Machu Picchu

The traditional Inka trail trek is so popular that you have to book a place several months in advance if you plan to do it. I didn't, so an alternative was always on the cards. I wasn't much up for gasping my way through thin air and days of leg burning hikes, so signed up instead for a different tour called 'Inka Jungle' which offered a bit more variation and a bit less exertion {well, supposedly}.

Though terribly disorganised the activities we did actually do were all fantastic, starting with a bike ride where we desended about 1500m from freezing altitude to warm jungle, the air temperature noticibly increasing with every turn on the 2 hour down hill ride to the town of Santa Maria. Although La Paz has the "world's most dangerous road", I think this could have come in a close second. The bends were sharp, the passing trucks were large, the road was narrow, and the drop off the side unthinkable. More scary than the bike ride though was the taxi journey between Santa Maria and Santa Theresa afterwards, where we were destined to spend the afternoon soaking in some hot springs. Well I'm glad we made it as our driver zoomed along a windy dirt road twisting and turning with no apparent need to use the brakes. I think he was entirely reliant on others hearing his tooting at every bend and giving way, because he certainly favoured the horn!!

By the time we got to the hot springs we definitely needed to wind down, and so spent an hour or so lying in what felt like a large warm bath under the stars watching the bats zoom by overhead. Bliss! After celebrating a birthday on the tour with some Peruvian pisco sours {pisco, lime juice, ice, sugar and egg whites. mmm.}, the next day we walked along the train line to the town of Aguas Callientes, the jumping off point to Machu Picchu. A tough climb up steep steps and long wooden ladders gave us a fantastic overview of the entire Machu Picchu site in the afternoon that not many seem to take in, and built the anticipation some more for getting there the next day (and the dread at the hundreds of steps you could see cut into the hill to get there).

At 4 in the morning as we began the first of what felt like a million of those steps leading up to Machu Picchu, I was well and truly looking forward to meeting the place in person. It really does feel a bit mystical as you get there {despite the hoards of tourists you're competing with}. As the mist finally rose and the city came into view, surrounded by towering peaks you've gotta wonder what possessed them to build a massive stone city in such a place. We joked that the architects and builders must've been begging the king to reconsider "seriously your highness, building up mountains is so BC". But royalty always gets its way, and I feel for the messengers who used to have to run, repeat run, between Machu Picchu and Cuzco daily {about a 3hr-ish drive} getting energy only from Coca leaves! But the exhaustion of the climb for us mere mortals is worth it because the city the Inka's left behind I found to be truly worthy of the hype that surrounds it, and was one of the most amazing things so far!

Though sad to leave Cuzco, of course more fun awaited in the South. The worst thing is always having to say goodbye to the great people you meet along the way. But on to Arequipa, the deepest canyon in the world, and a little touch of paradise...

Chau chau amigos xox

Proxima para; Peru

From one side of Lake Titicaca to the other, from Copacabana I crossed into Peru to the nothing-to-write-home-about town of Puno. Of more interest here than the town itself are the unique and unbelievable floating islands, still inhabitated by what looks to be the final generation of the Quecha speaking fisherman culture, now entirely reliant on tourism to survive. A trip to the islands is worth the feeling of exploitation however, just to see with your own eyes that the impossible sounding engineering actually works-everything in the village, even the 'land' upon which it's built is artfully constructed using the reeds at Lake Titicaca. But you wouldn't want to be in a hurry for the toilet, which is on a separate island a 10 minute boat trip away!!

The feeling of exploitation continued a little when a guy at the bus station messed me around with my bus to Cuzco, resulting in me paying money for services I didn't actually get (we were meant to stop at some interesting places along the way but my new ticket didn't include the entry costs because he switched my voucher for a ticket on his company instead of the one I booked!!). But it's funny how things work out, and I ended up meeting an Aussie girl who I spent the next week or so with in Cuzco where we had such a blast!! There are some places that attract hoards of backpackers and Cuzco +Loki hostel is definitely one of them! On a hill overlooking the beautiful city of Cuzco with it's Inka walls and terracotta rooves, the puffing climb up the hill to Loki was well worth it, and after about a week there I found myself seriously tempted to take up their offer requesting workers. I don't know if it was the people, the place or a maybe a bit of both but it was a really fun week-- not to mention the activities around Cuzco outside bar-hours!

From Cuzco stretches the Sacred Valley, right up to the pinnacle of Inka ruins-Machu Picchu of course. But before seeing the main event, it's nice to take in some of the lesser known places such as Sachsaywaman {'sexy woman' to the tourists!} and the churches around Cuzco which were built by the Spanish on sacred Inkan sites, but still contain elements of the Inkan constructions and beliefs cleverly incorporated by the slaves the Spanish used for their construction. But wandering around looking at ruins can get a bit dull after a while, so for a different view I decided to take to the air and signed up for paragliding with Linda. Let me tell you, I don't think there is a better way to see the Sacred Valley than sitting up there taking in the view of snow capped peaks rooted in a lush green valley dotted with towns and surrounded by ruins of ancient times past. It was totally chevre {cool}!!

So the anticipation was building to see Machu Picchu, and the talk at the hostel is all about "have you been? When are you going? What trek are you taking?". So it was time to get going, and the next day we were picked up at 7 to start the journey to the most impressive Inkan ruins around....

La Paz photos

Sucre (photos)

'At the Copa, Copacabana....'

Yeah well not the same one, but whatever, I had that song stuck in my head pretty much the whole time I was there! And I was glad to actually get there really because my original bus (yep another bus story...) I´d booked crashed in the morning and so didn´t pick me up, and then apparently there were road blocks that meant no other buses were leaving until the afternoon. The one I did eventually take still didn´t go the usual route, and instead took us on several dusty backroads through many sleepy and traditional farming communities (it still amazes me that the women are out ploughing paddocks dressed in long skirts and sandals with their donkeys ).

The main attraction in Copacabana, other than the highest-navigable-lake-in-the-world thing, is the Isla De Sol, where apparently the Inca creation legend began. So one loooooong and cold (well it might not´ve been that long really...) ferry ride later I arrived at the island to see some ruins and take a 3 hour-ish walk from North to South to take it in the lovely views. Apart from feeling a little exploited by the numerous entry fees (even if they are pittance each) and two cheeky little girls wanting payment for photos, the actual walk was beautiful in the streaming sun and it was great to see some water again having been stuck in deserts for a while. The size of the lake made you feel like you could´ve been at the sea, it was very difficult to see the mountains on the other side in the morning, until the clouds lifted in the afternoon and the snow-capped peaks emerged. At one point though, I totally forgot where I was as the path took me through a grove of Eucalypts. Apparently old zoological habits die hard and I shook my head as I realised I´d been gazing into the treetops briefly in search of koalas!!!

My favourite thing in Copacabana though was stumbling across the local afternoon tea hangout. A cafe called ¨2 de Febrero¨ (all the cafes, streets etc have the same names pretty much: important historical dates, famous leaders or cities around the country), which was a big room lined around the edges with little stalls where women stood behind stacks of mugs stirring big pots of boiling milk, water and api, a sweet purple drink made with corn, cinnamon, cloves, lemon and sugar. The place was packed and I had to circle several times before finding an empty table to order a cafe con leche to warm up (it gets pretty freezing at night at these heights despite the warm sunny days!). As I was sitting there I was joined by two other families and found myself squeezed at the end of the table unable to get out until they too had finished their drinks and Bolivia style doughnuts smothered in caramel sauce (surprisingly good!). As I was working out my Spanish to ask the two teenage girls what exactly the api they were drinking is made of, I heard through the giggles that they were obviously working out their English to talk to me. So when I caught them say ¨where are you from?¨I replied entiendo (I understand) with a smile. And so with a bit of Spanglish I had a nice little chat with the girls before going on my way to dinner with a lovely couple from Manchester who I´d met on the boat.

And that, sadly, was my last stop in Bolivia. Next day I was off to Peru to see the other side of Titicaca and start the journey to Inca central - Cuzco.

La la lovely La Paz

I was a bit wary about going to La Paz, despite the white flag the name of this city appeared to be waving at me. It seemed that I was setting myself up for an extra concentrated shot of all the usual Bolivian concerns-food, altitude, theft and dodgy taxi drivers. But it is Bolivia´s capital, and it is a necassary stop-over on the way to Peru, and hence I knew that I couldn´t leave Bolivia without giving it a shot, so one more overnight bus ride later I found myself emerging from my cosy sleeping bag at dawn to a see thousands of lights twinkling up the mountains around me. It was one of those entrancing ´oh it´s so pretty´ moments that come when you´re still half dazed from the travelling and trying to uncramp your neck to look at a new place for the first time.

Arriving before 7am to a ´party hostel´ is also not a great way to allow yourself to freshen up after a long journey, and I quickly realised that trying to unpack my stuff in a 6 bed dorm full of hangovers with their stuff sprawled everywhere probably wouldn´t go down too well. So riding the enthusiasm of arriving in a new place I went for an early morning stroll, and I think that that was what sold La Paz to me. Despite all reputations, the sight of the early morning sun hitting the terracotta houses stretched up and around the surrounding mountains really was gorgeous, not to mention the view of the imposing snow capped peak of Illimani mountain watching over the city.

The city itself didn´t need a lot of days to take in. The biggest attraction here is the touristy area known as ¨the witches market¨, where you can by any number of souvenirs (authentic or otherwise) or for something a little more unusual perhaps a llama foetus may take your fancy. Half the fun was walking around trying not to get runover by crazed motorists on multilane roadways and maintaining the energy to puff your way up the steep streets that rise either side of the central valley. A quick lesson in La Paz is don´t hesitate to blame anything and everything on the altitude. Feeling unfit? Couldn´t be the weeks of sitting in buses, must be the altitude. Feeling tired? Not the 3 hours sleep from staying up too late, must be the altitude. A little hungover? Didn´t have that much to drink, must be the altitude. And so it goes....

Also entertaining are the items for sale in some of the street stalls on the main drags, enough to make you wonder how on earth they make any money and how many people make such purchases walking to work in the morning. Some more bizarre examples included the stall of only safety pins, the seemingly 100 year old lady selling screwdrivers, and the man with a whole stand of padlocks, any and every size you could think of. But one great thing I did find for sale in La Paz was a proper, frothy coffee. Oh how I miss my lattes. The Italians might have brought pasta, pizza and icecream to Latin America, but they must have forgotten to teach them about coffee!

So from La Paz I moved onto Copacabana, or perhaps more recognisable as Lake Titicaca (supposedly the world´s highest navigable lake), of which I will tell you about next time. At present I am in Cuzco about to trek up to Maccu Pichu (and yes I will look up how to actually spell that at some point!). Back again soon amigos, hope you´re all well!

Sweet as Sucre

After Salta and the Salares it was time to sweeten things up a bit and hit Bolivia´s ex-capital city Sucre. Not in fact named after another favourite Bolivian white powder, the city´s name actually honours the revolutionary leader Antonio José de Sucre, and was Bolivia´s capital until the seat of government was moved to La Paz in 1898. Although it doesn´t have many major ¨attractions¨ as such, the city itelf has a lovely setting and its Spanish style white-washed colonial buildings make it an attractive place to wander about and relax.

Going there also gave me the opportunity to pass through Potosi, the highest city in the world and one with a shocking history of human abuse revolving around its greatest asset - silver- and the mines used to extract it. Thousands of slaves were forced to work in brutal conditions underground (many still do), and life expectancy was certainly not long. Even now, many miners don´t live past 40. As I had no intention of subjecting myself to the horrific underground conditions voluntarily, I happily passed through Potosi for the more pleasant surrounds offered by Sucre.

This second bus trip in Bolivia was certainly quite as eventful as the first, and even 12 or so hours bumping along dirt roads and making a frustrating number of inexplicable stops and delays it seems there is always something to keep things interesting, from the practically toothless Señora next to me chewing bubblegum and talking in incomprehensible Spanish, to the everchanging spectacular scenery and the ¨toilet¨stops involving men and women, young and old, exiting the bus to unashamedly relieve themselves on the side of the road in full view of everyone. Needless to say, my 2L bottle of water remained untouched the entire journey.

I couldn´t decide at first what I thought about Sucre. I passed a very nice morning wandering around the colourful (and very educational meat-wise) grocery street market, and had a nice walk around town taking in coffee shops, dulce de leche flavoured icecream and an impromptu street festival with marching bands and dancers in colourful costumes. I was also impressed by a visit to the weaving museum where I learnt just how incredible this craft is and how talented and patient the artists are. I single weaving of about 80 x 50 cm approx can take up to 6 months to complete!

However, what really sold the city to me was a trip up to the mirador (lookout point). The weather was beautiful and sunny and a 30 minute trek up a steep hill to the suburb of Recoleta brought me to a lovely square with spectacular sweeping views across the whole city. Happily, a nice little cafe had decided to exploit the situation and had numerous tables set out with Pacific-island style reed umbrellas and lounge chairs overlooking the city below. In proper holiday style, I must have been up there for a couple of hours admiring the views with fresh juice in hand (they are fabulous here!) and company in the form of an English traveller I´d befriended on the bus on the way. So nice it was that I was nearly tempted into staying an extra day just to go there again!

Anyway, one month down and the trip is flying by. I´ll try and get pics of Sucre up soon, then next on the post-list is my second last stop in Bolivia - the impossible city of La Paz (Lady of Peace).

Chau for now!