Joe and Lou's Travel Blog

We arrived in Auckland at 3:30am. We waited at the airport till the slightly more decent hour of 5am to call TT to ask her to pick us up. She arrived with a beautiful bunch of sunflowers for us. There was a pretty sunrise outside, lots of birdsong (I can't recall a lot of bird song in the UK or South America so really noticed it when I got back) and a wonderful Welcome Home sign made by Char, Cam, TT and Big J.

Once we got home we enjoyed eating some Vogels toast with butter, vegemite and crunchy peanut butter. Yum!

Feeling a bit jet lagged we took it easy and zonked out for a couple of hours in the early afternoon.

We will organise our photos and get them up on the gallery within a week so check back soon.

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On Sundays the museums in Santiago are free so we went to visit the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art which was recommended by the LP. It was very interesting with displays of ceremonial and funery objects made in ceramic, stone, wood and metal with gold plate. The style of these objects give you a great insight into the Pre-Colombian cultures throughout Central and South America. Common subjects were pregnant woman, big cats and shamen's in drug induced trances. Weaving was a strong feature of these cultures. The intricate patterns of the hand woven textiles were amazing and require great skill and patience to produce.

Most of the shops were closed in the morning probably because most families were at church. In the afternoon more shops opened and there was a market that ran throughout the main pedestrianised shopping streets.

After lunch in the Plaza de Armas we caught the metro to Parque O'Higgens. This is a huge park (no way as nice as the ones in Spain or England) where families gather for picnics and events are held. There are also a lot of restaurants and a theme park called Fantasylandia. Today there was a Christian concert. Outside was an STD awareness event with cultural music and dancing . I assume this was a statement against the Catholic principal of not using contraception. There did not seem to be any tensions though.

All day I was worried about our flight reservation. When Joy went to the airport to go back to NZ a couple of days ago she was told that her reservation was cancelled because we had missed our flight in Calama. Crazy! She urged us to confirm our reservation with the Qantas office. Unfortunately we couldn't contact them because it was Sunday so we just had to hope for the best. Luckily when we arrived at the check in desk everything was ok.

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To get out of Santiago for a day we visited Valparaiso, a port town 2 hours, by bus, to the west of Santiago.

When we left Santiago it was shaping up to be another scorcher but as we approached Valparaiso we entered a mist. I thought it was rain but there was no water on the windows so maybe it was smoke from a fire. It turns out that this coastal fog comes every morning on the cost. It made it quite cold and I was thankful that I brought my sweatshirt.

When we arrived at the bus terminal we were immediately approached by a woman offering a tour of the town. She warned us that it was dangerous to walk around especially near the bus station. We declined the offer and went on our way. As we walked out of the terminal a beggar started to follow us down the road. When he gave up a mangy looking dog sniffed at my leg and started following us. When we stopped walking it stopped. When we crossed the road it did too. When we turned a corner it followed us. We tried entering a shoe store but the dog sat and waited patiently outside. Lou thought it had been ordered to follow us by someone and she was getting worried. Eventually we crossed a wide, busy street and the dog stayed behind.

By this time we weren´t to impressed by Valparaiso. To take a break we headed for a cafe recommended by the LP across town. On our way we passed plazas filled with markets selling all manner of $2 shop junk. The cafe was up on a small hill and as we climbed a transformation occurred. Instead of busy, dirty shopping streets we were entering an historical, colourful suburb. Many of the housed we passed were similar to what you would see in NZ but with corrugated iron covering the walls.

Color Cafe was similar to cafes you can find in NZ too. It was eclectically decorated with all manner of posters, photos, masks and instruments. The vegetarian platter we shared was ample for two and hot chocolates tasted just like melted chocolate. After this reviving meal we were feeling a bit better about the town. As we left the cafe we saw that the fog had burned off and it was becoming a clear day, although still a little cool.

We spent much of the afternoon wandering around the hills. It is obviously a bohemian area with many houses painted all types of colours, artisans studios, a school of music and some of the most artistic graffiti I have ever seen.

We took an ascensor, a mini cable car, down the hill to the old port area. This is when it occurred to me how similar Valparaiso and Wellington are. There were English colonial and Art Deco style buildings in this area and trolley buses going past. The ascensors are similar to the cable car in the Botanical gardens and the area we had been walking around was like Aro Valley.

As we headed back to the bus station through the calmer early evening streets we decided we did like Valparaiso after all.

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Took it pretty easy today as it was quite hot and we didn´t sleep well the night before. It was eleven o´clock last night when I finally called the front desk to tell the kids that were shouting and running around outside our room to be quiet. Is this a hotel or a kindergarten?

We went to a local supermarket and bought a pick and mix salad for lunch. It is priced by weight so it was some odd price. Anyway I found out that although it costs 200 pesos just to use a toilet they still have 1 peso coins! I guess they are still holding out that some massive deflation of their currency will one day make these coins worth something.

In the afternoon we visited Palacio Cousiño. This is the most grand palace in Santiago. When you enter for the tour you are given slippers to put over your shoes so they don´t damage the carpets. A good idea I think. The Palace was owned by a family who owned silver and coal mines. Its clever use of mirrors and windows make it feel larger than it is. Unfortunately the second and third storeys were destroyed in a fire in the 60´s. The second floor was reconstructed in pine, a much inferior wood from the original woods used and it shows. The family had more taste than other Royal palaces we have seen which seem much more over the top and self grandising.

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We went to Parque Metropolitano (a hill in the middle of town) where there is a big statue of the Virgin Mary and a large municipal garden area including a zoo, swimming pool, botanical gardens, function centre and picnic areas. You get to the lookout via a funicular railway and can traverse along the gardens on gondolas. It was very pleasant riding on both and the views from the top where great. Santiago is a flat city with the Andes overlooking it on one side. It is amazing to see the sprawling city with mountains with snow on them in the background!

After a nice seafood lunch we went to some more gardens set amongst a castle style building which looked like it was used for functions etc. The Chileans seem to love anything European, in fact we haven´t seen many native Indian people at all. Every one looks Spanish. This is a contrast from Peru and Bolivia.

Most places we go in South America we´ve seen political rallies. This is because in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile there are elections coming up. We have learnt a little about the political situation in these areas. Bolivia has natural gas that Chile wants. At the moment Chile gets it´s natural gas from Argentina however Argentina will cut off this supply in two years. Bolivia would prefer to work with Peru to route the gas not Chile as Chile is very aggressive and took valuable land by the sea from Bolivia in the War of the Pacific in the late 1800´s. Chile still has it´s eye on the land rich in resources in both Peru and Bolivia and is building up it´s armed forces capability. The area in Bolivia with the gas is Santz Cruz. Here there are powerful people (I think from Croatia and somewhere else) who want to make Santa Cruz independent from Bolivia. I can understand why Bush is trying to push South America on the free trade front. Brazil is predicted to be the next major power (behind China and India) as it is very large and is building trade routes through South America which will make the USA less powerful in the region. And then there´s Hugo Chavez (the president of Venezuela) who is mouthing off against Bush to any reporter who listens. Very interesting.

This evening we saw Joy off the to airport. It has been great travelling with her. She was always the one to start chatting to other travellers or locals and got valuable information which helped us along the way. Thanks Joy!

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Santiago is a refreshing change from the other places we´ve been to. It has complete buildings and seats on the toilets! We went for a wander around the CBD and shopping areas. The main shopping streets are pedestrianised which creates a lovely atmosphere in the balmy evenings as the areas are full of people. The only downer is the ´Pan flute greatest hit versions of western songs from the 80´s´ cd that gets piped out of speakers on the streets. Lord save us!!

We took the obligatory look at the Plaza de Armas and then visited the Central Market where restaurant waiters approached us from all sides inviting us to their restaurants. The market also sold fresh seafood.

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We had a long day ahead of us so we got up at 4 am and were on the road by 5. Heading out of San Cristobel we left the well maintained road to the mine to start on the 4WD track. First stop was a lake to see some Flamingos. I got really close and watched a whole flock fly away. Unfortunately I had no camera on me.

There are two types of flamingo in the Atacama Dessert. The James flamingo is mostly pink with some white and black on the edges of their wings. The Andean flamingos are mostly white with black tips on their tails. We saw many of both in the same lakes.

We climbed higher to reach Laguna Colorada (Red Lake). The lake is red because of the algae that lives in the water. There were more flamingos here. We spent some time sneaking up on them in an attempt to get close-up shots with our digital cameras but they were onto us and every step closer we took they took one further away.

As we climbed higher the land became more barren. We saw large mosses that grow 1 mm per year, they must have been ancient. The scenery was amazing. The mountains are rich in minerals. They look like they had paint spilled on them, reds, browns, creams etc. Even in this desolate area, where you would think nothing grows, we saw vicuñas hanging around! Apparently they eat plants that grow below the rocky ground. The highest we got was 5000 m above sea level.

We saw some bubbling geysers like Rotorua (and with the sulphur smell) and dipped our feet into natural hot springs.

On the way down from the highest point we passed the "Dali rocks" (named by tourists). The rocks were shot from a volcanic eruption and are strewn across the sand in interesting shapes due to erosion.

The last stop of the tour was Laguna Verde - actually an aquamarine colour. The wind had picked up and it looked like a tropical ocean. You can´t swim in it though because it is arsenic that gives it the green colour.

We were 1 hour late finishing the tour and still had a long way to go to catch our flight at 6 pm. When we realised there was a 1 hour time difference between Bolivia and Chile we knew it was going to be tight. Our Chilean driver, Felix, did his best to get us through the border quickly. He handed us over to a younger driver, Juan, for the dash from San Pedro de Atacama to Calama, a 1.5 hour drive. Juan did it in 1 hour despite the strong cross wind in the desert and passing a police car going the other way. Juan got us to the airport at 5:45. We saw people boarding the plane as we pulled in. We rushed to the check in desk but were told we would have to take a later flight (luckily at no cost). Well the race was exciting anyway.

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We commenced our 4WD tour a little dazed. As I said Simon was our driver and Silvaria (Sil-var-ria) was our guide. We were headed for the Salar de Uyuni (Salt Lake). First stop was a tiny town where the inhabitants earned their living from processing the salt from the lake. They harvest the wet salt from the lake and bring it by truck to their house. Here they lay it out over a fire to dry. The smoke from the fire is toxic and the workers do not wear face masks instead they get sick and die early. We saw a woman packing salt into plastic bags. She would fill each 1 kg bag and seal it using a gas flame. They would get 20 centavos (about 2 cents) for each bag of salt. They also made things from salt like ceramics. When the salt is mixed with water and fired in a furnace it becomes hard like clay.

Now off onto the salt Lake, the largest salt flats in the world. This lake is 12,000 Square km. Here is a satellite photo. The salt is an amazing bright white like snow. I had to squint while wearing my sun glasses to see. As the salt dries it makes polygonal shapes about 1 metre across. It is like walking on a pavlova.

On the edge of the lake we passed mounds of salt that had been scraped from the surface and left to dry for later processing by the locals. We saw a man working, he was covered from head to toe including a belaclava. It must be hard, hot and lonely work.

On the lake there is a hotel made of salt. Like an igloo the hotel is made from blocks of solid salt cut from the surface of the lake. Apart from the salt it looked like any other adobe building in Bolivia. It is damaged each year during the rainy season and must be repaired.

We stopped for lunch at Fish Island (Isla Incawasi) of course there are no fish but the Island is shaped like one. Incawasi has amazing cactuses that grow a centimetre a year. The oldest one is 1200 years old but it is under attack from ants and is dying. The cactuses grow pretty flowers which drop off then a sweet fruit (like a kiwifruit) grows.

Upon leaving the lake we entered the Atacama dessert. Along the way we saw many vicuñas (protected animals that look like gazelles with wool that is anti allergic), llamas and birds.

We stayed over night in San Cristobel. San Cristobel is a town that was moved in preparation for a new silver mine that will open in 2007 - owned by a Canadian company. The historic church was disassembled and reconstructed stone by stone. The locals did not want it transported by truck, prefering to carry it in a long procession down the hill. The hotel was OK but the town had no water so we could not wash the salt off. We went to bed early as we had an early start the next day.

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We were booked on a local bus to go to Oruro at 2 pm and connect with a train to Uyuni at 7 pm. However there had been strikes and roads blockaded so we were advised to take a bus at 10 am instead. The strikes in Bolivia are different to the rest of the world in that the government orders people to go on strike and they don´t know why. Apparently what happens is that they strike all week and then work on the weekends. Today is a Sunday so we were actually OK.

We reached Oruro at 1:30 pm and were met by Wilson who proposed we spend the 5 hours we had to wait for the train touring Oruro with him. Oruro is an old mining town and there most important location is a Church built on top of a defunct mine that has been converted into a museum to commemorate those that worked and died there. Outside the church is monument to the miners surrounded by a lively Sunday market where all manner of junk is sold and unhealthy food eaten. We say plastic boxes similar to the crates bread is delivered in full of chicken chicks. There was a loud auction going on where animals were sold to the highest bidder. There was a man walking through the crowd holding a turtle trying to find a buyer. I felt quite sick watching this but said nothing.

Oruro is famous for it´s carnival in February. They wear big grotesque masks and colourful costumes. The party lasts for two days and on the second day they get very drunk

At 7 pm we boarded a reasonably comfortable train to Uyuni. The only problem was my seat was broken and required considerable force to recline. We arrived at Uyuni at 2:20 am tired and dazed. We were met by Miriam and Simon. Simon was to be our 4WD driver for the next 2 days. As soon as we got to our hotel at 3 am we were in bed and asleep as our tour started at 9:30 am.

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With our gap tour complete we had no scheduled activities so we took it easy and did some shopping in the busy streets around the center. I tried my hand at bargaining but failed miserably. These shop keepers can see a soft tourist a mile away.

While sitting in the main Plaza (the main Plaza in every town and city in South America is called Plaza de Armas) we saw a column of soldiers arrive. They blocked the road and formed a line along the street. The locals did not seem very interested as if this happens all the time. The soldiers stood there and we watched for a good 15 minutes but nothing happened. We gave up and left not knowing why they were there.

Unfortunately one of the people from our tour was robbed. She was on her way to change some money so she had her Travellers cheques and passport on her at the time. She was walking with a friend down a busy street and felt someone open the zip of her purse. When she looked inside everything was gone. They went to the tourist police office but they were painting and told her to come back next day! So when we met for dinner that night no one was keen on La Paz anymore.

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Today we did a tour around La Paz. First stop was Tiwanaku. This was a religious site for the Pre-Inca civilization that lasted for 3,000 years (as oppose to the Incas 100). We could see where the Incas got a lot of their culture. The Tiwanaku were highly skilled in Architecture, Agriculture and Astronomy. The site consisted of three temples which represented their three astrological states. The first was a sunken temple about 2 metres deep to worship the underworld represented by the snake and frog. The next is about 2 metres high to worship the earthly world represented by the Puma. The last was a pyramid temple constructed of traces to worship the spirt world represented by the Condor. The last temple was almost entirely destroyed by the Spanish to build churches and other buildings. The Bolivians are now starting to reconstruct the pyramid. The Spanish also "exorcised" statues by carving crosses on their arms.

In the afternoon we visited the Valley of the Moon, an area of sandstone in the lower part of the Valley of La Paz. Over the years it has been eroded so that the landscape resembles the moon (although how the Tiwanaku tribe knew this I don´t know). It reminded me of many stalagmites I have seen in caves with many cone shaped points sticking up to the sky.

From the highest point in La Paz, Al Alto (well it is now considered a separate city but it used to be a suburb) to the lowest point it is 1,000 metres. At 6 in the morning it was 2 degrees in Al Alto and 10 at the bottom of the valley. We certainly noticed the increased temperature while we walked around the Valley of the Moon. This is the reason why the wealthy area of Mira Flores (like Lima) is in the lower part of the valley.

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Following the previous bus trip our guide decided to book with a different company for the trip to La Paz. After an early start and arriving at the bus depot at 6.30 we waited till 8 for the bus to arrive from Lima. When we boarded the bus we found that all our seats had been double booked so following a standoff with a difficult English guy we moved to other seats. When we reached the border we had to get our passports stamped on the Peruvian side then walk across a bridge to get it stamped again in Bolivia. It was like a handover of a prisoner in a movie. We just got going when were stoppped again by some bored police who stamped our passports again.

Entering La Paz is an experience. You enter through a poor suburb then travel down the steep river valley to the city. Buildings sprawl up either side of the steep valley like the Favelas in Rio de Janeiro. South Americans have a strange way of building their houses. They will build the ground floor in brick and leave the reinforcing rods sticking out the top. Then they will gradually, as they can afford it, build the next storey. So the whole city looks like it is the process of being built. Because it is so dry parts of the cities look like a city from the Middle east like Baghdad or Tel Aviv. Many of the houses in the country are built of adobe brick which is made from mixing mud with straw and drying it in the sun. Then they have either tin or straw roofs.

La Paz is a bustling city and because Bolivia is one of the poorest in S.A. you feel less safe here. There are police everywhere, some with trudgeons and pepper spray and some with pistols. In the central square you can see the bullet holes in the Presidential Palace from an uprising in 2003.

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This morning Innocencia made us pancakes for breakfast and then we headed to the port to catch our boat. We travelled for 3 hours (sleeping on top or inside the boat) to the Uros floating islands. The islands are made by the locals from chunks of the root area of the reed plants that take around 40 years to form. They are gathered and then tied together and layered about a metre high with the reeds. To prevent the islands floating away they are tied to the reed plants. Each island lasts around 30 years. The weather causes the islands to erode over time. Regular relayering of the reeds is required often as well. Reed huts are built on the islands plus some crops and fish farms. Nowadays most of the locals stay on the mainland during the evening. Their way of life is preserved for the tourists which I think is a great thing. Lucho said that Peruvian fortunes run on a 500 year cycle. In the next 7 years they will begin a new great era of 500 years. The past 500 years has brought many bad things, the Spanish conquistadors being one major one, but I can sense a turn around. Tourism has brought a renaissance in the native cultures and with that more appreciation of them. I'm sure that when tourists leave Peru they will remember their homestay in Lake Titicaca and exposure to these special cultures more than a tour of Lima.

After visiting the Uros floating islands and having a ride in a beautiful boat made entirely of reeds (kind of like a big dragon boat) we had a yummy lunch of bread rolls filled with guacamole (did I mention the avocados here are the bomb?!) tomato, cucumber and cheese and headed back to the Puno port.

I'm just about to have a 50 minute massage back at the hotel. After the rigours of the trek I think my body will thank me for it!

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We were met by our local guide Lucho at 7.30 am. After a fun rikshaw ride to the port we hopped on a boat for a 3 hour trip to Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca. We first went past the Uros floating islands which are set amongst many groups of reeds. We will visit these tomorrow. Lake Titicaca is huge! Forgive the lack of facts and figures...I haven't got the LP with me but it is probably the biggest in Sth America and one of the highest in the world. Lucho told us many myths and legends about the lake and it's relationship to the origins of the Incas. The Incas were basically the culmination of many pre Inca tribes. Lake Titicaca was a very sacred for them as it is said that the first Incas (children of the sun) were born out of it. A lot of references were made to Pacha Mama (mother earth) and how the local people respect her. A lot of their activity is also dictated by the solstices and astronomical observations. The sun and moon temples where especially aligned to focus the light during special ceremonies. Human and animal sacrifices where also made to Pacha Mama to request a good harvest or the end of a conflict.

We hiked for about an hour on Taquile Island and then had lunch. The island scenery was so beautiful. After lunch we got back on the boat and travelled to Amanti Island where we were to stay the night. We meet our homestay hosts and were taken to their homes. After settling in we went to watch a football match between the tourists and the locals. The tourists did very well considering the altitude would have made it difficult. After the game we went back to our homes for dinner. The electricity service was cut on the island as it was too expensive so we ate by the light of a candle and the oven. This made the atmosphere special. We were given a few Quechua phrases so had a chat with our host Innocencia and her mother using broken Quecha, Spanish, English and body language. The meal consisted of a potato and vege soup followed by a dish of potatoes, veges and rice. The money from the homestay visits goes to the local authorities so we also were told to take gifts to our hosts. We presented these after dinner and they were very much appreciated. We gave them some rice, pasta, sugar, chocolate and coloured pens and pencils for the children. Joy had the foresight to bring mini calendars with pictures of New Zealand landscapes on it so we gave them one of these and our hosts enjoyed looking at the pictures of our home.

After dinner we were dressed in traditional clothing and taken to a 'party' put on for the tourists with traditional music and dancing at the community hall. The outfits were very warm. They consisted of a couple of layers of skirts, a white blouse with large embroidered flowers on it, and a black shawl that also had flowers embroidered on it. The dancing got very energetic when the pace of the music increased. We danced in couples or formed a chain and got whooshed around the dance floor.

We got to bed still able to hear the music but very tired so were out for the count very quickly.

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Joseph and Joy went to see more ruins this morning (I'll let him fill in the details later) and I hung out in the town doing stuff like changing money, emailing etc. We all met for lunch at the famous Jack's cafe which has the best vege burgers in the world! The smoothies aren't half bad either. Every restaurant our guide, Manual, has recommended or taken us to has been a winner. It truly has been a gastronomic tour of South America.

As Lou said Mum and I went to Sachsayhuaman (refered to by everyone as "Sexy Woman"). This was where the Inca´s made their last stand against the Spanish. Cuzco was originally designed to be in the shape of a puma with Sachsayhuaman as the head. To represent the teeth there are two parallel zig zag (sorry don´t know what key is a dash) stone walls. I was very proud that I managed to navigate my way back to the hostel following a dirt track made by the locals.

After lunch we went to the bus station to catch a bus to Puno. The trip was supposed to take about 6 hours but ended up taking 8! We should be grateful that we reached our destination as the bus had clutch problems thus causing many pregnant pauses in our journey while the driver tried to fix the problem. Luckily it wasn't too uncomfortable on the bus (for us shorties anyway) as we were travelling 'Royal Class' which meant we could recline our seats right back and had a full leg rest. It was more comfy that an airplane.

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Lou and I visited two museums today. Another Inca one and a popular arts one. The Inca museum had more of the same exhibits as the one yesterday. The deformed skulls were intriguing. A babies head was bound to elongate the back of the skull into a cone shape. This was to indicate nobility. Other skulls had large holes where they had been operated on to cure battle injuries. It is amazing that people survived these very invasive operations.

In the afternoon Lou went back to the hostel for another rest and I had another go at exploring. This time I was more successful. I found busy streets where the locals shop. Most of the tiny stores were full to the ceiling with clothing or shoes. I also found a large market with butchers, fruiterers, tailors and food stalls. I took some interesting pictures which will at some stage make it onto our photo gallery (probably not until we get home).

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Today Lou rested to recover from the trail so I went with Mum and Erica to look around. Little did I know this would entail Mum buying something from every hawker and going into every jewellery shop. To maintain my sanity I wished them well and agreed to meet them later. I took a stroll through a part of town I hadn´t been to before but did not find anything interesting.

In the afternoon we meet up and dragged Lou out of bed to visit the Inca Museum. From what our guide had told us we were able to make some sense of the exhibits as the explanations were mostly in Spanish. It was mostly pottery from Inca and pre Inca times but I found the pictures of Macchu Picchu before it was restored and the mummified bodies in foetal positions most interesting.

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We got up at 4 am to pack our stuff and get in line to pass the final checkpoint. Once through the race was on! Everyone wanted to get to the Sun Gate for the sunrise some executing dangerous passing manuveres on the narrow trail.

At the Sun Gate we took an obligatory picture of us with Macchu Picchu in the background. On arrival at Macchu Picchu Antonio took us on a one hour tour around the ruins. This was very educational as the site would just be a pile of stones if someone didn´t explain to you the significance of them. What most impressed me was the exactness of the urban planning and the sheer size and accuracy of the masonery work. Incredible!

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Day 3 was pretty relaxed walk through the jungle. The cloud again prevented us from enjoying the view of the surounding mountains. The beginning of the walking was reasonably flat. In some parts of the trail the Incas hand built up a level path on steep rock demonstrating advanced egineering. Other parts of the trail led us through tunnels formed by the tops of rocks falling. Later we walked down 2083 steps (or there abouts), some of them very steep, to our last camp site. We met up with the others near the bottom, as Lou found some extra energy from somewhere, and all entered the camp together which was nice for us.

After a rest we visted the nearby ruins of Wuiñya Wiñya which means "forever young". Inca ruins are characterised by their terraces which served three functions - retaining walls to prevent erosion, agriculture and decoration. Here the terraces were the most impressive we´d seen so far. At the top of the ruins was a Sun temple. The Inca´s had a very sophisticated plumbing system. They used aquaducts to bring water from far away to the city and had stone pipes to pass the water through the cities fountains. The water was used in the morning for ceremonial purposes and then after for washing.

The main thing about the last camp site that will stick in my mind is the toilets. It seems by this stage half the trampers had the runs and still hadn´t learnt how to use a squat toilet. You get the picture!

After another great meal we had a ceremony to thank and tip our porters. We had grown very fond of them as they worked very hard and were very sweet.

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This was the big one. We had to climb two high passes. We set out at 7:15 to have time to make it to the next camp site before dark Warmiwanusca aka "dead women´s pass" is 4198 m high and, due to Lous condition, took us 4 hours to climb. The drizzly weather meant that we didn´t see the view from the top but we do have a picture of us by the sign so we have proof we made it. Down the steep steps on the other side we met up with the others for lunch. Next is a smaller pass. We reached the top in the late afternoon where the skies cleared and we saw the snow capped Andes and a rainbow. Lou shed a quiet tear because it was so beautiful and she was relieved to have made it. We arrived at the camp site just before sun down (at 6:15) to complete our 10 hours of walking. The camp site was the most beautiful I have ever seen. There are spectacular views of the mountains on the other side of the valley.

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Ok, so if you want to lose weight fast here´s how to do it:

1. Choose the Inca trail for your first trek ever - four days of steep up and down hill hiking at altitude, 42 km in total)
2. Get a stomach bug on the first day - causing stomach pains, the runs and not being able to eat anything

Despite these complications I had an amazing time. Turning back was not an option and I had wonderful Joseph to stay back and walk at my sloth like pace and support me.

Today we drove to the 82km mark and went through the checkpoint. Our local guide Antonio was with us from the start and two of our 12 porters (including the chef and his assistant) met us after the check point. You have to study for 5 years before you can become a guide. On the trek we carried our own day packs but we where also allowed an extra 7 kgs of stuff (including our sleeping bags) that the porters carried. Apart from this the porters also carried the tents, food and cooking equipment, camp equipment etc. Amazing. These guys race ahead with at least 20 kgs on their backs! We were in awe of them.

We walked over undulating but steadily rising terrain up the valley. As we walked we were passed by locals in traditional dress on their way to their villages. We also saw some school children. In the villages they sell drinks, ponchos, snacks etc. It rained on and off through out the day. After around 5 hours walking we arrived at the first campsite to applause from the porters who had set up the campsite and had afternoon tea ready for us. A wonderful dinner was ready an hour and a half later. This was five star treatment.

After chatting about the day we settled into our two man tents and tried to sleep (not an easy task at altitude, in the cold and on air bed rolls).

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Lima:
Spent the day walking around Miriflores the wealthiest part of town. We didn´t feel in danger at all apart from the traffic which is par for the course in South America. Miriflores is right on the coast with some nice parks along the cliffs. One park is called the Parque de Amor (Park of Love) where we saw many locals canoodling. People also paraglide from the cliff. On the beaches below you couldn´t see the water for the surfers. It is perfect for learners because the waves are small, regular and evenly spaced.

We chose to have lunch around 3pm but found all but the touristy i.e. expensive, restaurants open. It took a while to find a decent local place where we had a simple 3 course meal with soft drinks for 7 soles each!

Later on Joy and I took a stroll to the central plaza where there was a mini amphitheatre. We saw a young band playing upbeat tunes with traditional instruments. Following them was a old people´s disco where they got up and danced in front of the crowd.

In the evening we had the welcome briefing for our GAP tour with our guide Manuel.

Cuzco:
Flying from sealevel to 3300 metres had an effect on us immediately. When we left the plane we felt breathless. Another side affect was Lou´s exploding moisteriser tube and deoderant due to the increased air pressure. Following check in at our hotel our guide took us on a walking tour around the town. You could see evidence of the Incas in the lower parts of the Colonial buildings where the Spanish had built on top of the destroyed Inca buildings. The town has very narrow streets which results in some crazy traffic jams.

Unfortunately Mum was feeling sick and stayed back at the hotel in the evening while we enjoyed a delicious meal at a very hip and chilled out restaurant.

Sacred Valley:
Today we went on another tour. The first stop was to visit llamas, alpacas and other similar beasts and see the locals in action weaving their wool using natural dyes and traditional techniques. Next was the Pisaq Inca ruins. This was a small town for the Inca ruling classes at the top of a mountain with all day sun. Our tour guide explained their ingenious aquaduct and agricultural systems. Last stop was Ollantaytambo. This was a fort that was in the process of being built to fight the Spanish but was never completed. During construction the Spanish came up the valley and the Inca had to flee. So you can see huge stone blocks in the process of being prepared to be laid. How they transported and laid the stones is a mystery.

Tomorrow we begin the Inca Trail so will not be able to blog for a few days.

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We woke up to a beautifully sunny morning (it´s been raining on and off for the past week which has made the temperature very pleasent) so Servia took us for a last minute ´mini tour´ to Ipanaema, and a beach where paragliders land. It was a great way to finish off this leg of the trip. One very iconic aspect of Rio (apart from the Christo sculpture) is the footpaths. They are quartz and basalt rocks fashioned into simple but effective black and white patterns (thanks Joy for that good description). Probably easier to show you. We have pictures but are unsure when we´ll be able to upload some more photos.

And so we left Rio with a feeling of `saudade`for the good friends we had made. Thank you so much to Luiz and Bruno´s families for making our stay in Rio such a special one. Saudade is a word in Portuguese that doesn´t have an English equivalent. It means a kind of sadness/longing/yearning for a moment/feeling you´ve had in the past.

We travelled on the plane for what seemed like ages and lost 3 hours crossing time zones. Finally we arrived at Lima airport at around midnight local time (3 in the morning Brazilian time!). When leaving the baggage claim area we were surrounded by taxi drivers "I be your driver...Official taxi!". We settled on one finally and got to our hotel only to find that we´d been moved to another down the road. We eventually got to bed and zonked out.

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We got to the airport on Thursday and discovered that we were a day early! Better than a day late I suppose :) So we found we had an extra day and night in Rio. Luckily Jose and Servia did not turn us out on the street and put us up for an extra night. We went for a walk around Tijuca and had a delicious Japanese meal in the evening - buffet style chinese and japanese food, all you can eat for a mere 12 heis each! That´s about 8 NZ dollars and the food was so yummy. I was in heaven!

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Today we finally made it up to the Cristo de Redentor monument (Christ the Redeemer). It was cloudy up there but we found this more fun as we were very excited when the cloud lessened every now and then giving us a better view of the beautiful art deco statue. It took on a mystical effect when surrounded by cloud.

When we got back home we prepared a traditional (well almost) Kiwi meal for Luiz´s family of roast veges (potato, kumera etc), baked salmon and salad. It was enjoyed by all. We will be very sad to leave Rio. Both families we´ve stayed with have been so hospitable. They´ve been our personal tour guides, chefs etc. We have been so fortunate!

New photos have just been uploaded to the photo gallery so enjoy. You may not hear from us in a while as we do not know if there will be internet facilities on tour. Lima, Cuzco and Machu Picchu await....

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Mum is interested in jewellery so Elizabeth (Bruno´s mother) organised a tour for us. We went to Rio Sul mall to the H.Stern store. There we were served drinks while to tour was arranged. We were given passes which allowed us to have free taxi rides to and from their factory in Copacabana. When we arrived at the workshop we were greeted and given audio guides.

The tour began with some displays about what jewels are found where in Brazil. More interesting was seeing the craftsmen at work making the jewels. The process is long and involves many different people including people who grade the quality of the stones, designers, cutters, goldsmiths, setters and polishers. Following the tour we were taken to a room with a low ceiling, maze of boothes and Kenny G music in the background. This is where they make the hard sell. We were plied with snacks and drinks and the ladies got down to looking at the jewellery. The sales woman we had was actually quite nice. She loved NZ even before the Lord of the Rings as she had been for a month and said she would love to live there if she could not live in Brazil. To cut a long story short, mum succumbed to the sales technique.

After lunch back at the mall we went across the Rio - Niteroi bridge to the city of Niteroi across the other side of the harbour. Niteroi has 500 thousand inhabitants, about the size of Wellington. We visited the MAC a modern art museum. It is shaped like a floating flying saucer with a spiral ramp leading in. There we saw an exhibition by Nelson Leirner. Leirner is a Brazilian artist with a love of kitch using many toys and stickers in his art. Some is fun others more political but most is very accessible. Here are a couple of pictures and you can see more on google image search. I would like to have bought his book but it was large and heavy. Maybe I can get it on Amazon when I get home.

We continued round the bays of Niteroi and saw some interesting, colourful fishing boats in the harbour. There is a joke in Rio that Niteroi has the most beautiful view in the world because they can look across the harbour at Rio.

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Following a restful night in the country Jose gave us the grand tour of his country property. As we walked we sampled many fruits we have not had before (and I cannot remember their names) some were very nice, some were quite sour. One that was not sour at all was sugar cane. This looks like bamboo but when you strip back the bark there is a fiberous material inside. If you chew on this you can suck out the sweet, delicious juice.

On returning to Rio we headed downtown and made our way through the large bustling markets. These have stalls selling what you expect to see in most markets including clothes, CDs, DVDs, electronics, nick nacks and other tourist items. It is the scale that is amazing and how much they fit in their tiny, colourful stalls. One unusual site is the material and bead stores which cater for the carnival costumes. Looking at the prices of the beads a costume could be very expensive to make.

In our search to find a place to eat we looked at Colombo. This is a European style bakery/restaurant on two floors. The lower floor has floor to ceiling glass cabinets and mirrors. The upper floor is a restaurant. In the middle is a balcony to look down on the lower floor stained glass windows above. As we left (the prices were steep) a bus load of tourists arrived. We left just in time.

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