Bolivia

Just about to move on to country number 7, so time for an update on the short time spent in Bolivia. This is a great country: wonderful scenery, really cheap, and the people are really friendly. As with most places so far on the trip, it would have been great to spend more time here but life moves on, and we cross the border into Peru this afternoon.

So what have we been doing in Bolivia? First stop was crossing the border from Chile. For the truck the border is located at over 5000m altitude on the Altiplano. This is where people really started suffering from the altitude, particularly as we stayed overnight in a refugio at well over 4000 m. Fortunately, apart from a slight headache that cropped up from time to time, I coped really well. Maybe it is my general level of fitness, or maybe I was just lucky. Several of the group on the truck were really struggling with splitting headaches, nausea, and sleepiness. For the rest of us, the Altiplano was an amazing place - hot geysers (better than those at Tatio in Chile), lakes, mountains, rocks, wildlife (loads of flamingos).

We then dropped down through San Sebastian to the town of Uyuni which still is well over 3000m above sea level but at least was more bearable for those who had been ill previously. Recovery was a slow process for many but at least they were well enough to take part in the activities planned from then on. Hotel in Uyuni was really good and pizza restaurant was excellent: Minuteman pizza, "pizza with altitude". Main activity was a trip out on to the Salar de Uyuni salt flats. This is an expanse of over 12000 square km of salt. First stop was the train graveyard. This is where a lot of the old steam locos used to transport minerals from the mines were left to rot after the switch to diesel. Then on to a village on the edge of the salt flats. This is the only place authorised by the government to collect, process, and sell salt from the salt flats. Mostly this is done by hand from scraping the salt to drying it, to bagging it (one person can bag 2 to 3 thousand bags of salt a day). Then out into the vast expanse of almost nothingness. You can see the mountains in the distance and there are a few rocky islands, but other than that everything is white for kms around you. This gives the chance to get creative with the camera and create all sorts of wierd photos. Incahuasi island is right in the middle of the flats and we had a chance to explore here. The island is covered in cactuses which reach up to a height of 16m. Then back on to the 4x4s and on to the salt hotel. As the name suggests, this is built from blocks of salt. Then a most amazing sunset before rounding off a long day with another excellent pizza at the hotel.

Then another long drive day to the town of Potosi. This is an old colonial town that grew on the wealth generated by local mines (a bit like Ouro Preto in Brazil). Everything in the area depends on the income generated from mining minerals from one single mountain - Cerro Rico (rich mountain). Originally this was a silver mine, but as this ran out, mining has turned to tin and zinc. Over 300 different types of mineral have extracted from Cerro Rico. Our schedule was very tight here and there were lots of things to do: tour the city itself, visit a couple of excellent museums, visit the co-operatively run mines. Most of the group went off on the mine tour, but I really wanted to see the city and find out something about the history. First visit was to the Casa de la Moneda. This is the old Royal Mint where in colonial times, the silver mined locally was minted into coins for Spain and then later Bolivia after it gained its independence. Next was a long walk around the city to explore some of the old buildings: both churches and private houses. Struck lucky at the Iglesia de la Merced. This has a coffee room (lunch at last at about 4pm), but also a walkway constructed on the roof. This gives probably the best view of the city as well as Cerro Rico itself. Then having had to dash off to get some change to pay for the coffee, the lady running the coffee shop said that one of the guides who works at the church had just arrived. So, I had a personal guided tour of the church itself and the restoration work being funded bu Unesco. Ok, the tour was all in Spanish but nearly everything I was told was easy to follow. Interesting how much they have found in the church during the work. For example, at the base of the walls, once the whitewash was removed, they have found three different levels of murals. Then, on the recommendation of both the coffee shop lady and the guide, I headed down to Santa Teresa museum. This is an old convent and Carmelite monastery. This had been closed when I walked past it earlier in the day but was now open. Managed to organise a tour in English with a couple of the others from our truck. We had to share with a group of local school children, and therefore everything was explained in Spanish first before being translated into English. The guide was excellent, the tour really good, and gave a fascinating insight into the life of the nuns.

From Potosi we headed to the capital of La Paz. For once I was lucky as Rich, Uts, Tony and me got to share the best room in the hotel. Top floor, loads of space and a great view over the city. Once again lots of activities on offer and very little time to try and squeeze them in. I opted to take a day to see the city which was relaxing and enjoyable. Day two was the obvious option for anyone seeking an adrenalin rush: a little outing on a mountain bike down "The World´s Most Dangerous Road". Eight of our group opted to do this and we all set off from La Paz before 8 in the morning for the bus ride to La Cumbre at an altitude of 4800 m. From here we would drop over 3600 metres in a distance of 64 km to the village of Coroico. The 1st part of the ride gave us the chance to get used to the bikes as we rode down a tarmac rode before reaching the top of the WMDR. This is a winding gravel road only 3.2 metres at its widest with drops of hundreds of metres to the valley below. Apparently at least 8 cyclists have died on the road (last one on 9th March this year) with a large number of motorists joining them. Dragoman consider the road such a risk that we all had to sign off their overland trip to participate (we are allowed to sign back on if we survive!).

However, after all the hype, the ride itself was a bit of doddle. The risk factor has dropped considerably since they opened a new tarmac rode on the other side of the valley (the bus ride back up this was more scary than the cycle ride down). The new road takes all the traffic now, so you are unlikely to go round a corner at 40-50k and find a car or lorry coming the other way. As long as you are comfortable on a bike and don´t do anything stupid then the ride is easy. All 14 cyclists in our group made it to the bottom without a single tumble. We even got to the bottom quicker than our guide expected, so the lack of accidents wasn´t due to the fact that we were all taking it easy (did find out later that a cyclist in the group behind us ended up in hospital with concussion). Having completed the ride, we had a chance to relax at an animal sanctuary with lunch, drinks, and an open air pool. We also had a (re-)introduction to sand flies. Having been either at high altitude or temperatures where they don´t exist for a couple of months, this was the worst bit of the day. Arms and legs for bitten to pieces. Nasty buggers ignore DEET and just bite anyway. For photos of the day, use the following link and enter the password "photos".

http://www.shutterfly.com/progal/sign_in.jsp?aid=768a5498cf403a108055

Anyway having survived that, it was time to say goodbye to La Paz and continue our journey north. Next stop was the town of Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca. This is one of the most religious places in South America, with an enormous cathedral in town, and the islands of the Sun and Moon not far off shore. These are the centres of Inca religion and we had a day trip out to Isla del Sol to visit our 1st lot of Inca ruins. These included a sacrificial stone, two temples (Chincana and Pilko Kaina), and the Titicaca rock itself. The two temples were linked by a 9k walk across the island from north to south with the sun on our backs the whole way. There were a few very pink necks and legs to report at the end of the day.

So, that is where we are and what we have done in Bolivia. Next Sillustani in Peru and some more Inca and pre-Inca ruins. Then off to Cusco and Machu Picchu (hope to have some really great photos on the next installment).

Chilling out in Chile

Or not as the case may be. We have been in the Atacama Desert for a few days now (arguably the driest place on the planet). Days have been hot and sunny but pretty cold overnight. Set out from Santiago last Sunday, once again after a heavy night out in town the night before. With a beach town stop and three drive days ahead of us there would be plenty of time to recover, and to get to know the 7 newbies on the truck. We also have an alcohol ban in place from the end of the week as we head up into the Andes and altitudes of over 5000m.

First overnight stop was in the town of La Serena on the Pacific coast. This could have been a wonderful place to chill out: campsite just over the road from the beach, which had good sand and wonderful surf. However, the weather played tricks on us. Having not seen much cloud for a while, it decided that the time to introduce colder weather and cloud into the mix was an hour or two before we arrived in town. Then it kept it up until we left two mornings later. Did go for a run on the beach and a quick paddle but water was just a tad too cold to go for a swim. Change of plan meant having a look around the town instead. This involved one very good museum, the outside of a few churches and the cathedral, and a sneaky look inside the cathedral but only by gate crashing a lunchtime service (the doors were locked for the rest of the day). Did get a bit of a chance to chill in the Japanese Gardens and had a nice if long stroll back to camp from there with three of the new girls and a local who decided to join us (see photo). As far as I know, the dog is still at the campsite - he was still in residence when we left the following morning.

Then back on the truck for 3 days drive to San Pedro de Atacama. First overnight stop was on a beach in the Pan de Azucar NP. Beautiful sunsets, lovely and peaceful, but waves very fierce and bay surrounded by rocks (so no swimming again). Still had a lovely evening sitting around a camp fire until the small hours of the morning. Also learnt not to upset Yorkshire girls: ended up being beaten around the head with a flip flop until I gave back the one I had just pinched off Rosie´s other foot. A quick visit to the hand in the desert and then night 2 was spent in a mining area and right by a railway line.

Fortunately I had just got up for an early morning pee break when a train came rattling through at 4am.

Finally we arrived in San Pedro, our base for a few varied activities and a busy schedule. First afternoon saw the sun back out again, so I fished the hammock bought for the Amazon ferry out of the back of the truck. Had a lovely couple of hours dozing in the sun. Then on the first evening we set off to a local observatory to have a look at the stars. Guide Alain was really enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Think we all learnt a lot about the night sky. Comic moment came when he said that if we got up at 4am tomorrow morning, such and such a star would have moved across the night sky to be over there. Unfortunately we are all getting up at that ridiculous time to go on a trip up to a geyser field! Got to view stars and constellations with the naked eye, and then with five different outdoor telescopes we were shown stars, constellations, nebulae, and other galaxies. Highlight was seeing Saturn with its rings and getting (blurry) photos of another planet.

So, back to camp for a few hours sleep before being up early for our geyser tour. Sleepy mood wasn´t helped by the fact that the bus and guide turned up 45 minutes late, but eventually we did set off. Drive was quite a distance, so at least we got to catch up on a bit of the sleep we had missed. Geyser field was good to see. Depending upon which guidebook you read, it may or may not be the highest geyser field in the world. It was even better when the sun came out and the gloves and woolly hat could be taken off. Met up with an old friend: Jen, who was on the trip with us between Ushuaia and Santiago but is now travelling independently. Think we may see her a few times more - her schedule is quite similar to ours. Final part of geyser tour was a chance for a dip in a thermal pool. Lovely and relaxing, despite the mud fights. Then, on the way back to camp, we got to see various flora and fauna: vicunas, vixachacas, llamas, andes moss; and a tribal village.

A quick chance to grab lunch and check internet, then back on our truck for a trip out to Valle de la Luna. Spectacular rock formations, dunes, and a good sunset rounded off the day nicely. Then back to camp for a lovely veggie curry courtesy of yours truly (shame the rice was crap).
And that was it for Chile. Tomorrow we head into Bolivia and the Altiplano, and a test of how well we can survive altitude.

Hot springs and on to Santiago

Following all of our strenuous effort climbing Villarrica, we had the opportunity to relax minds and relieve aching muscles that same evening. Final activity organised for us in Pucon was a trip to some hot springs nearby. So, about 12 of us piled into a minibus and off we went. Once there, and after we negotiatied the masses of steps to get down to the pools, we spent a lovely relaxing 3 hours in and out of the three pools: cool, hot, and phew what a scorcher!

Then the following morning it was time to say goodbye to the truck for a couple of days. The good news from Santiago is that my camera is repaired and ready to collect. The bad news? The office closes for easter at 18:30 on Thursday which coincidentally is the time we are scheduled to arrive. So, I decided to sample South American public transport again. Once again I was impressed. Bus had lovely comfy reclining seats, plenty of leg room, & DVD player. Also got served tea (which amazingly for this part of the world included a cheese sandwich - no ham in sight for once!) during the 11 hour trip, and all for the price of 6500 pesos which converts to about GBP 6.50. What was even better after two and a half of weeks of travelling on a full truck, was that of the 44 seats on the bus, only about 12 were occupied at any point in time. Had room to stretch out and catch up on some sleep.

Arrived in Santiago late in the evening, and found I had an additional luxury - the hostel dorm I booked was empty except for yours truly. So, Thursday morning was spent heading out to Olympus to pick up the camera which now works beautifully. All of which gave me an extra half day to explore Santiago. This was time well spent, because lots of places closed their doors for the weekend at close of play on Thursday. Managed to do a bit of sightseeing over the next two days. Included visits to many churches, the cathedral, a museum on Pre-Colombian art, and a couple of view points overlooking the city. Obviously when the truck arrived, on Thursday evening, alcohol also came into the equation. Thursday night was another goodbye to friends made, and Friday became an introduction to seven new happy campers. Saturday was also special as it was the Birthday of one of the people who had just joined us. Hope we didn´t get you too drunk Olivia. ;-)