Arequipa & The Colca Canyon

We left Copacabana on the first bus in the morning headed for Arequipa Peru, a trip that would involve two bus journeys. The first journey took us through the border to Peru where we stopped to complete the formalities and change our cash from Bolivianos to Peruvian Soles before pressing on the bus depot in Puno, on the edge of Lake Titicaca for the next bus to Arequipa.

We had been told the next bus to Arequipa would take 6-7 hours and be equipped with a Baño (toilet), unfortunately the toilet part was a lie and the bus ride was fairly bumpy for the first hour or two, otherwise it was nice and uneventful - except for seeing another bus that had rolled on its side about 2 hours from Arequipa.

Arequipa is an amazing city and from the Plaza de Armas you can see three nearby volcanoes (Chachani 6075m, Pichu Pichu 5571m and El Misti 5822m). Many of the buildings in the town are made from a white volcanic rock called sillar which earned the town its name of "The White City". Arequipa is also seen as one of the most "intelligent" cities in Peru as it has a high percentage of people of Spanish descent going back to when they colonised the country.

We spent the first full day looking around the town including Museo Santuary which is home to "Juanita, The Ice Princess" a girl who was sacrificed by the Incas over 500 years ago on the summit of a nearby volcano and rediscovered in 1995. We also visited Monasterio Santa Catalina - a Spanish monastery founded in 1580, which occupies a whole block and has been restored for tourists, with the exception of a small area that now houses 23 nuns. We checked out the inside of the Cathedral also, however it fell short of some of the others we have seen on the journey so far.

Day Two was supposed to be the start of our 3 day trek into the nearby Colca Canyon which at 3191m is the second deepest canyon in the world (by 161m to a neighbouring canyon!) but it was time for Dave to feel the effects of South American belly, so we had to postpone a day and wait things out...

The next day things were looking positive and we set off to the canyon - Day One we bussed to Cabanaconde then walked 3 hours down to the village of San Juan de Chuccho in the canyon where we spent the night dining on alpaca meat. Day Two and we walked along the bottom of the canyon for two hours to the Oasis, which is home to a pretty little village with many swimming pools where we relaxed, had a swim and lunch. Later in the afternoon we walked out of the Canyon for Cabanaconde - gaining 1200m in 3 hours to reach an altitude of 3200masl. The walk was gruelling and the heat before the sun disappeared was intense - Kim was suffering and so was I carrying both our bags (the only other way out was on the back of a mule which on this terrain would have been terrifying).

We spent the night in Copanaconde and arose early for the trip back to Arequipa. Along the way we stopped at Cruz del Condor to see the Condors flying up close (Condors are one of the biggest flying birds in the world and have wingspans from 2.7 to 3.1 meters and can weigh up to 15kg) before continuing to Chivay where we spent the rest of the morning relaxing in the hot springs and had lunch before catching a bus back to Arequipa.

Finally, we spent a day relaxing in Arequipa while we waited for an overnight bus to Cusco, we even managed to see a movie, check out the mall and treat ourselves to some KFC...

We are currently in Cusco and leave on the Inca Trail tomorrow then we have another day in town before we head into the Amazon Jungle for 4 days - should be a blast.

Hasta Luego,

Dave and Kim

Lake Titicaca - Copacabana & Isla del Sol

Copacabana and Isla del Sol were the last stops in our tour of Bolivia, and possibly the most beautiful - a great sendoff from a country that has given us both so much.

The bus trip was fairly scenic and at one point we had to hop off the bus while it was taken across the a lake by barge as we followed in a motorboat. Otherwise the journey was pleasantly uneventful - which made a nice change after our previous buses.

Once in Copacabana we looked for a Hostel and settled on one with a great view overlooking Lake Titicaca, before spending the afternoon looking around town and capturing some pictures of the sunset.

The following day and we splashed out with some retail therapy, buying some things for ourselves and some gifts for family. We even ventured out onto the lake on a peddle boat for some pictures looking back on the town, but generally just spent the day relaxing in what must be the most touristy place we encountered in all of Bolivia.

Day Three and our trip to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun, and birthplace of the sun in Inca mythology) began - first up was a 17km walk to Yampupata on the shore of Lake Titicaca (Yampupata being the closest settlement to the Island) to catch a boat to the island (Tip: generally people just catch a boat direct from Copacabana direct - but the views on this walk make the extra effort well worthwhile if you have the time).

The walk was interesting and along the way we saw the Virgin in a Cave, several trout farms and some interesting villages, although we have to admit we didn't actually walk the whole way because we bumped into a man along the way who offered to take us to the island himself (saving about an hours walk). The man (Hilario Paye) is well known to travellers features in the Lonely Planet and quickly presented us a collection of postcards (including a few NZ ones) from many travellers he has ferried to the island previously, although he no longer has the reed boat mentioned in the guidebook.

The boat we boarded was not much more than a tin dinghy with no oars or life jackets and a single 25hp engine... needless to say it was definitely good there was little wind.

Once on the southern end of the island we climbed the Inca Staircase to the village of Yumani which when combined with an altitude in excess of 4000masl proved testing...(for those that know Kim well, you can read between the lines here!)

From the village we headed south to check out the old Inca ruins at Piko Kaina before returning to the village for a beer and the sunset. Nighttime on the island was spectacular as the day trip tourists departed and the island plunged into silence (except the occasional donkey).

In the morning we set off for for the northern end of the island which is home to the Chincana Inca Ruins which is the site of the sacred rock where the Inca creation legend began, these ruins were more spectacular than those of the previous day and capped off a picturesque walk along the ridge line. After the ruins we visited the Rock of the Puma before heading to Cha'llapampa which is the islands major northern village for a boat back to Copacabana.

This time we caught a larger boat back to the mainland, which although beautiful was fairly slow (the boat was about 45 feet long, had about 40 passengers and was powered by a 75hp engine, with the driver steering from the back...) arriving back on the island around 3pm (a two hour trip).

We joined a couple from Tasmania for dinner that evening and and booked a bus to Arequipa in Peru for the following day.

Overall one of the best stops on the trip so far - hopefully some of the photos can capture the magic...

Finally, for those interested I have some stats comparing Lake Titicaca and Lake Taupo - just because its the easiest way we could think to understand the sheer size of the place.

Lake Titicaca:

Max. length 190 km (118 mi)
Max. width 80 km (50 mi)
Surface area 8,372 km² (3,232 sq mi)
Average depth 107 m (351 ft)
Max. depth 284 m (932 ft)
Water volume 893 km³ (214 cu mi)
Shore length1 1,125 km (699 mi)
Surface elevation 3,812 m (12,507 ft)

Lake Taupo

Max. length 46 km
Max. width 33 km
Surface area 616 km²
Average depth 110 m
Max. depth 186 m
Water volume 59 km³
Shore length 193 km
Surface elevation ~356 m

May the adventures continue in Peru.

Take Care,

Dave & Kim

La Paz & The Death Raod

Having arrived in La Paz and found a hostel we set out to find food and to have a look around the city.

We followed the suggested walking tour in our trusty guidebook, which turned out to be a bit less interesting than these tours have been in the past, regardless we took in the Witches Market (read Bolivian textile market for Gringos), the San Fransisco Cathedral (which dates back to the 1500's), the black market and the Presidential Palace.

We went to one of the better restaurants in the city (Vienna) that evening and enjoyed a great meal with mains costing 40-45 Bolivianos ($1USD = 7.3USD) - less than a McDonald's Combo!

The following day (Saturday) we booked in for a mountain bike descent of the Worlds Most Dangerous Road for the following Monday. We also checked out Parque Mirador (lookout) Laikota which turned out to be a giant children's playground with amazing views of the city which is set in a valley (La Paz is one of the only cities in the world where the wealthy live in the lower parts of the city).

Sunday rolled around and Kim arose to find she had been stricken by one of Bolivia's famous bugs, needless to say her day was spent between the bed and the bathroom...feeling sorry for her I left to tour the cathedral (which Kim wasn't interested in anyway) only to find out it was closed so returned for a day reading, getting Kim food and updating the blog...

Monday and the mystery illness still lurking, Kim agreed to stay home while I set off for the ride down the worlds most dangerous road. (The available information is conflicting but generally the consensus is that on average 100-250 people died on the road annually before the new road opened, generally because of vehicles slipping over the side and often because the drivers were drunk...)

Some of you may have seen the documentary in NZ recently where a reporter from the BBC joined the New Zealand Owned Company Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking for a descent of the road. Gravity are the pioneers of the ride, and from what I observed on the day the only operators you should use on this route if you ever attempt it...

The day was long, starting at 7am and ending at around 9.30pm. Unfortunately the day was also wet once we got off the initial tarmac section and onto the worlds most dangerous road itself. When combined with the recently graded road the wet made for slippery conditions, poor visibility and photos that are much less likely to scare your mother...(bummer!). My camera remained in the bus, so the photos you see are taken by the guides (in a few days I will have a link to a website with more pictures and video for you).

Overall it was a great experience and is thoroughly recommended (even for nervous cyclists as they let you go at your own pace).

Honestly, I only felt like I was going over the side a couple of times, otherwise it was just plain good fun...

Kim's sickness put an end to our plans to spend a couple of days hiking around Coroico, so the following day we boarded a bus to Copacabana, Lake Titicaca which is our last stop (and possibly the most in impressive) in Bolivia before we head to Peru.

I can report Kim is well now, and we are travelling alone again after farewelling Ant and Lisa at the bottom of the worlds most dangerous road.

Take Care,

Dave & Kim

Photo Update

Hi Again,

Just a quick note to let you know we are having a bit more luck with the internet here in La Paz. While we are still having some issues with uploading some of the photos we have added three albums and have been through all the existing albums adding captions so you can get a better feel for the pictures. Just click on the link to more of our photos on the right below the slideshows.

Also you can comment on any of the posts by clicking on the add comments button at the bottom of the posts.

Dave & Kim

Sucre & Surrounds

Blockades beat and it was time to afford ourselves some relaxation before we tried anything strenuous again.

On arriving in Sucre we were fortunate to meet an Irish chap (also called David) we had previously meet who recommended a hostel on the closest side of town that allowed us to put down our bags and relax.

While the hostel was very average we decided enough was enough and we would find something better the following day (by Bolivian standards this place was still OK - the showers were hot, but the rooms were cold and noisy). We went to one of the best bars/restaurants in Bolivia so far (Joyride Cafe) and settled into a great meal and some local beers, before retiring for an early night.

Day two, we set about finding a new hostel and backing up our photos to DVD before we headed to Cafe Mirador which is on the hill overlooking Sucre for lunch in the sunshine - really a magic venue and a great relaxing day. Before long a large group of us found ourselves at another Gringo hangout in town (Locots) for dinner, and later in a few of the local pubs.

No surprises for guessing then that the following day saw a late start before we began with a cooked breakfast, then headed to Salon de te las Delicias for late lunch with Ant and Lisa. This place is one of the finest establishments in Sucre and we certainly looked out of place in our travelling attire. The food here is delicious and varied - while we didn´t opt for anything large Ant quickly finished the meat trio (Chicken, Tail and Tongue) which he assured us was delicious. We finished off the day with Pizza and retired feeling like stuffed animals.

The following day we set about preparing for the trek we planned for the following two days, and took in the local textile museum. At the museum we watched two ladies weaving and checked out the evolution of Bolivian weaving along with the differing designs of the respective regions. While Ant did most of the organising for us Kim buried herself in a book (again) and I spent one and a half hours in the bank trying to convert $500USD to Bolivianos... Again food was a central part of the day with El Germain coming highly recommended for lunch if you are ever in Sucre, before a serious carbo loading session at Joyride.

(Side Note: At Joyride they serve a Bolivian meal known as Pique de la Macho - French Fries covered in bits of steak, chorizo sausage, hot peppers and gravy - enough to satisfy even the largest hunger and absolutely delicious. This dish should be on every Bolivian travellers itinerary).

Having had enough food we set out on our trek to the weaving country around Sucre.

First up was a hour long bus ride to Chataquila which was interesting - standing (with a roof less than 6 foot high), gravel roads and surrounded by men chewing coca leaves with breath that could strip paint a mile away!

Once at Chataquila we found the entrance to an old Inca Road for a walk downhill towards Chaunaca. The road was well preserved in places and it is definitely amazing to think that anyone would want to arrange rocks of this size on the side of a hill (mountain) this steep manually all those years ago.

From the bottom of the Inca road we followed a track firstly through farmland and then along the side of a river to Socabamba (despite there being a school there the town appeared to be deserted) before crossing the river on a wire bridge. After crossing the river the going got tough as we headed uphill past some locals farms and over the ¨Ledge of Death¨. At the ¨Ledge of Death¨ the trail was almost non existent (45 degree slope, covered in loose metal and falling away steeply to a loooong way below). When Kim froze with me right behind in the middle we coined the term ¨Ledge of Death¨ and at the same time I realised the track was only as wide as our shoes! One of the locals coming the other way wearing Bridgestones (my name for the local footwear - sandals made from what looks like old tyres) noticed the panic as we crossed and proceeded to run across (looking back at us at the same time) smiling.

After nearly six hours walking we arrived at Maragua for what was one of the most spectacular sunrises one will ever see. Here we stayed in some Cabanas which have been set up by the community to house trekkers like ourselves with all funds going back to the local community - it was a beautiful rock and straw hut with hot water, flushing loos and great food (provided by a local girl who appeared all of about 15 years old).

Day two and after breakfast we arranged a guide to show us the way to Patolo. Unfortunately Maragua only has a small store so we had to settle for biscuits for lunch and water from the tap with iodine solution for the 5 hour trek which had us debating if we should go on or turn back to the bus at Chaunaca (2-3 hours away). Fortunately we decided to carry on and set out to Patolo. Along the way we encountered local farmers taking their livestock to the market (including one lady walking three cows in the middle of nowhere) and took in some fossilised dinosaur prints. The days walking was relatively easy compared to the previous day at five hours, although the guide certainly made us feel like we were hauling boulders.

On arriving in Patolo we had the guide show us to the cabanas (same as in Maragua) only to find the man from Sucre had not told them we were coming. The day was saved by a thirteen year old boy who noticed us and told us about the hostel his parents owned. The hostel turned out to be perhaps the coldest and most uncomfortable night we have ever experienced, although the family were very welcoming as they continued to operate the takeaway restaurant, shop and hostel that all shared the same premises.

Finally we took a three hour bus back to Sucre (again standing, but this time with sufficient headroom and less bad breath) over a road that was both spectacular and hair raising at the same time.

After another night in Sucre, and some serious food we boarded a flight to La Paz (population 1.5 million), as roadblocks around Potosi are still causing trouble for transport by road (although in hindsight we both enjoyed the 45 minute flight more than we would have a 16 hour bus ride).

Our next stop is Coroico, which we will reach by descending the worlds most dangerous road on mountain bike...

Good to hear the All Blacks beat England last night.

Until Next Time,

Dave & Kim

Bolivia Part II - Potosi & The Bus!

Hello All,

As promised we continue on from where we left off after arriving in Uyuni, Bolivia.

The plan was to stay only one night before moving on to Potosi. After leaving our driver at the bus station we immediately booked tickets out for the following day.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and glad to be out of the jeep which although great become uncomfortable sometime on day two of four! In the evening we caught up with a few people we had met during the 4WD tour for dinner at a place called Minuteman Pizza, home of possibly the best Pizza in South America (American owned of course) which Luke (Kim's Brother) had informed us was well worth the visit, and is a nice little place of warmth in this otherwise cold part of the world.

The following day we took the bus to Potosi. No more than one minute after boarding one of the English guys travelling in a tour group on the same bus discovered his bag had been taken from the overhead compartment! We soon locked our bags to the seats and relaxed as what seems like millions of locals boarded the bus filling the isle. The bus bumped its way to the outskirts of Potosi before we encountered a roadblock (truck drivers dissatisfied with road taxes, who would have guessed) with the driver stopping & proceeding to throw all the bags off the roof! We were fortunate to be able to walk around the trucks and catch local transport into town with a crew of Aussies we had been dining with the night before travelling on the bus behind us.

Once in Potosi we found a hostel (The Koala Den - ironic given we we with a group of Aussies), but because of the blockades between Potosi and Sucre the hostel was short on beds with some people having been stuck there for the last few days. Kim and I opted for a dorm which got interesting that night when the danish lad in the bunk below me decided to return at 4am with one of the local ladies - nothing more need be said here except that no one in the dorm slept for the rest of the night despite our constant abuse.

Day one and we visited the infamous Potosi Silver Mines (although they now mine various other minerals) , which was an interesting experience. The mines themselves are very dangerous and the chemicals in the air (including arsenic and asbestos) mean that many of the miners only live to the ripe old age of 40 before dying of respitory infections. I tried some of the miners treats (Chewing Coca Leaves and Drinking 96% Alcohol), and at the end managed to hold a live piece of dynamite for a photo, although Kim wasn't so keen (actually she hated the whole experience!).

As I said in the last post Potosi is the highest city in the world at 4060masl, so on the second day we set out on a walk, above the city to check out some ancient man made lakes built to supply the town and its refineries water. At this altitude even walking down the street is difficult let alone a walk into the mountains, so we we lucky to be accompanied by Ant and Lisa (a couple of Aussies, essentially doing the opposite to us ie. returning from the UK to Oz) which certainly helped with motivation.

Finally on day three we set out to bus to Sucre for some releif from the altitude and in desperate need of good food after several bad experiences in Potosi.

Unfortunately for us, and despite our efforts to investigate the status of the blockades this supposed three hour journey was to become a nightmare. We encountered our first (of 13) blockade 15km from Surcre which spelt near three hours of walking and riding on the back of a truck with all our gear before finally reaching a place to stay, all up a near 6 hour journey containing some extremely steep hills...

I'm pleased to say we have made it and the roads are improving as we get closer to La Paz along with the food. We are still travelling with Ant and Lisa and are planning a 3 day walk in the country over the next few days before moving onto La Paz, home of the worlds most dangerous road - and looks like I may have twisted Kim's arm to join me riding it on mountain bike!

So until we reach La Paz - Take Care,

Dave & Kim

PS. Still no photos sorry, hopefully in La Paz we can get some up.

Bolivia Part I - Tupiza and Uyuni

Following on from Salta we boarded a bus for La Quiaca which is the on the border of Argentina and Bolivia. Again the bus was an overnight one leaving at midnight and arriving at seven in the morning. Unfortunately for us there were no Cama buses on this route so we had to ride a Semi-Cama (for those not in the know the impressive Argentine long haul bus system has various levels of comfort - Cama VIP, Cama and Semi Cama representing first, business and economy class in airline terms.

The bus was uneventful but the temperatures quickly hit freezing and we were left feeling the cold having packed our warm clothes in our packs. Once at the boarder and rugged up we walked across the boarder into Villazon, Bolivia stopping at the respective countries boarder controls. Here we meet some other tourists from England and Israel who were also headed to Tupiza. We set off looking for a cambio (money exchange) to get some Bolivianos for the bus. While we were consulting the lonely planet a bus came flying around the corner, screeched to a halt and a man came running out yelling Tupiza, Tupiza. Luckily our new found Israeli friend had been to Bolivia earlier and lent us Bolivianos for our fares. We clambered the bus for the two hour trip, which stopped a few more times eventually being stuffed full with locals sitting and standing in the isle. While we were expecting chickens aboard the stench of the old ladies on the bus was the worst part of the trip, followed closely by the fact the bus was like riding a jackhammer for two hours.

Once in Tupiza we set out on a three hour horse ride, which took in some scenery and provided much pain. The following day we walked to the top of La Cruz, a mountain overlooking the town itself for some great pictures and a view of La Elephante (a rocky mountain that really looks like an elephant, see the pictures). Finally we spent a day waiting for our 4 day jeep tour to Uyuni which involved much frustration as we spent nearly three hours uploading photos due to a very slow internet connection.

For those that are interested Tupiza is at 3000m above sea level, and the three days spent there was good acclimatisation for the places to come. It is also the town where Butch Cassidy was caught and arrested - the house used as a hideout is a tourist attraction today although we didn´t get there.

Finally after much negotiation we boarded a four day jeep tour to Uyuni, which was lucky as we only managed to find three people (including ourselves) as it is the low season for tourism (in most cases people take the tours from Uyuni and return to the point they start spending only 3 days and two nights, which also added to the difficulty finding people). Over the course of the next four days we took in hours upon hours of amazing landscapes, coloured lagoons, bumpy dirt roads and offroading. The first two nights were spent in very basic accommodation with no showers, and no hot water at 4200and 5000masl respectively which were ridiculously cold, so much so that when we departed for the second day at 5.30am the jeeps temperature gauge showed more than -10°C as the inside temperature with it taking over two hours for the magical 0°C to come up.

The third night we were desperate for a hot shower so opted to stay in a Salt Hotel on the edge of the Salar de Uyuni at a cost of $10USD p/p instead of the free accommodation similar to that of the previous evenings. Interestingly the Salt Hotels are no longer allowed on the Salar because of contamination problems and truly are made out of salt bricks taken from the Salar itself. The salt provides some form of insulation and the Hotel was reasonably warm despite the outside conditions.

Finally, on the fourth day we arose early to see the sunrise on the Salar which was spectacular. We then visited one of the Salars Islands (a rocky mountain covered in Cacti in the middle of the Salar) before heading to Uyuni where we visited the Cemetario de Tren (Train Cemetery) before being dropped off in town.

I will report on Uyuni next time, but the tour was simply amazing with the sheer scale and beauty of the countryside a real eyeopener to someone from a little country like NZ (at one point the Salar Stretches 350km across) and is a must do for all visitors to this part of the world. The food was amazing and was cooked in very basic conditions by Maribel (20) the wife of or driver David (26) who were very accommodating of our Spanglish.

We are currently in Potosi, which is the highest city in the world at 4060masl and you can expect another update once we reach our next destination (which will be interesting as protesters are currently blockading many of the countries major routes...)

Ciao,

Dave & Kim