ok, so i know im super far behind... like... two weeks at least.. but ive been so busy...and blogging takes lots of time and energy. Of which i usually have neither.
i might just go through and bulletpoint things to keep it short .
Salar tour.
Started Friday, packed up the jeep and headed off at around 11am. First stop was the train graveyard - wrecked trains that Bolivia cant aford to do anything with. Climbed all of them.
Stopped to get the meals for the tour... there was a little boy in the yard who seemed like he had just learned to stand up... he was knocked over by two dogs fighting over a ball.
Salt mounds… the local people are aloud as much salt as they want from the salt flats.. these mounds are where they pile the salt up to leave it to dry.
Climbed all over them, took some photos with dinosaur toys. Had a group hug on one mound.
Salt hotel – its illegal to have salt hotels on the actual salar, this one is just to the side of it. There were various salt sculptures inside, including a big condor and a naked woman.
Cactus Island - the main event… an island in the middle of nowhere, covered in cactus. Walked the path through the island, at the top there are great views of white salt and cactus. There is a shrine to PachaMama (Mother Earth), where people can place an offering to keep everyone safe. I put two colored pencils.
We took a whole load of photos, Claire and Nicky took a series of ninja photos, then we headed back down to the jeep for lunch.
Lunch consisted of a variety of veggies, and then once we were finished we headed out on the salt to take clever, no-horizon photos …which the salar is famous for.
Our clever was lacking, and the guide was useless at setting the photos up properly, so quite a few of them on my camera just look silly. I gave up early on these photos while the others powered on, determined to get one good one. I sat and looked on as I played guitar, and Chris played with the dinosaur toys we bought with us. We then played a round of Frisbee… Chris was in the Ultimate Frisbee team in Afghanistan when he was there…so he has some wild tricks that he cracked out on the salar. It was tiring though, due to the high altitude. We walked back to the jeep as the sun was setting.
The hotel we stayed at was full of other jeep loads of tourists… and we settled in and had a round of cards. We laughed lots about various bad jokes that usually came from either Chris or Natalie. We opened a bottle of wine and had a tiny glass each (our tour guide could only find us shot galsses, so that was classy). We eventually got dinner, after all the other dinners had left the dinning hall. I wanted to complain to our guide for being so useless, but I was too tired.
Went to bed instead of having dinner (the vegetarian option that night wasn’t that appetizing) and fell asleep as fast as I can ever remember.
That night Chris had a bad onset of altitude sickness and in the morning I packed up our things and got him some cocoa matte.
We had a small breakfast then left for the salar to see the sunrise.
Parked in a good spot, with a great view of the horizon. It was super cold, and to warm up, Nicky just ran around in circles for about 10minutes. I don’t know how well it worked.
The sun rose, slowly but surely. And anyone who wasn’t wearing their sunglasses was blinded (except Chris, who is from Florida, where the sun is the brightest in the world!).
Claire taught us all a little tie chi, so we stood and welcomed the sun with that. Nicky did her yoga position, saluting the sun. It looked impressive.
We drove for a while then stopped for a food stop… went to the bathroom, which was guarded by two young children. The youngest, a boy hugged everyone that went through, and then talked me into playing soccer. He showed off how high he could kick the tiny ball, and then Chris joined.
The food shop was amazing, we got crackers, and chips and chocolate, and string, and then a box with a woman in a red bikini caught our eyes. Turns out it was a box of Brazilian fireworks and so we bought one and asked if we could keep the box too. We could. We did.
Once the mechanics appeared to have the jeep working we left for some lagoons. On the way we stopped at an area full of strange rock formations. The lava had ‘fossilized’…our tour guide was a moron.
But Chris and I found a spot in the sun and lay down. The others climbed up various things for some comical shots. …most of their photos have Chris and I in them laying at the bottom of the biggest rock. Suckers!
We came to the first lagoon, and as soon as I saw it I yelled FLAMINGOES!!! Horay. And yes, they were pink.
We were able to walk right up to the water edge and watch them feeding. There were quite a few and beautiful to watch. I stayed there for a while.
We had lunch and then headed onwards to more lagoons.
The next that we came to was called Laguna Hidionda, which means smelly. And that it was. Still beautiful though. We took some photos, and walked as far as we could before the water edge just became sludge.
Drove for another while and came to Laguna Colirado… where we saw the sunset and a lot of flamigoes in the distance. There was a little hut and we walked around for a buit tghen headed to the hotel.
The hotel was a lot more empty that the one the night before and so we settled in then had some tea and played a variety of camp games. They were fun and passed the time until dinner. Dinner appeared and it was a big bowl of spaghetti. We ate our fill then nicky tried to get Natalie to finish the leftovers by just ploughing them into natalies face. That technique didn’t really work.
Chris and I then brought out our new Brazilian firework, and he lit it in the carpark…it was three stots and apparently theyr used a lot at university protests to get peoples attention.
Admired the stars for a short time before heading inside to get away from the cold.
Had a great nights sleep and awoke for our last day on the salar tour. We first visited gysers. Its was before the sun had risen so the lack of light made all the steam more impressive. We jumped over one then went and walked around al the big ones. It smelt like sulfur but the steam was warm so I basked in it a little.
Next up was hot springs on the edge of another lagoon. Nice to be warmed to the core and we sat and soaked it up for quite some time.
When it was time to get out everyone was reluctant but we all managed to get changed and make it to breakfast .
Breakfast was the biggest meal yet, with pancakes and fruit salad, granola, and yogurt.
Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) was the next stop with its big mountains surrounding, and the best reflections of all the lagoons so far. The water level was low for that time of year though, so there was a lot of salt sludge surrounding the lagoon.
Stayed for a while…I built a little rock tower. It fell shortly after.
The Bolivia/Chile border just consisted of lining up. The bus ride down to San Pedro de Atacama was nice though - desert that Chile had stolen off Bolivia in their various wars. The road descended fast so Chris and Natalie cheered at the altitude dropping. They were the ones affected the most.
Arrived in San Pedro and made our way through customs.
We were dropped at the money exchange place and then we found our hostal –Hostal Florida. Nice place- the bed had an orange duvet.
Chris and I went for a pizza date for lunch, and it was great. Huge pizza and a melon dakari.
Ran errands and then took chris for a easy on the stomach meal for dinner as he had managed to get sick again.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
The entire Of Bolivia in 7Days: Chris´s Bolivian Adventure.
so much to tell , but ill try my best.
chris arrived last monday in la paz, i meet him at the airport, and he had his guitar and a bottle of whisky. we got on a bus to cochabamba , a small city about 8hours away. from there he organised a private tour to a national park that has dinosaur footprints. it was my birthday present. it was so fun coz there were no other tourists there because its too hard to get to, no companies run tours there and theres only spanish tour guides. anyway , we drove there, took 5hours. but the scenery was amazing, there are big rock formations from the fault lines that made all the mountains and a huge valley. ill try to send you some photos.
Once there we got the best guide in town , he also has the best name of anyone ive ever met, Felix Gonzalez. He was really sweet and always ran instead of walking when he had somewhere else to be. so we would finish talking to him then hed run away.
after we arrived we went caving.. we walked along a path through crop fields, and around cool rocks and then we saw dinosaur footprints !! there was a velociraptor and other three toed carnivores...and one looked like 5toes but it was actually two three toed dinosaurs crossing paths .
Then we got to the cave and it was starting to get dark...twas about 4.30pm and a pair of parrots flew past!
The river runs down into the cave so we had to climb on rocks and try not to fall in coz the river becomes a load of waterfalls once in the cave. It was kinda scary and i almost fell in a few times...so did chris.
Then eventually we turned down a little crevace and climbed a ladder to a level where the roof was only about 3feet from the floor. I started felling claustrophobic... but that was nothing compared to the end of it. Anyway we climbed down walls using a rope.. and we crawled through tiny spaces and got covered in dirt. Chris slid down a lot of the places on his butt but i tried to keep my cords clean.
we saw stalagtites and stalagmites and there was a part near the end that was a really open space full of sand and we knelt down and turned off our torches. Our guide told us about a couple who went in the cave ages ago and their torches ran out and they just waited at that sandy part until people found them.
We then started making our way back to the surface , from 70metres underground. The way back was up along the water and the ground was quite slippery. So that was a little bit stressful, but not too bad.
We found the opening of the cave and climbed out. it was barely light out.
the next day we went for a dinosaur footprint adventure. Theres a big area near the road into town that is fenced off, and in this is all the most exciting fossils you could ever see. There were huge quadraped footprints that walked away up the hill. there were tons of three toed footprints...there were hadrosaurs, and baby trex, more velociraptor prints, which were really distinguishable from the other three toed prints because their third claw doesnt hit the ground... just like on jurassic park...Retractable claw.
There was a path of big prints and carnavore prints, and Felix told us that it may have been that the predator was running at the large dinosaur and jumped and attacked the big one...because both paths of prints stop abruptly. There was also Pterosaur prints that are possibly the pterosaur landing because the first set are deep and then it hops forward. Incrediblé.
Theres to many to tell about all of them. it was probably one of the best days ever.
After we had seen all the print in that area we went for a walk to a canyon.. we walked along the dry riverbed.. and saw all sorts of different rock types and then the ground dropped away and there is an area that is called the Natural Theatre.
We carried on for a while in awe of all the great views and then we came to a huge canyon. There are Macaws that are endemic to Bolivia and are now endangered , Red Fronted Macaw. We heard a few then they flew out from the side of the cliff where they nest. They have red blue yellow green and red on them.
We sat and watched for a while before making our way back to the hotel. The driver wanted to leave early enough to ensure we wernt driving at night but he made us stressed out by rushing. We had a quick game of frisby with Felix then packed up our things and hit the road... the way back was bumpy bumpy. The driver hit a chicken and then i didnt like him anymore. His name was Mario.
we got straight on a night bus to Sucre. we were two minutes late and the bus was pulling out onto the road...we ran with all our things and the bus driver was yelling all sorts of things in spanish. slept a little woke up in Sucre, went for breakfast/lunch at a vegetarian resturant. really good food.. we had quinua and veggies, and potato spinach mix, and cake and rice puff slice and it was all deliscous. Birthdays are fun. We explored the plaza for a while and then got on our bus to Uyuni. We stopped 4hours later in Potosí for two hours which gave us time to walk up the hill to the plaza, and find some more great food..chris also had time to get really altitude sick because Potosí is one of the highest cities in the world, and he , is Sealevel boy. We got back to the busstation just in time and made ourselves as comphy as we could for our long nighttrip to uyuni. the seats were all broken and i got frustrated. we stopped at a horrible busstop that had no Baño (toilet). So that was good. The bus broke down at 2 in the morning. we sat for a while , while they sorted that out then we arrived in Üyuni at 5am. It was cold. It was freezing cold. We found our hotel and slept for 3hours , got up and met the girls, went to organise the Salar tour and then left at 11am in a jeep cramped full of all our gear and 9people.
i might stop my update here because there is still the entire salar tour to describe and i dont think im up for it.
chris arrived last monday in la paz, i meet him at the airport, and he had his guitar and a bottle of whisky. we got on a bus to cochabamba , a small city about 8hours away. from there he organised a private tour to a national park that has dinosaur footprints. it was my birthday present. it was so fun coz there were no other tourists there because its too hard to get to, no companies run tours there and theres only spanish tour guides. anyway , we drove there, took 5hours. but the scenery was amazing, there are big rock formations from the fault lines that made all the mountains and a huge valley. ill try to send you some photos.
Once there we got the best guide in town , he also has the best name of anyone ive ever met, Felix Gonzalez. He was really sweet and always ran instead of walking when he had somewhere else to be. so we would finish talking to him then hed run away.
after we arrived we went caving.. we walked along a path through crop fields, and around cool rocks and then we saw dinosaur footprints !! there was a velociraptor and other three toed carnivores...and one looked like 5toes but it was actually two three toed dinosaurs crossing paths .
Then we got to the cave and it was starting to get dark...twas about 4.30pm and a pair of parrots flew past!
The river runs down into the cave so we had to climb on rocks and try not to fall in coz the river becomes a load of waterfalls once in the cave. It was kinda scary and i almost fell in a few times...so did chris.
Then eventually we turned down a little crevace and climbed a ladder to a level where the roof was only about 3feet from the floor. I started felling claustrophobic... but that was nothing compared to the end of it. Anyway we climbed down walls using a rope.. and we crawled through tiny spaces and got covered in dirt. Chris slid down a lot of the places on his butt but i tried to keep my cords clean.
we saw stalagtites and stalagmites and there was a part near the end that was a really open space full of sand and we knelt down and turned off our torches. Our guide told us about a couple who went in the cave ages ago and their torches ran out and they just waited at that sandy part until people found them.
We then started making our way back to the surface , from 70metres underground. The way back was up along the water and the ground was quite slippery. So that was a little bit stressful, but not too bad.
We found the opening of the cave and climbed out. it was barely light out.
the next day we went for a dinosaur footprint adventure. Theres a big area near the road into town that is fenced off, and in this is all the most exciting fossils you could ever see. There were huge quadraped footprints that walked away up the hill. there were tons of three toed footprints...there were hadrosaurs, and baby trex, more velociraptor prints, which were really distinguishable from the other three toed prints because their third claw doesnt hit the ground... just like on jurassic park...Retractable claw.
There was a path of big prints and carnavore prints, and Felix told us that it may have been that the predator was running at the large dinosaur and jumped and attacked the big one...because both paths of prints stop abruptly. There was also Pterosaur prints that are possibly the pterosaur landing because the first set are deep and then it hops forward. Incrediblé.
Theres to many to tell about all of them. it was probably one of the best days ever.
After we had seen all the print in that area we went for a walk to a canyon.. we walked along the dry riverbed.. and saw all sorts of different rock types and then the ground dropped away and there is an area that is called the Natural Theatre.
We carried on for a while in awe of all the great views and then we came to a huge canyon. There are Macaws that are endemic to Bolivia and are now endangered , Red Fronted Macaw. We heard a few then they flew out from the side of the cliff where they nest. They have red blue yellow green and red on them.
We sat and watched for a while before making our way back to the hotel. The driver wanted to leave early enough to ensure we wernt driving at night but he made us stressed out by rushing. We had a quick game of frisby with Felix then packed up our things and hit the road... the way back was bumpy bumpy. The driver hit a chicken and then i didnt like him anymore. His name was Mario.
we got straight on a night bus to Sucre. we were two minutes late and the bus was pulling out onto the road...we ran with all our things and the bus driver was yelling all sorts of things in spanish. slept a little woke up in Sucre, went for breakfast/lunch at a vegetarian resturant. really good food.. we had quinua and veggies, and potato spinach mix, and cake and rice puff slice and it was all deliscous. Birthdays are fun. We explored the plaza for a while and then got on our bus to Uyuni. We stopped 4hours later in Potosí for two hours which gave us time to walk up the hill to the plaza, and find some more great food..chris also had time to get really altitude sick because Potosí is one of the highest cities in the world, and he , is Sealevel boy. We got back to the busstation just in time and made ourselves as comphy as we could for our long nighttrip to uyuni. the seats were all broken and i got frustrated. we stopped at a horrible busstop that had no Baño (toilet). So that was good. The bus broke down at 2 in the morning. we sat for a while , while they sorted that out then we arrived in Üyuni at 5am. It was cold. It was freezing cold. We found our hotel and slept for 3hours , got up and met the girls, went to organise the Salar tour and then left at 11am in a jeep cramped full of all our gear and 9people.
i might stop my update here because there is still the entire salar tour to describe and i dont think im up for it.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Copacabana and La Paz
So from puno we caught a bus to the Bolivian border. It only took two hours and we were advised by our tour guide, Diana, that we had to ignore her at the border because if she is seen working in Bolivia she would get fined. Oh Geckoes, thats so legal of you! anyway, the place was nice, high on a hill. and the toilets sign said ´Go to the toilet´. Terry made a comment that its a little colder in Bolivia than Peru. He wasnt wrong.
After getting our passports stamped, Natalie and i went to check out the prices of Pringles in Bolivia... 2soles less than Peru. Not bad. (about $1 NZ). So with our Bolivianoes in hand we got back on the bus and headed to Copacabana, a small lake side town thats full of traveling hippies. Nice enough though. The view of the lake was impressive... is till cant fathom that its not the ocean. Tis pretty vast for a lake.The first afternoon in Copacabana we wandered the Plaza and looked at the various stall. I bought a black hat, and some fake US $100 notes. At easter you can buy miniture houses, cars, houses and suitcases full of paper money and then if you burn it apparently you get what you burnt. I havnt burnt mine, but sometimes it can work that way too.
Nicky, Claire, Katrina and i then thought a nice spot of kayaking would be nice.. we hired two doubles and headed to the point , just passed all the boats in the bay. Claire and Katrina were in the lead, when a guy in army uniform headed out on a little rock wall and started yelling for them to not go any further. Some kind of security thing, not quite sure. But we just floated looking out toward the horizon. The sky was pale blue at the horizon and grew darker higher in the sky. The clouds were big , white and fluffy. They reminded me of the clouds in Brazil (my favourite) , and then Nicky said ´we are close to Brazil´, so thatl explain it.
After our 30minutes kayaking, we met up with the group and walked up to the top of one of many surrounding hills . The air was really thin so we went slow, there was also a few of us not feeling well...maybe also from the altitude. It was a steep walk up a cobblestone road, along which were crosses for the Stations of the Corss where people stopp when walking the path at easter.
At the top of the road we stopped for a view of the lake. There was a grass verg before the cliff and i thought it would be a great place for a nap. But alas, we carried on up steps to the top of the hill. There are more religous statues and a small area for local ladies and their stalls. Passed these is a spot to sit in aw of the lake. It was midafternoon, so the perfect amount of sunlight, from the right direction. In the opposite direction rain clouds looked tumultuous in the distance :P . So we didnt stay long because we were afraid we would get caught in the rain.
For dinner we ended up at a restaurant along the small main street. I ordered the vegetairian set menu, and boy, what a menu! Soup, salad buffet, bread, main of rice and veggies, and cake for dessert. All of which cost 18bolivianos...so about $4NZ!! i love bolivia!!
9th April
The next day we were going to go on a tour to an Isla del Sol...which has some sun worship temple ruins. There is also a Moon island but apparently you cant take a half day tour there. We decided not to go because we would have to rush to catch our afternoon bus, and the lonely planet says one whole day isnt enough...so we figured, how good could a half day be?.
Instead we pottered around in the town, went to a cafe to just sit and discuss our future Bolivia plans...we didnt really get much done. But Nicky had an iced coffee, and man, it was the nicest iced coffee on the continent so far! It had chocolate icecream.elaborate! Claire then ordered an iced Chocolate due to food envy. We shared some nachoes then went to the hotel to gather our things and get on another bus.
The busride to La Paz was quite short, maybe 4hours. But i was discussing with Natalie at the time, that the short ones are the hardest...you dont really make yourself settle in , so your kinda antsy the entire way. So i sat there...antsy. Terry pointed out all the snow covered mountains, hes good like that, and then me and Natalie just rocked out to our mp3s. For some reason, on the back wall of the bus there was a big mirror and below that a picture of a lion, jaguar and tiger next to each other in the african plains...it was a nice photoshop collage but i didnt understand why it was in the bus.
La Paz is 3700metres above sealevel, and the road into the city comes through one of the highest suburbs so there is a great first view of the city, the busdriver even stopped for us to take some photos. In the city centre there are highrises and on the hills there are makeshift mudbrick houses...so in general the city looks very brown, and kinda blends in with the hills.
We arrived at our hotel...El Dorado, and made ourselves at home. The main street runs along the valley and so all the surrounding areas are up steep hills off the main street. We searched for a restaurant but in our area there were only cafes, so i had an empanada, and a chocolate-chip muffin.
10th April
We went to the Witches Market at 10am with our guide, Diana. It is about 12 blocks from the hotel, and on the way we passed the Cathedral, very nice. The alter is covered in gold from the Potosí mines (central Bolivia).
Outside the church were hundreds of stalls full of easter eggs! and surrounding the plaza are flower stalls.
We headed up the hill to the market and once at the street you could tell. The stench was horrible. Outside each shop in the Witches market there are stalls with shelves full of Llama fetus´s and dried lamb carcasses and animal skins hanging from the shop front. There were Jaguar and anaconda skins. I was surprised at how upset it made me, because i expected to see more of that kinda thing in South America and it hasnt been as extreme as i imagined. But i think it was mainly the smell that got to me. I asked how they dried the animals without them rotting, and the lady said a week in the sun is all. Ew.
After the Witches market we kept walking up the hill until we found the clothes market.. at the time it didnt seem like much , but i went again today (Sunday) and it was packed! and the stalls went on forever. Anyway, claire and i found a shop that had jeans , which is what she needed, and ...Cordiroy pants!! horay. ive wanted a pair for quite some time now, and only opshops have them in NZ , and they never fit. But i bought a pair of black cord pants and now my life is complete.
We wandered a little longer , Nicky bought some things too, then we went to the hotel. We went for dinner to a bar that Diana suggested. They had happy hour from 7until 10. .. three hour long happy hours are the best. So we got a round then i ordered the vegetarian lasagne, and boy was i glad i didnt get the curry. The lasagne was perfect, cheesey and the right kind of veggies and the perfect size. So i finished satisfied. We were wanting the place to liven up a little but it was only 9pm .. we made Terry jive a little then we headed home...terry gave be a dance in the foyer of the hotel. Best dancer ive ever seen. He said Jive lessons are everywhere in England and so it must be the same in New Zealand...he couldnt be more wrong this time. The girls got it in their head that they wanted icecream so we walked the mainstreet to find a good place. Most of them dont have an area to sit and eat, and it was too cold outside to mill about ..but eventually we found Dumbo´s , a family restaurant with a bar above playing live piano music... made the atmosphere fell a little confused. But it was nice. and i enjoyed watching the cildren make their way around all the chairs that were cluttering the resturant...most of them just took to crawling, easier that way ...dont have to talk to anyone..bee line to the playground. Upsetting that in all of South America the playgrounds have age limits.
11th April
Spent the day organising what to do. The girls decided to go on to Cochabamba while i stay in La Paz and wait for Chris, my new american boy, to arrive from Florida. We four plus the two girls from the tour, nat and pat moved from the Hotel to a hostel on the other side of town. One of the best hostels ever. it was just like staying at an Irish Pub! full of english , and irish and good food, like chips and gravy and proper whisky, Jack Daniels, $5NZ a glass. We had a drink with Diana before she headed off to Potosí with a friend. Then we had more chips, started watching Chicago, and then went on the internet.
12th April
The others left for Cochabamba and i walked to the markets from the busstation. This city has such a strange layout, with the main road being like a river through the valley. I like it. This would be one of my favourite cities in South America. Anyway the markets were chocablock! i was afraid nothing would be open but i couldnt have been more wrong. The streets were practically blocked because of the amount of people and stalls. The markets have an ingenious design, with each street being a certain type of stalls. there were back to school places, with exercise books and school shoes, then lamp streets, then toy streets, clothe streets, meat streets, underwear streets... it was great fun. Didnt get the things i was wanting but had a good time none the less.
Checked out of the hostel and made my way back to the origonal hotel for a night. and now here i am on the internet after having a slice of pizza. There was a huge thinderstorm before and it hailed and when i crossed the street to get to the pizza place i got soaked, even though i had my umbrella. Its stopped raining now though.
Tomorrow head to Torotoro National park where there are over 2500dinosaur footprints!!!
After getting our passports stamped, Natalie and i went to check out the prices of Pringles in Bolivia... 2soles less than Peru. Not bad. (about $1 NZ). So with our Bolivianoes in hand we got back on the bus and headed to Copacabana, a small lake side town thats full of traveling hippies. Nice enough though. The view of the lake was impressive... is till cant fathom that its not the ocean. Tis pretty vast for a lake.The first afternoon in Copacabana we wandered the Plaza and looked at the various stall. I bought a black hat, and some fake US $100 notes. At easter you can buy miniture houses, cars, houses and suitcases full of paper money and then if you burn it apparently you get what you burnt. I havnt burnt mine, but sometimes it can work that way too.
Nicky, Claire, Katrina and i then thought a nice spot of kayaking would be nice.. we hired two doubles and headed to the point , just passed all the boats in the bay. Claire and Katrina were in the lead, when a guy in army uniform headed out on a little rock wall and started yelling for them to not go any further. Some kind of security thing, not quite sure. But we just floated looking out toward the horizon. The sky was pale blue at the horizon and grew darker higher in the sky. The clouds were big , white and fluffy. They reminded me of the clouds in Brazil (my favourite) , and then Nicky said ´we are close to Brazil´, so thatl explain it.
After our 30minutes kayaking, we met up with the group and walked up to the top of one of many surrounding hills . The air was really thin so we went slow, there was also a few of us not feeling well...maybe also from the altitude. It was a steep walk up a cobblestone road, along which were crosses for the Stations of the Corss where people stopp when walking the path at easter.
At the top of the road we stopped for a view of the lake. There was a grass verg before the cliff and i thought it would be a great place for a nap. But alas, we carried on up steps to the top of the hill. There are more religous statues and a small area for local ladies and their stalls. Passed these is a spot to sit in aw of the lake. It was midafternoon, so the perfect amount of sunlight, from the right direction. In the opposite direction rain clouds looked tumultuous in the distance :P . So we didnt stay long because we were afraid we would get caught in the rain.
For dinner we ended up at a restaurant along the small main street. I ordered the vegetairian set menu, and boy, what a menu! Soup, salad buffet, bread, main of rice and veggies, and cake for dessert. All of which cost 18bolivianos...so about $4NZ!! i love bolivia!!
9th April
The next day we were going to go on a tour to an Isla del Sol...which has some sun worship temple ruins. There is also a Moon island but apparently you cant take a half day tour there. We decided not to go because we would have to rush to catch our afternoon bus, and the lonely planet says one whole day isnt enough...so we figured, how good could a half day be?.
Instead we pottered around in the town, went to a cafe to just sit and discuss our future Bolivia plans...we didnt really get much done. But Nicky had an iced coffee, and man, it was the nicest iced coffee on the continent so far! It had chocolate icecream.elaborate! Claire then ordered an iced Chocolate due to food envy. We shared some nachoes then went to the hotel to gather our things and get on another bus.
The busride to La Paz was quite short, maybe 4hours. But i was discussing with Natalie at the time, that the short ones are the hardest...you dont really make yourself settle in , so your kinda antsy the entire way. So i sat there...antsy. Terry pointed out all the snow covered mountains, hes good like that, and then me and Natalie just rocked out to our mp3s. For some reason, on the back wall of the bus there was a big mirror and below that a picture of a lion, jaguar and tiger next to each other in the african plains...it was a nice photoshop collage but i didnt understand why it was in the bus.
La Paz is 3700metres above sealevel, and the road into the city comes through one of the highest suburbs so there is a great first view of the city, the busdriver even stopped for us to take some photos. In the city centre there are highrises and on the hills there are makeshift mudbrick houses...so in general the city looks very brown, and kinda blends in with the hills.
We arrived at our hotel...El Dorado, and made ourselves at home. The main street runs along the valley and so all the surrounding areas are up steep hills off the main street. We searched for a restaurant but in our area there were only cafes, so i had an empanada, and a chocolate-chip muffin.
10th April
We went to the Witches Market at 10am with our guide, Diana. It is about 12 blocks from the hotel, and on the way we passed the Cathedral, very nice. The alter is covered in gold from the Potosí mines (central Bolivia).
Outside the church were hundreds of stalls full of easter eggs! and surrounding the plaza are flower stalls.
We headed up the hill to the market and once at the street you could tell. The stench was horrible. Outside each shop in the Witches market there are stalls with shelves full of Llama fetus´s and dried lamb carcasses and animal skins hanging from the shop front. There were Jaguar and anaconda skins. I was surprised at how upset it made me, because i expected to see more of that kinda thing in South America and it hasnt been as extreme as i imagined. But i think it was mainly the smell that got to me. I asked how they dried the animals without them rotting, and the lady said a week in the sun is all. Ew.
After the Witches market we kept walking up the hill until we found the clothes market.. at the time it didnt seem like much , but i went again today (Sunday) and it was packed! and the stalls went on forever. Anyway, claire and i found a shop that had jeans , which is what she needed, and ...Cordiroy pants!! horay. ive wanted a pair for quite some time now, and only opshops have them in NZ , and they never fit. But i bought a pair of black cord pants and now my life is complete.
We wandered a little longer , Nicky bought some things too, then we went to the hotel. We went for dinner to a bar that Diana suggested. They had happy hour from 7until 10. .. three hour long happy hours are the best. So we got a round then i ordered the vegetarian lasagne, and boy was i glad i didnt get the curry. The lasagne was perfect, cheesey and the right kind of veggies and the perfect size. So i finished satisfied. We were wanting the place to liven up a little but it was only 9pm .. we made Terry jive a little then we headed home...terry gave be a dance in the foyer of the hotel. Best dancer ive ever seen. He said Jive lessons are everywhere in England and so it must be the same in New Zealand...he couldnt be more wrong this time. The girls got it in their head that they wanted icecream so we walked the mainstreet to find a good place. Most of them dont have an area to sit and eat, and it was too cold outside to mill about ..but eventually we found Dumbo´s , a family restaurant with a bar above playing live piano music... made the atmosphere fell a little confused. But it was nice. and i enjoyed watching the cildren make their way around all the chairs that were cluttering the resturant...most of them just took to crawling, easier that way ...dont have to talk to anyone..bee line to the playground. Upsetting that in all of South America the playgrounds have age limits.
11th April
Spent the day organising what to do. The girls decided to go on to Cochabamba while i stay in La Paz and wait for Chris, my new american boy, to arrive from Florida. We four plus the two girls from the tour, nat and pat moved from the Hotel to a hostel on the other side of town. One of the best hostels ever. it was just like staying at an Irish Pub! full of english , and irish and good food, like chips and gravy and proper whisky, Jack Daniels, $5NZ a glass. We had a drink with Diana before she headed off to Potosí with a friend. Then we had more chips, started watching Chicago, and then went on the internet.
12th April
The others left for Cochabamba and i walked to the markets from the busstation. This city has such a strange layout, with the main road being like a river through the valley. I like it. This would be one of my favourite cities in South America. Anyway the markets were chocablock! i was afraid nothing would be open but i couldnt have been more wrong. The streets were practically blocked because of the amount of people and stalls. The markets have an ingenious design, with each street being a certain type of stalls. there were back to school places, with exercise books and school shoes, then lamp streets, then toy streets, clothe streets, meat streets, underwear streets... it was great fun. Didnt get the things i was wanting but had a good time none the less.
Checked out of the hostel and made my way back to the origonal hotel for a night. and now here i am on the internet after having a slice of pizza. There was a huge thinderstorm before and it hailed and when i crossed the street to get to the pizza place i got soaked, even though i had my umbrella. Its stopped raining now though.
Tomorrow head to Torotoro National park where there are over 2500dinosaur footprints!!!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Puno and Lake Titicaca
Our hotel in Puno was so nice, they had coca tea in the foyer and free internet and the service was incredible.
The beds were the most comfortable yet, and the pillows were fluffy and the best they could be.
We went for pizza for lunch and waited an hour and a half before they bought it out. it wasnt worth the wait. Then we just wandered around for the afternoon. For dinner we went to a place called Incabar. the food was really nice and there were brightly coloured couches.
We left early on tooktooks for the port ,it was a nice sunny race through town. We bought gifts for our homestay families from a little stay on the waterfront, then headed off to the floating islands, Uros.
OUr guide Lucho told us the story of the inca creation; the people lived at the bottom of the mountains, they started fighting and incest... so god flooded the area. No one couldclimb fastenough, save for one Puma, who leaped up and out and sat on the mountain top. He watches over the people with his shinning eyes. There was no sun, only darkness for 500years.
The people who live in the area thought they were the best of all people because their blood ran black... this is due to all the Haemaglobin.
The Incas conquered the area, then the spanish came...the people didnt want to be ´happy slaves´ so they sailed across the lake and livedon floating islands made of reeds.
When people came on motorboats in the 60s the natives thought it was thespanish returning so the people were running scared.
The people moved their islands closer to Puno so tourists can stop off for an hour on their way to other islands.
Once at the floating islands we sat for education time once again. We were told about the way they live and some more history. I dont remember much of it now.
The men were sitting around fixing a reed seat, and the women acted out the local trading ways by laying out all sorts of veggies on the ground and pretending to be in a market. We were shown some of the native fish in a bowl and we ate some reed root...tasted like nothing. Trout and Kingfish were introduced at one point into the lake and took over so now the native fish species are all in trouble. The kingfish swim at depth so theyr hard to catch..theres a little pond where the people farm fish in the middle of their island.
One of the women showed nicky andi through her house. It was a small reed room with a bed and all their clothes on hooks on one side and a painting of fruit by her husband on the other. She then proceeded to try to sell us her handicraft blankets but we had no money.
After our look around their littleisland we went for a ride on a reed boat. It was very elaborate, there were pumafaceson the front. It was obviously made for tourists...why not make a quick buk on the side.
We then hopped back on our boat and headed for Amantaní island. I slept the whole way,about three hours...i didnt feel well by the end of it. Once on the island we met our homestay papa and walked up the hill to his house. It took us a while because all three of us , natalie, patty and i werent feeling our best, and the altitude made it harder. Papa must have loved us! :P
Such a beautul island, the water was so blue and the little houses were surrounded by feilds of various crops and sheep and donkeys.
Papas house was so cute! there was a gate made of branches and after walking past the kitchen the pathway opens onto a courtyard from which all the rooms are. Our room was coozy, a bed each with about 20 blankets because its so cold there. We had a quick lay down to try to get over our nuasea then had lunch with mama. Soup made from potato and quenua, then boiled veggies and an omlete. Twas delicous.
We met the rest of the group at the football feild at 4 and went for a hike up the hill to see the sunset. It was slow going because Natalie injured her hip on the inca trail. Her and i stopped at a lower level and layed in a feild for a while. There were prickles but it was totally worth it.
There were heaps of lavender plants and moer crops that i didnt recognise. We decided we would walk to the top and made our way slowly up. On the footpath there were archways made from odd shaped stones that looked as though they were about to topple. At the top we watch the sunset behind some clouds so we were slightly dissappointed we didnt get to see it set over the lake. On the way back down we bought donuts from a stall...they didnt have cinamon sugar.
We walked down then went to a local shop and the girls got hotchocolate with baileys.
Papa picked us up from the shop and walked us home. It was super cold. we had dinner with mum and our brother,whose name i cannot remember... potato soup and curried veggies. With mooña tea (mint). it was really nice, although the others were sick of potato. I dont get sick of potato.
After dinner Mama dressed us in the local peruvian dress and we headed back down the hill for a feista at the school hall. We danced and took lots of photos, and our brother was playing guitar in the band, they were all wearing matching ponchos and swayed at the same time.
I bought a coke and the entire roomof people danced around in a big circle holding hands.Mama was really excitedand kept coming over and asking us to dance with her. We made papa dance for one song too.
We went home after about an hour and a half. Papa folded all the clothes and packedthem away for Mama.
7th April
Slept badly because of the weight of all the blankets. The donkeys sounded their morning alarm at 5.30am and the chickens didnt kick in until 7.25am. Breakfast was pancakes made by papa, they were so deliscous but one is never enough.
We talked a while about the climates at home and when i said new zealand can be cold he said...mucho queso (lots of milk)..and i said yes! how did he know! Y mucho Leché . i said yup muchos vacas ( cow. the one spanish word i learnt in Panama from our crazy taxi driver, Mark Antony. )
Someone in the valley was practicing trumpet...i thought it was a bit early for that. We got ready and headed to the port. Walking down the path we saw all the other tourists saying goodbye to their families and joining the convoy to the port. When we were saying goodbye to Papa at the dock he spoke in spanish to our guide so she could translate. He said goodluck with our travels and studies and life and everything and that we have to go back and visit with our boyfriends someday. Oh Papa. hes so sweet.
We got on the boat and reminisced . When we pulled away Papa waved until he was out of our sight.
The entire boatride back Claire, Nicky, Katrina and I sung various hits from the 90s.
Back in Puno we searched for pizza for lunch...apparently noone makes it beacuse it takes so long to light the pizza oven. we settled for Incabar again..i had mashed potatoes they were amazing. I wrote some postcards, had a nap and went for an early dinner...or second lunch with Natalie and Patty ..we found pizza.. but the guy lit the fire for us and he was a real amature... it took hiim about 1hour 15minutes to start it then we had to wait for the pizza to cook. It wasnt worth it. The lady came in after about 30minutes of our waiting with spaghitti she had bought from the shop for patty´s chicken noodle soup.
We met the group and went for dinner at 6.30 to a place called colours. I just had dessert...fondue for one. It was so deliscous and made everyone jealous because they had chozen the brownie over sharing fondue with me . muahahahaha.
ok so now im more up to date than i was...im getting there.
The beds were the most comfortable yet, and the pillows were fluffy and the best they could be.
We went for pizza for lunch and waited an hour and a half before they bought it out. it wasnt worth the wait. Then we just wandered around for the afternoon. For dinner we went to a place called Incabar. the food was really nice and there were brightly coloured couches.
We left early on tooktooks for the port ,it was a nice sunny race through town. We bought gifts for our homestay families from a little stay on the waterfront, then headed off to the floating islands, Uros.
OUr guide Lucho told us the story of the inca creation; the people lived at the bottom of the mountains, they started fighting and incest... so god flooded the area. No one couldclimb fastenough, save for one Puma, who leaped up and out and sat on the mountain top. He watches over the people with his shinning eyes. There was no sun, only darkness for 500years.
The people who live in the area thought they were the best of all people because their blood ran black... this is due to all the Haemaglobin.
The Incas conquered the area, then the spanish came...the people didnt want to be ´happy slaves´ so they sailed across the lake and livedon floating islands made of reeds.
When people came on motorboats in the 60s the natives thought it was thespanish returning so the people were running scared.
The people moved their islands closer to Puno so tourists can stop off for an hour on their way to other islands.
Once at the floating islands we sat for education time once again. We were told about the way they live and some more history. I dont remember much of it now.
The men were sitting around fixing a reed seat, and the women acted out the local trading ways by laying out all sorts of veggies on the ground and pretending to be in a market. We were shown some of the native fish in a bowl and we ate some reed root...tasted like nothing. Trout and Kingfish were introduced at one point into the lake and took over so now the native fish species are all in trouble. The kingfish swim at depth so theyr hard to catch..theres a little pond where the people farm fish in the middle of their island.
One of the women showed nicky andi through her house. It was a small reed room with a bed and all their clothes on hooks on one side and a painting of fruit by her husband on the other. She then proceeded to try to sell us her handicraft blankets but we had no money.
After our look around their littleisland we went for a ride on a reed boat. It was very elaborate, there were pumafaceson the front. It was obviously made for tourists...why not make a quick buk on the side.
We then hopped back on our boat and headed for Amantaní island. I slept the whole way,about three hours...i didnt feel well by the end of it. Once on the island we met our homestay papa and walked up the hill to his house. It took us a while because all three of us , natalie, patty and i werent feeling our best, and the altitude made it harder. Papa must have loved us! :P
Such a beautul island, the water was so blue and the little houses were surrounded by feilds of various crops and sheep and donkeys.
Papas house was so cute! there was a gate made of branches and after walking past the kitchen the pathway opens onto a courtyard from which all the rooms are. Our room was coozy, a bed each with about 20 blankets because its so cold there. We had a quick lay down to try to get over our nuasea then had lunch with mama. Soup made from potato and quenua, then boiled veggies and an omlete. Twas delicous.
We met the rest of the group at the football feild at 4 and went for a hike up the hill to see the sunset. It was slow going because Natalie injured her hip on the inca trail. Her and i stopped at a lower level and layed in a feild for a while. There were prickles but it was totally worth it.
There were heaps of lavender plants and moer crops that i didnt recognise. We decided we would walk to the top and made our way slowly up. On the footpath there were archways made from odd shaped stones that looked as though they were about to topple. At the top we watch the sunset behind some clouds so we were slightly dissappointed we didnt get to see it set over the lake. On the way back down we bought donuts from a stall...they didnt have cinamon sugar.
We walked down then went to a local shop and the girls got hotchocolate with baileys.
Papa picked us up from the shop and walked us home. It was super cold. we had dinner with mum and our brother,whose name i cannot remember... potato soup and curried veggies. With mooña tea (mint). it was really nice, although the others were sick of potato. I dont get sick of potato.
After dinner Mama dressed us in the local peruvian dress and we headed back down the hill for a feista at the school hall. We danced and took lots of photos, and our brother was playing guitar in the band, they were all wearing matching ponchos and swayed at the same time.
I bought a coke and the entire roomof people danced around in a big circle holding hands.Mama was really excitedand kept coming over and asking us to dance with her. We made papa dance for one song too.
We went home after about an hour and a half. Papa folded all the clothes and packedthem away for Mama.
7th April
Slept badly because of the weight of all the blankets. The donkeys sounded their morning alarm at 5.30am and the chickens didnt kick in until 7.25am. Breakfast was pancakes made by papa, they were so deliscous but one is never enough.
We talked a while about the climates at home and when i said new zealand can be cold he said...mucho queso (lots of milk)..and i said yes! how did he know! Y mucho Leché . i said yup muchos vacas ( cow. the one spanish word i learnt in Panama from our crazy taxi driver, Mark Antony. )
Someone in the valley was practicing trumpet...i thought it was a bit early for that. We got ready and headed to the port. Walking down the path we saw all the other tourists saying goodbye to their families and joining the convoy to the port. When we were saying goodbye to Papa at the dock he spoke in spanish to our guide so she could translate. He said goodluck with our travels and studies and life and everything and that we have to go back and visit with our boyfriends someday. Oh Papa. hes so sweet.
We got on the boat and reminisced . When we pulled away Papa waved until he was out of our sight.
The entire boatride back Claire, Nicky, Katrina and I sung various hits from the 90s.
Back in Puno we searched for pizza for lunch...apparently noone makes it beacuse it takes so long to light the pizza oven. we settled for Incabar again..i had mashed potatoes they were amazing. I wrote some postcards, had a nap and went for an early dinner...or second lunch with Natalie and Patty ..we found pizza.. but the guy lit the fire for us and he was a real amature... it took hiim about 1hour 15minutes to start it then we had to wait for the pizza to cook. It wasnt worth it. The lady came in after about 30minutes of our waiting with spaghitti she had bought from the shop for patty´s chicken noodle soup.
We met the group and went for dinner at 6.30 to a place called colours. I just had dessert...fondue for one. It was so deliscous and made everyone jealous because they had chozen the brownie over sharing fondue with me . muahahahaha.
ok so now im more up to date than i was...im getting there.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Catchup Cusco and Puno
After a long day of exploring we caught the train back to Cusco. It was a long ride, and awfully uncomfortable. We went to dinner at a place called Los Perros just around the corner from the hotel. I had an amazing plater of humus and breads and all kinds of veggies. I didnt feel too well after it.
Slept until 9-30am, did laundry and had breakfast before heading to explore. I showed claire the inca wall street, Lorenzo and we sat in the plaza for a while. We finnaly found the McDonalds we had heard about from a friend. Its desguiesed in a beautiful old building in the Plaza. While sitting, some little girls came over to sell us fingerpuppets. i was intrigiued and asked what they had. They proceeded to name all kinds of animals; crocadile, parrot, condor, and the best of all , Puma con Baby. i laughed then bought three.
We went for lunch at a popular Australian run restuarant but we all felt under the weather and didnt really enjoy our meals. I then went to the internet with Natalie, a girl from the tour. we spent 2hours laughing at photos and didnt manage to get anything done.
On the way home we stopped to take comical photos of the lightposts that had puma faces on them.
We had a group meeting at the Los Perros place again, i had Mashed potato! the best kind. Then we went to Mama Africa, a bar in the plaza. We were quite early so there was just people milling around. but it was happy hour so everyone ordered a few... not me, i was on antibiotics still. We hungout there for awhile then headed to another bar we had heard a lot about... Mythology. As we walked in Im Too Sexy was playing and there was a strobe light...i refused to go any further . we left and i went home and left the others to find a decent bar.
Bussed to Puno at 7am. I slept most of the way , but the landscape that i saw was very impressive. there were green fields and lots of donkeys working hard. We stopped at the highest point in the trip, 4338metres above sea level.
The view of Lake Titicaca when we were coming into Puno was vast. The water was really blue and the houses were all made of mud brick so were brown like the soil they were built on. At the top of one of the hills there was a huge statue of a puma. ...The story behind this will have to wait until another day, because im too tired to finish this now.
Only a few days behind now. Ill sort that out tomorrow.
Slept until 9-30am, did laundry and had breakfast before heading to explore. I showed claire the inca wall street, Lorenzo and we sat in the plaza for a while. We finnaly found the McDonalds we had heard about from a friend. Its desguiesed in a beautiful old building in the Plaza. While sitting, some little girls came over to sell us fingerpuppets. i was intrigiued and asked what they had. They proceeded to name all kinds of animals; crocadile, parrot, condor, and the best of all , Puma con Baby. i laughed then bought three.
We went for lunch at a popular Australian run restuarant but we all felt under the weather and didnt really enjoy our meals. I then went to the internet with Natalie, a girl from the tour. we spent 2hours laughing at photos and didnt manage to get anything done.
On the way home we stopped to take comical photos of the lightposts that had puma faces on them.
We had a group meeting at the Los Perros place again, i had Mashed potato! the best kind. Then we went to Mama Africa, a bar in the plaza. We were quite early so there was just people milling around. but it was happy hour so everyone ordered a few... not me, i was on antibiotics still. We hungout there for awhile then headed to another bar we had heard a lot about... Mythology. As we walked in Im Too Sexy was playing and there was a strobe light...i refused to go any further . we left and i went home and left the others to find a decent bar.
Bussed to Puno at 7am. I slept most of the way , but the landscape that i saw was very impressive. there were green fields and lots of donkeys working hard. We stopped at the highest point in the trip, 4338metres above sea level.
The view of Lake Titicaca when we were coming into Puno was vast. The water was really blue and the houses were all made of mud brick so were brown like the soil they were built on. At the top of one of the hills there was a huge statue of a puma. ...The story behind this will have to wait until another day, because im too tired to finish this now.
Only a few days behind now. Ill sort that out tomorrow.
Catchup . Cusco, Machu Picchu
Ok, so im really far behind on this because ive had a bit of a bug and a reluctance to spend my time in an internet cafe...but now im here in Bolivia, about to tell you all about my time in Peru.
Colca Canyon
Up at 6am to drive to Colca Canyon. We stopped for photos and got harrased by children with llamas. From the road you can see the mountain that is the source of the Amazon...pretty impressive, it was covered in snow. We walked a track to the condor cross lookout. On the way i was asking the guide what the odds are for actually seeing any condors...then we saw about 5 circling about one hundred metres away. Their wingspan can be up to 2.5 metres. i was going to lie down on the ground and look like carion but i didnt in the end.. we walked a little further to one of the lookout points. The locals catch a condor (the shaman just sits on top of the hill until one lands near him, then he lunges i guess) then have a festival where they tie it to a bull and see who dies first. if the condor survives for long enough its set free. Sounds cruel. I remember seeing it on tv once.
The views of the canyon were spectacular, it was hugE!! Apparently its twice the depth of the Grand Canyon. As we sat and admired the view, a few condors flew past right infront of us. They had whit on the tops of their wings and then they dissappeared into the distance. Another one latter flew right over top of us. He was big, my camera battery ran out just as he was coming toward us.
We carried on the walk and ended at a small lookout that was full of tourists, and Baños. so that was nice. We drove a little up the road and had second breakfast consisting of avocado sandwich and boiled eggs. There was a white cow, with black spots that looked as though it were contemplating suicide... just stared out over the cliff.
Then we began our long busride back to Arequipa. I had a headache and couldnt sleep because the ride was so bumpy.
Once back in Arequipa we had big plans to go see Juanita, the mummy that was found in the mountains and so was perfectly preserved due to the cold. But it turns out shes only on show for half the year, and we were there at the wrong time. So instead we just hung out at the hotel .
The next day we got up at 5 for our flight to Cusco. All was well until we had an unexpectedly long stop in Puno on the stop over. We waited and waited and wanted breakfast...eventually we got some crackers and a coffee. I was bored and asked if i could have a tour of the cockpit and they said yes!!
So Natalie, Patty and i headed for the front. I asked Miguel all the questions i could about the gadgets and wore his hat. There was a light that said Fault. But he explained it was meant to say that.
We ended up having to fly back to Arequipa due to bad weather. I was upset because Cusco is the city i wanted to explore the most and felt like i didnt have enough time as it was.
We wandered around Arequipa in the afternoon, then went for dinner at a rooftop bar in the Plaza De Armas. The Cathedral looked incredible, all lit up and there was fountains and a halfmoon.
Terry ordered the guinea pig. It still had its little claws and teeth. We were given ponchos because it was so cold, they helped a lot, I just curled up in it.
The next day we fleew to Cusco! horay. We went shopping at the markets for warm clothes for the inca trail then i left the others and explored the streets. There is a street named Lorenzo that has the longest surviving Inca wall. I walked back and forth.
In the afternoon we planned to take the city tour. But i felt to unwell and ditched the team and went to bed.
The sickness kicked in and i was bedridden for the rest of the time in cusco .. the doctor came, he was wearing a leather jacket. The Farma delivered the drugs in depressing amounts.
The rest of the group left at 6am for the inca trail and i joined them for breakfast..
a few days later i caught the train to Agua Calientes, a small town at the bottom of Machu PIcchu. The Urubamba river runs right through it and my hotel was close so i slept listening to it. I went for a walk to find food, and ended up watching some construction workers pouring mud into the river. im not sure what they were trying to do, but one guy dropped his wheelbarrow and spent ages attempting to get it back up the steep incline. The handles were full of mud by the end of it all.
Caught i bus up the hill at 6am. The road was surrounded by all sorts of plants ive never seen before; vines, strange trees and big colourful flowers. I was super excited and wanted to be an explorer more than ever.
I then waited in the carpark for three hours until the others arrived from the trail. One of the girls on the tour had a stomach upset and one had a hip problem and everyone looked exhausted. ...Well, Claire looked full of energy still, as she usually does.
We walked into Machu Picchu and the sun was shinning and the grass looked greener than any grass ive seen before. We followed our guide up the terraces to a grassy patch where we learnt about the history and general things about Machu Picchu. We continued on to the fountains. theres 17 in total and they flow down from the Inca Palace at the top. The water flows through each section at the same rate, by a genious system of canals and stoppers, and the runoff is only at places where it wont errode any of the land.. which makes it durable so the fountians still flow the same way they did 500years ago.
After the fountains we headed upward to see a reconstruction of a house. then onward to the Quarry... my personal favourite. Its an area where there are just huge unworked rocks that were split then dragged to where they needed to be. The rocks look out of place because they are surrounded by incredibly well shaped Inca stones.
From here heading north there is a rock that is shaped like the Southern Cross, with each point pointing to the mountain ranges surrounding the area.. Wayna Picchu, Machu Picchu and two others that i dont remember the names of.
At the top fo the eastern side of the ruins there is a big sacred stone that noone knows what was used for. The theory is that it was a ´Hitching stone´ , used by the Incas to tie the sun to so that it didnt disappear. Oh those Incas. Apparently a few years ago , before the site was registered by Unisco , Cusqueña, the Cusco beer label made an advert next to the sacred stone. They had chicks in bikinis and a crane fell and chipped the tip of the rock , so now it doesnt read the Solstaces as it once did.
We walked around and down to the grass part in the middle, where our guide left us to explore on our own. I was so tired and slept under my unbrella for a few minutes before heading on to see the western side. This is the residential area so there was a labrinth of houses and steps and great view points. We wandered then went for food at the resturant at the entrance then returned for a nap under a tree .
After a while we decided we would go see the parts we had missed. We headed back the westward side and found the Condor temple. There is a carving of a condor head on the ground and if you stand in the right place and look up at the rocks surrounding it you can see the condors wings. We also managed to find the mortar room, which is a big room with two mortars on the floor in the middle. No one knows what they were used for because archeologists still havnt found out what crops the Incas grew in the terraces.
Well, thats a breif overview of a spectacular place, but its really unexplainable! so incredible seeing the stones that have lasted through earthquakes and managed to survive in such good condition for over 500years.
Colca Canyon
Up at 6am to drive to Colca Canyon. We stopped for photos and got harrased by children with llamas. From the road you can see the mountain that is the source of the Amazon...pretty impressive, it was covered in snow. We walked a track to the condor cross lookout. On the way i was asking the guide what the odds are for actually seeing any condors...then we saw about 5 circling about one hundred metres away. Their wingspan can be up to 2.5 metres. i was going to lie down on the ground and look like carion but i didnt in the end.. we walked a little further to one of the lookout points. The locals catch a condor (the shaman just sits on top of the hill until one lands near him, then he lunges i guess) then have a festival where they tie it to a bull and see who dies first. if the condor survives for long enough its set free. Sounds cruel. I remember seeing it on tv once.
The views of the canyon were spectacular, it was hugE!! Apparently its twice the depth of the Grand Canyon. As we sat and admired the view, a few condors flew past right infront of us. They had whit on the tops of their wings and then they dissappeared into the distance. Another one latter flew right over top of us. He was big, my camera battery ran out just as he was coming toward us.
We carried on the walk and ended at a small lookout that was full of tourists, and Baños. so that was nice. We drove a little up the road and had second breakfast consisting of avocado sandwich and boiled eggs. There was a white cow, with black spots that looked as though it were contemplating suicide... just stared out over the cliff.
Then we began our long busride back to Arequipa. I had a headache and couldnt sleep because the ride was so bumpy.
Once back in Arequipa we had big plans to go see Juanita, the mummy that was found in the mountains and so was perfectly preserved due to the cold. But it turns out shes only on show for half the year, and we were there at the wrong time. So instead we just hung out at the hotel .
The next day we got up at 5 for our flight to Cusco. All was well until we had an unexpectedly long stop in Puno on the stop over. We waited and waited and wanted breakfast...eventually we got some crackers and a coffee. I was bored and asked if i could have a tour of the cockpit and they said yes!!
So Natalie, Patty and i headed for the front. I asked Miguel all the questions i could about the gadgets and wore his hat. There was a light that said Fault. But he explained it was meant to say that.
We ended up having to fly back to Arequipa due to bad weather. I was upset because Cusco is the city i wanted to explore the most and felt like i didnt have enough time as it was.
We wandered around Arequipa in the afternoon, then went for dinner at a rooftop bar in the Plaza De Armas. The Cathedral looked incredible, all lit up and there was fountains and a halfmoon.
Terry ordered the guinea pig. It still had its little claws and teeth. We were given ponchos because it was so cold, they helped a lot, I just curled up in it.
The next day we fleew to Cusco! horay. We went shopping at the markets for warm clothes for the inca trail then i left the others and explored the streets. There is a street named Lorenzo that has the longest surviving Inca wall. I walked back and forth.
In the afternoon we planned to take the city tour. But i felt to unwell and ditched the team and went to bed.
The sickness kicked in and i was bedridden for the rest of the time in cusco .. the doctor came, he was wearing a leather jacket. The Farma delivered the drugs in depressing amounts.
The rest of the group left at 6am for the inca trail and i joined them for breakfast..
a few days later i caught the train to Agua Calientes, a small town at the bottom of Machu PIcchu. The Urubamba river runs right through it and my hotel was close so i slept listening to it. I went for a walk to find food, and ended up watching some construction workers pouring mud into the river. im not sure what they were trying to do, but one guy dropped his wheelbarrow and spent ages attempting to get it back up the steep incline. The handles were full of mud by the end of it all.
Caught i bus up the hill at 6am. The road was surrounded by all sorts of plants ive never seen before; vines, strange trees and big colourful flowers. I was super excited and wanted to be an explorer more than ever.
I then waited in the carpark for three hours until the others arrived from the trail. One of the girls on the tour had a stomach upset and one had a hip problem and everyone looked exhausted. ...Well, Claire looked full of energy still, as she usually does.
We walked into Machu Picchu and the sun was shinning and the grass looked greener than any grass ive seen before. We followed our guide up the terraces to a grassy patch where we learnt about the history and general things about Machu Picchu. We continued on to the fountains. theres 17 in total and they flow down from the Inca Palace at the top. The water flows through each section at the same rate, by a genious system of canals and stoppers, and the runoff is only at places where it wont errode any of the land.. which makes it durable so the fountians still flow the same way they did 500years ago.
After the fountains we headed upward to see a reconstruction of a house. then onward to the Quarry... my personal favourite. Its an area where there are just huge unworked rocks that were split then dragged to where they needed to be. The rocks look out of place because they are surrounded by incredibly well shaped Inca stones.
From here heading north there is a rock that is shaped like the Southern Cross, with each point pointing to the mountain ranges surrounding the area.. Wayna Picchu, Machu Picchu and two others that i dont remember the names of.
At the top fo the eastern side of the ruins there is a big sacred stone that noone knows what was used for. The theory is that it was a ´Hitching stone´ , used by the Incas to tie the sun to so that it didnt disappear. Oh those Incas. Apparently a few years ago , before the site was registered by Unisco , Cusqueña, the Cusco beer label made an advert next to the sacred stone. They had chicks in bikinis and a crane fell and chipped the tip of the rock , so now it doesnt read the Solstaces as it once did.
We walked around and down to the grass part in the middle, where our guide left us to explore on our own. I was so tired and slept under my unbrella for a few minutes before heading on to see the western side. This is the residential area so there was a labrinth of houses and steps and great view points. We wandered then went for food at the resturant at the entrance then returned for a nap under a tree .
After a while we decided we would go see the parts we had missed. We headed back the westward side and found the Condor temple. There is a carving of a condor head on the ground and if you stand in the right place and look up at the rocks surrounding it you can see the condors wings. We also managed to find the mortar room, which is a big room with two mortars on the floor in the middle. No one knows what they were used for because archeologists still havnt found out what crops the Incas grew in the terraces.
Well, thats a breif overview of a spectacular place, but its really unexplainable! so incredible seeing the stones that have lasted through earthquakes and managed to survive in such good condition for over 500years.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Ariquipa and Chivay
Had a night bus yesterday from Nasca and arrived in Arequipa thismorning about 7. Yesterday i went to the Nasca cemetary i was telling you about...crazy!! it was just a huge lpot of desert, with a few little flax roofed buildings covering pits full of mummies. they were all really well preserved because the desert is so dry...they only get 6mm rain a year. But in the space between all the huts there were just rocks and then bones scattered everwhere from graverobbers looting the place. there were skulls and stuff just laying around. It was so weird. In new zealand stuff like that would be in a museum or something! the mummies were all very creapy. i dont even know what to say about them... they were all buried in the seated position facing east and lots had really long dreads. There were baby tombs and in one there was a parrot buried with its owner. Ill put photos up sometime , it just takes so long to upload them so im a little behind. but after the cemetary we had a quick look at the little museum there, where they had the two best preserved mummies... one was 1500years old, and still had all its features. Creapy. then there was a baby wrapped in cloth. After than we made our way back to the hotel, saw the sunset on the way past, just. Then hung around at the hotel with Natalie and Pat, the two new girls on the tour. Theyr the most fun! glad that theyve joined us. Then we went to a observatory to see a lecture about the theories behind the nasca lines. It was really really interesting but twas just so hot in the little room that i couldnt concentrate after about 40minutes. Then we had dinner at the hotel resturant.theres an amazing entree that is avocado stuffed with potato salad, ill make it for you, mum sometime! so good.then caught our night bus. there were some spectacular views but i was just too tired.
Had a rest in the morning before a breakfast at an amazing café , i had banana pancakes, the best kind. The ladies that worked there were so lovely. Then we had a city tour in the afternoon. This consisted of a walk around the plazas and lunch at a great resturant, a 3 course meal for 12 soles...around 7 NZ. There was a salad that tasted like heaven , it had broad beans and onion and tomato and all kinds of deliscous things. then an omlet.
Claires bag got stolen at that point. That was a downer. at least her passport and credit card and things werent in it. but her camera and Mp3 player were. She and nicky went to the police station and the rest of us walked to a lookout. we never found it and i went home coz my neck was sore . Had pizza for dinna at a great bar that had happy hour two for 1 Pisco sours. so i had one of those too. then went home and had an early night.
ok gona be quick coz its cold here, at the moment im in a tiny internet place and its freezing cold outside...we are at 2700metres above sealevel..i think. and my fingers are numb...but i bought gloves today! and i need a hat. hopefully im going to get pizza for dinner hehe. ooo my fingers...sorry for the spelling :PWe left at830 thismorn and it was the best bus ride ever..we sung all kinds of hits from the 90s that i havnt heard in ages, and we had cocoa tea and beautiful chocolate, coz theres a milk factory in Arquipa so its proper milk , not that powder stuff you get everywhere else. i patted a dog today. it was sooo cute i couldnt help myself. and i saw donkeys . and i climbed on ruins and i built an offering for the gods in the mountains..it was really amature though, it was a pile of rocks but it toppled when i walked away. We went up to 5000metres today, really neuseating, got dizzy but then had cocoa. i saw a kid with a baby llama. and it went on the road and he was trying to pull it off but it was as big as him..his name was wilber and i gave him my pencil. we saw a rabbit. and ...what else...no flamingos yet, but i cant wait. smells like meat here, theres markets outside. i had a huge conversation with a lady at one of the stalls...in spanish!! and in the hills today there was a lady herding sheep and she came up over the hill and was laughing, she was themost beautiful person! then we tried to talk to her for a while but we arnt very good at spanish. so big day. and tomorriow hopefully ill see condors at Condor Cross. exciting!!!
Had a rest in the morning before a breakfast at an amazing café , i had banana pancakes, the best kind. The ladies that worked there were so lovely. Then we had a city tour in the afternoon. This consisted of a walk around the plazas and lunch at a great resturant, a 3 course meal for 12 soles...around 7 NZ. There was a salad that tasted like heaven , it had broad beans and onion and tomato and all kinds of deliscous things. then an omlet.
Claires bag got stolen at that point. That was a downer. at least her passport and credit card and things werent in it. but her camera and Mp3 player were. She and nicky went to the police station and the rest of us walked to a lookout. we never found it and i went home coz my neck was sore . Had pizza for dinna at a great bar that had happy hour two for 1 Pisco sours. so i had one of those too. then went home and had an early night.
ok gona be quick coz its cold here, at the moment im in a tiny internet place and its freezing cold outside...we are at 2700metres above sealevel..i think. and my fingers are numb...but i bought gloves today! and i need a hat. hopefully im going to get pizza for dinner hehe. ooo my fingers...sorry for the spelling :PWe left at830 thismorn and it was the best bus ride ever..we sung all kinds of hits from the 90s that i havnt heard in ages, and we had cocoa tea and beautiful chocolate, coz theres a milk factory in Arquipa so its proper milk , not that powder stuff you get everywhere else. i patted a dog today. it was sooo cute i couldnt help myself. and i saw donkeys . and i climbed on ruins and i built an offering for the gods in the mountains..it was really amature though, it was a pile of rocks but it toppled when i walked away. We went up to 5000metres today, really neuseating, got dizzy but then had cocoa. i saw a kid with a baby llama. and it went on the road and he was trying to pull it off but it was as big as him..his name was wilber and i gave him my pencil. we saw a rabbit. and ...what else...no flamingos yet, but i cant wait. smells like meat here, theres markets outside. i had a huge conversation with a lady at one of the stalls...in spanish!! and in the hills today there was a lady herding sheep and she came up over the hill and was laughing, she was themost beautiful person! then we tried to talk to her for a while but we arnt very good at spanish. so big day. and tomorriow hopefully ill see condors at Condor Cross. exciting!!!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
More photos. Alausi to Huanchaco, Trujillo
The coast near Lima.
A vulture standing over tombs.
And the best of all, Sunken Gardens. The wells used by the people for irrigation and drinking water. Its contaminated these days.
Corridors
Fish nets
The fish relief at Chan Chan
Reliefs in the courtyard of the Chan Chan palace
Chan Chan, some of the most amazing ruins in Peru. And this is just the path to the entrance.
Nicky on a warf in Peru. She was excited. There were great views... And Jill our travel companion warned us of bristly kisses from the security guard, but we managed to avoid them.
I was putting my gersey on in Huanchaco.
Sunset in Huanchaco, a small town outside of Trujillo. There was lots of surfers and then birds flew past.
After a swim in the ocean. The waves were a battle. Nicky is in the background...a broken woman.
Sunset in Tumbes, Peru. The peruvian dogs were running everywhere and the sun was only visible for a short time between the clouds and the ocean. It was a lot brighter than this photo shows though.
The girls...all tuckered out after a long day and a long wait for dinner. They built card towers with the menus, and had all kinds of fun.
Alberto, the famous panama hat maker.
Cuenca city tour with our guide David. His laugh was like a machine gun and made everyone laugh. those are the best kinds of laughs. 
The track changer guy hanging out the back after dropping off some locals with their bags full of plants.
The devils nose...its a big rock. Nice scenery, like New Zealand a little. Very green.
Leaving Alausi on the Devils Nose Tramride
A gorgous little girl that came up to us, just sat down on claires lap, and started trying to punch us in the face. Cute!Sunday, March 22, 2009
Trujillo to Lima
Ok, so Friday we spent in Huanchaco, a small fishing town just outside Trujillo. The place we stayed was really nice, there was an incredible restaurant that was great quality for money and a pool, and free internet and the beach was just across the road. The only bad thing about the place was that now im completely covered in bed bug bite. I dont know why , but for some reason im the only one to get hit by the little guys... the girls avoided them fine.
Friday morning we went on a tour of Chan Chan, the ruins of a Muchi city. It was discovered in 1960 and since then they have been trying to clear away all the sand that buiried it. Its a big city and they havnt even restored one of the 9 palaces yet. So theres quite a lot of work to be done.
The walls of all the buildings are made from adobe bricks, and so recent el niños have done a lot of damage and a lot of city now looks like plain, old, everyday dirt mounds.
Because they were a coastal culture, all the Muchi reliefs were of things like fish and fishing nets and pelicans and catfish. Really amazing, ill put some pictures up soon.
My favourite thing about the entire thing was the wells. Because all the land here is desert, the people had to use the water from the rivers for irrigation by making man made streams and things. But inside the city they had huge rectangle wells, maybe 8metres deep , and around the outside theres a spiraling ramp for the people to get to the water. They used it for drinking water and for the crops and animals, but these days its contaminated. We walked down one of the long sandfilled corridors with high adobe walls then a huge open area full of water...like an oasis. Incredible. The head archeologist named them Sunken Gardens when they discovered Chan Chan.
The Inca conquered the city in the late 1400´s and apparently the people didnt put up much of a fight. Noone did to the Incas from what i can tell. The occupied Chan Chan for 50years, until the spanish conquest.
The Muchi people had tombs with steps , which is unusual because it means that people can go down into the tomb. This meant that during the spanish conquest the incas exploited all the Muchi gold first for the Inca ransom.
What else...i think thats all i can remember . Sorry its all facts...check out nickys blog for descriptions of the place itself.
Yesterday, saturday, we had a long 9hour bustrip from huanchaco to Lima. We were told 7-8 hours so we got quite impatient by the end. But i watched two movies, Brother Bear and Bucket list, both were really good.
We had a pretty short city tour thismorning, just followed the guide around the plazas. But thenm we went to an amazing cathedral with catacombs! o00ooo , the best type of comb. There were wholes in walls that look into rooms that were just full of bones. . the floors were covered, and the bones were dry and i wondered what noise they would make if you dropped something into them. It was so tempting. there was a brick well shaped area that was where the archeologists layed out a lot of the bones, so they were arranged in a big circle, with femurs and humerous and tibias and all sorts of bones ,and rings of skulls. It was pretty cool. There were 25,000 Lima civilians buried in this particular catacombs and theres heaps more around the city for the elite. In the cathedral there was one private tomb of a benefactor that had the coffin, on top was a skull and crossbones (of whom i dont know) and then around the coffin was the family... who were all uncovered. So strange, but very interesting.We went to Miraflores this afternoon, the fancy part of town. The lunch place chosen by the group was fancy so Nicky claire and i broke off and i had an amazing big veggy sandwhich and fruit salad with yogurt. mmm.
Then we headed to the mall, its kinda on a cliff face, the roof is a courtyard plaza type thing , with binoculars and fountains, and then you decend the stairs and bam! a fancy shopping complex!
We wandered around there for a while, i had a deliscous cookie. The others had icecream.
Twas really hot because the whole thing is open, and the weather here hot today, the sea breeze made quite a difference though.
Just got supermarket dinner yuss
Friday morning we went on a tour of Chan Chan, the ruins of a Muchi city. It was discovered in 1960 and since then they have been trying to clear away all the sand that buiried it. Its a big city and they havnt even restored one of the 9 palaces yet. So theres quite a lot of work to be done.
The walls of all the buildings are made from adobe bricks, and so recent el niños have done a lot of damage and a lot of city now looks like plain, old, everyday dirt mounds.
Because they were a coastal culture, all the Muchi reliefs were of things like fish and fishing nets and pelicans and catfish. Really amazing, ill put some pictures up soon.
My favourite thing about the entire thing was the wells. Because all the land here is desert, the people had to use the water from the rivers for irrigation by making man made streams and things. But inside the city they had huge rectangle wells, maybe 8metres deep , and around the outside theres a spiraling ramp for the people to get to the water. They used it for drinking water and for the crops and animals, but these days its contaminated. We walked down one of the long sandfilled corridors with high adobe walls then a huge open area full of water...like an oasis. Incredible. The head archeologist named them Sunken Gardens when they discovered Chan Chan.
The Inca conquered the city in the late 1400´s and apparently the people didnt put up much of a fight. Noone did to the Incas from what i can tell. The occupied Chan Chan for 50years, until the spanish conquest.
The Muchi people had tombs with steps , which is unusual because it means that people can go down into the tomb. This meant that during the spanish conquest the incas exploited all the Muchi gold first for the Inca ransom.
What else...i think thats all i can remember . Sorry its all facts...check out nickys blog for descriptions of the place itself.
Yesterday, saturday, we had a long 9hour bustrip from huanchaco to Lima. We were told 7-8 hours so we got quite impatient by the end. But i watched two movies, Brother Bear and Bucket list, both were really good.
We had a pretty short city tour thismorning, just followed the guide around the plazas. But thenm we went to an amazing cathedral with catacombs! o00ooo , the best type of comb. There were wholes in walls that look into rooms that were just full of bones. . the floors were covered, and the bones were dry and i wondered what noise they would make if you dropped something into them. It was so tempting. there was a brick well shaped area that was where the archeologists layed out a lot of the bones, so they were arranged in a big circle, with femurs and humerous and tibias and all sorts of bones ,and rings of skulls. It was pretty cool. There were 25,000 Lima civilians buried in this particular catacombs and theres heaps more around the city for the elite. In the cathedral there was one private tomb of a benefactor that had the coffin, on top was a skull and crossbones (of whom i dont know) and then around the coffin was the family... who were all uncovered. So strange, but very interesting.We went to Miraflores this afternoon, the fancy part of town. The lunch place chosen by the group was fancy so Nicky claire and i broke off and i had an amazing big veggy sandwhich and fruit salad with yogurt. mmm.
Then we headed to the mall, its kinda on a cliff face, the roof is a courtyard plaza type thing , with binoculars and fountains, and then you decend the stairs and bam! a fancy shopping complex!
We wandered around there for a while, i had a deliscous cookie. The others had icecream.
Twas really hot because the whole thing is open, and the weather here hot today, the sea breeze made quite a difference though.
Just got supermarket dinner yuss
More photos , in no order.
Nicky co
In the clouds
View from the top of the first mountain. Behind those clouds is a volcano.
The quad bikes
Kids at the waterfall walk. So cute.
View from the second mountain .
Nicky on a quad bike on the cobblestone road to a fancy spa..we attempted to turn around to get back to the main road...quad bikes are wide.
One of the many waterfalls around Baños.
Claire and Nicky on a dangerous seesaw...notice the lack of tyre under nicky.
A painting across the road from the hotel.
A fountain in one of the two parks in Baños centre. Neon...nice.
Baños. View from the cliff of a hill we got lost on. Shortly after this we gave up and scrambled back down the small shingle path.Friday, March 20, 2009
Photos round two. Again, start at round one.
Goodbye from the amazon
The river napals
A green tree
Claire dart shooting.
Me trying the chicha.
The Quechuan woman who gave us chicha.
Cocoa beans
Red beetle
me looking through binoculars at birds nests.
Pygmy monkey 
Beautiful Ocelot
Anaconda island , full of banana plantations and green.
Turtle at the animal rescue centre
Wild Squirrel monkey on the outside of the spidermonkey enclosure. So cute and little.
Small anaconda
White breasted Toucan, the best king. So cute and close. This one is for mum also.
Blue Macaw looking sinister
Scratching
Woolly monkey, Yuma. Looking shocked and confused.
me in the amazon jungle!!!
Boa constrictor that had just been released from the sanctuary.
The tree that bleeds.
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