Mi Viaje Sudamericano

Apologies for the delay(s), only now that I'm nearing the end of my trip (exactly one week left!) I'm in great need of some chilling-out time, where I'm not constantly on the go (or the bus)! As such the blog entries have been postponed a little... This is also going to be more of a visual than a literary entry!*

Arequipa (Peru) was interesting as I was able to compare Peru's 'ciudad blanca' to that of Bolivia's picturesque ciudad blanca, Sucre. All in all, they were very similar, but with Arequipa being quite a bit bigger. While this gave it further scope for walks, it did mean there was less of a small-town feel to it, and it felt quite a lot more touristy. Nevertheless, I tried some fantastic, typical Peruvian food here (in addition to some really exotic fruits at the market), and it was a nice place to base myself in order to do a trip to Colca Cañon, where Condor-watching is the main attraction. Concerning the latter, I ended up doing a 2-day organised trip, which was definitely a nice break from having to plan everything myself (and we ended up seeing a few amazing fly-bys by the more daring Condors)! Additionally it was pretty useful on the language side of things, as all information was said first in Spanish and then repeated in English. Overall, this was a nice way to finish my time in Peru, before crossing over the border into Arica, Chile.

Arica was actually better than I expected for a border town, as it had a rather lengthy and pretty beach, and a really interesting port (where seals and pelicans surrounded the boats and port, not to mention some of the pretty unusual freshly-caught fish!). I only stayed here a night though before moving on to the Chilean holiday resort of La Serena, which was slightly more culturally-active and a nice place to wind down after all those long bus trips. From here I also fitted in a trip to Vicuña with the aim of visiting a specific winery, and pisco distillery, along with a late-night trip to one of the local observatories (the area is among the best for astrological observation due to its lack of clouds throughout most of the year).

I then moved on to Valparaíso and Viña del Mar before heading onto Santiago. Whilst everyone seems to rave about Valparaíso (friends, journalists, guidebooks), I didn't find it to be quite the same as the suggested title of 'undiscovered Venice' that I had read somewhere. It was interesting due to its port-nature and history, but it was a bit of a dive, and with not a lot happening. Viña del Mar was a little more pleasant, but basically a sea-side resort (and not so fun when there are clouds!).

Moving onto Santiago, I then met up with someone I had previously met in Copacabana, Aguas Calientes (by chance) and Lima to go on a weekend trip to a surfing spot called Pichilemu, 4-hours south of Santiago. This turned out to be a really fun weekend, leaving me with yet another sport I'd like to spend more time practising! When we returned, I met up with two friends from Bath Uni who were travelling in the opposite direction. We spent a day touring the city, and visiting some view points, followed by a mini house-warming of some recent friends of theirs. We then went our separate ways, with me continuing to Mendoza in Argentina, for some much-needed steak and wine. (On the way, we also passed the Aconcagua mountain, apparently the highest mountain in the Americas, and outside Asia).

Mendoza was a really friendly, young, and homely city. There would be many reasons why I would recommend it to others, or even go back there one day (the main ones being the fantastic municipal sports-park that borders the city, and the extensive wine-tasting that is easily and quickly accessible!). The latter of the two said reasons was particularly fun, as you can (and I did) get a bus to the valleys just outside of Mendoza, rent a bike and visit a small stretch of wineries up and down this country road. It was great fun, as half the traffic on the roads was us wine-tasting tourists on bikes - not dissimilar to the image we tend to have of winetasting antics in France.

After doing various other things, I paced on to Cordoba where I am now writing this e-mail. Described as a university city, there isn't a great deal here (apart from Che Guavara's house some 30-40km outside of the city, which I didn't get to visit due to it being closed). My plan was actually just to break up the journey before returning to Buenos Aires, which I did, with some of this time spent at the 'largest eat-all-you-can buffet in Argentina' (it hosts a mini waterfall and river inside) - hehe...

Anyway, in just a few hours I shall be getting a night bus to Bs As where I think I'm going to relax and potentially meet up with a few Argentinians (or 'Porteños') that I met along the way. Hopefully this will give me more of a chance to get to know the city better than at the beginning of my trip! With a few more steaks thrown in for good measure, of course.

• Pictures to all the above will follow when I find a decent computer...

Once settled in my hostel in Miraflores, Lima, I contacted a Peruvian friend, Clarissa, who I'd met whilst working in France. She very kindly organised a few things in order to show me the best parts of Lima. What's more, is that she involved her family which made the first day all the more enjoyable, and a truly authentic experience. All in all, we ate out a few times, trying a range of dishes (all delicious), visited the main Governmental Palace in Central Lima, had a few drinks (both with her family and later some friends), and saw a few other sights. Thanks so much Clarissa (and also your family) for putting so much effort into those couple of days, and making me feel welcome / Peruvian!

Before leaving Lima, I contacted a volunteering organisation that I had previously found online, located in Pisco - just 4 hours from Lima. Following the 7.9 earthquake in August 2007, Pisco Sin Fronteras (Pisco Without Borders) was started with the aim of helping the community rebuild their houses and amenities. In particular, the organisation helps those who can't afford to pay for manual labour, given the limited financial aid from the government (cost of materials has also soared in recent months/years). So after this had been confirmed, I made my way to Pisco by bus on Sunday, and managed to get to the house by the evening, just in time to meet the crew and head out for a quick Chinese (very popular in Peru)!

Monday was the first day of work, and I went to help with some concrete pouring for a house. This involved the mixing, carrying (wheelbarrows) and pouring. It was very physical work, but quite rewarding when by the second day we had put up some decent walls / foundations, with it really taking shape.

For the third, fourth and fifth days, those of us from the cement pour went to help the others at a local school that is being rebuilt / reconditioned. There were a variety of tasks (replacing roofs, digging holes for installing bamboo rods, painting, general tidying, and most importantly building a play area of sand (through sifting a LOT of stoney/shelly sand), frames/swings, and a shade tarpaulin). As it was opening on the following monday, we all made a concerted effort, and it started to look pretty decent by the friday (but still a little incomplete!).

One continuous problem, however was the PSF van, which decided to stop starting about mid-week, and there were countless times where we needed to push start it.... (with several, tiring attempts each time!) Pisco made me appreciate a lot of things!

After the week's work, a few of us went to the nearby Islas Ballestas by boat on the saturday morning. Here there were all sorts of animals: pelicans; penguins; sea-lions (and pups); huge jellyfish; rare birds; etc. And in addition, a huge Candelabra geoglyph (sand carving on a hillside) on the way to the island was quite impressive (equally puzzling as to its meaning/significance as the Nazca Lines).

Later that day, practically the whole of the Pisco Sin Fronteras team (including myself) went to a place called Huacachina, famous for its Oasis in the middle of the dessert (/sand dunes). It is known as a place to relax, but more importantly as a place to do sandboarding and buggying! Before doing this though, we went on a tour of two wineries that made (sweet) wine and the Peruvian spirit, Pisco, which could have been better, but was still quite fun. As for the sandboarding/buggying though, it really was amazing fun... and I didn't break anything! (I had a few aches the next day though, of course.)

After this, I chilled out at the poolside for another day, and then made my way to Arequipa, Peru's 'ciudad blanca' (white, colonial city) - as Sucre was in Bolivia. More on that to follow... Hasta luego!

So after a few days at Copacabana, I took the bus to Puno (Peru). Along the way, I found somewhere in my guide book that I had been advised to go to, if I had time - which I felt I had. So after working out the logistics of it during the bus journey I made my way to a small fishing / farming village called Llachón, of approx. 1300 people, on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca.

To get there, I had to take two 'colectivos' (small mini-vans with as many packed into it as possible), where I (the gringo) became a very popular talking point both directly and indirectly! When arriving in Llachón, I attempted to find Señor Mariano Choque Maman on the advice of Cora, but he wasn't due back for another 1-2 hours - so I was directed to a nearby alternative. And so I ended up staying in a farming/artisanal family's house who had recently started offering tourist accomodation (just the one room, two beds). They were all so friendly, and the location so beautiful, that I stayed two nights with little more to do that read, go on local walks and talk to local workers (and sometimes help them), and occasionally help out at the house. It was another experience I shall never forget, due to being so different from my typical hostel-stay in a sizeable city, and the fact that living was so basic - but 'complete' - there.

From here I moved on to Cusco (Cuzco) in preparation for Machu Picchu. Unfortunately it was raining upon my arrival, and it didn't improve much for a while (it was wet season though). When it eventually lightened up, I ventured out and saw how beautiful the architectural colonial-Inca mixture was. Three water-balloon fights (a national february festival) of gringos vs. locals, and a few museums later, I really got to know and like this city.

As for Machu Picchu, given that it was wet season and almost guaranteed rain for the foreseeable future, I decided not to do an alternative trek (THE Inca Trail is closed in February for its annual clean-up). Instead, I did what a lot of people do, which is to go to Aguas Calientes by train/colectivo, a tourist stop-off before walking/busing up to Machu Picchu. I did the trip from Cusco with a Californian guy from the hostel, which was cool, but moreover we somehow decided to go in search of the local speciality Cuy al Horno (Guinea Pig) and actually went ahead with it! Despite the slight rodent smell, it tasted much like Chicken, and went down rather well - but the lingering smell was enough to make me decide not go for it again since!

On the day of going up to MP (5am), it was raining so much that we got the bus up, and could barely see anything for a good few hours due to the low fog. We did, however, manage to get a ticket (a maximum of 400 people) for Huayna Picchu (the adjacent mountain overlooking MP), which had all been allocated by 6.45am! Fortunately it started clearing up a little, and when we went up Huayna Picchu there were a few breaks in the fog, giving us some fantastic viewpoints. Although there was no sun until mid-afternoon (when we headed to the exit) we still saw a lot of the site and it was incomparably impressive. At the end, we walked down and then flopped back at the hotel sofas before taking our train and colectivo back to Cusco.

After another night in Cusco I left for Lima by bus (21 hours), the most Northern point of my trip (but on a very comfortable bus).

After the epic trip to Uyuni, I moved on to Potosí with a couple of other guys. Potosí was once an incredibly wealthy and important town, back in the day, due to its natural (mining) resources and central location of the Mint (where all Bolivian coins were produced). It still has its mining industry, but has since lost its national importance and is now a relatively poor city. Unknowingly, we had actually arrived on the first day of their two-day, annual miner's festival. Each of the different mining co-operatives dress up and play music throughout the streets, while both themselves and passers-by throw hundreds of water balloons and spray foam at each other. It was such a fantastic atmosphere, that we stuck around to watch a bit; we soon came to realise though that 'gringos' (white foreigners, i.e. us) become an instant target in the great water balloon affair! Once hit a few times, the human instinct to retaliate surfaced and we found ourselves buying bags of water balloons and joining in! We quickly felt a part of it all, and it was just fantastic.

In between the usual resting, reading, planning, eating out, etc., we visited the Mint museum (very interesting), and booked ourselves into a mine tour. Morals entered the equation as you visit the mines whilst miners are at work, but you do buy presents to give to the miners (soft drinks, coca leaves, cigarettes, dynamite, and more!) which partially relieves the sense of immorality. It gives you such an insight into how hard life is there (also noting the average life expectancy of 42-45).

We then moved on from Potosí to Sucre, not by bus but by taxi, as it cost us just 4 pounds each for the 2.5hr journey as opposed to 2 pounds by bus! This was a lovely city, with colonial buildings all painted in white, from which comes its name of "la ciudad blanca" ("the white city"). We spent 3 days here in total, but most of the time I was recovering from some form of stomach bug and headache (food poisoning?). I still enjoyed it, and also met a couple through one of the guys I was with, who I have since met randomly at various points along the trip!

From Sucre, my plan was to go to Cochabamba and possibly the surrounding jungle area, but I discovered that just a few weeks before a 'sanitary emergency' for Dengue Fever had been declared in Santa Cruz, Cochambamba, and other areas near the jungle. Because of this, I decided to go straight to La Paz instead (highest capital city in the world) and spend a little more time around the Peruvian border, and in Peru. Although nice to be back in a city, La Paz was big, polluted, and not overly interesting - much like any major city, just a lot higher. While based in La Paz, I managed to visit some pre-inca ruins (Tiwanaka) on a day trip, but more importantly I did a bike descent on the infamous 'death road' ('el camino de la muerte'), which was amazing! (My initial plan to be relatively cautious / slow was quite short-lived..)

My next stop was Copacabana, a small town located on the beautiful Lake Titicaca, where I spent two nights and two pretty chilled-out days. The only strenuous part of the trip was a day trip to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) where a few of us walked from the north port to the south port on a high and undulating path, taking approximately 3-4hrs! We also had an unexpected visit to the floating islands, which were quite cool but incredibly touristy. All in all, the tranquility coupled with some really memorable sunsets resulted in the decision to spend a few more days at another, far smaller location along Lake Titicaca once I had crossed the Peruvian border (to be continued...).

Once across the Bolivian border at Villazón and getting some local currency, I caught a 2.5hr bus from there to a place called Tupiza. This is recognised as a nicer place to stay than Villazón, and good as a departure point for trips to the Bolivian salt flats (Salar de Uyuni). Crossing Bolivia has already benefited my wallet, and is continuing to do so; the initial bus was just 20 bolivianos, or 2 pounds, and my accommodation in Tupiza a meagre 4 pounds per night (inc. breakfast) !

My second day in Tupiza was rather impulsive, as I met an English guy at breakfast who was off to do a day of activities with a few others (visiting isolate and pretty nearby areas by jeep, then similar visits but by horseback, and finally a fairly lengthy descent by bike from a nearby mountain). He invited me along, and I'm extremely glad I accepted as it was a truly fantastic way of seeing Tupiza, from many different angles. I subsequently decided to book a 4-day trip for the next day to the well-known Salar de Uyuni (expansive salt flats), preceded by many other places of interest in the first 3 days.

The start to this trip proved truly unique, as we first picked up the driver's brother so that the driver could get natural remedies from the mountainous areas and take it to their mother who was ill (despite initially dismissing this as a way for him to have a free ride out, it actually turned out to be true and the brother took over for the entire trip). What's more is that on the initial ascent, we came across a Gaucho (mountain person) who looked pleadingly at us for a lift to her final destination, which we did. During these 20 minutes, we discovered that she had started walking from Tupiza at 5am that morning, making it 5hrs until we picked her up.

We then proceded through some beautiful scenery, including some really interesting rock formations and landscapes, arriving many hours later at San Antonio de Lipez. This was our stop for the night, and we were promptly visited by the village's curious (yet fearless) children, who sold us all hand-made bracelets and then persuaded us to play basketball with them! (Embarassingly, they beat us about 20-16 - our excuse was a lack of adjustment to the altitude of about 4000m!) A delicious meal and early night were in store for us, before waking up at 4.30am the next day to make headway to our next destinations!

On the second day we saw some beautiful green, white, and normal lakes with flamingos, and other wildlife nearby. This was followed by a trip to the Aguas Calientes (hot thermal springs) where we bathed for some time before lunch. This was beautiful as it overlooked a vast landscape of pure isolation and tranquility. The rest of the day including going past the Desierto de Dali (Dali desert, due to its resemblance to his work), which was relatively unexciting, and then onto some geysers at high altitude (5000m) which were slightly more fun (but stinky, due to the sulphur)! That night we stopped at a different location for our accommodation, but a truly different experience. We enjoyed stone beds (with a thin mattress on top) and just 2-3 hours of light and electricity. We were fully prepared for this though, and the accommodation during the trip started to become the more enjoyable and memorable parts of the trip.

Our third day took us to the beautiful Laguna Colorada (Coloured Lake/Lagoon), which had a variety of colours (with red being the most prominent) due to the reflection of nearby landscapes (with more flamingos), and also near various volcanoes. From then on, the day certainly became less predictable, but consequently slightly more interesting too! First, we took a different route to the one planned, encountering one dead-end due to it being an old - but active - minefield; then we encountered a second dead end because we went along the wrong side of the mini Salar (smaller salt lakes); and finally, we ended up at the Chilean border (and customs), which was far more West than we had planned on going! We eventually got through and promptly back into Bolivia to have our picnic lunch in what seemed like a dessert (!). We then got back on route and, after filling up with petrol in the middle of nowhere and buying some more off a passing 4x4 (also doing a tour), got to our accommodation. It was a long but eventful day, with some added novelty in our final night of accommodation where we stayed in a 'salt hotel' - with the walls, bed bases, floors, tables and stools, (i.e. almost everything) all being made from pure salt. Fortunately, we were able to take a shower (and a small cost of 5 bolivianos, or 50p) - the first of the trip! The same shortage of electricity meant 2hrs of light and electricity, with it cutting out just while we were in the bathrooms just before bed - what Bolivian larks!

The final day was the climax of the trip, with the immensely vast salt flats, which go on for miles and miles, something which cannot be conveyed in words. Many photographs later (using the vast white background for comical pictures, playing on the distance and proportion of people/objects), we headed for lunch and soon after parted ways in the small town/village of Uyuni. The plan is now to stay here for one night (3 quid for a single bed, sharing with an English guy from the initial activity day in Tupiza and Uyuni tour), and then get a bus tomorrow to Potosí, the world's highest city. All very exciting and eye-opening, which will likely result in me spending more time in Bolivia than originally planned! Such a fantastic country, with nearly everyone being incredibly friendly and open. Sorry for yet another long post, but it is somewhat justified in my mind!