Month: April 2019

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Peru South America

Lima

After a 6-hour trip ā€“inclusive of stopping by the Colorado Tambo Ruins- we arrived in Lima after 10pm. Luckily we get dropped off close to our accommodation and thus itā€™s just a few blocks to walk. The Colorado Tambo Ruins dates to 1500s and was on the Inca Road that travels through the entire Incan Empire. It was used as a market and housing . 

I have been to Lima on my previous trip to Peru, so I do not have any major sightseeing plans, but thought it would be good to do a walking tour as a refresher. I arrived at tourist information a while before the tour was due to start, so thought I could quickly get a haircut. The hairdresser faffed around enough to make me late though and I missed the group leaving (the ONLY tour that actually left on time in South America in my experience!) I ran the 4 blocks to catch up with the group to realise that it was huge! 40 people! As we all met in the suburb of Miraflores we caught a bus to old Lima /Downtown area where the tour would commence. The large group definitely didnā€™t work though! We then arrived at the Plaza de Armas to discover it had been cordoned off due to the fact the one of the ex-Presidents of Peru had committed suicide early that morning. He had done so upon the police arriving at his home to detain him for corruption charges. The reason to cordon off the place is the fact that the Presidential Palace (where the current president resides) is on this Plaza, thus for his protection in case of protests/ riots.

The following day I walked to the Larcomar Mall, it is a pleasant outdoor mall off the side of a cliff. There are conglomerate cliffs all along the Lima coast. The view of the ocean and the breeze is refreshing. I did some shopping and had lunch, then continued my walk to the Barranco neighbourhood. It can be considered as Bohemian, with many cafes and good street art.

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Peru South America

Paracas

Paracas is a small town on the coast, thriving off fishing and tourism. I was hoping for a quiet village feel and got accommodation next to a restaurant that liked loud music!

The Paracas Reserve was set up to protect the desert landscape. It is unique in that the dunes are multi-coloured. There are look outs around the reserve and we went to three of them. The first stop was at the Cathedral ā€“ however after a powerful 8.4 earthquake, the top of the Cathedral has fallen into the sea. The scenery is dramatic and stark- with a contrast of yellow sand and blue Pacific Ocean!

There is also a stop known as Red Beach due to the tiny red volcanic rocks that have washed up on the beach from past eruptions.

Ballestas Islands are the most popular reason for visiting the town. They are referred to as the Poor Manā€™s Galapagos. With that name I wasnā€™t sure what to expect so I was floored by the amount of birds, sea lions and even a few Humboldt Penguins. Seeing penguins in the bright hot sun is strange- but it helps to remember that this part of the Pacific is really cold due to a cold current passing past the coast here. There are many pelicans, turkey vultures, beautiful Incan terns- that have small white feathers that look like earrings, boobys, cormorants and more.

There is infrastructure on the island that is used for several months a year to collect guano (bird poo). It is literally a gold mine at a ridiculous 350 USD per kilogram! There was not much guano around when we were there but the smell was really potent and nasty! The ocean is actually really frothy due to the waves washing against the rock surface, washing off the guano and mixing it with the salty sea.

On the large island there are thousands of birds visible- and as they take off the sky fills with dark waves of hundreds of birds- itā€™s pretty amazing. 

On the way to the island we get a view of the huge 170m long Candelabra pattern in the desert- no one knows why it is here or for what reason really.

There are a large amount of sea lions and pups on the beaches too!

Categories
Peru South America

Huacachina

I took the bus from Arequipa to Huacachinaā€¦one that ran over 2 hours late. So a 14-hour bus trip it was! At least the trip had a few stops- one for lunch in Chala and one for the Nazca lines. Three of the many hundreds of shapes/lines can be viewed from the viewing tower. As we were running so late we nearly missed the lines due to the fading sunlight, luckily, we were the last group up!

The whole trip is a sparse, harsh desert landscape that meets the Pacific Ocean. There are varying landscapes of towering dunes/ sedimentary mountains and volcanic flows. The one thing in common is a complete lack of vegetation on the mountains. As a stark contrast though, the valley floors are irrigated farmlands.

Arriving in the early evening in Huacachina it was dark and thus I just went straight to the place I was staying and settled in for the night. The next morning, I went up to the terrace for breakfast and was taken aback by the scenery ā€“ the tiny little village oasis is surrounded by giant sand dunes! It is a rather different sight- a little lake in the desert, complete with palms, surrounded by offices and restaurant and hotelsā€¦ not many people stay here but it is quaint. Popular activities include sand barding and dune buggies.

Part of the bus perks was also getting a free Pisco tour. It was fun and interesting tour that was held at El Catador. We also had a tasting of 6 wine and pisco shots. The wine is super sweet!! As the Peruvians like suck sweet drinks and due to the minimum European immigrantsā€™ influence it has remained so for hundreds of years. The other countriesā€™ tastes and wines were influenced by millions of European immigrants into the respective countries. The grapes have really hire sugar content here due to the very dry and hot climate, which concentrates the sugar. More sugar=more alcohol % too!

The fermentation process only takes two weeks in the heat around Ica! Due to the fact that there is no oak around Peru the Spanish used local Incan pottery to ferment the wine in. Incans used to ferment their local maize drink- Chicha in these types of vessels. 

Categories
Peru South America

Colca Canyon Trek

There are two different Colca Canyon trek options: 2D/1N or 3D/2N. The difference being that in the 3D option the first day is split into two, after the long downhill section into the canyon you get lunch and rest up at shared accommodation. The last day remains the same. The accommodation is very basic, and by basic I mean basic! A bed, half completed walls and Ā¾ of the glass in the window- easy access for the cats :).

After a delayed 03:00 pick up- some people waiting until 04:00, we headed off on the long trip towards to start of the trek. Breakfast stop at Chivay was only bread and jam- not particularly filling! We stopped at the condor look out, along with approximately 25-30 other small and large buses!! (Note it is not even high season here!) We were lucky to spot four condors gliding on the thermals. We headed back on the road after 30min.

We finally started our downhill trek at approx. 10:30- in the heat of the day! It was to warm up to 26Ā°C- a normal temperature all year around in the canyon. The trek is literally all downhill across pretty rugged terrain! The views are really great though- the canyon is the fourth deepest in the world, and hence draws many tourists. The number is actually up to 300,00 per year! Most come during the European summer holidays. We only make it to our accommodation and lunch stop in San Miguel village around 14:00 due to some members not feeling well and us taking lengthy breaks. We have a small lunch and everyone except me takes an afternoon nap.

Dinner is also not very filling, and we are all glad to have bought some snacks! We have a bit of a chat after dinner over some beers and head off to bed before 21:00- well all are in bed by 20h00 but that is way too early for me. 

Breakfast is ready at 07:00 the next day, nice but not very filling pancakes and a few slices of banana. Before we commenced our hike our guide told us he had some bad news. The bus that was bringing the next group through this morning had a serious accident and rolled over. Some tourists were badly hurt; others were not; luckily no fatalities. This really concerned some of the group as they knew people on the bus. Later on in the day they were confirmed to be uninjured! This was the same bus and driver that brought us in- just one day earlier! This did not go unnoticed by us!!! I saw photos of the bus on its side, just a few meters away from the canyon edge- a miracle it did not go over!!

We have a day of uphill, flat and downhill into the village of Sangalle where we will sleep. Here we can see how the mountain sides have been carved into terraces where the villagers farm maize and other crops. The size of the canyon is again apparent, from a different angle and we can see and hear the river that has carved this natural wonder. We can see Sangalle from afar and note all the swimming pools in the village- a draw card for tired tourists. The village is also an oasis with palm trees to boot.

I think most of us enjoyed this day of hiking with the variety of scenery and terrain. We all hit the pool before lunch and then naps all around (except me again šŸ™‚ ). Dinner is again small (by this time we are pretty hungry from lots of hiking and small meals). We head off to sleep at a very early 20:00 after checking out the great night sky- helped by a lack of electricity to the village on this night.

The last day is the toughest. Another early morning wake up at 04:00, quick banana, as breakfast will only be served on top of the canyon. We are off at 04:36. The estimated time of uphill slog is 3 hours. Some of our group make it in 2 hours 20 minutes, I took 3 hours 10 minutes. The night time walking is actually nice as it is cool- not like the heat of the day walking we did before. You can also not see what is ahead of you- which helps! It starts getting light at about 05h30 and the German couple that I was walking with and I were happy when we saw our progress. The path is very uneven, rocky and full of high rock steps, it is also shared with mules who carry out supplies, rubbish and tourists. As we start to reach the top and after the sun peaks above the rim, we also note the thinner air, as we huff and puff even more than before. The rise in elevation for the day is over 1,100m! Once we arrive on top we have a 20 minute walk into the town of Cabaconde and the restaurant where we have our first filling breakfast of scrambled eggs and bread.

The rest of the day we have a stop at the thermal baths to rest tired muscles, lunch and great terrace viewpoint and drove past the crashed bus, which was now back on its tyres. The Volcano lookout was unfortunately not clear due to cloud over.

Categories
Peru South America

Arequipa

The border crossing between Bolivia and Peru went smoothly. The bus trip continued from Copacabana to Puno. We had a group dinner in Puno, which is a nice way to get to know the other travellers on the bus and not having continuous feasts of junk food if you are on the bus all the time.

The bus I was on continued to Cusco, so around midnight we met with the bus going to Arequipa and the people headed there got off grabbed luggage and swapped. The bus arrived around 6:00 and I was lucky that I could check into my hostel straight away. I had a shower and nap and then went off walking around the city centre.

It is probably one of my favourite cities that I have been to on this trip. It was clean, and the architecture is very unique in that many buildings are made from a white sillar volcanic rock. The main square hosts the cathedral, which is built along one whole side of the square, it has an impressive size from the outside, runs long and narrow though.

I did a walking tour at 15:00 and learned a bit more about the importance of Arequipa and its history. Arequipa is surrounded by three volcanoes- Misti being the closest at 17km. It is over 5,800m tall!Ā 

Unfortunately, I didnā€™t spend more time in the city as the next day I was headed off to do the Colca Canyon trek, pickup commencing at 03:00!!

Categories
Bolivia South America

Copacabana

Not to be confused with it’s namesake in Brazil, this Copacabana lies on the highest navigable lake in the world- Lake Titicaca at 3,800m. It is a calm and quiet town that is best known for trips to Isla del Sol and Isla da Luna- both hosting important Inca sights. Due to infighting though between northern and southern Isla del Sol tribes, the north is not open to the public.Ā 

I was going to visit the islands, however came down with a big headache and decided against it. Strangely I have been at much higher elevations, could be altitude or not drinking enough water.Ā 

I did hike up the Cerro Calvario, which is a Stations of the Cross up the hill next to town. The view is great from there.Ā 

Categories
Bolivia South America

Tiwanaku

Tiwanaku is a thought to be a ceremonial centre or capital city of the ancient civilisation. It is based near the shores of Lake Titicaca. The lake shore was 6km away in the past, now 20km. The lake shrunk due to a 40-year drought; which is also believed to have been the reason for the downfall of this nation as they were highly dependent on farming.

Only a small portion of the site is actually excavated and restored. Bolivia cannot afford to excavate and preserve the rest of the site. This is a shame as the civilisation lasted from 5BC to 1200AD. The museum also contains large Shaman (witch doctor) statues in sandstone and andesite. They have symbols carved in them that lets us know that they are Shamans. This includes having a square shaped cap, wide eyes, showing him to be in trance, holding a vessel to drink chicha from, symbols on the adornments, which are assumed to be covered in gold leaf in real life.

The Akapana Pyramid is thought to be an astrological centre. There are 7 levels (an important number in Pre Incan and Incan times). It is believed that the top was flat and filled with a layer of water so that the reflection of the night sky could be studied. The top also has 14 magnetic andesite rocks, their purpose unknown. Much of the pyramid seems to be raided for use as building materials in the town church and buildings as far as La Paz.

North of the pyramid is Kalasasaya ā€“ a large ceremonial ground. There were little storage huts along the northern and southern walls. It is here that you find the Sun Gate (Puerta del Sol). It was however not found here originally- archaeologists found it on the road to Tiwanaku. The gate is decorated with carvings of Sun God (possibly), and rows of Pumas, Condors and Serpents.

The Cemetery is used for Shamans only. They were buried with pottery and gold adornments. Unfortunately, much of these artefacts have disappeared.  

We also visit the site called Puma Punka which was the beginning of a pyramid excavation when archaeologists found a great deal of carved stone, and left the excavation like that. The stones- both sandstone and basalt again, have very precise carvings and the rock is so well polished. Angles are cut at 90 degrees perfectly, as are multi depth carvings of what is referred to now as Incan crosses (Chakana) – but this is before Incan times. The three levels signify time- past, present and future and the four sides represent the cardinal points and the southern Cross.

The visit was interesting, though nothing compared to sites like Machu Picchu.

Categories
Bolivia South America

La Paz

Being spoilt by relatively cheap flights and after the long minivan trip from Torotoro I flew from Cochabamba to La Paz, well technically it is the city right next to La Paz- El Alto. The airport is at over 4,000m elevation.

This wasnā€™t a city that I particularly looked forward to visiting due to its sheer size, traffic and noise! South American drivers need to hoot/blow their horn every 2 seconds, with La Paz being no exception! So it is ironic that I spent nearly a week there- mainly because Coroico ā€“the place I was going to visit- had forecast a great deal of rain- so I stayed in the city.

On my first day I did a walking tour. However; due to Bolivian law, where nothing can be free, the tours are paid plus a tip is expected. The tour was pretty interesting. We started in front of the prison- which is in the centre of the city! San Pedro Prison is unlike all I have heard of- as a matter of fact tourists were allowed to visit up until approx. a decade ago!! Prisoners live inside with their families; they pay rent for their cells based on what they can afford. The innocent children and wives can come and go. The kids go to school just on the other side of the square. The rich have near apartments, while the poor have shared cells with many mates. There are drug factories inside. The maximum sentence in Bolivia is 30 years with no death sentence. Judges send murders and people who commit heinous crimes into this jail for the perpetrators to ā€œdisappearā€ and inflict their own justice. There are only 10 guards working here, and only guarding the doors not interfering with ā€˜the running of the prisonā€™; that is done democratically. Now, this is all info from the walking tour guideā€¦ but is pretty eye opening!

Another interesting explanation was regarding the witches market. Bolivians regularly set up offerings when asking for money, success in business, love, more clients, sickness cures. The picture shows a typical example of such an offering. The baby llamas are a must. Candies- a gift to Pachamama (Mother Earth) ā€“due to her liking sweets. The rectangular sugar blocks have drawings of what it is you are asking for. Further; once you have a Shaman bless this offering, then you also ask your priest for a blessing. The Catholic beliefs and indigenous beliefs are all intertwined here.

An interesting fact is that over 80% of Bolivians are employed in the informal sector. You can buy nearly anything off the street and there are few actual supermarkets.

Something else that you may not consider, is that due to the altitude, water boils at 86Ā°C here. This makes the brewing of coffee and entirely different ball game.

The sheer number of people who live here and the traffic is overwhelming! There are 1,000s of minivans and small buses. The whole metropolitan area has a population of over 2.5 million. So it is a really convenient public transport option to take the Teleferico (cableway) and travel over all the hustle and bustle!! A trip between stations costs a tiny 3 Bolivianos. It is also excellent way of seeing the expanse of the cities through the whole valley! There are 10 lines operating now. I think this is by far my favourite part of the city! I must add that a fear of heights is not conducive to this mode of transport! The quality of the photos is not great through the windows, but it gives good perspective of the sheer size of the metro area.

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Categories
Bolivia South America

Torotoro National Park

Torotoro National Park is only accessible from Cochabamba- and my only real reason for visiting the city. Having done some research as to where one needs to catch a bus or minivan from, I planned to depart at 05h30 to catch the 06h00 bus. However, in the process of making these plans I met my German neighbours, who were also planning on going to Torotoro the next morning. This was strange as I didnā€™t know I had neighbours :). It was two Airbnb apartments that were next door to one another. So we made a plan to head off to catch the quicker minivans later the next morning rather than at 05h30.

We arrived at the minivan stop at 08h05ā€¦.and bought tickets ā€¦but we were only three people on the list šŸ™Ā  So we waitedā€¦and waitedā€¦.and two more tourists rocked up (Lena from Austria and Diego from Spain)- we were very happy! BUT this meant that we were STILL only half full! So we waitedā€¦and waitedā€¦and waited!! We kept asking when the van would leave and got different answers each time. Then, eventually were told that if by 10h30 no one else arrived we would leave. Having had enough of waiting though we asked if we could leave immediately if we purchased an extra ticket between us. The answer was YES! So we gathered an extra 7 bolivianos each, got in the vanā€¦ and watched four more people arriveā€¦and we left at 10h30!!! So not a very good investment on our part!! Dumb tourists! šŸ™‚

Having waited for 2.5 hours we were delighted to be off! However firstly we went around the blockā€¦to our starting pointā€¦then we stopped to try and figure out where to pick up another passengerā€¦the driver was told she was east of usā€¦very handy in a large city! If you are wondering how I know thisā€¦ the German couple (Clemens and Nicole) spoke very good Spanish- mine has not improved to that level! We eventually found this girl, whose dad got off, she got on and we were off! Not for too long until we stopped at our first petrol station. The rule is that everyone gets out the vehicle while you refuel- which to me is dumb as you have a whole lot of extra bodies wondering around the petrol station with all the traffic… and I had to do a whole load of gymnastics to get over the bags next to me to get out. We took the opportunity to get a snack and use the toilets. All of us clambered back in and we were offā€¦until about 20 minutes later when we stopped at another petrol stations and filled up, same procedure as last time. Not sure what we were filing this time? BUT WAIT- THEREā€™S MORE! 15 minutes later we stop to check our tyre pressure- this is just by the side of the road vendor. Our driver is concerned about the front tyres and keeps sticking his head out and asking the passenger to check the other tyre. In another 10 minutes we stop by ANOTHER petrol station!!! Yipā€¦same procedure as last time again! This time the driver promised it was the lastā€¦PHEW- he was right! Though it was also the last petrol station until we reached the village of Torotoro!! We were joking that the only thing Iā€™m going to write about in my blog was not about the National Park but the petrol stations on the way to the National Park! I donā€™t think that we were far off!

We were finally on our wayā€¦and joked around as to what else we could stop and fix/check or replace enroute! However, all was OK for the next few hours. We stopped by a market-which we thought meant that someone was getting off, however it was only for a few people to do some shopping, then we were back on the road! The whole road is being worked, construction everywhere and yet nothing is completed anywhere! To give you an idea the road is only 136km and takes 5-6 hours!!

As we got more uncomfortable on the longish journey we ended up stopping to check tyre pressure again at a local vendorā€¦and didnā€™t get much further before we stopped on a bridge and had to change the tyre that had been giving up the ghost for the last few hours of bad road conditions! Iā€™m glad that we changed this tyre as we were about to gain a whole lot of weight!! We were flagged down by a lady and her few kids and pallets of farm produce, all got in at a very tight squeeze! A few kilometres down the road a man flagged us down, and his whole family came to the road from the house. The driver asked how many people had to travel- he said all 5! Not wanting to lose any income all 5 got in. So we had 4 in the front- a girl sitting on her sisterā€™s lap in the middle seat, myself and all the bags in the next 3 seats and 13 more people behind me! 18 in total! Some ladies were standing- or bending over for the next 45min- 1 hour! Even funnier was that with the stopping, fuss and 10 additional people, Diego did not wake up from his nap! šŸ™‚

The road passes through tiny villages and through riverbeds and towards the end climbs steeply by way of switchbacks to the village of Torotoro. The view becomes amazing from here too- you can view the strangely shaped mountainsā€¦ they look like dinosaur teeth or spines that run along their backs! This is ironic as the National Park has been created to protect dinosaur heritage ā€“ most specifically fossilised footprints.

Our journey lasted nearly 6 hours so we were super happy to get out and find our respective accommodation and meet up later for dinner! All most of us had eaten the whole day was junk food!

The next morning, we were excited to be headed into the Park. The first thing that needed to be organised was tickets, then guides- no one enters the park without guides. (if you ever go to Torotoro note that the Dirrecion de Turismo in the main square is NOT where tickets are organised- there is a Parque Nacional office that is next to the large sport hall type building that has a huge orange roof.) All of us proceeded to discuss how we would split the tours (6 people splits the fixed cost 6 ways and is thus the cheapest). The problem was me- I didnā€™t want to go the cave- as caves donā€™t tickle my fancy much, I have seen many of them and I didnā€™t want to get stuck in the tiny crawl spaces in this particular one! Diego really wanted to go and had limited time as so wanted to go on this day- Iā€™m grateful to Diego for keeping us together and staying an extra night and going to the cave with the group the next day!

We headed off to Cuidad de Itas (City of Rocks) first in rainy and very misty weather. The drive is about an hour long and a few views we have between clearings is pretty fabulous! We tart our 2 hour walk in drizzle but it clears up fairly quickly and the low lying clouds also start to fade. The walk is really diverse and we see many different landscapes and superb views! There is climbing down narrow passes, up ladders and hand holds-so not recommended if you have mobility issues or serious fear of heights! (letā€™s pretend I donā€™t have the second problem!!)

We then drive back to the village for lunch before heading to El Vergel Canyon and waterfall. The lookout is a semicircular steel structure that overhangs the canyon and is pretty scary and spectacular! The canyon is approx. 250m deep here and goes down to a depth of 500m!

After enjoying the views from above we take the 800 stairs down into the canyon and jump over many rocks and creeks to finally get to the waterfall. It is quiet an adventure and the canyon walls tower above us as we walk through it! There are humungous rocks that the river weaves around and over in mini waterfalls.

The guys take a swim in the water pool under the waterfall, while us girls take in the views. When we are done the group peer pressures me into climbing up some boulders for a fab photo with the waterfall as a back drop- crazy youngsters! J The 800 steps back up had me huffing and puffing ā€˜in the dustā€™ of the fit youngsters. It was a great day and we head back the short distance to town, all glad that we had a fabulous day and that the weather cleared up wonderfully!