The way back to Bolivia

After having spent 5 really great days in Peru, it was time to make my way back to Bolivia and visit La Paz & Potosi that I had intentionaly bypassed during the first time.
I don't know why, but I had the "brilliant" idea to stop at Puno, a town by the lake Titicaca, offering some "really" nice boat excursions to a couple of islands at the lake. To be honest, the views were nice and also being in front of a lake, 165km long, at 3.809m altitude is a strange feeling altogether. It's like a sea in the mountains. Other than that, nada !! Uros & Taquile islands were such a disappointment, I don't even feel like writing about it. If you ever get there, do yourself a favor, save the day and head straight to the other side of the lake and Copacabana in Bolivia.

another night bus :) arrived at Puno at 5.00am

I spent no more than 1 night in Puno and the next morning I headed to the bus station to get on the first bus to La Paz...only that there was a not so pleasant surprise waiting for me and many other travelers.

There was a blockade on the road to Bolivia and there was absolutely no way of any bus or private car to get through. From what we learned later, the locals were protesting against the opening of a mine, close to the lake, that would potentially pollute the area and the waters of the lake specifically. Didn't learn more details, but sounds like a fair cause to me.
Well, that was kind of unexpected. The bus terminal was full of people trying to figure out alternatives to get to La Paz. Some would go to Lima and then fly, others would go down south to Chile and cross from San Pedro de Atacama...all kind of crazy, expensive and super lengthy plans. For one thing I was sure about...I wouldn't stay at Puno for another day :)
After talking with the bus company, they reckoned that the blockade might go on for weeks since the locals don't show any signs to negotiate with the government. After 1h or so, no realistic plan was presented from their side...so, I decided with 3 other Brazillians to get as far as we could...in any possible way. Besides, it would be better to be as close to our destination as possible :))
We jumped into a taxi, the 4 of us, and asked him to take us as close to the blockade as he could. We did quite ok and managed to get some 80km towards the border. And that's where he left us...just 40km from our destination.

...in the middle of nowhere

And so, we started walking with all our luggage, at 3.800m altitude and under a ruthless sun.

no problem to walk through, but no vehicle was allowed to pass :(

how to fit 7 people with their luggage in a car.....
a nice guy already having two persons in the car gave us a lift between two blockade points, 2-3km less walking

We found a tri-cycle and carried our luggage for another kilometer or so...

That's Alex's magic backpack....looks small, but weights over 30kg

time for a break

apparently, few others had the same idea like us, but they were not going to the border

for a small tip, some local boys gave us a ride for another 2-3km....that was scary though!!!

we reached the Police station at Juli and the officer gave us also a lift close to the next blockade point
we must have looked so desperate and exhausted :))

no vehicle gets through....they were friendly with us though

we are almost there....tough negotiations with the road devils for the last ride to the border :))

does this qualify as a self-portrait?? 

with Camila, Felipe & Felipe....after 11 insane hours, we made it to Bolivia.....ole!!!

Spent the night in Copacabana and next morning, to La Paz. I had planned to stay for a day in Copacabana and visit the Isla del Sol, but with all the delays, I have to move on....

Next, La Paz....this time for real :))

Inca jungle trail & Machu-Picchu

Day 1 - Mountain Biking
So, everything is booked and we are about to start the first day with mountain biking, starting from around 4.400m altitude, getting down to the village of Santa Maria, at 1.400m. I have to say that it was a bit of a disappointment...great delays without reason in the morning, below average bikes, and a no-adrenaline ride on asphalt....offered some great views however

- Mum....where do rivers start from????
- High up at the mountains son

Spend the first night at a nice hostel in Santa Maria

...and the winner is....the black chap on the left :)

Day 2 - Heavy Trekking
We started at 7.30am, fully loaded with our backpacks and tons of insect repellent for the annoying day flies, to make our ways to our next stop, Santa Teresa, after about 9h....through the Inca jungle. That was the most tiring but also most rewarding day before we reach Machu - Picchu.

Santa Teresa is somewhere behind those mountains at the faaaaar end...we better get started, it's getting hot already

entering the Inca trail....

...careful, you don't want to slip there !

you can hardly see the trail...really scary if you look down, so don't :)

the little fella in yellow was our guide...one of the few times he was ahead of us :))

sun goes down, and we still have a couple of hours walking

We finally made it to Santa Teresa, after 28km of hiking, at around 7.30pm. Shower, dinner....bed :))
An exhausting but nice day !




Day 3 - Hydroelectrico & Aguas Callientes
Another early morning start, with a strong sun above us. Good breakfast and another long day is ahead of us; 22km to Aguas Callientes.

if the river is angry, you have to cross from above :))

walking though a banana & cocoa forest revealed.....

a nice waterfall....time for a cold shower

At around 7pm, we arrived at Aguas Callientes. A really nice place, and the closest town to Machu-Picchu.
Settled at a nice hotel, nice dinner and straight to bed. Tomorrow will be an early start.

just in case you ask, yes we could have gone by train for USD80

Day 4 - Machu Picchu
There are a number of options to get to Machu Picchu from Aguas Callientes. It all depends when you want to go. It gets complicated if you want to go early in the morning :)
Buses from Aguas Callientes start running at 5.30am, and get to the entrance of Machu Picchu at around 6.30 but in order to get on the first bus you need to queue from 3am. But what if you want to get to the entrance before buses arrive??? Then you do what some of us did !!!
Woke up at 4am and walk up all the way from Aguas Callientes to the entrance...or maybe I should say climb....1.484 long & tall steps I counted; in complete darkness, with torches...maybe I missed some :))

we made it to the entrance before the buses arrive

In return, you get the chance to take some nice early morning pics....

Llamas having breakfast :)

The way to Waynapicchu
Apparently, there is one more strong reason to get to Machu Picchu early in the morning and be among the first; the name of that reason is Waynapicchu. This is the huge rock that you see in every typical Machu Picchu postcard. Going up there is not the easiest thing and accidents have happened in the past. This has led the site administration to limit the number of visitors to 400 daily, in two time windows, of 200 visitors each. You either make for 7am, or then at 10am.

actually, you need about 45' to go up in a fast pace, but it takes 1.5h to come down :))

starts kinda smooth, with ups and downs...

that's how it goes for the most part of it....already thinking of the way back

just over the clouds....perfect

Machu Picchu & Waynapicchu in the typical postcard shot :))

sharp ehh?? if heights are not your thing, just stay where you are

dinner with the team-mates and a nice jenga game to relax.
guess who dropped them :)))

Next stop: Nuestra Senora de La Paz

Hasta luego

Peru - Cusco

After 5 relaxing days in Sucre, I needed some adventure. My initial thought was to go to a 3-day trip to the amazonian jungle, but I had not been vaccinated for the yellow fever, and that made it a prohibited area for me. You see, Bolivia was not initially in my plans, so there was no reason really to do it. On the other hand, it takes 10 days for the vaccination to become effective, and 10 days I couldn't really wait. So, I decided to go to Peru and Machu-Pichu. I would have to squeeze my schedule a little bit, but seemed visible.

Jumped into the first bus from Sucre to La Paz and from there straight to Cusco, the capital of the Incas empire, and today the starting point for anyone wanting to go to Machu-Picchu. The whole trip, including the border crossing took about 14h but it was during daytime and fairly enjoyable. Also, the road was really nice which made things much easier.

Sucre - Cusco : just 1.500km

at the border town of Desaguadero, at lake Titicaca. These tricycles are really dangerous :)
(no color version of this pic, I must have messed up with the settings of my camera)

Arrived at Cusco at around 11pm, having no accomodation booked as usual. Walking around loaded with all my stuff and I immediately realized the effect of altitude when walking uphill. At 3.600m your lungs are really struggling to find some oxygen.
First night I spent in a nicely looking hostel, which for some reason, the owner considered perfectly normal to have hot water available only for 3h per day. If you happen to miss the two 1.5h timeslots, he needed an hour's notice. And from my side, I considered perfectly normal to find another place the next morning :) So, I settled at Pirwa hostel, which was cheaper and better with a great colonial style.

One of the main plazas in Cusco. Very touristic but manages to hide it surprisingly well

The cathedral square. Very impressive !

some kind of roulette game. You drop a coin on the board and if it lands clear on a square without touching the sides, you win...easy!

Original indigenous Quechua performer in one of the viewpoints of the city. 

Outside the Larco museum. Outstanding private collections of pre-hispanic era. A must visit place in Cusco

Henri Matisse on primitive art:
"...at the time I used to walk quite often through Rue de Rennes where Pere Sauvage had his shop. He had some old statuettes in his window, which I found of a stunning beauty and purity of line. I bought one and showed it to Gertrude Stein, whom I was going to see that day. Pablo Picasso arrived during that visit and was immediately enthusiastic...after that everybody started looking for primitive art statuettes, which were then very easy to find."


Below some of the pieces of the Larco museum collection:

shining gold. from the jewelries section, one of the most impressive pieces

container from the Nazca region

Art goes to the battlefield. Actual war clubs used by the Incas

The main business in Cusco is hand-made Alpaca woolen stuff (really expensive even for European or North American standards) and tours to Machu-Picchu ranging from 2 to 9 days. I picked one that included Mountain Biking in the first day, some heavy trekking during the next two, and finally going up to Machu Pichu. At $200, I found it fairly reasonable, considering that included accomodation, food, rental of bikes and a guide for all 4 days.
Choosing a tour agency is a bit of a hit-and-miss story, because everything depends on the guide you have; and all agencies have good and not so good ones.
But will tell you more about this great experience in the next post :)

Suerte!