Salar de Uyuni 3 day tour

DSC01424,
originally uploaded by Hol Riz.

The Salar de Uyuni is the worlds largest salt desert. At up to 5000m it´s a breathless place in more ways than one. Created as the rising Andes trapped an inland sea which then evaporated leaving a salt flat 20m thick!

Because of the cold nights we rented a sleeping bag with fleas. Well okay thats not quite true the sleeping bag sales lady said to us in a strong spanish accent "I have the best sleeping bags, they all have fleas" we looked unsure and so she carried on "honestly they have really good fleas", Great, we thought but good or bad we don´t really want fleas so started to leave when she pulled one of these ´flea-ridden´ bags and said "look fleas" and pointed to the fleece on the inside of the bag - doh! she meant fleece!

We jumped in our jeep with four dutch people, our driver and cook, and started our tour with a flying visit to a steam train graveyard. Rusting hulks left to die in the desert. Great fun clambering on and in all the old engines!

Driving on we were quickly surrounded by a vast expanse of dazzling white salt stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction. After a quick visit to a hotel made completely of salt blocks, we headed on to an island covered in giant cactii in the middle of the salt. The view from the top of the island was truly alien as the flat, dry, blazing white sea appeared to be frozen in mid-lick at the shore of the island.

We spent our first night at a small refuge with no running water and just a small generator for lights. After a fun couple of beers with the Dutch the lights started to flicker, prompting us to head to bed early with only our head-torches for light.

The second day we left the salt flat behind and headed into the wierd and wonderful landscapes of the Bolivian Alto-Plano (high planes). We visited lakes coloured red, pink, green and white and saw mountains of equally vibrant hues. The lakes would have looked at home on any planet apart from earth, the flocks of red flamingos being the only clue to our earthly location.

The second night was spent in a dormitory at high altitude (brrrr) We all filled every bottle we could find with hot water to keep us warm and hunkered down to sleep. The third day we awoke at 5am and got into our jeep. The temperature was -10 Celcius and the heater was less than working so we kept our sleeping bags around us we drove into a volcanic valley. The first stop in the murky morning light was a gas geyser of powerful proportions. Searing out of the ground the plume of eggy smelling steam blasted 20m into the air like a dragons breath. A quick photo (or none as our batteries were too cold to work) and we continued to the bottom of the valley where vast pools of bubbling steaming hissing smoking mud created a crescendo of noise like a power station. Still -10c half the group stayed in the car! At dawn we arrived at a thermal pool where we stripped off (yes -10c) and jumped into the glorious hot pool (our first wash in three days) Wow what a sensation! The rest of the day was spent driving through sandy desert stopping now and then to admire the amazing rock formations.

Throughout the tour our driver had played a casette tape with seemingly only one very annoying tune on it. After three days of eating, singing and even dreaming about this song Holland finally fliped ´amigo please could we have the radio on?´. Everyone in the jeep breathed a digh of relief as the radio static became a song, until we realised what song it was.. the same song as on the casette!

Upon our return to Uyuni (the famously hard to get out of place) we were told that the train tickets we had paid for were not available as the entire train was sold out from the first station. So we were faced by a choice. Spend two more precious days in Uyuni until the next train (dull), or try to jump on the train to Argentina at 2:30 am with no ticket and hope for the best. We decided to go for it! Being a Sunday the whole town shut at 10pm and we went to wait in the station. We were herded into the ¨waiting room¨, a freezing warehouse of sleeping (stinking) locals. By midnight the temperature was well below zero and even wearing all our clothes and more we were absolutely undescribably freezing and it was only when we had forgotten what warmth felt like that the train rolled into the station. Like a pair of ninjas hiding behind pillars we waited until we saw an open door and dived onto the train. Sitting in the first available seats we found we were quickly moved on by ticket toting locals. Over and over again we were moved on until we got to the last carriage of the train and found two seats together. We sat down and pretended to be asleep. The carriage door opened and we heard the rustling of the guard. Eyes closed, fingers crossed we were poked by the guard. ¨Boletos por favour¨¨he said.
¨Errrr No tengo (don´t have)¨ we said.
¨OK 70 Bolivianos each¨
¨Errr no problemo senor!!!¨, we had done it. We had tickets with seat numbers and everything. The carriage was so warm and cosy that we snugged down a well deserved 9 hours sleep. Onwards to the Argentinian border!

Holland and Becky

Rurrenbaque

Alligator,
originally uploaded by Hol Riz.

We flew out to the Bolivian Amazon Pampas on a small plane which had repaired part of its wing using sellotape and even landed on a grass runway! However this dodgy start was by no means indicitive of the whole 3 day tour. Spending one night in the jungle town of Rurrenbaque we started the tour early setting off in a jeep with a Dutch and an Isralie couple. We took a four hour ride then a boarded a wooden canoe for another four hours up the river to arrive at our ´rustic huts´ where we were to stay the night. The heat was a welcome change from the high altitude cold of La Paz but the mosquitos were not!!

We can honestly say we have never seen such an abundance of wildlife so close as we saw on that river trip, it was amazing. We saw caymens, alligators, monkeys, cappybarras, pink river dolphins, numerous birds and river turtles. The small yellow faced monkeys actually clamoured on to the boat looking for attention as we drifted past some bushes. On our first night we went alligator spotting in the canoe. As they hunt at night nobody wanted to fall in, seeing their red eyes shining back at us under torch light was enough. After seeing more red eyes than we probably wanted to, we floated back down to the camp in the full moon feeling slightly less secure than we had on the way up.

The next day the whole group went anacondor hunting in the long grass. We spread out, hunting individually to cover a wider area, our guide causally told us to grab any snake we see by the tail and we should be fine. Before long we heard a high pitch scream and realised the dutchman had found one. Our guide quickly ran over and held the 3 meter long snake by the tail for us all to see. Then in the evening we went in search of more deadly animals on our trusty canoe, this time pirahna fishing, with chunks of cow meat as bait. The technique involves lobbing the meat into the water on a line and hook, then during the ensuing frenzy of biting bubbles beneath the surface, you wait until you feel a strong tug and quickly pull the fanged fish, still wrigling onto the floor of the canoe (the dutch girl regreted wearing flipflops). Holland caught loads of Pirahnas (one hitting him in the face on its flight from the water) and some huge cat fish to boot, Becky caught a sardine.

On the last day we got up early and swam with pink river dolphins who playfully splashed us and apparantly kept the section of river we swam in free from biting nasties (the alligators stayed on the bank). Then regretfully we took the same incredible river journey back to Rurrenbaque with a few cold beers to ease the pain of leaving. A truly amazing tour.

Love Holland and Becky xx

The Worlds Most Dangerous Road

Rock on!,
originally uploaded by Hol Riz.

On arriving into Bolivia the altitude must have gone to our heads because we immediately signed up to mountain bike down the worlds most dangerous road. The first part of the road was tarmac which enabled us to reach top speeds and still enjoy the view. However we slowed up fairly quickly when we saw the tangled wreckage of a bus which had gone over the edge only a week before killing nine people. Then the real ´death road´ began, the tarmac stopped to be replaced by dust and stones, offering no rest for our now blistered and aching hands. Added to this, the dust and grit on the road made it impossible to breath or even see without a dust mask and goggles. As downward traffic we had to take the outside edge of the road overtaking tankers and double decker buses on the thin track with sheer drops to our right. One girl in our group lost control of her bike and plumetted over the edge, luckly at a point where some trees were growing. Becky (who had been riding behind her) stopped her bike to find the girl hanging on to a tree with her hands and hooking the bike up with her foot. Thankfully the day passed without any further mishaps and everyone enjoyed a dusty beer by the pool at the bottom of the road. We descended 3400m in four hours. Phew!

Love Holland and Becky xx

Floating islands

Floating islands,
originally uploaded by Hol Riz.

We finally tore ourselves away from Cusco and headed for the aptly named town of Puno, pronounced 'poo no' (and it really does smell of poo, wee and many other noxious substances besides). Although Puno sits on the spectacular lake Titicaca, the worlds highest navigable lake, the town itself is a rundown dusty place which doesn't do justice to its beautiful surroundings. Nevertheless we endeavoured to stay for a night so that we could visit the renowned floating islands anchored about 35 minutes boat ride from the town.

The floating islands are a collection of about 30 man-made islands built entirely from the reeds that grow on the lake. They were initally built as a means for a local peaceful tribes to escape the violent inter-tribal wars in the region, but nowadays serve mainly as a tourist attraction (although one island is so large it even has a school and post office!). The reed islands are facinating structures, they are about 2-3 meters thick with the top layers of reeds constantly being replenished as the bottom layers rot away. They are inhabited by about 8 families on each. We were told how the people who live on them retain a very traditional way of life, living mainly off fishing and hunting birds. A museum of badly stuffed birds showed us the different types of species that could be found on the lake, (although we would rather have seen them alive!). We also took a ride on a traditional reed boat which had a cats head and fish tail sculped to the front and back. The islands were incredibly quiet and we both thought what a tranquil existance this must be before being ferried back to the contrasting bussle of Puno.

Due to a road strike our stay in Puno was a night longer than expected but tomorrow we head off to the capital of Boliva, La Paz, with about 5 weeks left to explore our last two South American countries.

Click on the photos to see more!

Love Holland and Becky x

Inca Trail and Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu,
originally uploaded by Hol Riz.

After spending a week enjoying the festivals and cool gringo hangouts of Cusco city we left in the early morning by bus to Urubamba and the start of the Inca trail. After buying the essential walking sticks we set off in the glorious morning sunshine on the famous much trodden Inca Trail. The first part of the trail was what our guide called ¨Inca flat´ and although the trail seemed pretty steep at the time it was, in comparison to the second and third days, a ¨flat¨ hike up the Urubamba river valley. The plants and scents in the sunshine along the trail were very pleasant and we arrived at a beautiful green wooded area for lunch besides the fast flowing river. We were pleasantly suprised when we found a dining tent had been put up for us by the porters who run ahead up the trail carrying huge packs with all the supplies and food. We sat down expecting sandwiches but were treated to a three course lunch including soup, garlic bread, fresh trout and pudding. After lunch we were served with coca tea and we lazed in the sun, taking in the lushious river-side surroundings and feeling mildly euphoric. In the afternoon the trail snaked up the valley rising slowly to an altitude of 3100m. We were given sugary snacks and oranges on the way and arrived at our campsite in the evening feeling in high spirits and only slightly breathless. Our modern dome tents were already up and waiting for us (thanks to those tireless porters!). A local came round with a bucket of cold beers and we sat on the grass drinking with an Australian couple, Dale and Kate and an American dude, Alun. All together our group consisted of 5 Americans, 6 Estonians, and 2 Ozzies plus us. 15 tourists and 21 porters! Plus two English speaking guides, the leader being a very cool and personable chap called Juve. Dinner was again a luxurious, 3 course tented affair. We went to bed early in anticipation of the early wake up call for the famously challenging second day.

We were woken at 5:30am with invigorating fresh Coca leaf tea brought to the door of our tents. After a great breakfast with pancakes, porridge, toast and more Coca tea, we set off up the steeply rising trail. Upwards and upwards we climbed, slowly ascending towards ¨Dead Womans Pass¨ the highest point of the trail at 4200m. Over the next few hours we struggled ever upwards, higher and higher, the air got thinner and thinner and the steep steps got harder and harder. Many breather breaks and a tea and popcorn break later, the top of the pass was in sight. We were stopping to catch our breaths every five steps or so and the top of the pass looked so near yet so far. Becky thought she might become a ´dead woman´ before she reached the pass. We willed our leaden legs to battle up every step and eventually with much huffing and puffing we reached the summit to cheers of support from those already at the top. We were both knackered as we had climbed more than 1100m vertically over 6km and all before 11am! After group photos we continued downwards into thick cloud for 2 hours towards the second campsite at 3600m. While the uphill steps had taken away our breath, the down hill steps hurt our knees, this part of the hike was really challenging. We finally arrived for a good lunch feeling extremely pleased with ourselves for completing the pass and had a free (much needed) afternoon of siesta in the tents listening to the rain outside. (Let´s not even mention the horror show campsite toilets!) We awoke for dinner then after Pisco (local grog) mixed with hot tea we headed back to the tents for a sleepless freezing night of high altitude camping, curled up as tightly as possible wearing all our clothes!

Without the morning tea delivered to our tent we may never have stood up atall, but as we ate our early morning breakfast in the freezing cold the first rays of light hit the top of the hills and we headed up the unrelentingly steep trail into the glorious crisp morning sunshine. The trail climbed steeply again to the second pass and some of the best views of the whole trail.

It was also some of the most painful walking as our legs were starting to go on strike from the exertions of the previous day! We descended slightly from here into cloudforested hills and pausing to explore several Inca ruins we made our way up to the 3rd and final mountain pass. The trail here was surrounded by beautiful vegitation, orchids and wild coloured mosses and the path itself was 90% original Inca stonework. Finally arriving at the top we were greeted by a spectacular vista of snowy mountain peaks and deep valleys below. We could see our final campsite far below us which we would reach after another 2 hours of arduos down-steps work. Upon arriving we were delighted to find a bar serving cold beers and we sat looking 1000m down into the deep valley at the river below. Our last supper was a lively affair with wine and with tradition we tipped our 21 porters 35 Soles each (about 5 UK pounds and about 2 days in local wages) their grins were miles wide.

The next morning we awoke at 4am for the final push to the ¨Sun Gate¨ before sunrise. Feeling mildly nauseous and absolutely knackered we donned our head torches and battled for two hours along narrow cliff hugging paths with drops of 1km down to the river on our right. Eventually after a last near vertical climb we came to the sun gate and our first sight of Machu Picchu, a giant grey saddle of a city on the mountain ridge below us. After a moment of awesome relief and satisfaction and a few photos we had to move along down the trail due to the hoardes of other Inca Trailees building up behind us. We continued down the hill to the classic postcard view of the city from above. It looks so much more amazing in real life than you can imagine from the photos! We had a group photograph there but in our tired semi-delirious state we managed to forget to take the classic photo of us two! The sun rose majestically over the hills to reveal the city and surrounding valleys in all its glory and after some food we took a two hour tour around the ruins in perfect sunshine . At the end of the tour as the clock hit 10am the England v Portugal world cup quarter final kicked of and out came Holland´s radio! The majesty of the un-conquered Inca city was forgotten as his ear was permanantly glued to the radio. The next bus down to the local town was the obvious next move to try and catch the second half of the footy which we did and cheered on by our Ozzy mates we went down in penalties! Doh! We got the train back to Cusco that night through magical mountain scenery and continued the beer drinking all the way into town. Oh how well we slept in those soft hotel beds when we arrived!!

All in all an awesome and rewarding experience but one that we would not repeat! If we had just got that classic postcard photo....Doh! Oh well there´s always Photoshop!

love Holland and Becky!