Fiesta del Senor de Choquekillca - Ollantaytambo

We had been told a lot about the Fiesta del Senor de Choquekillca. But as always it´s best to see things with your own eyes. And it has been a great experience. 4 days of dance, food and lots of drinks...

It started on Friday with drinkies and meeting Miguel´s dance group: Q´apac Negro. Their dance is about celebrating the freedom of the slaves. There are 15 different groups and they all have a different dance which they perform for about 4 days. On the first day they all danced at the Plaza. First they took the cross of Choquekillca in a procession to the church at the Plaza and for 4 nights the groups had to hold a wake in honour of the Senor. Every group has a certain time at night at which they dance in front of the church and serve food to the people watching.

On Saturday we went to Mass first (something we´ve not done in a while!) and afterwards there was another procession to the church. After lunch (almuerzo) we had a great party at our ´cargo´. A cargo is the place where every group is hosted over the four days. All their meals are cooked and served here and it houses over 80 crates of beer. Usually the groups asks a family if they can use their house to organise the fiesta. And the family probably gets paid for this. There are lots of tables at the cargo and a huge earth oven in which they prepare most of the meals. A band played the whole evening and lots of people came over to celebrate. And some of them even brougth more drinks. Because it was the first real night out we decided to go to bed early. You´ve gotta pace yourself, right?

On Sunday the Mass at 10:00 was so busy a lot of people couldn´t get in church. After lunch it was time to pay all the other groups a visit at their cargo. The funny thing about this is that every group is on its way to visit a cargo but will never be at their own cargo when a different group comes to visit. At these visits they perform their dance and then everyone gets a meal and drinks, usually beer. On the way to every cargo the group tries to bring other people to the next cargo by just taking them by their arms and dancing with them so they will follow. And since there are 14 other cargos to visit you can imagine we had a lot of drinks at the end of the day. Not too drunk but nicely pissed...

On Monday we had a late breakfast on the Plaza (boiled eggs and poteatoes in a spicy sauce) and were told that the rest of the party that day would be at a place outside of town. There´s a chapel (where a vision happened) and they take the cross with Choquekillca. They hold horse races where everyone gets the chance to win a chicken by trying to grab the dangling corn on a wire while riding a horse. The whole town goes to visit this sacred place so that the town of Ollantay was practically deserted, except for a few tourists and the shop owners. Also here all the dance groups share their food with all the invited people (tourists, friends). They first offer the dishes, aminly roasted guine pig and chicken, to Choquekillca after which they share them. All the groups perform their dances and afterwards there was a huge fireworks display in the evening and then they all take the cross in a procession back to town (about 2 hours walk, its not very far but they go reeeeaaaalllly slowly). When they arrive at the plaza they bring the cross back to the church and then the real party starts. There´s a stage with several bands playing and numerous crates of beers are lined up, waiting to be emptied. And there was lots of drinking... and some dirty meat on a stick.

It has been a very interesting experience. The Fiesta is a mixture of catholicism and old Inca traditions. Especially the way the group included us in every party and everywhere they went. Hospitality is something they treasure very well in Ollantaytambo. And it has been an eyeopener how they prepare food for more than 50 persons. What a mission! It´s also a rewarding fact when kids from my former school come to greet me. Mostly I couldn´t remember their names, but they hadn´t forgotten me! Cool!

Now it´s nearly time to fly back to Europe. Friday we take the night bus to Lima and then next week on Tuesday we fly to Madrid...

England here we come!

Adios amigos!

Cusco - Puno - Copacabana - Puno - Arequipa - Cusco

We left Ollantaytambo after 6 wonderful weeks to visit Puno and Arequipa. Because we got stranded in La Paz the first time we planned to visit Lake Titicaca now. And Emma´s visa was expired so we had to hop over the border which was also very convenient. 

We headed to Puno to get our bus to Copacabana, Bolivia. Before we arrived in Puno we noticed that our videophone had been stolen. We guess it was one of these guys that entered the bus in Cusco and got off again. The bus company was not a very good one... The chairs didn´t work. (We booked ´cama´ bus but that obviously wasn´t true) So when we arrived in Puno I went to the local Touristic Police Office and had a report made so we can  send it to our insurance company.  The person who stole it  can´t use it anyway because the language was set in Dutch. Ha! We got our bus to Copacabana and when we arrived we booked into a Hotel (Mirador) at the lake. Our room had lakeview but all in all we figured that the hotel just had changed owner and that they were still doing renovations. We had a nice room so that was all good. Copacabana is cool. You notice it is Bolivia but in a way it looks very Peruvian too. A lot of restaurants and shops make it a bit touristy but we had a good time. We went to see Isla del Sol where we did a 3,5 hours walk. When you have seen Machu Picchu Isla del Sol isn´t very exciting but it was a nice trip. The boat trip to and from the island takes about 2 hours tho, which I thought was a bit much. Time goes slowly on water...

 

After 2 days Copacabana we went back to Puno. We wanted to visit the floating islands and Taquila. Puno is cold at night, very cold... During the day when the sun is out it is nice and warm but in the shade it can be really cold... We had a very nice hostel with hot showers. A lot of people say Puno isn´t very exciting but we think it´s not too bad. It has good restaurants where you can eat lovely meals, but also tiny restaurants where we had a Menu del Dia (for 2 to 4 pounds per person) that served a good menu. The trip to the floating islands was amazing. It´s strange when you see how tiny the islands actually are. And every island has its own president! About 5 to 6 families are living on each island and all transport has to be done by boats. We where wondering how people actually meet at these islands. (Are there special singles meetings being held?) After the sialnds we headed towards Taquila. This island has a strange story. It was bought by a rich Spaniard who kind of made all the rules as well. The people on the island don´t pay taxes to the country but instead they have a regular payment to the island itself. By the hats you can tell whether people are married or not and man are supposed to be good knitters. When you want to ask a girl for her hand you have to ask her dad first and he checks how well you knitted your hat by pouring water into it. When it leaks you have to try again. Strange customs... The island itself isn´t shocking, it´s just the way they live that makes it interesting. And to be honest the walk on the island is done too quickly. I would have rather spent more time at the floating islands. And like the boat trip to Isla del Sol this trip was again a bit too long.

 

After 3 nights Puno we headed towards Arequipa. And what a change! First the climate is so much nicer. During the day it can get really hot and in the evenings it doesn´t get cold. The city centre looks very pretty with the Plaza and the 3 mountains and vulcanos in the background. Arequipa even has a pedestrian zone. Although Arequipa is much bigger than Cusco it doesn´t has that hectic feeling. The taxis honk much less than in Cusco. But whereas Cusco has a lot of visible Inca history in the city Arequipa doesn´t. It looks a kind Spanish which would make sence because they builded the city. We decided to stay a bit longer in Arequip to relax and head back to Cusco just before the Fiesta in Ollantaytambo starts. 6 days of relaxing has been really nice...

Now we are back in Ollantaytambo. We have been invited by our host family to visit the Fiesta del Senor de Choquekillca. We can´t exactly explain what it really is but it is all about 4 days of dance, drinks and food. We will surely be able to tell you more about it in a week or so!

And more sadly... We almost have come to the end of our long journey. On June 2nd we will be flying from Lima to Madrid and then to London. We already have been looking in to places to live at Birghton. And in the tab Brighton at the top we will update you all about that new adventure!

So long!

Machu Picchu Inca Trail Itinerary

Because the Inca Trail has been such an interesting event we decided to put the itinerary on our blog, so everyone can see what we´ve done:

 Day 1: Cusco to Wayllabamba (12 km hike)

The first day of the Trail is relatively easy and just serves for training for the days to follow. We got picked up from our hostel in Cusco very early (06:00!) and travelled through the villages of Chincero, Urubamba and Ollantaytambo, where we had the possibility to have breakfast. Having arrived at km82 we crossed the Vilcanota River we followed the trail as it climbed steeply up from the river. After passing through a small village, the ruins of the Inca hillfort of Huillca Raccay came into view high above the mouth of the river Cusichaca. From this point on it started to rain for the rest of the day. The Inca´s, when conquered the area, built a fort here since the site commanded an excellent view up and down the Urubamba valley and controlled the entrance to the Cusichanca valley. After this point it was a sinmple descent down to Cusichaca River where we had our lunch. After  lunch we had a greta view over the extensive Inca ruins Llactapata (also known as Patallacta). Llactapata means ´uppr town´ in Quechua and was first discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911 and was primarily an agricultural station used to supply Machu Picchu with maize, the staple crop of the Inca´s. The settlement comprised over 100 buildings, houses for workers and soldiers and even 5 baths. For a further 7 km the path follows the left bank of the river up to the small village of Wayllabamba (3000 m). The name in Quchua means ´grassy plain´. We camped here close to the ruins and arrived in a heavy rain. The porters had run ahead to make prepare the camp and at dinner we were positively surprised by the meal the cook had prepared.

Day 2: Wayllabamba to Pacamayo (12km hike)

This was said to be the hardest day of the Trail. Climbing up from Wayllabamba following the left bank of the Llulluchayoc River for about an hour the path brought us to ´Tres Piedres´ (Three Stones) and a small bridge over the Huayruro River. The stream is named after the Huayruro, which is an ornamental tree. Its seeds are red and black. A little bit further we entered a beautiful cloud forest passing a waterfall. A further 3 hours track trhough steepening woods and increasingly spectacular terrain brought us to the treeline and a meadow known as Llulluchapampa (3680 m). Here we had our lunch. After this we had another 1,5 hours climb to the first and highest pass of the trail (Abra de Huarmihuañusca od ´Dead Woman´s pass) at 4200 m. During this part of the trail it got really steep and we had to stop every 5 to 10 mintues to get some air into our lungs. The altitude was playing its role... When we got to the top a freezing wind welcomed us to a very rewarding view over the most difficult section of the track. The decent from the pass down was steep although not difficult, following the trail to the valley and our 2nd night´s campsite at Pacamayo (3600 m)

Day 3: Pacamayo to Wiñay Wayna (15 km hike)

From Pacamayo it took about an hour to climb up to the ruins of Runkuracay. These small circular ruins occupy a commanding position overlooking the Pacamayo Valley below. Another 45 minute hike brought us to the top of the second pass: Abra de Runkuracay (4000 m). At last we felt we were walking along the trail of the Inca´s with paving, for the most part, being original. The descent again was very steep. The section of the trail, up till the 3rd pass, was particularly beautiful as the path crossed high stone embankments. After about 1 hour from the 2nd pass we arrived at Sayacmarca by way of a superbly designed stone staircase. The name Sayacmarca means ´Inaccesible Town´ and describes the position of the ruins perfectly. protected on three sides by sheer cliffs. The trail also passes Conchamarca, a small Inca dwelling situated in the shadows of Sayacmarca, which was possibly a tambo (resting place) for weary travelers on their way to Machu Picchu. From then on the path descended into a magnificent cloud forest full of orchids, hanging mosses, tree ferns and flowers, passing through an impressive Inca tunnel, carved into rock. The trail then climbed up to the 3rd pass (3700 m). The view from this pass normally offers excellent views of several snow-capped peaks including Salkantay (6180 m) and Veronica (5750 m). But since the afternoon has started very cloudy and foggy we didn´t have the opportunity to see it... A few minutes after the pass we arrived at Phuyupatamarca, the most impressive Inca ruin so far. It means ´Town in the Clouds´ and for this day that was certainly true! Acces to the ruins is down a very steep flight of stairs passing six Inca baths probably used for the ritual worship of water. Leaving the site via an impressive Inca staircase from the west side of the ruins we descended a thousand or so steps. After about an hour walking of through a cloud forest we could see our next campsite: Wiñay Wayna, but it would take us another 2 hours to get there. Wiñay Wayna is the last official campsite before Machu Picchu. It had a restaurant (beer!) and even hot showers and toilets. A short trail leaves from the southern part of the site to the ruins of Wiñay Wayna. In Quechua it means ´Forever Young´ and is named after a variety of pink orchids which grows here. The ruins comprise magnificent agricultural terraces set in an amazing location.

Day 4: Wiñay Wayna to Machu Picchu (5km) and return to Cusco

In the early morning (05:30!) we headed to the final control post before Machu Picchu. We wanted to reach the sungate early to enjoy the excellent view over Machu Picchu as the sun rises over the ruins. The trail contoured a mountain side and drops into cloud forests before coming to an almost vertical flight of ´only´ 50 steps leading to the final pass at Intipunku (Sun Gate). Suddenly the whole of Machu Picchu was spread out before us... After enjoying sunrise over the ruins we walked down to Machu Picchu itself: the Watchman´s hut from where we had the same view as on the famous picture of the postcard. We went into the city and had a tour for about 2 hours before having some time on ourselves in the ruins. The day before arriving at Machu Picchu I asked the guide for a ticket to Huayna Picchu but after seeing how steep it was and hearing about their insurance policy I decided not to go there. After our stay at the site we went down to Agua Calientes by bus where we had a group lunch at a restaurant. After lunch the guide took us to the train station from where we would go to km82 again by train to catch a bus to Cusco.

It has been an unforgettable experience...

Machu Picchu

Last Monday we got back in Cusco from our 4 days Inca Trail walk. For two days I have been thinking what impression this hike has given me. I find it very hard to describe what Machu Picchu does to your emotions. It is impossible to write down in words for me. It has been an unforgettable experience. And since I always used to find my answers in music I decided to let the music speak for me:

6 Weeks Voluntary Work at Ollantaytambo

Well... Our 6 weeks voluntary work in Ollantaytambo have come to an end. We are back in Cusco and are preparing ourselves for Machu Picchu!

The 6 weeks have gone very quickly. It is amazing howe welcome and home I have felt during these weeks. Since we started working at the schools a lot of kids recognised us on the streets and in shops and I never thought it would be that rewarding. The first school I started at turned out to be a bit of hard to work at. There was no support of teachers at all. And with classes of 30 to 40 kids that makes it very hard to control them all... The teachers were supposed to help in class but all of them seemed more interested in their free time. So after 5 days of hard work I decided to stop at this scholl and make switch to a different one. The ´collegio´ needed a PE teacher very badly and the support from the head master and staff were very helpfull. So from 8.00 to 13.45 I have been teaching 12 classes per week with Tuesdays as a day off, so 3 grades per day. The ages varied from 10 to 17 years old with the remark that it is possible in Peru to be 15 years old and still be in 2nd grade. You fluke, you do it again! I have enjoyed working with youngsters. It reminded me of the time when I was a leader at Jong Nederland in the 90´s. Some of the kids can be a real pain in the ass but most of them were really cool. And since I was the only teacher they were aloud to call by the first name it created a more personal relationships with the students. Most teachers are called ´profe´ or ´professora´. I prefer the personal aproach, which led to a lot of chit chats with the students. And since I came to Ollantaytambo in the first place to teach some serious football I had a sort of Football Masterclass every Tuesday and Thursday in the stadium from 15.00 to 17.00. About 20 to 25 kids would turn up and I would show them some basics of the game like passing and kicking a ball to combinations and gameplay. The only problem was that Awamaki didn´t really have the materials to do a decent training. From week 4 onwards I was able to do a proper shoot out or gameplay. And the kids really loved it! Some of them I already knew from the ´collegio´ and some of them were new or were from a different area. I found out that some kids had to walk 1 to 2 hours to make it to the training! What a dedication... And that means that in the mornings they also had to walk the same distance to go to school. At Thursdays after school the teachers would play a match of football against the students which I found a bit strange to witness. It reminded me of that movie were the prisoners play a match of rugby against the guards of a prison. Whatever the kids did to try to score a goal they got overruled by the teachers. A bit unfair in my opinion... A funny fact to share is the next one: I have become the godfather of the local collegio´s team, also called The Estudiantes. The head master asked me if I could coach them in the competition. So at the first match I had to baptise the shirts with Inka Kola in good Inca tradition for good luck. And then he asked me if I would like to become the godfather of the team. Well, what an honour!

Ollantaytambo is a small village that mainly depends on the heavy stream of tourists every day going to Machu Picchu. Every morning lots of buses arrive in town for breakfast and in the late afternoon they come back to go to Cusco again. Ollantaytambo is the first town of the so called Sacred Valley. A bit further on the road is the wellknown 82km point from where the famous Inca Trail starts. The main roads ends and lots of tourists make their way on the 4 day hike to Machu Picchu. Ollantaytambo also has a train station but since the massive flooding early this year they closed the railway for repairs. And they don´t really know when it will open again. We also did some hiking in the area. There are lots of tracks from 1 day to 6 days tracks. We went to see Pumamarca, a 5 hours walk, and went to see the ancient Inca quarry Canteras. There are still big rocks that are ready to be moved to Ollantaytambo for construction but never made it there because the Spanish Conquistadores came and killed lots of people working at the quarry. Some skeletons are still visible in a cave at Canteras. But everywhere you go the views are so stunning. The Andes have such an impact on everything that happens at the Sacred Valley. Before I arrived in Peru I already had a great interest in the Inca culture but since I have seen what they manage to build and create my admiration for the Incas has only grown bigger. Go and see for yourselves!

Our host family has treated us wonderfully. We have become good friends with them and I think the match worked out very well. Miguel and Zeneyda have 2 restaurants in town and during the day they are either busy with their businesses or with Awamaki. Sometimes the mother of Miguel would make our lunch or dinner because they were off to Urubamba or being busy with other things. The meals varied from quick restaurant food to proper Peruvian dishes like Chicheron with a Chicha Morada (purple corn) drink which they prepared freshly. One week we had a massive 12 dishes meal. This was the Semana Santa and for every discipel of Christ they had a dish. In that week I went to see a procession at night to the top of the ruins. It was impressive to see the ruins at night and the view from the top was breathtaking. The nice thing about staying in a family is you get to know all their brothers and sisters too. One day the ´abuela´ (Miguels´ mother) had her birthday and we went to her B-Day party and met a lot of the rest of the family. And one of their nephews Gustavio was a student at the ´collegio´ so I saw him regurlarly. Zeneyda´s father also has a shop at the plaza, which Miguel actually would like to convert into another restaurant. In general he is a busy person with his activities at Awamaki, besides the two restaurants. And then again, he would like to open a hotel in town... He told us he has connections with National Geographic. Every year they have 2 groups of about 30 persons coming to Ollantaytambo for which he organises everything, from tours to stays and dinners. He is a very relaxed person. I never saw him angry or stressed out. The only time he was upset was when one of his dogs got poisened. Drago was the King of the Plaza. He ruled over all the other dogs. But funny enough he was a very kind dog. He reminded me of Jimmy, the dog in The Valley, New Zealand. He had the same attitude. Together with Fido, the other dog of Miguel, he would walk us to school and even when we would go out at night for a drink he would accompany us to the bar and wait for us at the door to join us when we would go back home. Incredible! I miss my dog!!!!

My time in Ollantaytambo has been a valuable experience. Since we left Holland and the UK last year I haven´t felt anything like this. It feels weird not to be there anymore, although we will go back for the Pentecoste festival. This will be in the end of May and means 4 days of drinking, eating and dancing... We will see!

For now I can only say: Machu Picchu here we come!

Adios amigos!

Ray

Milk and masculinity

To show the importance of milk some guys from Awamaki created this video. Enjoy!

Cusco - Qusqu (in Quechua)

Following a rough night at La Paz airport, we were collected from Cusco airport and taken to our hostel to be greeted by incredibly friendly staff who served us mate de Coca tea to make sure we didn't suffer from altitude sickness.  After finding a particularly good restaurant and eating some marvelous food we went straight to bed.  The next day we were collected bright and early by Yvonne, a member of our host family and she took us to her flat which would be our home for the next week. We met Yolanda, the mother of the family and got another cup of Mate de Coca. Yolanda lives with her 14 year old son Yomar and Yvonne (Yomar's godmother) has been living there temporarily since October.  On Saturday we did a city tour where we visited the huge cathedral and three ruins around Cusco, Sacsayhuaman, Tambomachay, Qenko and the remains of the old Inca Sun temple Qorikancha. One day we hired a taxi for a morning and visited Tipon and Pikillacta, the remains of a civilisation before the Inca empire took over the area. On the way back from Pikillacta we saw a village that was partly destroyed by the heavy floodings. Lots of people were living in tents or what looked like tents. It looked really sad... We also drove through the town that makes the biggest loaves of bread and the town witha  local speciality: the cuy! (guinea pig).

Every day we walked into town and visited various museums, churches and convents, chilled out on the plaza and browsed the shops,  then we went back to the apartment for a big lunch and then headed to the Spanish school for lessons from 3.30 to 7.30. We have two teachers, one for grammar and the other for conversation.  They are both lovely and we feel we are making lots of progress.  In the evenings we stayed in and watch Avatar together or went out and ate pizza for Yomars´ birthday.  After our last lesson we got a taxi to Ollantaytambo even though we were repeatedly assured there would be collectivos (minibuses) going, they decided to pull the service due to a lack of tourists. But hey, all is better than the transport in Bolivia... So we took a taxi and arrived late in Ollantaytambo. We had no absolutely idea how it would look like in the morning. We only saw the high mountain peakes...

La Paz, Bolivia

It has been a while since we updated our website but today we have some spare time...

From Sucre we took a bus to La Paz. This time we decided to book a ´cama´ bus, which means you can adjust your chairs to an almost horizontal position. Nice one! The bus ride took less time than we expected so we arrived a bit earlier in La Paz. The hostel was said to be very close to the bus terminal, but it still took us a while to find it. The directions given were not very clear... When we finally got there we met Michelle and Cedric at the front door of the hostel. They were on the same bus trip to the Atacama Desert in Chile. At the hostel we first had a breakfast before checking in. The hostel is great: an all you can eat pancake breakfast and mate (herbal) tea.

Each day we walked around different districts. The streets are often steep and narrow and everywhere they are selling stuff in little kiosks on the streets. We visited the cathedral and the coca musem, which was really interesting and surprisingly informative. On the first evening we had a wonderful dinner at a steakhouse where Emma had her first llama steak. She absolutely loved it. The next day we planned a day trip to Tiahuanaco, an old Inca temple. Packed in the minibus like sardines in a can we headed towards Tiahuanaco. When we reached the upper ridge of the valley we could see how big La Paz actually is. An amazing view...

When we got to the village we got off the bus and walked the last kilometer to the site of the temple. When we entered the archeological site we noticed the presence of lots of soldiers. After asking one of them what is was for we discovered the president Evo Morales was paying a visit to the site. He is following us around our trip! We saw him landing in his helicopter and doing a speech for lots of indigenous people. After he left we had lots of time to explore the site. And it is a truly amazing place. All the time I tried to imagine how it would have looked like at the time of the Inca´s. The only minor thing was , in my opinion, that they moved the sungate. It used to be in a straight line with a monolite and the main gate. After we visited the site we had a look at the different museums near the site. On our way back in the return bus we noticed how often the drivers honk. Honking can mean "Get outta my way!" or "I´m coming round a blind corner, watch out!" or "Hey anyone need a ride?" or maybe they are just compulsive honkers?

Because we had to get to Cusco for our Spanish lessons we booked a bus trip to Puno for a visit to the famous floating islands at Lake Titicaca. On the day of our departure we got to the terminal and found out there was a taxi and bus strike for 3 days. Perfecto! We decided it would be worth a try to get a flight from La Paz airport to Cusco. We hopped into one of the remaining taxis and made our way to the airport. Since only 10% of the taxis work for an union the other 90% were on strike. (Afterwards we found out the strike was about a new law against drink and driving) We arrived at the airport and booked a flight to Cusco. But that would only be the next morning. So we had to wait at the airport for about 20 hours... And sleeping atLa Paz airport is one of the things I wouldn´t recommend to anyone. The airport is tiny and abandoned at night. The small group of people who had to stay the night joined up at one corner and tried to get some sleep. Emma eventually managedto get some sleep whereas I stayed awake all night and copleted half a Sudoko book.

Our trip to Puno and the famous islands probably has to wait until after our trip to Machu Picchu. The most striking thing we discovered in La Paz is the amount of cars, buses and trucks in the city. And because of all this traffic there is a smog in the centre for most of the day. 3 days of La Paz is certainly enough to see most of the places and not get killed by the fumes... But an amazing city it is!

Villazon - Sucre

Well... How to start... We had booked our trip to Sucre and it said it would take about 12 hours. We got on the bus at 17:00 and just as we left it started to rain. The road first was unsealed and muddy. There was a new road planned to be made and we could see the start of it because we were winding along it. As soon it got dark we put our seats in the resting position to relax. After about 3 hours we stopped at a river crossing. There were more vehicles queued up in front of us. Apparently the level of the water made all the vehicles cross with much care. So one after one they made their way through the water. Finally we made it and continued our way to Tupiza, our first stop. But before we arrived there was another river crossing ahead of us. But this time there where more vehicles waiting to cross. The trucks didn't seem to have much problems but the busses all waited patiently. At some point a PCB came to the rescue. It started putting rocks in the riverbed to make it easier for the buses to cross. This all took about 1 hour. At the moment when we crossed the river we could see how wide the river had become from all the rain water that had come down. When we finally made it to the other shore all the passengers started whistling and cheering. Guess the driver was a good one... When we arrived in Tupiza we were told that the local authorities decided that all traffic going to Sucre were not allowed to leave because of security reasons. All traffic would be allowed to leave at 6:00 in the morning. This meant that we had to stay in Tupiza and sleep in the bus (which we would have done anyway). But worse, we would arrive at Sucre about 9 hours later! The next day it turned out to be a 23 hours bus trip from Tupiza to Sucre. 

Sucre is a very beautiful city with lots of old buildings. The hostel was located close to the city center and there where lots of good restaurants and bars nearby. The next day we had a look in town center, at the Plaza des Armas. We also visited the Casa del Cultura where the official statement of the independence of Bolivia was signed. And as we decided to have a look at a market we noticed that something strange was going on at a government building. A lot of soldiers and security where placed around the building. We decided to wait and have a loko. When we asked a police officer what all the security was for he told us the president was coming to town. So we decided to meet Evo. After about 2 hours waiting he finally arrived. And the way he did reminded me of the reports on television: a lot of security agents helping him out of his car and leading him to the entrance. Since we had positioned ourselves close to the entrance of the building we got very close to him. And with close I mean about 1 meter away from him. I held my camera up to have some nice pictures of him but with all the people pushing it was hard to get a good shot. I managed to get 4 shots of Evo Morales entering the building, not bad for an amateur photographer.

In Sucre we got more adjusted to the hectic loife on the streets. Also crossing the streets is an art on itself. We just watched the locals doing it and started following them as they made their ways through the traffic. In Sucre we found some good place to have dinner. But when we wanted to visit some churches and museums we found out that on Saturday a lot of these buildings were shut. Sucre has a good atmosphere and the Plaza is always a good place to watch people.

Next stop on our trip is La Paz. We booked a cama bus (which means that the seats can go in an almost horizontal position) this time since our last experience wasn´t great. I am wondering what the altitude will do to us...

San Pedro de Atacama - Salta - Villazon

Ello!

The trip in Chile was great... Wonderful people, nice experiences and amazing memorable moments. We took the bus from San Pedro to Salta in Argentina, which would take about 12 hours. The trip was not too bad and didn´t seem to take that long. We crossed the Andes and we had great views. We even got coffee and little snacks on the way.  With the time difference we arrived earlier than we thought. We booked into Backpackers Soul and after a good sleep we went to see the city. It actually surprised me in a very positive way. The city has got a nice atmosphere. Lots of things happening and very different to Chile. Salta is very green and very humid compared to the dry heat in the desert of Atacama. And no dust!!! We wlked around the city and took the cable car to have a good look over the city. We rounded the day off with a good steak at the main square, Plaza des Armas. (All cities seem to have one!) We also booked our next bus trip to the border of Argentina and Bolivia with the idea of going to Sucre. Early in the morning we took the bus to La Quiaca, a small village at the border. When we got off the bus we noticed the difference with all the places we had visited before. A lot of activity on the streets, honking cars and a lot of people. We walked to the border and got our departure stamp. ("Where are you from?" 4 times!) After crossing the river we queued up to get our entry stamp in Villazon, Bolivia. . Not too bad! Then we walked to the Hostel and cobbled together some Spanish and checked in. Stayed in bed and watched football because of the heavy rain and thunderstorms. Finally we went out having a pizza in a tiny local eatery (I couldn´t call it a restaurant, but they did serve a big beer). Since the town has got no big touristic attractions we decided the next day to just walk around the market and watch the daily life passing by. Before catching our next bus to Sucre we had some lunch at a food stall close to the railway. It was chicken with rice and chips (there always seems to be at least 2 carbs in a Bolivian meal.) The lady deepfried it in open pans and we ate it squeezed on a bench with locals under an umbrella. Tasty experience!

Up to Sucre!

Chile Trip: Santiago - San Pedro de Atacama

As we mentioned in our last entry we did a trip to the Atacama Desert. On Saturday after we arrived we left with 12 others for this promising trip.

First we stopped in Pichidangui, a small village along the coast. It's a beach resort and only busy in summer. We had lunch here and had a look at the church and the small harbour. The next stop was La Serena and this is one of Chile's oldest cities, founded in 1544. La Serena was also our first overnight stop. The hostel was not too bad, but compared with New Zealand standards it looked a bit cheap. The next day we left early for a 500 km drive to Bahia Inglesa. First we stopped at Punta de Choros, a small fishermen's village. From there we took a 2,5 hours guided boat tour to the National Reserve Pinguino de Humboldt, formed by three islands. We had a wonderful tour around one of the islands and spotted a lot of pinguins, sealions and seals. We also saw some dolphins and even a sea otter. The cliffs were covered with bird poo and looked white, compared to the usual dark colour. At one of the islands we got off the boat for a lunch, which we had prepared that morning. After this boat tour we went to Bahia Inglesa, which is also known as English Bay after an English pirate who arrived at the bay in 1687. It's very busy in summer but in winter it's almost deserted. We stayed at a camp site close to the beach, in shared cabins for 5 persons. But we only saw the views the next morning since we arrived in the dark. We stayed at Bahia Inglesa for 2 nights.

On day 3 of the trip we left in the afternoon to have lunch in Caldera at Empanadapolis, a very popular restaurant well known for their empanadas and in the evening we had an absolute brilliant BBQ. We had to buy the drinks and the travelling agency would provide the food. Absolutely great! The next day we headed towards Antofagasta crossing the driest part of the Atacama Desert, where some meteorological stations have never registered any rain for about 50 years! Just before we arrived in Antofagasta we stopped at the old cemetery of Oficina Chile, one of the many abandoned nitrate mining operations that were the main source of income of the country during the second half of the 19th century. This was a very bizarre experience. In the middle of nowhere there is a cemetery with graves half open... We saw a skeleton of a woman with the skin still on the skull and the ear still there. Just bizarre! Further on we stopped at the Mano del Desierto or the hand of the desert, a sculpture made by an artist in 1992. Unfortunately the hand gets graffited from time to time but it was still worth the stop.

Antofagasta was our 3rd overnight stop and is Chile's 5th largest populated city and the main urban centre in the desert. It's one of the primary Chilean ports, linked with Bolivia and Argentina by cargo trains. Established as a Bolivia port for the export of nitrate and silver, it was occupied by Chilean troops in 1879 thus initiating the Pacific War with Peru and Bolivia. After the war the city was annexed by Chile and received waves of European immigrants. We visited the La Portada Cliffs, a rock formation in the sea shaped like a gigantic arch.

Day 5 was said to be the best day of the trip. On our way to Atacama Salt Flat we stopped at an abandoned train cemetery in Baquedano where we had a look at old trains that were left there. We left the highway and took a road paved with compacted salt towards the east along the Tropic of Capricorn. After 150km of desert we got to the Atacama Salt Flat, the largest in Chile. We crossed the southern bit of the Salt Flat over a road made out of the same salt that covers this dry lake, stopping frequently to take pictures and admire the hexagonal shaped salt dry lake. After crossing the Salt Flat we got to the small oasis village of Peine, 2400 meters above sea level. It is an oasis at the base of the Andes, founded by Atacamenos as a defensive position. It used to be one of the most important stops of the Inca Road during the Inca period and one of the stops of the first Spanish conquistadores when they first came to Chile from Peru. There are some rock pools where we went for a dip after the dry road we left behind. At the south part of the oasis there were remnants of the old Atacameno town and the walls that was once, one of the first churches built in Chile. The old town was abandoned in 1650, for unknown reasons.

After the oasis we headed north towards San Pedro de Atacama, but before getting there we stopped at the Natural Reserve Los Flamencos, sector Laguna Chaxa. This reserve was created only in 1992 to protect the habitat of the Pink Flamingos, called Parina by the Atacamenos. This stop was a fabulous experience. From time to time flamingos would fly over us to land in the stream to stay for the night. We also witnessed the sunset here and it was just amazing. So peaceful and serene... At dark we arrived in San Pedro de Atacamawhich is the archaeological capitol of Chile. The town is built mostly in adobe and has always been a cross road, firstly for caravans of Indians trading products from the jungle in Bolivia with the coast in what is now Chile. It was then also a stop along the Inca Road, used as a base for the Spanish conquistadores and as a stopover for the cattle driven from Argentina to Antofagasta and now for "Gringos" all over the world. It is a true unreal world in San Pedro. A touristy place in the middle of the desert with power cuts once in a while and very low water pressure.

On day 6, which was also our last day on the trip, we visited Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) where we went for a walk through some salt caves. Really awesome by the way. At sunset we watched the sunset, together with hundreds of other spectators.

What amazed us the most was the vastness of the country. Many, many kilometers and no town or village. Just rocks, rocks and more rocks. Very unreal. And along the road only lots of shrines to mark the spot where someone died because of a road accident. There even was a shrine where some guy as been living at for 10 to 12 years. Travellers once in a while give him food and goods so he can survive. So far the hardcore life... The trip in general was absolutely great and the driver Marco was a true star. Look for our pictures at Facebook! There is not enough space here to show the best ones.

Today the other travellers left for the remaining part of the trip and we stayed in San Pedro. We decided not to do the 4x4 tour to Bolivia (advised by the guide) and take the bus to Argentina instead. We then take the bus to La Quiaca at the border to cross to Bolivia fromwhere we will take the train or the bus to Sucre. This means that we will have another vias stamp in our passport: Argentina! Hopefully we can update you when we get in Salta and if not probably in Sucre.

Take care!

Ray

Santiago, Chile

Ola!

Just a quick post to let you all know we safely arrived in Santiago, Chile. It's bizarre to leave on a Wednesday at 16:45 hrs and arrive at Wednesday 11:30 hrs. I guess this is the real traveling in time!

Yesterday we didn't do much but getting rid of the jet lag which basically means we slept a lot. Today we did a guided tour through Santiago and that was really interesting. And free too! How good is that? Tomorrow we are planning to go on a wine tour and on Saturday we leave for the Atacama desert for a 6 days trip.

See you later!

Plans for South America

This part of the trip still seems a bit far away. I guess as it's a new place for us too we don't really know what to expect. Where as NZ is kinda familiar to us so it's still pretty comfy. Nevertheless, the route is roughly Santiago - overland to La Paz in Bolivia, then heading to Peru via Lake Titicaca, a crash course in Spanish before volunteering for 6 weeks at a school near the Sacred Valley. Of course Macchu Picchu then heading North to Ecuador and fingers crossed for the Galapagos Islands. Hasta Luego!