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.
Monday, April 20, 2009
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.
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