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!

Sucre - The white capital

The distance from Uyuni to Sucre is not more than 350km but it takes about 8h by bus. The roads are dreadful and you find yourself in a constantly shaking situation. It's kind of fun during the first hour or so, but after that its getting really tiring.

Sucre (at 2.800m elevation) is the official capital of Bolivia, although La Paz is by far the largest city in the country and the basis of all governmental offices. Over the centuries, Sucre has been assigned o number of different names, which has made it also known as the city with the 4 names: Charcas was the initial name of the city, before it was discovered by the Spaniards and renamed to La Plata. In later years it was once again renamed to Chuquisaca and finally Sucre in 1824 in honor of General Don Antonio de Sucre, its 
liberator.
The other unofficial name given to Sucre is the white city....you will understand from the pics why. But all I can say about Sucre is that is one of those places that make you feel very comfortable from the first moment. It's not only the buildings, but rather the whole atmosphere of the city. I stayed 5 days and could really stay much longer in this incredibly friendly and laid-back place. Scroll down and you'll get my point...

preparations before the....

.....great parade !!!!!

The historic center of Sucre has been declared by UNESCO as a world heritage center for its preserved colonial character

a beer always helps relaxing 

kids always go first and they are very serious....:)

kids go ALWAYS first

Bolivia is the kingdom of potatoes, with over 50 different types

the central market seems chaotic when you walk through, but when you see it from above, it's actually very well organized !!

that's the right way to do it !!

Joyride cafe: No solo para gringos :)

exceptional hand-made textiles, from the indigenous communities of Quechua

I know...too many pictures this time, but I was so excited with Sucre, that I couldn't help it...


Next, I am crossing to Peru and Machu-Pichu....last minute change, as usual :) ....stay tuned

Crossing to Bolivia - Villazon to Uyuni

Getting to La Quiaca from Humahuaca was 3,5h by bus. I arrived early afternoon and after walking for about 1km I reached the borderline. On the Bolivian side, Villazon is the border town. My first destination in Bolivia, would be Uyuni and had decided to get there by train; by far the most convenient way, given the bad condition of the Bolivia road network and buses.

a good 11h on the train....executive class for 15euros

So, after an unnecessarily lengthy passport control (almost 2h) I headed to the train station which was another 1km walk, at the other end of Villazon.

First thing you notice in Bolivia is that is considerably cheaper than Argentina. Food, transportation, accommodation,....everything is less than half price !! Ok, so that's the place to recover my financials :))

I reached Uyuni at 1.30am, without having booked any place to sleep as usual. Together with 3 Argentinian co-travellers, we found a cheap, clean, hostel for the night, with hot water, for 25 pesos bolivianos (approx. 2,6 euros). All I can say is that Uyuni at night is freezing cold. For the first time in this journey I slept wearing all my clothes, inside my sleeping bag, and two heavy blankets....no, there was no heating in the room :)

the view from the train was somewhat....flat; although at 3.000m above sea level

just before getting to Uyuni

The only reason for someone to visit Uyuni is the magnificent salt lake (salar); sitting at over 3.600m above sea level.. It stretches over an area of 10.500 sq. km and is totally flat. In fact, it is so flat that is used by space satellite systems for calibration purposes. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to take the 3-day trip offered by many agencies, but I did, together with my Argentinian friends, hired a taxi to take us there for a few hours to stare at this exceptionally beautiful result of several earth transformations, over millions of years.

water has a depth of about 80cm max.

sun is really blinding....you need tons of sunblock over here

Salar de Uyuni is holding about 50% of earths reserves in Lithium. Yes, they are currently being extracted !

tons and tons of salt under our feet. I does taste like sea salt in fact :)

After Uyuni, I headed for Sucre, the capital of Bolivia and my friends to La Paz. Suerte amigos !!