Bolivia and onto Chile

Its been a while since my last update and I am now in Chile. Following on from my last post, I have survived the most dangerous road in the world...with a little altitude sickness. We left at 6am to get geared up (knee pads, elbow pads, full face helmets, gloves, trousers and jacket) and got our bikes ready to begin the cycle down from around 4700m to 1000m above sea level. It was freezing cold and I soon started to feel dizzy and sick, I got into the minibus and was given coca tea and an altitude sickness tablet and recovered fairly quickly. Its soon warmed up and stopped raining as we got out of the cloud cover and lower down the mountain. Initially you start the Death Road on tarmac to try out the bikes and get used to cycling etc, we then moved onto the Death Road and this is where it got pretty scary with a huge drop at the edge of the road. We made it down though and got taken to a hotel at the end for lunch and showers. That evening we met the 4 new additions to our group and our new guide, Jarred.

 The following day we got a nightbus from La Paz to Sucre we paid 30 soles each to upgrade the bus and it was definitely worth it, the best night bus so far! Sucre was lovely, possibly one of the nices town/cities we have been to so far, and there were loads of activities to do! After getting off the nightbus and having a few hours to shower and change we headed out on an orientation walk of the city followed by a stop at Joy Ride Cafe (where we could book any activities). The whole group signed up for a cycle, walk and swim activity the following day and three of us also signed up for horse riding. The next day we went on our cycle, walk and swim activity...definitely one of the best days so far! We cycled mainly downhill for a couple of hours and then  began the hike for another 45mins or so to the 'Secret Canyon' there we ate our lunch and got to swim in the canyon, there was also a dingy boat that we could paddle around, then we had the hike back to the bus and drove back to Sucre along some very narrow paths with huge drops at the side of the road! The following day we went horse riding and this was defintiely the best horse riding so far, the horses were lovely and our guide let us go ahead if we wanted so Marit and I did lots of cantering, until her horses shoe fell off!! The ride lasted around 3/4 hours and then it was back to the hotel. Back at the hotel we found out that miners were protesting due to the Bolivian government trying to tax them and therefore they had created a blockade between Sucre and our next stop, Potosi. At this point out guide said it was best for us to wait it out in Sucre and hold off on the transfer to Potosi until we knew more. So that evening we just headed out for a few drinks and karaoke, ending up back at the hotel at 5am. The next day we had to decide on the best option for moving on, we had to be in Uyuni for our salt flats excursion in two days time so either way had to make it to Uyuni by then. We had the option of a 30min flight for $200 from Sucre to Uyuni, or a 22hour bus for $50, as a group we went with the flight. The next day was pretty much a write off with everyone hungover but seeing as we had extra time in Sucre (the two nights we should have had in Potosi) 5 of us decided to book rock climbing for the next day. The climbing was really fun and I actually managed to make it to the top of the rock face that we were climbing three times! The following day was the flight...

We got to the airport for around 11am to find out we were flying with Aerocon (google them...NOT good!!). We boarded out 19 seater, twin prop plane and got ready for the 35 min flight (no safety briefing and we could see the pilots in front of us). The flight was probably one of the scariest things I've ever done...the plane was really old and noisy and there was a fair bit of turbulance! Landing was the worst, the first attempt we overshot the runway and had to circle to try again. Second time we made it back on the ground with serious relief, it was only afterwards that I found out Aerocon had crashed a plane, exactly the same as the one we were in, only 1 month previously and it works out that they lose 18% of their fleet every 5 years...great track record!!! Finally though we made it to Uyuni and the three day jeep crossing could begin. Uyuni was a bit of an odd town in the middle of the desert and it was pretty good to only have one night there before getting in the jeeps the following day. There were 4 to 6 people in each jeep (2 toyota land cruisers and a lexus) and our main backpacks went on top strapped on and covered over with tarpaulin to protect from the serious amounts of dust. We had three days in the jeeps, the first was out to the salt flats which was pretty amazing. We initillay stopped to see how the salt is refined before driving out onto the pure white surface that seemed to go on for miles and miles! We stopped for lunch on an 'island', a rocky bit of land in amongst all the white, filled with cacti. Then it was out deeper into the flats to take photos, we used loads of different props to make it look like we were standing on them. After this it was onto our hotel for the night (with several photo stops in between). Out hotel that night was made out of salt, including the tables, bed frames, walls, floor etc. it was in the middle of nowhere and was quite nice to be compleltely isolated from everything, electricity only came on from 7pm to 10pm. The next day was mostly spent in the jeeps, stopping to look at several lagoons (with flamingos!) and to take photos along the way. That night we stayed in a 'shelter' made out of mud, our guide called it a shelter but actually it was pretty nice considering. Lack of showers here was a bit annoying seeing as the previous day I had trodden in flamingo poo and covered my flip flops, we were also covered in dust from the jeeps, but other from that it was alright. The final morning we woke at 4:10am to get up to visit the geysers and hot springs. These were amazing, we could jump over a fumarole, and see the boiling mud in the geysers, after that we went to the hot springs, these were really great after no shower. Plus it was freezing cold outside (we hit 5200m that morning) and the water was really warm and not too sulphury!

After the hot springs (and breakfast) it was onto the Bolivia-Chile boarder. We stamped out of Bolivia and headed off in our transfer to the Chilean boarder. We had to queue for 2 hours to get into Chile but finally we made it and headed to our hotel in the Atacamba desert. We are staying in San Pedro de Atacamba for two nights (one night left) before moving down towards sea level (finally, after 5 weeks at high altitude). Last night we headed out for more drinks, although finding open bars was difficult! And today we have been sat by a swimming pool and spent all day correcting the ridiculous tan lines that we've acquired so far, its really hot today and not a single cloud in the sky...definitely doesn't feel like the end of October!! Tomorrow we have a 16 hour night bus to get to La Serena, the town that our guide is from which should be good. This tour then ends in Santiago on the 5th November when we lose 7 of the current group and meet another 7.

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Machu Picchu & onto Bolivia...

Yesterday we arrived in Lap Paz, Bolivia after another interesting journey! We left Cuzco to head through the border, expecting the journey to take ´no more than 7 hours´. 12 hours later we arrive! There were protestors blocking the road between the Peru-Bolivian boarder and La Paz so after stopping for a few hours we finially made it to La Paz, and I´m not too impressed from what I have seen so far! Its pretty dirty, polluted and very busy...lets hope that the rest of Bolivia is better over the next 10 days!

Since the last update I have made it along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, it was the BEST thing I´ve done so far...we had rain every day either morning or evening, no shower for 4 days and the toilets were disgusting, but still it was incredible! The first day we started at around 8am and had to pack up our duffel bags and begin the walk, the porters are unbelievable, each carrying 25kg and practiaclly running the whole of the trail! The first day was pretty easy, after a few hours of walking we stopped for lunch (best food I´ve had so far!!), each meal starts with soup and then we had rice or potato (standard Peru) with chicken or trout etc. Every day we had breakfast, snacks, lunch, afternoon tea and then dinner! The porters all run ahead and set up the tent for lunch, we then eat and start walking and they pack up and are soon ahead running onto set up the tents at the campsite. The first day we got to the campsite at around 4pm ish and played cards before dinner and then bed at around 8pm. We were up the next day in the pouring rain at 5 ready to start treking, the second day was by far the hardest with around 4 1/2 hours hiking uphill to Dead Womans Pass, after that it was downhill for another couple of hours before stopping at the campsite for lunch, we didn´t do any more walking that day and so celebrated with a beer at the campsite. Day 3 was definitely not to be underestimated though! We woke at 4:30 and arrived at the campsite around 3pm that day, however we did stop for breaks and lunch where we met the porters and they presented us with a cake they had made....not sure how they made it at 4000m using camping equipment but it was good! The final day was another very early start at around 4am where we had to walk to the sungate to see our first view of Macchu Picchu and the sun rise, we arrived at around 6:30am and took the first photos, after that we walked the final hour to Machu Picchu where the whole group was re-united (7 did the Inca and 7 did the Lares Trek). The Inca Trail was probably one of the hardest things I´ve done yet with all the rain and over 5000 steps but was SO worth it!! That afternoon we left Machu Picchu and headed back to Aguas Calientes for lunch and free beer from our tour guide, before making our way on the train and bus to Cuzco. We arrived back at around 7:30, had quick showers (amazing after 4 days!!) and got ready for a night out and salsa lessons. Was a very drunken evening and very tiring after being up since 4am...we then had a couple of days in Cuzco to recover before heading onto Puno and Lake Titicaca.

Lake Titicaca is the biggest high altitude lake and is pretty impressive, we visited the floating islands of Uros where people live on reed beds and then headed onto a small village to stay with Peruvain families, this was an experience! There were two people to a family and on arrival they set up a game of football (rest of world vs. Peru) and then dressed us up in local clothing and taught us to dance. After this we headed back to our Peruvian families houses, our family had 7 children in a very small house, we couldnt all eat in the kitchen together and there were flies everywhere!! The houses are made out of mud and we didn´t have water plumbed in, just a bucket to flush the toilet, even so it was a good experience. The next day we had to spend the morning with our families so Helen and I were taught to tie up the sheep up and then headed out on a boat with the two eldest children and attempted standing rowing (at 4000m above sea level its not easy!). We then had to make our way back to Puno for our final night before the journey to La Paz.

Last night was our tour guide Rudy, and tonight we meet 4 new additions to the next tour (4 people are also leaving :( ) and meet the next guide for Bolivia, he has big shoes to fill as Rudy was really good and super helpful! We have a couple of days in La Paz, and leave on an overnight bus to Sucre on Thurday. So leaving a few days free we had a night out last night and have done nothing today which has been great. Tomorrow we are up early for a full day cycling on the Death Road...most dangerous road in the world! Then after that think we are heading on to do a 3 day 4x4 desert excursion to the salt flats in Bolivia, should be good!

I´ll try and add photos on here soon but internet has not exactly been speedy so far and makes this almost impossible!

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More Peru

Ok I've now been in Peru for just over 1 week and seem to have fit a lot in so far! Going on from my last post we got the overnight bus to Arequipa which was an interesting trip, our bus was already an hour late due to a collapsed bridge but we finally got on and was pretty good....definitely not what I would expect from an overnight bus in South America. We got blankets, pillows, watched several films and got given food! However, at about 4am I woke up and noticed that we had stopped, went back to sleep and an hour later we were still at a standstill, we had to wait for 3 1/2 hours for the Nasca Rally to take place...did mean that we had a great roadside view as the cars came past!

We arrived in Arequipa around 3 or 4 hours later than expected and began an orientation walk of the city, definitely the best place so far! After the orientation walk we were left to wander around for a while so Helen and I found water and then headed back to the hotel to shower and change before dinner where we managed to try Guinea Pig and Alpaca, can't say I'm a fan of Guinea Pig but Alpaca is pretty good! We had one night in Arequipa and then had to pack enough things in our daybags for two nights/three days for heading up the Andes with a local guide. We began the journey into the mountains (amazing views!!) and stopped several times along the way to buy coca leaves and coca tea for acclimatisation, we stopped at 4,800m (higher than the average skydive height) and you could really feel the altitude with dizziness and difficulty breathing. We then arrived at our hotel for the next few nights, this now is definitely top of the list of places we have stayed so far, it was really lovely and right in the Andes. After going to our rooms we headed out for a walk up the mountain which was pretty tough given the altitude! The following day we headed out at 6:30am to go and find Condors, Peruvian birds with wingspans of up to 3 metres. After eventually spotting a few we went on another walk through the mountains with some pretty scary passes. That afternoon there was an option to go horse riding, our horses arrived at the hotel and we were taken through the mountains pretty much doing what we wanted, so on the way back we all decided to canter (without hats...) back to the hotel, so much fun! Following that it was a trip to local hot springs where the natural water temperature was around 35 degrees C, much warmer than the evening temperatures in the mountains (boiling in the day but FREEZING at night!!). We had our first 'night out' last night in the highest Irish Bar in the world, not too sure what made it Irish other than the name and a Guinness poster on the wall, and then crammed into a minibus and headed back to the hotel.

Today we headed back to Arequipa on the way stopping for anyone who wanted more coca tea and I managed to buy an Alpaca jumper ready for the cold nights camping on the Inca Trail. We now have the afternoon to explore the city before we head to Cuzco tonight on another overnight bus. We then have a couple of nights in Cuzco before the group splits into two; those doing the Inca Trail (there are about 6 of us) and the others who are doing the Lares Trek. So guess my next update will be after Machu Picchu!!

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