone
book on my chest and was slightly light headed. We stopped at about
4500m altitude for a toilet break. I made the mistake of walking too
fast and got very dizzy from lack of oxygen. The local saying for
altitude goes ´Move slowly, eat little and sleep by your poor little
self.´ Dropping back to 3500m (La Paz) was a godsend however carrying
our packs up 4 flights of stairs to get to our room at the hostel left
us gasping for air. The altitude effects were cured by Coca lollies,
made from the plant used to make cocaine. The locals chew coca leaves
like the British drink tea. Apparently it´s mildly addictive and later
in the trip Peter chewed Coca leaves to cure a headache.
The highlight on La Paz for me was mountain biking the worlds most
dangerous road. 60km long and 3500m of decent, mostly gravel with big
drop offs, the biggest a sheer 600m cliff. Until recently the road had
a toll of about 200 lives a year the worst accident a truck carrying
100 people that went off the edge. A new road was opened in 2006,
leaving the worlds most dangerous road to the odd local vehicle and
the mountain bikers. It maintains it´s reputation with an average of a
couple of bikers going off the edge every year. Our company had a
perfect safety record and thankfully it stayed that way. That night we
stayed at Corico, at a hotel costing us NZ$8 each for the room. We had
a recommendation to stay there, described as a living version of
Faulty towers, run by an insane french couple however the french
cuisine was excellent.
We tripped onto Copacabana, on the edge on Lake Titicaca and got our
first taste of electric showers. The shower head contains an electric
element to heat the water, which has a nasty habit of electrocuting
people. We got a mild buzz of touching the tap. Dinner that night cost
us NZD$3 each, and another $3 for beer. We crossed to Isla Del Sol, an
island run in a very authentic fashion. There was no mechanised
transport on the island (donkeys played a major role) and the locals
living a very traditional lifestyle in mud brick huts and small
agricultural plots. Isla Del Sol (Island of the Sun) lived up to it´s
name. The combination of clear skies and 4000m of altitude resulted in
a reasonable dose of sunburn. Fresh trout from the lake for dinner was
fantastic, a meal repeated three times in a row.
We pushed onto Cusco, the Archeology centre of south America, and have
visited several museums. In one we saw a Kumura, which was labeled as
a Kumura, in another we saw mummies, ancient brain surgery techniques
and many many vases. The Incan religion was a relatively simple one,
which was overridden by the invasion of the Spanish.
Tomorrow we move onto one of the highlights of the trip, Machu Picchu,
the ancient Inca ruins. From there we are returning to Bolivia to
spend two weeks volunteering at a wildlife refuge (think monkeys,
turtles, birds, a bear and other exotic creatures). We will then head
to Salar De Uyuni, an area of extensive salt flats, then back into
Argentina and down to Patagonia.
I hope this email finds you well and ready for the rush up to
Christmas, and if you are interested in more detail on what we are up
to, check out the blog at
http://
Kind Regards
Nick
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
THE DEATH ROAD. WE SURVIVED
La camina de los muertos - the Road of Death. The name slips over the tongue like a deadly omen.
Last Friday Nick and Peter were brave enough to MOUNTAIN BIKE the world´s most dangerous road. I was only brave enough to creep down in the support van behind them.
The road manoevres through the Yungas - stunning, lush emerald coloured mountains which grasp the sky. The Yunga mountains are precipitous, steep and deadly.Along the road there was a Narcotics check point, road works, dodgy vans and vendors selling trinkets and junk food.
The guide from Gravity Assisted tours made us peer over the edge of the cliff at one point to see a crushed mini van at the bottom. 10 people had died. It was a sobering reminder of the dangers of this road.
Along the Death Road there are numerous crosses to commemorate the lives of those who have perished on the road. At one particular bend there was an overhanging waterfall, the road was barely 1.5 metres wide and rocks were crumbling away from the road. At this particular bend I could see numerous religious crosses.
At the bottom of the road we were rewarded with a cold beer, and spent some time gobbling up a yummy lunch at Senda Verde wildlife refuge. A capuchin monkey climbed all over Nick and Peter - rather cute.
That night we bunkered down at a hostel in nearby Coroico. The hostel we stayed at was run by a crazy French couple. The Lonely Planet warned us that the hostel was scarily akin to Faulty Towers...But the filet mignon was out of this world! That French couple sure knew how to cook! In the evening we could see condors (eagles) soaring over the cliffs and emerald green jungle of the Jungas mountains.
I will get Peter or Nick to write in more detail about the Death Road,
Brittany
Last Friday Nick and Peter were brave enough to MOUNTAIN BIKE the world´s most dangerous road. I was only brave enough to creep down in the support van behind them.
The road manoevres through the Yungas - stunning, lush emerald coloured mountains which grasp the sky. The Yunga mountains are precipitous, steep and deadly.Along the road there was a Narcotics check point, road works, dodgy vans and vendors selling trinkets and junk food.
The guide from Gravity Assisted tours made us peer over the edge of the cliff at one point to see a crushed mini van at the bottom. 10 people had died. It was a sobering reminder of the dangers of this road.
Along the Death Road there are numerous crosses to commemorate the lives of those who have perished on the road. At one particular bend there was an overhanging waterfall, the road was barely 1.5 metres wide and rocks were crumbling away from the road. At this particular bend I could see numerous religious crosses.
At the bottom of the road we were rewarded with a cold beer, and spent some time gobbling up a yummy lunch at Senda Verde wildlife refuge. A capuchin monkey climbed all over Nick and Peter - rather cute.
That night we bunkered down at a hostel in nearby Coroico. The hostel we stayed at was run by a crazy French couple. The Lonely Planet warned us that the hostel was scarily akin to Faulty Towers...But the filet mignon was out of this world! That French couple sure knew how to cook! In the evening we could see condors (eagles) soaring over the cliffs and emerald green jungle of the Jungas mountains.
I will get Peter or Nick to write in more detail about the Death Road,
Brittany
Here I am in a little internet cafe in Cobacabana, Bolivia. I´m higher than La Paz, about 4000m above sea level and I sure can feel it. Peter and Nick convinced me to walk up a steep hill above the town yesterday, but it was a real killer. My gasps were so heavy I thought I´d collapse!
Cobacabana is a quaint wee tourist town. Aymara women line the streets poking their heads out of little nooks. They sell massive sacks of popcorn, alpaca jerseys and soft drinks.
Yesterday evening Peter, Nick and I ventured to the mystical Isla del Sol, said to be the birthplace of the Inca Empire. The island was carved into Inca terraces, and llamas and donkeys meandered up steep cobblestoned labyrinth paths.
A lovely Aymara lady looked after us when we stayed at Hostal Ichi. She made us the most tender trout from the lake. In the evening we gazed over azure blue Lake Titicaca. Our New Zealand pride still makes us think New Zealand is more beautiful, however.
Here in Bolivia the only beer available is called ¨Pacena¨. Nick and Peter hate it but after a hard day in Spanish land they will guzzle anything down!
As an aside, orange juice is amazing in South America. It is made from real oranges and squeezed especially to order. It´s one of my favourite treats here.
The kids here think Peter is so tall. Wherever he goes the kids whisper ¨Que alto!¨(How tall he is!) Isla del Sol reminded me of the Marlborough Sounds - Kids played in the lake, making mischief. Cheap outboard motors were used to ferry people to far- flung inlets. The evenings were spent relaxing and playing soccer. The sun baked down on us, and we found ourselves rapidly slipping into island time.
The next day we walked up the Inca terraces to the top of the ridge, first we had to pass by a formidable Inca statue and make a religious offering at the top of the Inca walkway. At the top of the ridge we got a fantastic view over the island and could see the Andean mountains glistening in the distance. We could also see the Peruvian border. The walk up the hill was a killer! Try walking up steep cliffs at this altitude, it sure is character building!
We made it back safely to Cobacabana, tomorrow we head to Cuzco and the Sacred Valley.
More adventures to come,
Brittany
Cobacabana is a quaint wee tourist town. Aymara women line the streets poking their heads out of little nooks. They sell massive sacks of popcorn, alpaca jerseys and soft drinks.
Yesterday evening Peter, Nick and I ventured to the mystical Isla del Sol, said to be the birthplace of the Inca Empire. The island was carved into Inca terraces, and llamas and donkeys meandered up steep cobblestoned labyrinth paths.
A lovely Aymara lady looked after us when we stayed at Hostal Ichi. She made us the most tender trout from the lake. In the evening we gazed over azure blue Lake Titicaca. Our New Zealand pride still makes us think New Zealand is more beautiful, however.
Here in Bolivia the only beer available is called ¨Pacena¨. Nick and Peter hate it but after a hard day in Spanish land they will guzzle anything down!
As an aside, orange juice is amazing in South America. It is made from real oranges and squeezed especially to order. It´s one of my favourite treats here.
The kids here think Peter is so tall. Wherever he goes the kids whisper ¨Que alto!¨(How tall he is!) Isla del Sol reminded me of the Marlborough Sounds - Kids played in the lake, making mischief. Cheap outboard motors were used to ferry people to far- flung inlets. The evenings were spent relaxing and playing soccer. The sun baked down on us, and we found ourselves rapidly slipping into island time.
The next day we walked up the Inca terraces to the top of the ridge, first we had to pass by a formidable Inca statue and make a religious offering at the top of the Inca walkway. At the top of the ridge we got a fantastic view over the island and could see the Andean mountains glistening in the distance. We could also see the Peruvian border. The walk up the hill was a killer! Try walking up steep cliffs at this altitude, it sure is character building!
We made it back safely to Cobacabana, tomorrow we head to Cuzco and the Sacred Valley.
More adventures to come,
Brittany
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