Peru: Puno to Cuzco

Sancha enters Peru (with Pringles !)














Tuesday 17 Oct saw us make the move from Bolivia to Peru. We had heard a few stories about having hassles at the border, but in fact encountered none whatsoever. One of the most straightforward crossings ever!
Puno is a decent sized town located on the western shores of Lake Titicaca.

Coming from Bolivia into Peru was a bit of a shell shock, so many more people, bigger towns and loads more tourists! Though it does mean the chances of finding a proper coffee has increased tenfold! Puno´s notoriety comes from it´s proximity to the Floating Villages of Lake Titicaca, islands literally made of reeds by the Uros people - more on this fascinating part of the world anon!
(Michelle ponders on the Isla Taquile)















Michelle´s path blocked by local eager vendors















Sancha on Isla Taquile ....

(Sancha and Michelle on the Isla Taquile on Lake Titicaca)

From Puno, we travelled via tourist bus to Cuzco stopping at a number of interesting historical Inca sites along the way. Cuzco is Peru´s equivalent to Blarney, gringos and tourists everywhere! Currently, we are enjoying the warmer climes of Machu Picchu town (otherwise known as Aguas Calientes), awaiting our sunrise trip to the legendary ruins tomorrow.

Sancha in Cuzco

Michelle in Cuzco

Bolivia - Rurrenabaque

While Michelle ventured from La Paz to Lake Titicaca and the challenges of high altitude walking and climbing, Sancha headed Amazon basin direction and to the challenges of low altitude heat and humidity. Rurrenabaque is a small town which one can access via the death road and 16 hours bumpy road trip, or rocky 15-30 seater planes and 1 hour trip. No prizes for guessing what this flashpacker opted for! Indeed, TAM (military aircraft) there, Amazonas (15 seater heave stomach flight) back for about 70 USD... I travelled with Gareth and Vic (our two Kiwi partners in travel crime).

Our flight out of La Paz was delayed - no surprise as apparently the weather conditions over the Andes can play havoc with small planes´ plans! . By the time the planes managed to get going, they were seriously behind schedule. We landed on a grass airstrip (cool!) and were immediately vamoosed off the plane, and I mean "vamos, vamos, vamos!!" (go, go, go!!) by the crew and groundstaff. People heading back to La Paz were almost overlapping with us trying to get off!! But it was good to be back in a tropical kind of place - all the sounds of the pampas and the bush and the green lushness was good to see after 6 weeks of desert and brown. We had signed up for a three day Pampas tour and we knew we were going to see lots of wildlife. There was so much though it was almost like they were perfectly placed for our viewing!! Three hours of a boat trip and we had seen alligators, birds of paradise, monkeys, vultures, turtles, capabaris, pink dolphins, so many birds of all shapes and sizes, we lost count, we were in awe... (alligator across the river; capybara, the world´s largest rodent)
We swam in the river near the dolphins, knowing alligators were only a few metres away, but apparently in dolphin territory you are safe as the dolphins know the alligators´weak spot, so the allis stay away! Other highlights included getting up close with a wild cobra and searching forthe elusive anaconda (no joy for us! but our guide put in a great effort of looking for him!), fishing for piranhas and watching the losing gringos play the bolivians at the footie. Our chef Magali looked after us really well on the foodie front, so many fresh veggies and everything else, like fluffy pancakes!

So after 5 days of there and back, we made our way to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca (once we managed to get out of Rurre - flight delay...) to rejoin Michelle who acted as tourguide for us, so well did she know the streets and people of the town at that stage!!

Bolivia - Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is over 9000 sq kms and at an elevation of 3820m is the place where the sun was born (according to legend). I (Michelle) arrived here by local bus - great place to meet the most interesting local characters. My current location is Copacabana - a small town on the lake again at over 3800 mtrs. Its a cute little town with two main streets leading down to the lake. At the top of the town is a huge Moorish-style cathedral where I saw several weddings taking place everyday. The rules to get married in this cathedral are strict even by RC standards !



(nice weather for ducks!)
North of the town is a hill called Cerro Calvario (3966mtrs) where locals make pilgrimages doing the stations of the cross. Its a tough climb but the view is worth it at the top. There´s a local guy stationed there called Ernesto who for want of a better word is the local "holyman". For the price of 5 bolivianos I got a blessing from God, the Virgin Mary, Pachamama (mother earth) and the sacred lake itself. The ceremony itself is worth the money just to see him in action.



Isla del Sol is an island in Lake Titicaca (on the bolivian side) - a two hour boat trip from Copacabana where you can see many Inca ruins, the tables they used to sacrifice humans and animals and the Chincana complex where the sacred rock lies. There is a network of walking tracks around the island but the sun and altitude does make things difficult. We decided to walk the 8kms across the mountain ridge (from north to south) - it took the 3hrs (as per the guide) and we were absolutely shattered after it. We did get to walk down the Inca stairway - Escalera del Inca and we got the boat back from Fuente del Inca. That evening as a reward for our strenuous climb that day we had pancakes with melted chocolate, ice-cream and strawberries !

(views leaving Copacabana)

Bolivia - The Death Road

(Michelle, Sanch, Rowan)

To complicate our trip slightly, the bolivians decided to stage strikes blocking every road in and out of town (La Paz) with buses, cars, taxis etc which went on for several days.....thankfully the locals told us that the strikers wouldnt be out until 8am and would finish at 6ish....dinner time !!

So the morning of our death road trip, we were up at 6.30am to get out of the city before the roads were blocked. Our group of 12 were taken up the side of a mountain where we were kitted out in rain jackets & pants (the flattering kind !), helmets, gloves and of course the obligatory mountain bike. The first hour of the trip was the fastest descent I have ever done on a bike, we basically free wheeled all the way down just holding on to the back brake for dear life !! We stopped for a snack-break of water, chocolate and bananas and the guides were taking photos all the time. More downhill freewheeling brought us through two "police checks" before we hit the start of the death road.

The death road was a dirt track that winds along the side of a mountain where two cars cannot pass but big artic trucks make that trip everyday as that is the only road available to Coroico ( granted it takes them 20 hrs to do it apparently) ! The "road" is slippy, lots of stones everywhere, you have to cross a few streams and even cycle through a waterfall or two. You are still going downhill at speed but are very aware of the death drop to your left so we tried to stay in the centre of the track so that if you were to skid on the mud/stones you still had part of the road to fall on. Thankfully that didnt happen to any of us. We did have another snack stop at the spot where an Israeli girl went over the side on her bike a few years ago.... there´s monument there now for her.

(Michelle on far left in the blue helmet & dust mask, sanch next in the blue top)

We finally arrive at Coroico at 3pm after 5 hours on the bike and have a well deserved beer and rest.

Bolivia - La Paz

The overnight bus to La Paz was a comfortable trip - it was a cama bus with seats that went all the way back and we got blankets as well !! Before getting on the bus we couldnt just put the backpacks in the boot of the bus.... Oh No..... we had to lug them upstairs for them to be weighed by a lady then lowered by rope out a window down to the bus again !!! I wouldnt mind but they were putting big sacks of rice, potatoes, vegetables, mattresses etc onto the bus for the locals and there was no Q of their stuff being weighed. Anyway we were entertained by a local boy singing his heart out (badly) before the bus took off then we had a Steven Seagal and Kirk Russell movie in Spanish to pass the time.

We arrived in La Paz central bus station at 5.30am and got two taxis to the hostel, both car boots open with backpacks hanging out for any little scally to rob so we were watching them the whole time.

La Paz is a city of hills with millions of little streets and alleyways but it is still easy to orient yourself. It is the worlds highest capital at 3660 metres !!

That day we were very cultured and decided to visit 5 museums called the Calle Jaen museums. We bumped into a few local ladies nearby who thought we should hook up with the current president of Bolivia "Evo" who is single !!

We saw the army practising their maneouvers on the main square protected by the riot squad. There is a serious amount of cops on the streets of La Paz from bog standard cops, tourist police, urban police, SWOT team fully kitted out in riot gear, oozies and tear gas !! We figured out after half a day that we were being stalked by some of them but apparently its for our own protection... they "mind" the tourists ! All banks and ATMS are gaurded by a serious looking dudes with oozies !!

We had the "opportunity" to see the riot police in action one evening when they stopped a protest of approx 40 people after 5 minutes... the boys were not having any of it and took out the tear gas. This demonstration took place outside the presidential palace that already has bullet ridden walls !! nice..

Between us all, we dropped the GDP of a small country in the markets of La Paz. We spent two hours in the post office trying to sent the stuff home..... the formalities were unreal, 2 copies of a passport, customs forms etc and they are not the most efficient staff in the world either. We boxed our stuff then they bag it and stitch the bag up...the mind boggles ! The main bolivian dish that we came across was fried chicken with either rice and /or chips !! So we found a few dutch run cafes and restaurants and ate very well and very cheaply.

From La Paz we took a day trip to Tiwanaku - Bolivia´s most significant archeological site 72kms outside of town. It was designed as a ceremonial centre on the southern shores of Lake Titicaca. Some of the features are being restored like the Sungate and there are many megaliths to be seen. "Evo"the president was visiting the site that day and we unfortunately missed him.

Sunset over La Paz

Bolivia - Uyuni to La Paz

The usual scenario ....where do we go now ??

Adoption was tempting in Sucre ...how cute is he !
















Superb coffee in Sucre















Salar de Uyuni .......

A few days ago as we were travelling through the salt plains of Bolivia and desert (literally the middle of nowhere) over the Andes at one of our photo stops - we spotted written in stones UP TIPP ! well Michelle ran down to where it was and changed it to Up Cork !! We have the before and after photos :0) We had some craic explaining to the other europeans why we felt the need to change it. I´m sure in a few days time a Dub will come through there and change it too. The Salar de Uyuni and the views we had for the two days before we reached it were certainly spectacular. Out of this world kinda stuff!!

Day 1 Flat tyre














Muchos Flamingos














Day 3 Waiting for sunrise














20 minutes later ........the sunrise group

The effects of altitude sickness at 5000 metres

Potosi is an interesting place historically - silver was discovered here (well by the spanish, the incas had been mining it for some time before then!) in 1545 and it became the biggest silver producing mine in the world. At one point, it was the richest city in the world and was bigger than London or Paris. The buildings are run down but beautiful. Silver was mined initially, followed by zinc and tin. Today there are 300 mines, 15,000 miners and nowhere near the money made as there once was. They pound most of what they extract to a "concentrate" and then export this to Europe, USA and Asia for smelting.

Sancha went on one of the tours to the mines - scarey, hot, cold, dusty, breathless from altitude of 4180m, down shafts, gave gifts to the miners who work in these crazy, totally unregulated conditions for on average 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. The average life expectancy is 45 yrs due to lung diseases. Met men of 52 yrs and boys of 16 yrs, incredible. Everyone in the group chewed the coca leaves, bought gifts of dynamite, fuses etc and drinks for the men. A real life lesson... silver should be more expensive people! While Sancha was climbing into the bowels of the earth, Michelle bantered with the local ladies in the market and practiced her pigeon Spanish.


We would upload some personal pics, BUT Sancha´s camera got nicked!! Guess it had to happen somewhere and EVERYONE has a story from south america, right? So now she has her police report with signatures from the local detective sergent and captain in Potosi - just hope it´s enough for the travel insurance.... Hoping to pick up another one here in La Paz (hopefully not her own one coming back to her mind!).
From Potosi, we made our way northwest for about 3 hours to a spot called Sucre, where we basically lounged in great cafes and restaurants; bought silver. We also visited an orphanage for an afternoon; there we helped with the changing of nappies, feeding at dinnertime and of course lots of playtime! We had bought pressies of food and some toys, all of which went down a treat. Sucre is a very pretty town and we landed in the middle of a huge fiesta weekend - still don’t know what it was all in aid of, but the locals knew how to party!
(Sucre)

And so we travelled on to La Paz, highest capital city in the world and where we are to be found at present. And one of the most higgeldy, piggeldy looking places from afar! It´s all hustle, bustle, colourful buses, andean ladies in those hats, witches´market, great ponchos, great textiles for sale, loud whistling policia, LOTS of those policia too (some of whom we think are following us for our own protection!).
(La Paz)

Chile

The Pachamama tour group

We stayed in Santiago for almost a week where we took spanish classes and were staying in a lovely hostel called La Casa Roja. The city itself is unexciting but it was a good base to start our trip. We did spanish classes with a Peruvian called Jesus and partied in the evenings - not much else to do there.

From there we took a 5 day tour into northern Chile in a group of 15 people - english, scottish, kiwis, dutch, 2 swiss, 2 columbians, 1 brazilian and ourselves. We saw lots of penguins, sea lions, pelicans, pink flamingos, visited museums, national parks, drove 2 days through the Atacama desert, visited a train cemetary (?) and swam in an oasis in the middle of the desert - very cool.

(Sunset at Bahia Ingles)

(Valley of the Moon, San Pedro)

We are now in San Pedro de Atacama - here 2 days (nice little town, white low size buildings, dirt roads etc) and we (and 7 of the others in our original group) have decided to cross into Bolivia tomorrow morning.


The group is myself and sanch, a Scottish girl Rowan, a Dutch guy Stefan, a Swiss guy Casper, an English couple David and Elli and a Kiwi couple Gareth and Vic. The weather here is really hot, very dry too (being in the middle of the desert). Apparently though it will be colder in Bolivia so we are packing accordingly.

Sancha at the Salt Flats, Michelle in the Valley of the Moon

Where we are now: Uruguay. the Riviera!

IRL - Hong Kong - Thailand - Laos - Cambodia - Vietnam - Thailand - Malaysia - Singapore - Australia - New Zealand - Chile - Bolivia - Peru - Argentina - Uruguay - Argentina - Brazil - IRL

Next Stop - South America!

New Zealand - North Island

(view from our hostel in Wellington)

We took the car ferry from Picton (South Island) to Wellington (North Island) - a journey that took 3 and a half hours. Wellington is NZ's capital city with a population of just 205,000. That evening we partook of the "happy hour" specials (incl 75% rum) in the hostel bar and proceeded to the "slick bars on Courtenay Place" - Ya right, we ended up in (of all places) Kitty O Shea's till the early hours. The following afternoon we visited Te Papa museum (museum of NZ) which houses large Maori collections and histories of European settlements.

(Michelle in Napier with the biggest cup of coffee ever brewed!)
Travelling further north we visited Napier, a town of 55,000 at the sourthern end of Hawkes Bay. This town, flattened by an earthquake in the 1930's was rebuilt in Art Deco style. Apparently it could challenge Miami for the "Art Deco capital of the world".

Our next port of call was Rotorua - known to us as Sulphur city. It has bubbling mud pools, gurgling hot springs, geysers and the nasty smell of rotten eggs everywhere. There is a heavy concentration of Maori culture here and we partook of the "Tamaki Maori Village" experience which included traditional costumes, dance and of course the haka.














We were introduced to the "hongi" (Maori nose to nose greeting) and we had a feast after the show. The feast included chicken, beef, lamb, potatos, carrots, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, mint sauce, lots of salads and for desert - pavlova (the Kiwis and the Aussies argue who invented this!), fresh fruit salad, steamed pudding and custard. As it was an "all you can eat" affair we did and haven't had such a dinner since we've started travelling.

The following day we visited a place known to the Maori people as "Tikitere" which was renamed by George Bernard Shaw after his visit - Hells Gate. He said after seeing the place
"I wish I had never seen this place, it reminds me too vividly of the fate theologians have promised me".


Its a large area of land with volcanic pools, grey barren rocks, a constant stench of sulphur, a hot thermal waterfall (the only one in the southern hemisphere) and a lot of mud pools. We did the 2.5km walking tour with our guide Cairo followed by a 20 minute mud bath and spa. The mud is a silky smooth texture, grey in colour. A mud facial completed our morning pampering session.

From Rotorua, we continued north to Matamata to visit Hobbiton - the location used by Peter Jackson to film the hobbit village scenes for the LOTR movies. It was a complete tourist trap but was fun to do as we got our photos taken looking out of hobbit holes, saw the Party Tree and some photos of the filming in progress. The "movie set" is in the middle of a 1000 acre sheep farm and as lambing season started a month ago there was lots of little lambs running around the place - very cute.

From Matamata we made our way north past Auckland to a place called Whangarei where Sancha partook of a dive trip out at Poor Knights Islands - apparently one of the top 10 dive sites in the world and certainly gorgeous! From there, the whistle-stop tour of the north island in 10 days brought us further north again to the Aupouri peninsula where we gaped at the views and boarded on the dunes. We landed in Auckland on Wednesday the 6 Sept and are now in prep for the next leg!

(Michelle at the dunes on the west coast of the Aupouri peninsula)

(Sancha at Cape Reinga, the most northerly point in NZ)