Strange Rocks and Salt Flats

Far out brussel sprout!  My trip to the Salaar de Uyuni was amAZing! It's gonna be hard to put into words but here goes... 

Arbol de Piedra

The only way to really see this area in the southwest of Bolivia is on a jeep tour so I jumped aboard with three others: Alice, Jenny and Miriam. Yep it was an all-girl road trip, and there was indeed some singing in the car!  
The first day we drove from Tupiza past some dramatically eroded red rock formations, stopping to check out/chase a herd of llamas.  We stopped for lunch in a tiny wind swept town - it kind of felt like a ghost town because all the people were out tending llamas. As we continued our drive the landscape changing from jagged rocks to rolling hills, up to a height of 4855m above sea level where we looked out over the Altiplano.  Looking out I thought - I would love to come back sometime and trek through the area.  Another stop was at the ruins of San Antonio, a town formerly rich from gold mining, but since abandoned either due to some kind of mass sickness or the devil, depending on who you believe.  That night we stayed at a basic hostal in Quetena, enjoying a lovely meal by our cook Susanna and hanging with another jeepload of people from the same tour company.  The stars were really really amazing up there but it was bloody cold out so it was an early night rugged up in double sleeping bags and blankets for me!


The next day was my favourite day.  Firstly we drove to a beautiful spot where a frozen pond/lake was interspersed with these reedy grasses (mmm, theres that hard-to-describe thing happening) with snowy volcanoes in the background, all quite gorgeous in the morning light.  Then we drove through the Desierto de Dali -quite appropriately named as it did really look like the surreal landscapes in his paintings- onto the Laguna Verde, a partially frozen lake at the base of a volcano bordering with Chile.  I had fun skating and jumping around on the ice, throwing big rocks and failing to break it.  Afterwards we stopped at some hot springs overlooking another lake, melting into the clear waters.   Next was my highlight of the day - the Sol de Manana geysers.  From some fumaroles spewed out huge gusts of volcanic gases, and alongside there were slowly bubbling mud ponds, plus two other ponds which were madly furiously boiling away.  The earth was so alive and active!  Finally we went to the Laguna Colorado, a lake stained red from plankton and algae containing red pigments, on which flocks of flamingoes come to feed.  That afternoon the eight of us from the two jeeps got stuck into some red wine and playing Uno in our hostal place.  We got quite rowdy even before dinner, drawing looks from the other more tame and sensible groups.  We had been listening to some party music but when dinner arrived Shane swapped it for some classical piano dinner music, which we all found hilarious for some reason.  After dinner it was a drinking game called Cheers Gu´vner, involving counting and rules which got sillier and sillier as the night wore on.  The hijinks contnued until the wee hours of 10.30pm, by which time we were all snugly in bed!

Coral, cacti and salt!

Day three began with pancakes thanks to our cook Susannah and some much needed coffee.  First stop was the stone tree (pic above), a really awesome rock amongst many in the middle of a sandy desert area.  One of the girls Jenny started climbing all over some various rocks and I felt compelled to follow even though it was kinda scary getting to some of the spots.  But fun!  Afterwards we drove on to some more lakes with flamingos.  At the second one the flamingoes were really relaxed and you could get right up to them, it was cool.  I always associated flamingoes with warm kind of tropical areas, but here they live, in the high  freezing desert.  We stopped for a yummy lunch at another lake then continued on, past another volcano, over the salt flat at Salaar de Chiguana, stopping at a little town and then finally to the edge of the Salaar de Uyuni salt flat!  It is so huge! That afternoon I had a hoop dance and we settled into our hostel overlooking the Salaar.  The hostel was made of salt, too.  Salt bricks, tables, and floor (I even did the taste test!)  That evening we all had a few drinks, I tortured the others with some bad ukelele playing, but went to bed to rest up so we could wake for sunrise the next day.


We piled into the jeep when it was still dark and set off into the salt flat.  It is an enormous expanse of flat white salt.  We drove for ages and ages and still the salt continued.  The sun came up and as it did turned the sky all sorts of pretty colours, warming us up (much needed because it was absolutely freezing out there!).  After sunrise we drove to an island in the salt made from ancient coral - I dont quite understand the geological history except that it was all part of the ocean somehow millions of years ago.  On the island grew hundreds of cool cacti, some of them looking almost furry (not really soft to touch though!) After having cake for breakfast we drove out into the sunny centre of the salt flats for a stop for photos.  Sadly my camera had died by this point so I just put on some music and hooped around, then jumped in some other´s perpective photos which hopefully will turn out cool!  We finished the day in Uyuni the town nearest the salt flats where everyone heading north got out, so it was a sad goodbye to all my awesome travel buddies.  I got back in the jeep and drove through yet more weirdly beautiful alien landcapes for 5 hours back to Tupiza. 


It was a glorious time, and continuing on the train down to the border with Argentina was also beautiful, as is northern Argentina here around Salta.  Next I´m off to Iguazu falls - I´m so excited!  Not for the 24 hour bus ride commencing in an hour and a half though :/  

Llama fetuses, El Presidente and the nicest town plaza in South America

I haven´t generally been that fond of big cities this trip, generally preferring the cute friendly towns or quiet countryside, but for some reason I quite liked La Paz. 

Perhaps it´s just Bolivia in general that interests me, it seems different from other South American countries in that it's distinct culture is more tangible. Indigenous ladies with their big skirts, braids, alpaca legwarmers and bowler type hats are everywhere.  On my first night La Paz walking home from dinner there were young people in the street doing a kind of line-dancing thing, the girls with colourful skirts and the guys doing their dance with bells on (literally, on their legs!)  It was a long weekend - the 16th being La Paz day, the day when La Paz was won in the war for independence against the Spanish.  So I guess there was extra cultural pride going on around town, but it was cool.  I saw Evo Morales! I can´t say I´ve ever been excited to see any countrys president in the flesh before, but Evo is kinda cool.  The first Indigenous president of the country, he´s the former leader of the coca-growers union and is very outspoken against I.M.F/ U.S. exploitation of South American wealth.  On the Sunday there was a parade and I went with a couple of people from the hostel to join the hundreds of Bolivians lined up in the Plaza Murillo.  We watched the parade for like an hour - La Paz has a lot of marching bands!  But there were also traditionally dressed farmers, people dressed up as zebras for some reason, a contingent from the Bolivian Navy (we all speculated over that one given Bolivia is landlocked - relic from the time when it had access to the Pacific? Defending Bolivia from invasion via Lake Titicaca?) but finally along came Evo in his presidential sash, carrying a flaming torch, getting huge applause from the crowd.  Of course he´s not loved by all in Bolivia, but it´s interesting to be in a place where politics isn't a depressingly boring game of same-same.  Anyway, after the parade we found this street stall where some women were selling some kind of drink out of big pots on the stove, with foamy milk on top.  It was like a cappuccino/chai type thing but alcoholic - especially for La Paz Day, so delicious!  While in La Paz I also had fun in the Musical Instrument museum where there are all kinds of strange instruments, I got to play a kind of xylophone made from an armadillo and this cool harp thing.  I went to the witches markets where you can buy all sorts of herbal potions, but also dried llama fetuses if you so desire (ick!). 

I also had a first-rate night out with a group of great people from the hostel- quite a diverse crowd we had a Belgian, American, a Scottish girl, a Portugese guy and French girl, and me.  One of them had a Bolivian mate who decided to be our night-life guide for the evening, which he did a very fine job of.  After dinner we went to the Warm Up Bar in the city´s south which was pretty posh, then we went to a smaller Bolivian bar with lots of dancing and rum.  The music there was great - one minute it was early nineties dance hits 'I´ve got the power!' then it was Bolivian folk tunes with a dancey beat.  None of us were really sure how to dance to those tunes but we had fun and no doubt amused the locals by trying.  We found an Italian and another Frenchie to add to the group then it was onto an ´underground´ bar (which was actually above ground) where we sat around on couches in fluro decor, chatting away til the sun came up.  So all in all La Paz was great! 

After the hecticness of La Paz, coming to Sucre has been just delightful.  Although the city is ttechnically the country's capital, it has a much quieter more relaxed feel.  And it's gorgeous.  Its been UN World Heritage listed for it's town centre, which has tonnes of beautiful old colonial buildings all painted white.  I´m not generally that interested in architecture, but everywhere you look here things are just pretty.  It´s main plaza the Plaza 25 de Mayo, is the most beautiful of the dozens I`ve seen in South America.  The trees are really tall for a start, and there are fountains and lions sculpted out of grass, not to mention cute Bolivian kids running everywhere.  This afternoon I just sat on a park bench with an ice cream (it´s winter but the sun is so bright it gets hot in the middle of the day) and people watched.  Theres also a really lovely mirador at the top of the hill where you can sit on a deck chair, have a fresh juice and look out over the city, a great place to get lost in a book for hours.  I also had a nice time in the Park Bolivar where I had a great hula hoop session yesterday, getting into the flow with the music (and even finding new moves!) 

So I´m pretty much loving Bolivia.  Later I´m catching a bus to Tupiza where I'll line up a tour to the famous Salaar de Uyuni, which I'm also excited about:)  Catch you on the flip side!

Lake Titicaca

Ah the serenity.  Lake Titicaca was so tranquil and lovely.

I arrived in Bolivia on Tuesday, firstly stopping at the lakeside Copacabana, setting off point for visiting the Isla del Sol.  Its quite a touristy town but in a chilled backpackery kind of way with lots of artesan stalls, cafes and restaurants along the lake.  Although its winter at the moment the sun is quite warm, so it was quite nice sitting soaking it up in the afternoon.  Later I walked up the hill next to the beach and found a nice quiet spot to do some hula hooping as the sun set over the lake, it was so pretty!

Next morning I jumped aboard a boat bound for the Isla del Sol, site of the main Inca creation myth.  According to legend Manco Kapac and Mama Ocllo, the children of the main creator god were born at a rock on the island's northwest.  After an hour and a half chugging across the blue waters of the lake, the boat arrived to the south of the island Yumani, where I hopped off and began exploring.  The whole island is only a couple of kilometres long, so it was the perfect place to hike around solo without getting lost!  I began by climbing a high hill at the north end of the town, where I could see most of the island laid out before me.  From there I climbed down through the fields towards the beach at Challa, halfway towards the north.  On my way down I found a nice rock to sit on and take in the scenery of the the lake, which has these high snowy mountains along the eastern side making a beautiful backdrop for its dark blue waters.   I've been getting a bit into meditating lately (I know, what a cliche - woman finds her spiritual self while travelling but hey) so I sat and quietly focused on my breath and the warmth of the sun for a while.  Afterwards I descended towards a little beach, where I was still in quite a relaxed, almost spacey mood.  I sat on a pier looking out at the water which was sparkling in the sun.  You know how you can look at the sparkles on the water as if they're a reflection, which of course they are, but you can also just look at the light itself?  I watched each sparkle come and go quite entranced.  It was like looking at twinkling stars and if the wind picked up the light would catch more of the water and the twinkling would erupt into furious dancing, then peter out to more dispersed sparkles.  And don't get me started on the patterns of the ripples in the water, woah. But I swear people I was not stoned!  There was just something about the silence of the place which just made me really hyper aware of everything I looked at.  What a hippy, hey :)  I had lunch by the beach at a little posada run by a cool old Bolivian lady Sonia, with her big green flowy skirt and two black braids down her back.  She did a mean chicken milanesa.  I sat reading in the sun for a bit then continued on my way to the other end of the island, through the trees and along the rocky coast, eventually reaching the town at the north, Challapapma.  The whole walk was so quiet, I had only seen two other tourists walking the other way, other than that it was just sweet solitude. A little out of town was a little hostal where I got a room, then went to the nearby beach for more sunset hula hooping.

The next morning I set off to walk back to the south of the island along the main north-south path.  In the northwest is the Sacred Rock that the two gods were supposedly born from, and a beautiful Inca ruin Chicana, also sometimes called the labyrinth.  As I walked through it I did have a spooky labyrinth kinda moment too!  I left one room, snaked around a few different corridors, then ended up back in the same room by the same door.  Ooooohh. I was a little weirded out until I realised I was mistaken and there was a different door :)  After that I continued out to the very west summit where I had an amazing 360 view of the island and the lake, which is absolutely massive.  I sat there gawking at the view for a good half hour before continuing on my way south.  This path took the high road with a lot of hills but eventually I reached Yumani again where I got the boat back to Copacabana.  I managed to score a cool seat on the way back, at the front on the roof out in the fresh air.  I stuck in my headphones and blissed out to Max Cooper, bopping a little in my seat with my legs hanging out the side, looking out at the shimmering lake...it was heavenly.  That afternoon in Copa I sat by the lake in a deckchair with a beer and read my book, lovely lazy winter afternoon!

Colca Canyoning

It's been another great week in South America:)  I'm now in Bolivia but spent last weekend in the amazing Colca Canyon in Peru.

Colca Canyon is a few hours away from the lovely Peruvian city of Arequipa.  It´s twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, carved out by the Rio Colca as it descends from 3500m to 2200m at the town of Cabanaconde.  I joined a 3-day trek/tour to explore this spectacular area. 

The first day started at 3.30am (!) as we drove to Chivay, at the top end of the canyon.  After breakfast there we continued in the van along the canyon which is surrounded by some pretty spectacular mountains - it was beautiful watching the moon set against the Sabancaya and Ampato volcanoes.  Our group (me, a Belgian family of four and an Argentinian couple) then stopped at the Cruz del Condor, where you can see massive condors gliding on the morning thermals.  What an amazing sight!  After this we began our walk down into the canyon.  It was quite a rugged landscape, really different to what I'd seen of Peru to that point.  As per usual I hiked ahead of the group and it was only as I got deeper and deeper into the canyon that I really got the scale of how big it actually was.  I stopped at one point alongside a rocky outcrop, thinking it'd be a great spot for photos.  Little did I realise that my backpack had slowly been unzipping as I walked and when took it off my shoulder, out flew my little bag with my wallet and phone in it!  Down the side of the cliff!  After losing my bankcard and breaking my Kindle earlier that week I sighed, thinking 'well that's just great'.  Looking over the side I could see my bag lying there not 2 metres below but impossible to get to.  Along came my guide Alex who said 'No problem, I can get it'.  He walked around the side to try to reach it from the below, but as I watched him his face was looking more and more perplexed as to how he would reach it.  Then along came another guide, who nimbly climbed down the steep cliff face (with me pleading with him to please be careful) and retrieved it for me, phew.  Meanwhile Alex was pulling cactus needles out of his pants from trying to get it from the other direction.  I felt really, really silly.  But so relieved that I didn't lose everything that week! 

After descending further in the hot sun I finally reached the bridge the bottom.  I found a nice flat rock next to the blue-green river, dipping my feet into the cold water then sitting for a while and meditating in the sun.  Then when everyone else arrived we climbed up the other side of the canyon and stopped at our nice but basic hostal where we had lunch, followed by a chilled afternoon of napping and reading, then dinner.  The stars were pretty amazing- the milky way was super milky- but it was so cold that bed was the best place to be so it was an early night. 

The next day was a relatively level easy walk along the canyon through some small towns, to a place called the Oasis at the bottom of the canyon next to the river.  The hostal there had a lovely garden and a pool filled with spring water which was warmer than the icy river water.  I had a little swim and lay reading in the garden, then got chatting to some Irish people in another tour group who were staying there.  That evening we had a beer and played Uno (I know, crazy partying, huh) but were in bed early for our mega hike back up the canyon.  I decided to walk with this other group since they were travelling more at my pace (which also meant a 5.30am start instead of 4.30 which my group was doing!)

So the next morning we left when it was still dark, armed with head torches to climb back up the canyon.  Their guide Veronica set a pretty fast pace which wasn´t easy to keep up with, but my competitive spirit and desire for some good exercise (plus a bit of driving trance on my headphones) helped get me to the top of the canyon in a record 2 hours and 40 minutes.  Well I don't think it was really a record, but it was a pretty good effort. Me and my adoptive Irish family were all pretty proud of ourselves!  We had breakfast in Cabanaconde then began the drive back out of the canyon, stopping at a few little towns along the way, then reaching Chivay again for more hot springs!  I gotta say, I'm totally loving the prevalence of hot springs everywhere around South America, particularly when I'm trekking around.  At a perfect 39 degrees, this clear pool was sooo relaxing after the morning's steep uphill hike.   After the springs was a buffet lunch which was awesome because I was starving - totally took advantage of the all-you-can-eat!  Then came the drive back to Arequipa, looking out at the stark landscape with its herds of llamas. 

All in all it was a great couple of days, quite relaxing really compared to the other treks I'd been doing - it was like 3 hours of walking per day instead of 8, and plenty of time to soak up the gorgeous scenery!  Peru is just amazing and I haven't even seen that much of it!  I was a little sad to be leaving the country but with just 5 weeks left I've got so much more exploring to do.  So now it's Bolivia which so far I'm loving, but more on that soon...

High in the Mountains

I not only survived the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu, I absolutely loved it!

It began early Wednesday morning when I met my guide Miguel and the two other trekkers in our group Bob and Christine, a couple from the states.  We drove to Mollepata, a small town at the start of the trailhead and after breakfast began the trek.  It was a sunny day and though some parts of the walk were steep I did okay, chewing my coca leaves to keep the altitude sickness at bay.  After a few hours climbing the road from Mollepata through the valley we stopped for lunch where our cook prepared this amazing garlic bread thing plus soup and little steaks, it was yum.  After lunch we lay in the sun resting for a bit before continuing.  As we rounded a corner into a valley we caught our first sight of the mighty Salkantay mountain, with its snow capped peak rising to 6271m.  That afternoon we continued through the valley towards the base of the mountain, where we set up camp for the night.  It was pretty cold there but we had hot chocolate and played cards til dinner, after which I crashed out in my tent equipped with two sleeping bags to keep out the cold.

The next morning at 6.30am was the start of what would be the toughest day of the trek - 22km, the first four hours of which would be uphill as we climbed to the pass at 4600m.  We warmed up quickly climbing the mountain and when the sun peeked over the crest of the mountain it was a glorious day, almost hot.  We rested at a small lake then continued to the pass.  I was quite a keen bean striding ahead, fuelled by enthusiasm and coca leaves, and when we got to the top it was gorgeous.  You could then see into the next valley and across to the high snow covered mountain ranges in the distance.  After a stop and some photos we began our descent, winding slowly down.  The path was dusty and kind of tricky to walk down but after a while we stopped for lunch near a mountain stream, then had a quick siesta before continuing the descent down, down, downhill, the dry mountainsides transforming to cloud forest as we went.  It was quite a tough descent, it went on and on and I did get a little cranky with the slippery path towards the end, but sucked it up to finish eventually after a long day at 5pm at our next campsite.  I enjoyed a celebratory beer, then got really sleepy!  The three of us played Uno to distract ourselves from how tired we were as we waited til dinner.  Bob and Christine were generally okay to trek with, nice enough but despite both being 24 they were kind of like an old married couple, and not in an endearing way.  They would snap at each other and there was this constant tension like they were trying really really hard to have a nice holiday together, but failing.  Ick.  It reminded me why I'm happy to be single!  Anyway a lot of the time I'd walk ahead of them so kind of be on my own anyway.

On the third day our guide Miguel abandoned us (something about his name being on papers for another group, so he had to go help start another trek) and we joined another group, of 6 girls.  We had seen them arriving to camp quite late the night before and before too long we figured out why.  They were really bloody girly.  A quick rest stop after the first couple hours turned into a half-hour break to apply sunscreen, fix their hats and hair, adjust items of clothing and reapply band aids...So I gained a new appreciation for Bob and Christine who like me only needed quick breaks.  One girl in the group charged along the path, only to collapse in a heap at our next rest stop, laying on the ground like a dying swan.  I knew she was sick because I heard her coughing, but really she was being quite dramatic.  Which of course I never am when I'm sick!  So once the path hit a road the guide got us all into a minivan for the last few kilometers of the walk so that sickgirl didn't have to walk.  But despite all that it was quite a nice morning's walk.  Again I had avoided the crowd, this time by trailing behind. Walking through the jungle humming away, looking at orchids, the sun shining through the trees and the trail sparkling with specks of a silver coloured kind of rock (some kind of metamorphic mica, my geologist friend Laura has informed me) I had a few little moments of bliss.  That afternoon after making camp at Santa Teresa we went to the hot springs nearby where the bliss continued.  After three days of trekking, no showers and sore muscles, sliding into the clear warm water there was heavenly.  I took pleasure in floating in the water, staring up at the clouds as they moved across the sky, changing shapes then colours to a bright pink as the sun began to set, bathing the mountains in a warm yellow glow. Ahh, it was truly beautiful.  That evening a bunch of different trekking groups converged on the one campsite where we had some beers, a bonfire and some locals brought out the guitars singing and dancing away, a great finish to the day.

The final day of trekking began at a section of the red Inca trail which we followed up the mountain.  There is one famous Inca Trail, the one leading to Machu Pichhu which thousands of tourists hike every year, but there are thousands of other trails all over Peru and surrounding countries.  They were used as a communication system in the vast Inca empire, with Chaskis running along them from post to post, delivering messages like a relay.  That way the central power could maintain its quite centralised economy with knowledge of what was being produced in its far away lands, and relay messages back again.  The trail we climbed that day led us up another 900m, but from a lower starting point.  I was full of energy that morning and strode ahead enjoying the trail, the forest, the morning sun and the birdsongs all to myself, the others catching up at rest breaks.  When we got to the top I could see some cool looking mountains across the valley, and started taking some photos.  Miguel who had rejoined us by then, asked me "Can you see anything?" and on closer inspection I noticed the terracing in the mountainside - it was Machu Picchu in the distance.  We sat inthe sun atop the mountain quietly staring out across the valley for a little while.  Then began the final section of our trek, the descent to the Hidroelectrico.  It was tough going again, I think harder than the ascent because by this point my knees were getting sore.  But in the last kilometer we were greeted by a bunch of yellow butterflies which flew alongside us as we walked the last section of the road.  I felt like I was in one of those movies about a marathon runner, with my little insect coaches beside me giving me encouragement to finish, or celebrating the end like living confetti, it was nice!  When we reached the end we collapsed, had lunch then got the train to Aguas Calientes, the town close to Machu Picchu.  Despite feeling like celebrating into the night, after one pisco sour I was so tired I had to go to bed - at 8pm! But in a real bed, woohoo!

So the final day came - visiting Machu Picchu.  I had been looking forward to it of course, but I wasn't dying to see the place, I was kind of just doing it because everyone else does when they visit South America.  But arriving there, I don't know if it was the sense of achievement of making it that far, or because its just beautiful, or because I'd spent the last few days connecting with nature and so there was some kind of spiritual feeling happening (this atheist is still trying to figure that one out) but I got a bit choked up!  Its a really, really special place.  Miguel showed us to the central plaza and then the sun rose over the mountains, its beams lighting up Huaynapicchu and forming shadows in the Temple of the Three Windows where we stood.  We walked around the city admiring the stonework, looking at the llamas grazing on the grass, then around to the Condor Temple.  After a couple hours showing us around Miguel said goodbye and we went our separate ways, me heading up Huaynapicchu  for another view of the place.  It was really steep getting up there, to the extent where I wondered how the generally short statured Andean Incas climbed such deep steps since I was struggling!  But at the top it was magnificent.  You could see Machu Picchu below, but also had the sense of being right at the center of all the surrounding mountains.  After climbing down again and checking out the Temple of the Sun, I sat crosslegged on the grass of one of the terraces, quietly breathing, feeling the breeze on my skin, looking out at the mountains and the ruins of the city just taking in the moment, it was magic.  I was at the site for around seven hours and could easily have stayed longer if I wasn't getting a bit tired and hungry.  In fact I got a bit choked up leaving again, too! So it was back to Aguas Calientes then Cusco, back to reality.  But it was a really fantastic few days, probably the highlight of my trip now.  We'll see what the next six weeks brings!