We left our group safe in the cradle of indigenous culture in Raqchi, but it was time to run
for the hills (or walk slowly, running at altitude is even less fun than at sea level) and to
head back to Cusco which we had visited a few months before but this time it was with the
aim of getting to probably its biggest attraction - Machu Picchu, just a train ride away for
some, or a 3-4 day hike for others.
A sizeable proportion of the group opted for the hiking option which meant following the
paths that had been used for centuries by the Inca people to move from place to place.
Some opted for the Classic Inca trail which ends up at Machu Picchu itself and others for
the Lares trek, a less popular and less crowded hike through the same spectacular
scenery.
It was a tough but massively rewarding few days for all the hikers, camping out under the
stars, hiking in the dark and rain and struggling for breath from the thin air, but the edge
was taken off it by the porters who carried their bags and the fantastic cooks who whipped
up unbelievable food after hiking all day too and even threw together a birthday cake for
Joanna. It was generally agreed to be one of the best hikes anyone had ever done and
was worth every gasping breath and ride on the emergency donkey!
Of course the hike was rewarding in itself but finishing off at Machu Picchu is quite an experience, voted the newest ‘wonder of the world’ it sits in the jungle completely inaccessible by road, which is one of the reasons why it stayed hidden from the Spanish conquistadors and untouched by humans from the fall of the Incas until just over 100 years ago when it was rediscovered. There is some debate about what it actually was, a temple, a university or something else entirely, but there’s no denying its impact when you first spot it in the distance.
Meanwhile back in Cusco it was Easter which meant party time for the Peruvians - any
excuse! It was also a sad goodbye to Hannah and Andrew, Hannah had a new exciting job
to go back to and Andrew had a broken ankle to attend to.
Onwards and upwards was to be the theme of the next couple of weeks as we headed to
the ‘Altiplano’ the flat high plains that stretch from Lake Titicaca in Peru through to the
border between Argentina and Bolivia, high altitude became a way of life for everyone.
Puno was to be our next stop, a town on the shores of Lake Titicaca and stopping off point
to visit the Floating Islands. Made of local Totara reeds they are home to a sizeable
population who build and rebuild the squishy ground beneath their feet and welcome
tourists in to experience life on the lake.
We also visited the Sillustani ruins just outside Puno, they are a series of tombs in the form of towers which were built around the time of the Incas with ingenious stonework and provided some good photo opportunities.
Team Lares |
Wayne, Hannah, Danielle, Joanna & Guide |
Ann catches a lift |
Joanna and her birthday cake |
Relaxing in the Lares hot pools |
Inca Trailers |
Le, Tee, Kelly, Johnny & Mike |
Of course the hike was rewarding in itself but finishing off at Machu Picchu is quite an experience, voted the newest ‘wonder of the world’ it sits in the jungle completely inaccessible by road, which is one of the reasons why it stayed hidden from the Spanish conquistadors and untouched by humans from the fall of the Incas until just over 100 years ago when it was rediscovered. There is some debate about what it actually was, a temple, a university or something else entirely, but there’s no denying its impact when you first spot it in the distance.
Triona enjoys the less stressful way to get to Machu Picchu |
Dawn at Machu Picchu |
Guided tour |
Easter celebrations in Cusco |
The crowds enjoy the Easter parade |
Goodbye Andrew |
Goodbye Hannah |
Floating islands |
Local ladies |
Group floating around |
Danielle & Wayne try the reeds - they're edible too! |
Johnny & Mike in local dress |
Demonstrating how to build an island |
Reed boat |
We also visited the Sillustani ruins just outside Puno, they are a series of tombs in the form of towers which were built around the time of the Incas with ingenious stonework and provided some good photo opportunities.
Ann celebrates our time in Peru |
Beautiful scenery around Sillustani |
Steve at Sillustani |
Steve checks for bodies in the towers |
As soon as we reached the border the difference was clear, Peru is a country with a
growing economy, impressive infrastructure and a population of entrepreneurs. In Bolivia
we were greeted by a sign that said ‘it is illegal to enter Bolivia with carrots’ and as we tried
to leave the border we got stuck in what can only be described as a complete and total
shambles of closed roads. After getting some of the market sellers to move their stalls out
the way we were finally on the move!
Our first stop was La Paz, actually not the capital of Bolivia as many believe, despite being
the seat of Government and largest city by a long way (hopefully you’re getting a sense of
Bolivian logic here.) La Paz is brilliant, you come across the flat high plains at 4000m
above sea level, through the sprawling suburb of El Alto and then like a massive waterfall
of ramshackle half-finished buildings La Paz suddenly cascades down a huge canyon in
front of you, it’s up there with Rio de Janeiro as the most impressive setting for a city in
South America.
The wonderful Julius took us on a city tour where we walked through the weird rock
formations of the Valley of the Moon, ate SalteƱas - a Bolivian speciality that will now make
Cornish pasties seem a bit of a let down, visited the old town and listened to stories of the
President Evo Morales, who, according to our guide, was second only to George W Bush
in stupidity. He told us tales of his beloved country with a fantastic sense of humour,
including how for nearly 100 years Britain refused to acknowledge Bolivia’s existence after
they chopped the ears off the British ambassador and paraded him on a donkey - Queen
Victoria was so incensed that she drew a cross through Bolivia on the map and until the
1960s it didn’t exist! As Julius said: “Bolivia: it’s a bit like Game of Thrones.”
La Paz also offered us the opportunity to do some truly ridiculous things:
A) Buying a llama foetus from the witches market for luck
B) Cycling down the world’s most dangerous road ‘Death Road’
Border crossing |
Ithaca waiting patiently at the border |
Effigy hung enroute to La Paz as a warning to would-be criminals |
La Paz |
Cholita with bowler hat in La Paz |
Valley of the Moon |
Trying Saltenas |
La Paz |
Colonial Jaen Street in the old town |
Julius tells us about Evo Morales |
A) Buying a llama foetus from the witches market for luck
B) Cycling down the world’s most dangerous road ‘Death Road’
This resulted in
It was time to head South so we wound our way out of La Paz and across the vast deserts
and plains of Central Bolivia. Our destination was Potosi, somewhere not many people
have heard of but historically it has played a huge role in the building of modern South
America. It is home to the Cerro Rico mountain and the silver and tin mine within. The
Spanish Conquistadors set about mining the minerals here in a BIG way, with no qualms
about working standards they slowly worked their way through the Indigenous population
then when they ran out of those they imported African slaves, sending them down in to the
mine, where tragically they rarely saw the light of day again, it is said that 8,000,000
people have died down there over the past 500 years. Well with a sales pitch like that who
could refuse a visit! A group of us headed down in to the mine where they encountered
real working conditions that make any other job seem pretty cushy. Their guides were ex
miners who know the mountain well and took the group through low, winding tunnels that
made for uncomfortable walking for a few taller members of the Odyssey family - Bolivians
are a fairly small race. They also visited a shrine to ‘Tio’ the god of the miners who they
leave offerings to (cigarettes, 96% alcohol and llama foetuses though Johnny couldn’t be
persuaded to part with his.) It was a very interesting, tough and humbling excursion for
everyone.
Meanwhile Emma had got the exciting news that, continuing the Game of Thrones theme,
Uyuni, our next destination, was actually under siege by upset locals protesting about a
new bus station, the roads, railway and airport were shut and didn’t look to open for the
rest of the week. After a bit of muttering along the lines of “unboliviable” she made some
phone calls and rearranged the rest of the Bolivian itinerary.
The group had the surprise news that evening that they would in fact be going to the Bolivian Altiplano on a 4 day off-road jeep trip which would take us through the Eduardo Avaroa Reserve, to red lakes, green lakes, trees made of stone and lakes made of salt. Funnily enough everyone was quite excited about it, and packing up our warmest clothes (we would reach 5000m above sea level at one point - it can get a little chilly up there) we got a few hours sleep before setting off at an hour of the morning no one really wanted to see to head to Tupiza with an extended fuel station cake stop for Ellie’s birthday!
-
A) Johnny’s bag developing a distinct llama feotus aroma and alot of discussion about
British customs feelings on unborn preserved animals
-
B) Bartley getting up close and personal with the world’s most dangerous road and looking
like he’d been beaten up by a Cholita
-
C) Walking out of the wrestling stadium thoroughly confused about the mayhem we had
just witnessed
A formal dinner just for Ellie? |
Dynamite costs US$3 in the market |
Not designed for tall people |
Miners setting dynamite charges |
AJ leaving offerings of 96% alcohol to Tio |
Pots |
The group had the surprise news that evening that they would in fact be going to the Bolivian Altiplano on a 4 day off-road jeep trip which would take us through the Eduardo Avaroa Reserve, to red lakes, green lakes, trees made of stone and lakes made of salt. Funnily enough everyone was quite excited about it, and packing up our warmest clothes (we would reach 5000m above sea level at one point - it can get a little chilly up there) we got a few hours sleep before setting off at an hour of the morning no one really wanted to see to head to Tupiza with an extended fuel station cake stop for Ellie’s birthday!
Then we were off, on a fantastic adventure with the good people at Tupiza Tours. We
made for quite a convoy with 4 jeeps, 4 drivers, 2 cooks and a guide we drove through
beautiful canyons, red valleys, dried up river beds dotted with llamas and ice-capped
marshes, all the time climbing higher and higher in to the most remote corners of the
altiplano.
By night we would stop in tiny villages and sleep in refugios (refuges) wrapped up in
sleeping bags and a big pile of blankets after a tasty meal whipped up by our lovely cooks.
The scenery was spectacular, every turn brought another amazing view and we lost count
of the photo stops. The nights were cold but up that high there is no pollution and looking
up at the stars you could really believe you were on top of the world. I’ll let the photos tell
most of the story here.
Our last night was spent in a rather lovely hotel made entirely of salt, which might seem
strange except for the fact that we were next to the world’s largest Salt Flat ‘The Salar de
Uyuni.’ We had another painfully early start the final day but again it was more than worth
it. We drove out on to the salt in the pitch black, our drivers turned their lights off to
navigate by the slowly emerging outlines of mountains in the inky dawn sky across the
vast expanse of white nothingness. Just before sunrise we walked up one of the rocky
islands that dot the salt just in time to catch the beautiful dawn.
Then it was down to the salt and time to lose all sense of perspective with some silly
photos! A salt flat right of passage!
Our final stop took us to a train graveyard just outside of Uyuni (the blockade had lifted for
the weekend) where British-built trains had been left to rot when they couldn’t be repaired.
It was an amazing 4 days and thoroughly enjoyed by all, despite the cold and all piling in
to shared rooms and putting up with each other snoring no one had a bad word to say
about our trip up to the Altiplano and everyone agreed the end of the trip was shaping up
to be a real highlight.
As we dropped down to Tupiza on our long downhill route South we had time to reflect on the country. Bolivia is a slice of a side of South America that is disappearing rapidly as the continent gets richer and more developed, it’s the wild west, it’s a law unto itself, it’s not for the faint of heart but it is worth every gasping breath and cold night, go in with a sense of humour, a love of the wilderness and a love of the ridiculous, it’s breathtaking, (literally it’s really hard to breath there!) It’s beautiful, it’s brilliant, it’s bizarre, it’s completely unboliviable!
Thermal mud pools |
Johnny & Mike |
Flamingoes |
Getting some more altitude |
Emma tries to jump over the volcano |
Photos |
Danielle |
Simon |
Tee & Le |
Setting up lunch |
Dinner |
Cozy |
Deserted haunted village |
Viscacha (Andean rabbit) |
Bartley warms his hands on the jeep engine |
Llamas |
Simon on his moss seat |
Laguna Verde |
Canyons |
Group up high |
Ann and Ellie make friends |
Ann |
Triona and Bartley at the Stone Tree |
Simon goes climbing |
Vicunas |
More flamingoes |
Relaxing in the hot pools |
Spectacular altiplano sky |
Dawn on the salt |
Ellie finds a dog anywhere! |
Triona disposes of Bartley |
Danielle & Waynette |
Jo-in-the-box |
Ellie |
Ann prepares a photo |
Traversing the salt |
Janet, our guide, with Toby |
Triona and our cooks |
Team Altiplano |
Hide and seek |
Johnny train surfing (or possibly trying to get down) |
Odyssey saves another car from soft sand on the way back - all part of the service! |
Sunset near Tupiza |
As we dropped down to Tupiza on our long downhill route South we had time to reflect on the country. Bolivia is a slice of a side of South America that is disappearing rapidly as the continent gets richer and more developed, it’s the wild west, it’s a law unto itself, it’s not for the faint of heart but it is worth every gasping breath and cold night, go in with a sense of humour, a love of the wilderness and a love of the ridiculous, it’s breathtaking, (literally it’s really hard to breath there!) It’s beautiful, it’s brilliant, it’s bizarre, it’s completely unboliviable!
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