Update

A quick update

After leaving cusco we took an overnight bus to Ica, more precisely huacachina, a beautiful desert oasis. here we thought we should try our hand at sand boarding, one attempt to try it standing up was enough, so the next best option, lying head first on the board, was used. As part of the Sand boarding trip we had an hour of unbelievable rollercoaster rides, in the back of a sand buggy. Alton towers wishes it could emulate the thrills, speed and obliquity of the dunes, and I doubt many of the rides would make Katie scream half as much!



The Desert Oasis



From Ica we headed north to Pisco, home to the Isla Ballestas or more famously known as "the poor mans galapagos". after two attempts to visit the islands; day one large waves because of the full moon 4 days prior, and day 2 large waves because of a tremor, closed the port and ended our hopes of a visit to the island. We did visit the nearby national park, and saw the Peruvian salt road, which proudly features in national geographic, and the cathedral rock formation, although it no longer looks like a cathedral, as part of it was destroyed by an earthquake!

The Cathedral

From Pisco we travelled to Lima, a bustling city on a cliff above the pacific. we walked lots, and saw lots but little of note, parque Kennedy was a highlight, along with the fountain park, home to the worlds most fountains, some interactive meaning you get wet through, others set to music and light shows!

Trujillo was our next port of call, here we visited the Chimu palace of Chan Chan, an impressively large structure, with decorative stone walls, and multiple sacrificial altars. A short bus ride from Trujillo put us on the beach for the first time in what felt like months.

Our final stop in Peru was surf central Mancora! Our hostel put us right on the beach, and allowed us some amazing sunsets.

Mancora Beach

After what seemed like the most unorganised Border crossing ever we headed first to Guayaquil, the biggest ecuadorian city all be it not the capital, here we experienced ridiculously hot and humid days, without a lick of wind. Also in the central square there was huge iguanas roaming freely!

After a short bus ride we were back on the coast in the uneventful Playas, a small fishing town with a small tourist presence!

Next came montanita a small, surfers paradise, constant waves,long clear beaches, glowing sun, and a daily 4pm down pour which led to our retreat into one of numerous bars. In the evening you could place the town in any number of Brit summer getaways, magaluf, tenerife, etc except with the street made cocktails from any number of fruits, most noticeably passion fruit mojitos!!!

Currently we find ourselves in the tune capital of the world, Manta, a big fishing port without much else going for it. Although a visit to the original home of the panama hat is only a short bus ride away!



Machu "Pic"hu

 The Start of the Walking

Monkey

The Small Stream

The Inka Trek

Proper Jarg Bridge

 The second day of walking

Overflow from Hydro Electrica

River rapids

Train Track

First view Of MP

 The Big Day, Machu Picchu

Here a llama, there a llama

Rainy postcard picture

Baby Llama

Sunny Post Card Picture

Step by step

In cusco there are quite possibly a thousand different travel agents, offering a variety of trips to Machu Picchu. After much deliberation, we decided to go for a 4 day 3 night inca jungle trek.

Day 1.

We were collected from our hostel at 7am and made the rounds picking up some others on the trip, this was all before a premature halt on proceedings to pick up the mountain bikes. An hour later we where on the road to Ollanyatambo, and a quick stop off for a bite to eat. After another 30 minutes, or so, in the minibus we arrived at our starting point; a wet, windy and cold car park 4,700m above sea level. This is where we got a feel for how our trek may go, they had brought 13 bikes, for 13 tourists, seemingly forgetting we needed a bike for our guide! Then once people had gotten on their bike a number of problems arose, one had a flat tire, anothers brakes didn't work! Fortunately all discovered before starting the descent! A case of wrong place wrong time meant I was given the task of leading the way on the bikes, with no instruction as for when to stop, I pointed the bike downhill and off we went! Initially travelling through cloud, and with spray coming up off the road we were slowly but surely getting wetter and wetter, at some points a slight increase in temperature insured a steaming of my glasses, making a true case of the blind leading the blind! Eventually we came out of the cloud and the temperature rose considerably but so did the depth of the streams we where riding through, ankle deep, knee deep either way our boots ended up soaking, not a good start to the three days walking that lay ahead!

Day 2:

After an early night we were up and on our way for 7am, we left initially in the back of a flatback van, in a scene that wouldn't of looked out of place in the Beverly Hill billies! The van dropped us about 2km up the road at a landslide, and from there we began our walking. The first hour or so was spent walking on a road above an extremely fast flowing river, with some amazing surroundings! After about 6km of walking we began the jungle part of the trek. Complete with natural face paint, we scrambled up a steep pathway surrounded by tropical flora, including pineapples trees, coca planTs, coffee beans, cocoa plants, and banana trees. After almost an hour of uphill walking we stopped in a refuge, where the guide showed us products of the forest, this place had a little monkey that was tied to a lump of steel, apparently to stop it robbing things out of your bag!

After the short rest we continued on the forest path, until we reached a "stream", that was wide enough, and fast enough to need the guide to build some makeshift steeping stones, and a use a big stick to balance. With everyone safely across we joined what was part of 14,000km of inca trail, this included narrow pathways over large drops, and numerous boulder made steps. Once at the highest point we were given a brief history lesson, not that many were too concerned at this, as the views on offer where more than distracting!
After spending a short time at this peak we started to descend the 500m we had climbed, this eventually put us in the forest, at riverside, where we stopped for a much needed rest and relaxation in hammocks, and awaited our lunch, with chickens and ducks running amongst our feet! After a couple of hours rest we climbed back up to the road on the final walk to Santa Theresa our resting place for the night. On route we came across a lowered and modded car stuck in a small stream with the guy looking for a miracle to get it out! When we arrived in Santa Theresa with their equivalent of carnival was in full swing, all we wanted was a wash and beer to sooth our aching feet, and another early night!

Day 3:

What should of been a full day of walking along a road turned into half a day, we cheatingly replaced the mornings walk to hydro-electrica with a bus, by doing so we didn't really miss much. We still got to see the man made waterfalls, a result of the hydro electric plant, but we avoided lots of walking on muddy roads.
At hydro electric we booked into the site, and proceeded to walk the 12km to Aguas calientes, along the train tracks. Walking the rails along the edge of the river was surprisingly hard work, but the scenery surrounding us was spectacular, especially getting the first glimpse of MP, and Wayna Picchu. On arrival to Aguas Calientes we had some free time and visited the hot springs for a few hours, a pleasant and welcomed relaxation! That night with dinner one guy ordered Cuy, a local delicacy, or to you and me roasted guinea pig, needless to say it was passed around the table for all to try. It didn't taste bad, it was a little like duck, and just as fatty!

Day 4:

An early start of 4am for the climb to MP, all to ensure we got an entrance stamp for Wayna Picchu (only 400 visitors a day are allowed to climb the steps to the top) when we set off through the town a light drizzle started, once climbing up to MP the drizzle turned to rain. The climb also turned from a stroll to a race as our guide arrived late meaning there was a large group already ahead of us. After 40 minutes of running up steps, the breathlessness caught up with us and we had to stop, fortunately only 5 more minutes followed to reach the entrance. At this point in time, rain still pouring, it seemed a silly idea to want to climb more steps to Wayna Picchu, we did however get the relevant stamp!

Once inside MP we made our way into the ruins, and the pictures and postcards really can't do it justice, the place is huge!

We where given a whirlwind tour and brief history of the ruins, and then we where left to our own devices. We took this opportunity to be fleeced on a cup of tea, £2 a cup! The rain started to subside and we went out to get our postcard pictures of MP, but when reaching this point we where engulfed in cloud, this seemed to add a whole mysticism to the place.

Finally came the time for us to climb Wayna Picchu, we started the 45 minutes of stair climbing at a reasonable pace, reaching the 20 minutes to go sign ( just like Alton Towers) in only 15 minutes, we where flying. After a cocky couple of minutes the stairs steepened and became less stair like, more like ruts cut into rock, and our pace slowed. When reaching the ruins and what we thought was the top we were faced with yet more steps, I could have cried! After some crawling through caves and climbing over boulders, we reached the peak only again for our view to be obscured by cloud, so patiently we sat for an hour with mother nature teasing us with clear views either side of MP, but never actually of MP! Then came the worst part, the descent the stairs were ludicrously steep, so much so I bumped down part of the way on my arse, only the plus side a little way down the clouds parted and afforded us amazing views of MP.

After arriving back on the sacred turf of MP the weather had lifted and w took the opportunity to get some sunny postcard pictures, before heading back to Aquas Calientes and catching a beer and pizza before, Peru rail took us back to Cusco.

Oh...someone by the name of Richard Gere was at MP, the same day as us, stealing out limelight!

Pics to follow (we promise)...

The Bus Mud Go On

So the trip back from rurre was interesting to say the least. After a promising start, leaving only 20 minutes late, things where going smoothly, a quick stop to put some produce for transporting and we were on our way.

About 2 hours into the journey, we came to a halt, as the rain drenched muddy road had claimed three cars, that needed to be towed out, and caused us a 40 or so minute delay. But once the road was clear we were once again flying. A few hours later, after starting our climb we came across a grounded lorry, we slowly edged passed the lorry, only for the back end of the bus to skid out and clip the wagon. It was only on close inspection we realised the wagon was carrying gas cylinders. Also having dug the wagon out the driver wasn't overly impressed about being pushed further into the mud, and an argument ensued between the bus and wagon driver with allegations being thrown back and forth. Finally the dispute was settled and we were on the road again, stopping briefly for food.

As the night set in we stopped, for what we thought was our evening meal, only to be told the bus would be there for the night as a landslide had happened on the road ahead and it wouldn't be cleared until the morning!

After an uncomfortable sleep, we were rudely awoken around 6:30 by a choqlita singing! Anticipating an 8 o'clock departure we sat tight. When 10:30 came some people decided enough was enough and took a taxi option, we held firm, and finally at 1pm we started to move, only about 5km up the road, and we again hit traffic. I decided to take a walk and see what lay ahead, after 1km i hit a small landslide with some trees teetering, a further 2km down the road I came across a fallen tree, with nobody working to clear the blockage, it wasn't looking promising. En route to the landslide, a makeshift slaughterhouse had been set up, where some pigs killed in the landslide had been gutted and hung from the trees! Finally I reached the obstruction, and hearing different tales, some saying 2-3 hours and the road would be clear others saying 2-3days the only thing for consistent in the stories was nobody knew if the road beneath was damaged!

Upon return to the coach, dark clouds started to develop over head and the first few drops of rain fell and stopped, thankfully! Around 4pm a guy came passed the bus shouting La Paz, he had a bus on the other side of the landslide, we decided it was a risk worth taking. We gathered our belongings and made the 5km or so journey! When crossing the mud Katie lost her shoes on numerous occasions, with locals standing and laughing at these silly foreigners.

We gratefully boarded the bus, and sat and waited for departure, it soon became apparent a lot of people wanted to use the service, fortunately for us we had a seat. The bus started to reverse down the hill until we reached a suitable turning point, and after a multiple point turn we were off an moving forward. Shortly after we reached a small town and the bus stopped offloading a fridge, and allowing more people onto the bus, but into the luggage hold. We set off for caravani at quite some pace, and made reasonable time getting there, allowing the people in the hold time to stretch their legs, and for us to eat our first hot meal in 48hours!

Again everyone was loaded into their relevant travel positions and off we headed towards coroico, on what can be described as the continuation of The Death Road, a series of twists and turns on a narrow stretch of road climbing from 1000m to the heights of 4700m. The uneven surface had the bus rocking and on occasions, gave us the impression that only three wheels where in contact. The first point of interest in this leg of the journey, involved us getting off the via around midnight and walking a 100m or so through puddles, and mud as the bus driver was unsure of what that particular stretch of road has instore. About an hour later we were again asked to get off and walk, this time through a fast flowing stream come river, as we got off the bus we saw a guy slip and drop his torch over the edge of the waterfall. Needless to say we headed as far away from the edge as possible. Once we had crossed the bus followed suit, only to get stuck, after multiple attempts to free the bus, including about 20 of us pulling the bus with a rope,a lorry coming the opposite way was able to tow the bus out!

Thankfully we were left to settle for the night, apart from a Chilean couple on the floor talking and singing till 3am!

We finally arrived in La Paz at 6:30am on Tuesday 44 hours after leaving Rurre on a supposed 18 hour journey!

In the Pampas, the mighty Pampas...

We had the choice of either visitng the Pampas (wetlands of the jungle) or the actual jungle. We decided on the Pampas as the variety of animals to see was much greater.


The adventure started with a 22 hour bus ride to Rurrenabaque (Rurre). It usually (only) takes about 18 hours but due to rainy season and the uncertainty of weather the roads would be drivable, it took longer! The only real story about the journey was that we got stuck for about 50 minutes due to a landslide. however, the return bus journey was much more eventful, it deserves a blog all to itself!! so watch this space!

Rurre itself is very nice and laid back, a million miles away (literally) from La Paz. Our first task was to actually book our tour. We met an extravagent man when we got off the bus promising us discounts and he did not disapoint. we also managed to get a discount off our return bus journey!

8.15 the following morning we arrived at the tour office to begin the trip of 3 days and 2 nights. We needed to make a 3 hour jeep ride to the river, after which our boat (our mode of transport for the next 3 days) and guide, Toto, awaited us. The boat was less than 2 foot wide and wobbled anytime anyone moved. Quite unsettling at first. We slapped on the suncream and moquito repelent. Although the boat ride to the ecolodge should only take 1 hour, Toto took us on a detour to spot birds and monkeys.

Upon arriving in the ecolodge, basic accomodation on stilts on the river shore, we allocated ourselves beds and enjoyed a snack of popcorn, biscuits and cold juice. A quick refresh before heading to the aptly named sunset bar to enjoy a cold beer and the sunset. We returned to the lodge for dinner before heading on our next outing, alligator hunting at night. Quite an experience! We had already got our first glimpse of the gators upclose as one resided right outside the lodge.

So, armed with flashlights and hearts in mouths, we boarded the boat on what seemed to be the longest 2hours ever! Toto managed to spot a baby gator and asked us if we wanted him to catch it and bring it on board. We all agreed through gritted teeth. Unfortunately, it swam off. The next time we spotted it in some bushes, he was unsure was to whether mother was close to baby, so choose not to catch it!

Needless to say, although needing sleep after a hectic day, sleep was not great due to heat and humidity!

Day 2, heat was not something we were too worried about due to a monster downpour starting very early morning and continuing untill 2pm!

Not letting the rain get the better of us, we donned wellies and coats and climbed on board and set off to hunt for anacondas. We travelled for about an hour in the boat (in the pouring rain) before we hit a small island. We climed out the boat and where sent off in different directions (much to our horror) to look for something thats brown, black and yellow. After about 45 minutes of wandering, Toto called us together to go walking as a group. Walking is an understatement. We waded, thigh deep in water, hoping that nothing slithered past our legs. luckily, we were safe. But, on the other hand, we did not any anaconas, no matter now much Toto decided to poke at the holes in trees or hit branches. The boat Beckoned as well as the warmth and dryness of the lodge, so we boarded and headed back for lunch and an postfeed siesta.

Thankfully, the rained cleared up so our afternoon activity, swimming with pink dolphines looked promising. Few where couragious enough to braze the water, but the dolphines kept their distance we did manage to see numerous playing and popping out the water.

Although it was too cloudy to watch the sunset, that did not stop us from stopping at a bar for an improptu beer and a game of football for the boys!

Post dinner involved drinking, music, games and general merriment, thankfully we were not woken at 4.30 the next morning (as we were told we would be) to watch the sunrise to due, yet again, more rain!

So after a relative lie in, we again donned our wet clothes from the day before, and headed out in the boat, for what we thought was Piranha fishing. After an hour and a half of travelling, and again much rain, some of the others in the group broke it to us that we were in fact, only out looking for sloths, and not some magical fishing spot. With this disappointment, we called for Toto to turn the boat around, and head back to the lodge for our last meal, before heading back to terra firma!

The boat ride back to Santa Rosa, took us on the same route as our arrival, but at a much quicker pace.

When the Jeep arrived to take us back to Rurre, we were informed we would have a few extra passengers, who needed to catch a flight. And so the race was on, for us to get back to Rurre in under 3 hours for the guys to catch their plane. We surprisingly made record time, getting the guys to the airport with 5 minutes to spare!

Once back in Rurre after a shower, we headed out to meet the guys from the tour for cocktails and pizza, and general merriment!

UnBoliviable

Having seen the Top Gear special, and read all about "The Death Road" we decided it would be a once in a lifetime experience to cycle down it! After much deliberation over the many tour companies, mainly the free t-shirt design, we chose Pro Downhill, the company offering knee, and elbow pads as well as over clothes, and the best rider to guide ratio we could find!

The day started bright and early with a walk to the cycle cafe, for a hearty breakfast, of hot bread, fruit and coffee. We where picked up from the cafe, in a mini bus along with the 3 others who where on our trip. We headed an hour out, and above La Paz 4,700m, to start our safety brief, before the first 22km of the ride. This took place on a paved road, and allowed us opportunity to get to grips with the bikes! We made a few stops on the way to admire the views, and to pass through the anti-narcotic check point. Before our final stop to pay entrance into the death road!

We loaded back into the bus for an 8km climb on gravel roads, we where all thankful of not having to pedal up the hill! The short drive brought us to the top of the real death road, thankfully for me it was surrounded by cloud, so we could not see down in to the valley from this point! The start of the ride was a little bit shaky but once we got into the swing of things we where flying down the road, following our guide, while he was taking plenty of photos! We made multiple stops on the way down the road, stopping for snacks drinks, and photos at some of the more famous points along the way, including riding through waterfalls!

The only part of the ride that required us to pedal was for about 15 minutes on some flat land, fortunately not uphill! Before a technical final descent to a small town of Yolansita, and to a nice hotel with a swimming pool, for a buffet lunch!

Denver the last

After the mine visit in potosi, we spent a further two days in the city, one day we climbed up an old church spire which afforded us panoramic views of the city and surrounding mountains.

Upon leaving Potosi we headed to Sucre the Judicial capital of Bolivia, the main square had some beautiful architecture and some of the most important buildings in Bolivian history, the liberty house where the Bolivian independence documents where signed over 400 years ago. Whilst in Sucre we visited a dinosaur park, a 300m wall which contained over 5000 fossilised dinosaur footprints, belonging to 4 different types of dinosaur, although now vertical, the wall had once been the floor of a swamp, and it is thought all the fossils on show where preserved from the same day!

After sucre we took an overnight bus to Cochabamba, a nice little city with very few things to do. The main attraction here is a huge statue of Christ, bigger than the one in Rio, however after catching a cable car to the foot of it we realised how tacky it seemed on comparison, in the base of the statue a souvenir shop, and what we thought memorial plaques but on closer inspection we realised they where infact adverts for local businesses. You could also climb up the inside of the statue and view out of the arms, I'm surprised they hadn't put view points outbid the statues eyes and sell it as seeing through the eyes of Jesus!

From Cochabamba we travelled to Oruro, not that there was much there! We visited a mining museum, that was based in am old working mine, it housed equipment that had been used and a number of different Tio's. Oruro host Bolivia's equivalent of carnival, which the town appeared to be getting ready for, cleaning away last years decorations ready for the new ones to be put in place!