Well here comes a long blog with
lots of pictures. Long, because I’m doing Peru and Bolivia in one, and lots of
pictures because they are two awesome countries. If you don’t want to read more
than one hundred words, just look at the pictures.
8 October – Porto Maldonado
We crossed into Peru without any
hassles at the border. Porto Maldonado is our base for our three day Amazon
jungle stay. We stayed here one night before going into the jungle, and we are
staying tonight again. The town has developed to what it is today mainly
because of tourism that has increased significantly after the completion of a
highway linking Lima with Brazil.
On the first morning an
English-speaking guide picked us up. He showed us the town and while we were at
it a tropical downpour persuaded everybody to buy a poncho for $1 (we haven´t
worn them yet). Then we were off to the jetty to board a long boat that took us
down river to the lodge. It took just over an hour.
The lodge was full board and all
our activities there were also included. Some of us went on jungle walks and
boat rides, and some of us relaxed at the pool. At night the jungle came to
life with noise, and early in the mornings the howler monkeys woke us up.
11 October – Quincemil
To get to Cusco, we have to cross
the Andes Mountains. It’s a long drive over a high mountain range, so we are
stopping for the night in Quincemil. It is a small town just before the road
starts going up. Brooke booked us in at a big house above the town. Previously,
it belonged to an army officer that worked at the nearby base. It Has a nice
stoep right around the house, and we are relaxing in rocking chairs with a
glass of wine while our lovely host is preparing dinner for us.
12 October – Cusco
We made it to Cusco! We reached a
significant four thousand seven hundred metres above sea level. After spending
most of the last month and a bit at sea level, this altitude gain hit some of
us quite hard. For now we are taking it easy to get used to it all. We will
spend the next month or so at high altitude. We are all feeling it when we do
anything at all!
Crossing the Andes was quite
spectacular. We have been travelling from Rio through mostly flat lands below
one thousand metres above sea level, and suddenly in one day we went up to
almost five thousand metres. The road is an engineering masterpiece (or it
tries to be, at least – there are road works all along the way trying to keep
it all together).
Cusco is one of those mysterious
cities with narrow one-way streets, steep uphills, old colonial buildings, lots
of tourists, and countless hidden gems. We arrived at the city late in the
afternoon. We were all glad to be staying here for six nights. It has been our
base to go out to Machu Pichu and some other old ruins around the city.
Ithaca, our truck, not Calypso, was booked in for a big service at the
local Volvo service station.
The whole group decided not to do
the big walk, but instead took the train up to Agua Calientes and then on the
ruins. It was a wise decision – the high altitude took its toll on all of us.
After that Christianne and Jan
went cycling, some of us went to the salt terraces, and the girls and Jan went
shopping.
By the end of the week, Ithaca
needed some extra work done, so Brooke took the group on to Nazca in a local
bus, and Jan and I are staying in Cusco, planning to meet up with them in
Arequipa or Puno.
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| Jan |
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| Salt terraces |
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| Aguas Calientes |
19 October – Nazca and Arequipa
It all worked out quite well in
the end. We are all in Puno now. Taking the bus to Nazca gave the other guys an
extra day there, so Brooke organized a desert tour in custom-built four by
fours. They went to the Chauchilla cemetery, sand boarding, and did scenic
flights over the Nazca Lines.
After Nazca, they caught a bus to
Arequipa. Some of the group did a one-day tour to Colca Canyon (they got up at
2 am for it!). The rest wandered around town and visited the monastery and some
other museums. Then they caught another bus to Puno, our last stop in Peru. I
am sure they were all happy to see Jan and me again, and of course Ithaca! A
couple of days without the truck sure makes you appreciate the comforts that
come with it.
Jan and I did what we could in
Cusco, and then headed down to Puno. It was slow going – there was protesting
on the route we took. It was peaceful, but the locals blocked the main roads in
several places.
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| Flying above the Nazca lines |
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| Heading off for some sandboarding |
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| Arequipa |
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| Colca |
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| Condor |
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| The girls |
24 Ocotber – Puno
Puno is of course on the shore of
Lake Titikaka, a big high altitude lake with several habituated islands. We are
staying here to visit the floating reed islands. We are also going to one of
bigger islands for a walk and lunch.
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| Lunch |
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| Lady making soap |
26 October – La Paz
Getting into Bolivia was interesting.
The border town on the Peruvian side decided to do some road works in the town.
By now we know that South Americans have a unique way of thinking about things,
and this place was no exception. They dug up all the roads in town, and put big rocks at the entrances of all
the other paths. It took some maneuvering to get to the border bridge, but we
made it, only to find the customs guy away on lunch. No problem, we waited for
him to come back. On the Bolivian side, they decided to slap Tom and me with costly
visas, and we could pay mine only in local currency, and Tom’s only in US
dollars. Unique thinking.
Driving into La Paz is quite
cool. The whole city sits in a valley and there is a ring road going all around
the upper edge. Once in the city the local drivers are of course crazy and the
local merchants more crazy. The cars squeeze through impossible gaps between
trucks and buses and the merchants pack their wares on the pavements and half
the road as well. It’s a wonderful city!
Half of us went cycling on the
Death Road (we all survived), half of us went on the free city walking tour, we
all went out to a great steak house restaurant, and we all explored the streets
and markets.
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| Zebra crossing |
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| Market |
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| Death Road |
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| Christianne |
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| Jody |
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| Living on the edge! |
29 October – Potosi
The drive to Potosi was good.
Bolivia is an incredibly scenic country. The landscape is out of this world.
Potosi is an old Spanish colonial town with streets too narrow for Ithaca. We
drove to the edge of town and got a local bus to take us to our hotel. The town
used to be the most populated and prosperous town in the world, making Spain
rich with its vast silver deposits. Most of it is mined now, but there is still
fifteen thousand miners making a living off the stuff – still using the old
methods! They have a life expectancy of forty-something. Brooke and Jody and I
decided to go into one of the mines to see how they are making a living. It was
very uncomfortable with all the crouching and dust, but also very interesting
to talk to the miners. They are all working hard to support their families and
to give their children better lives than they have. It is strange to see how
these guys accept their mortality, but dare not talk about it while they are
deep under the ground.
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| Silver plant |
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| Jorge |
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| Jody |
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| Brooke |
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| Nico |
31 October – Uyuni
Uyuni is on the edge of Salar de
Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flats. We did a day-trip onto the flats to
visit a salt factory, a train cemetery, the cactus island, and to take silly
perspective pictures on the flat white surface.
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| Kalahari surfer |
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| Nanna |
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| Driving through Bolivia |
2 November – THE ALTIPLANO!
I have been looking forward to
crossing the Altiplano ever since Brooke and I met Pete and Kirsten in South
Africa to discuss route possibilities four months ago. This place is the Cursed
Earth. It is vast and inhospitable. It is littered with gigantic volcanoes. The
wind does not want you there. The flamingoes are evil. And the earth blows
steam in your face.
The pizza man at Uyuni suggested
taking a guide to make sure we make it through alive. Our maps gave us no hope.
Our host lady at Uyuni told us to stock up with weeks of food.
We ignored it all and took Ithaca
straight into the dragon’s mouth.
What an amazing place! Words cannot
describe it. We got stuck in the sand, camped in the howling wind, washed our
travel worn bodies in hot springs, lunched next to steaming geysers, rattled
over bumpy tracks, gazed upon strangely colored lakes, and celebrated Crazy Nanner’s
birthday!
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| River crossing |
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| River crossing |
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| Dust clouds |
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| Lunch |
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| Flamingoes |
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| Nico & Brooke |
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| Which way? |
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| Adobe town |
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| Stuck for a while... |
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| Breakfast Nanna |
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| Jan |
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| Kitchen tent up |
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| Nanna's birthday outfits |
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| Laguna Colorada |
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| Geyser |
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| Laguna Chalviri |
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| Hot spring |
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| Bolivia border post |
Photo Credits
I have been meaning to do this
from the beginning, but I didn’t, so I will do it now. The pictures in the blog
are mostly not mine. I’ve been using everybody else’s pictures where I could.
Most of the pictures come from Brooke, Carol and David, and some come from Sue
Dawg and me. Thanks!
