Two days ago we arrived in Panama City to begin the Central America leg of our trip. There is a new map in the style of the Europe one. The journey will be filled in when we do it. There is no definite plan yet, just a rough one in our minds. As long as we are in Belize in under four weeks that is.
There is a big chunk of South America missing from the blog of course. I will endeavour to complete the blanks very soon and hopefully get up to date by the time the travels are finished. Oh, and maybe some photos :-)
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Update
Been working on getting the Blog up to date, but for now some current location info! Lou and I are still on the move and yesterday entered Ecuador. Currently in the town of Cuenca.
Friday, 3 April 2009
Lake Titikaka
Leaving La Paz we are heading North East to our final destination in Bolivia. We are staying high all the way to the 3800m Lake Titicaca and the town of Copacabana. To get there we must cross a narrow part of the lake. The vessel looks like nothing more than a wooden platform with a tiny outboard. Twenty tons of Guss drive on and the slow crossing begins. We take a regular boat and watch from the shore. Apparently there is an Exodus overland truck at the bottom here. Riki has drawn the short straw, but he and Guss make it no worries.
There is not much happening in Copacabana it's shops strangely dominated by snack stalls in turn dominated by Pringles. After a ropey lunch we veg out in the hotel room watching TV and eating snacks. This is not something we have done in South America so far. It's quite nice actually, until ants infest our Toblerone!!
We are here to visit the Isla del Sol. The mythical birthplace of the Inca. It's a slow boat to the Island where a guide takes us round the beautiful coastal trail stopping along the way to see the sacrifical table, some ruins and the Puma Rock- the meaning of Titicaca and mucho imagination required.
Returning to town, bellies rumbling, we head for the shore side fish shacks. A woman entices us in with a tray of the raw specialty, trout. It looked good and didn't stink and, served expertly filleted and fried in garlic, was very nice. Even for a non fish lover like myself. From there we head to a cool bar where we are slowly joined by the rest of the gang. It's our last night in Bolivia, so Bolivianos must be spent. Nick exclaims excitedly to the rest of team Canada that they have the "Perfect financial situation" - exactly enough for a Tequila shot and beer each!! Weirdly, but just as well, the hotel has an 11pm curfew. It's an early start. Bolivia has been good. Much less western and less touristy with traditional character.
Staying by the lake we cross the next morning into Peru hitting the town of Puna around lunchtime. We have little time to get money and food before heading out onto the lake once more. This time to the well known floating reed islands. It's a short journey. It used to be longer, but the islands were moved closer to Puna for the benefit of tourism. It's likely the islands' sole purpose will be tourism before long. Even still it's a pleasant excursion with a light hearted lesson on the islands and a trip on a reed catamaran. A couple of guys have a go at rowing, but look pained compared to the local woman and boy!
There is not much happening in Copacabana it's shops strangely dominated by snack stalls in turn dominated by Pringles. After a ropey lunch we veg out in the hotel room watching TV and eating snacks. This is not something we have done in South America so far. It's quite nice actually, until ants infest our Toblerone!!
We are here to visit the Isla del Sol. The mythical birthplace of the Inca. It's a slow boat to the Island where a guide takes us round the beautiful coastal trail stopping along the way to see the sacrifical table, some ruins and the Puma Rock- the meaning of Titicaca and mucho imagination required.
Returning to town, bellies rumbling, we head for the shore side fish shacks. A woman entices us in with a tray of the raw specialty, trout. It looked good and didn't stink and, served expertly filleted and fried in garlic, was very nice. Even for a non fish lover like myself. From there we head to a cool bar where we are slowly joined by the rest of the gang. It's our last night in Bolivia, so Bolivianos must be spent. Nick exclaims excitedly to the rest of team Canada that they have the "Perfect financial situation" - exactly enough for a Tequila shot and beer each!! Weirdly, but just as well, the hotel has an 11pm curfew. It's an early start. Bolivia has been good. Much less western and less touristy with traditional character.
Staying by the lake we cross the next morning into Peru hitting the town of Puna around lunchtime. We have little time to get money and food before heading out onto the lake once more. This time to the well known floating reed islands. It's a short journey. It used to be longer, but the islands were moved closer to Puna for the benefit of tourism. It's likely the islands' sole purpose will be tourism before long. Even still it's a pleasant excursion with a light hearted lesson on the islands and a trip on a reed catamaran. A couple of guys have a go at rowing, but look pained compared to the local woman and boy!
La Paz
Much to the relief of everyone the road from Potosi to La Paz is tar sealed. A small landslide over the road early on gets us thinking "Here we go", but it's the only cause of concern on the otherwise scenic drive, and as always on the Altiplano, no matter how high the pass we are always ringed by higher peaks in the distance.
The empty countryside of the Altiplano ends almost instantly as a diversion takes us into the jammed streets of El Alto, the upper suburb of La Paz. It takes Riki a while to negotiate the traffic finally breaking through to the road taking us down into the centre.
Occupying a bowl descending 1000m to it's deepest point, La Paz is a chaotic visual assault. So this is where the Bolivian people are! Colonial buildings sit amongst random 'new', but action is at street level. Women in their layered traditional dress, street markets lining almost every street and Plaza, you name it's available, the hum punctuated be the shouts of collectivo conductors calling out their routes. It's fun to stroll the streets rather than hit the sights. We do visit the Coca museum. A few boards detailing traditional use as well as it's use in pharmaceuticals and the soft drink Coca-Cola. It's our wedding anniversary here and we celebrate with a candle lit dinner, the only light available, in a great old building adorned with a mash of antiques. Bolivia has pleasantly surprised on the dining front.
Just outside of La Paz beginning at the 4660m La Cumbre pass is the La Cumbre road leading to the town of Coroico. Once officially the worlds most dangerous road it features 63km of road over a drop in altitude of 3400m most of which is dirt/gravel clinging to the mountain side. Oh yeah, lets not forget the occasional 800m vertical drops down the sides! How would you travel this road? 63km of downhill... by mountain bike of course!! Riki, Craig, Tom, Hugo, Nora and myself choose to do just that and sign our lives away with Gravity Assisted. Reportedly the best company operating the run. This is not something to do with a dodgy operator. They kit us out with Kona full suspension bikes complete with hydraulic disk breaks. Craig has been talking about this since joining the tour. It's snowing at the pass so we have to start lower down the top tarred section. We layer up, but are soon stripping layers off as we descend into the subtropical climate. It's a fun and beautiful ride. Our Swedish guide sets a moderate pace followed closely by Craig, me, another Kiwi guy then Riki. There are plenty of stops. On the third last section the guide really lets rip and we fly down for the most fun of the day, cornering quick and overtaking other riders and support vans. Having faith in the good bikes really allowed fun to be had. Lunch at the end is at a wildlife sanctuary where we relax with a beer and buffet, watch the photos, receive the T-Shirt and laugh at a monkey chasing a cat! The bus takes us back up the same road, there is not much traffic these days, but we really appreciate what we just did.
Louise takes a tour of the Moon valley which she describes as a small Bryce Canyon. Back in La Paz a couple tries the old 'fake Undercover Policeman scam' on her. A 'tourist' asks Lou to take a picture at which point the 'cop' shows up and asks to see passports and money. The 'tourist' complies of course. Lou refuses, drops the camera in the tourists bag and walks away without chase. Scam foiled!
That night we have a welcome / leaving dinner. Leaving is Tom and Hugo. Joining is Emma, Brianny, Bec, Yana, 'other' Louise and Julian from England.
The empty countryside of the Altiplano ends almost instantly as a diversion takes us into the jammed streets of El Alto, the upper suburb of La Paz. It takes Riki a while to negotiate the traffic finally breaking through to the road taking us down into the centre.
Occupying a bowl descending 1000m to it's deepest point, La Paz is a chaotic visual assault. So this is where the Bolivian people are! Colonial buildings sit amongst random 'new', but action is at street level. Women in their layered traditional dress, street markets lining almost every street and Plaza, you name it's available, the hum punctuated be the shouts of collectivo conductors calling out their routes. It's fun to stroll the streets rather than hit the sights. We do visit the Coca museum. A few boards detailing traditional use as well as it's use in pharmaceuticals and the soft drink Coca-Cola. It's our wedding anniversary here and we celebrate with a candle lit dinner, the only light available, in a great old building adorned with a mash of antiques. Bolivia has pleasantly surprised on the dining front.
Just outside of La Paz beginning at the 4660m La Cumbre pass is the La Cumbre road leading to the town of Coroico. Once officially the worlds most dangerous road it features 63km of road over a drop in altitude of 3400m most of which is dirt/gravel clinging to the mountain side. Oh yeah, lets not forget the occasional 800m vertical drops down the sides! How would you travel this road? 63km of downhill... by mountain bike of course!! Riki, Craig, Tom, Hugo, Nora and myself choose to do just that and sign our lives away with Gravity Assisted. Reportedly the best company operating the run. This is not something to do with a dodgy operator. They kit us out with Kona full suspension bikes complete with hydraulic disk breaks. Craig has been talking about this since joining the tour. It's snowing at the pass so we have to start lower down the top tarred section. We layer up, but are soon stripping layers off as we descend into the subtropical climate. It's a fun and beautiful ride. Our Swedish guide sets a moderate pace followed closely by Craig, me, another Kiwi guy then Riki. There are plenty of stops. On the third last section the guide really lets rip and we fly down for the most fun of the day, cornering quick and overtaking other riders and support vans. Having faith in the good bikes really allowed fun to be had. Lunch at the end is at a wildlife sanctuary where we relax with a beer and buffet, watch the photos, receive the T-Shirt and laugh at a monkey chasing a cat! The bus takes us back up the same road, there is not much traffic these days, but we really appreciate what we just did.
Louise takes a tour of the Moon valley which she describes as a small Bryce Canyon. Back in La Paz a couple tries the old 'fake Undercover Policeman scam' on her. A 'tourist' asks Lou to take a picture at which point the 'cop' shows up and asks to see passports and money. The 'tourist' complies of course. Lou refuses, drops the camera in the tourists bag and walks away without chase. Scam foiled!
That night we have a welcome / leaving dinner. Leaving is Tom and Hugo. Joining is Emma, Brianny, Bec, Yana, 'other' Louise and Julian from England.
A Silver Lining - Part 2
After the Mint tour we in for a catch up coffee with Dave. We send Dave and co to San Francisco while Uli, Nora, Lou and I in up the cathedral tower for an alternative view of the city. San Fran is slightly better, but the guide here is chatty and a good laugh. If recommends a place next door for a beer to watch the sunset, so we do just that. The Mirador Cafe has a small roof terrace accessed by a narrow stone stairway and a trapdoor! We watch the sun setting and the traffic snarling. Collectivos (minibuses that do a set route) seem like 90% of the traffic. One behind another tails up the street. Surely it must be quicker to walk.
Potosi has been a pleasant surprise after not knowing what to expect and possibly not having high hopes.
Potosi has been a pleasant surprise after not knowing what to expect and possibly not having high hopes.
A Silver Lining
Post awesome American breakfast we mount up on Guss and take to the road. Potosi is the destination and it's not far as the crow flies, but the road is anything but straight. The winding road starts ok but soon deteriorates into a mud track. Work is going on building what looks like a new road, with much machinery lining the way. In places the new road looks like it has washed away. We pull an estate car from a muddy ford. Relief from the twisting comes in the shape of chicken sandwiches in a layby. Local buses hoot as they pass. The road is climbing now, precipitous drops growing on the outside edge. It's a tight squeeze to pass oncoming vehicles. Despite all this the mountain and plains scenery remains beautiful.
Suddenly the truck is breaking, wheels locked on the mud, and sliding towards the edge. I see the drop coming. I stand to move away from the window. It's a reaction, there is nowhere to go. Louise has a full view out the front. She has seen the digger arm swing out leaving Riki no choice but to break. We don't connect, but slide towards the cliff. "Everyone get out", is the command from the front. Later we find out Craig uses the window. We move away nervously watching the truck. The front wheel just inches from the drop only soft mud seemingly preventing the fall. Riki and Renee must step up and save Guss. We can only watch. A tow rope is connected to the very same digger. First the cable comes loose, second time the wheel ploughs closer to the edge. Riki is in the cab. A third attempt and Guss moves away and into the middle of the narrow road. Relief, applause, but we must get back on. Waiting cars impatiently hoot! They are ignored. A truck coming the other way can't wait and attempts to pass on the inside mud and gets bogged. We drive past, slowly. It's a long, long, long drive the remaining distance to Potosi. Jokey chat tries to break the tension.
The first welcome sight is a tar sealed road, but the way is still high and winding. Eventually arrival and a small basic hotel room that has never seemed so welcoming. Someone prayed and we made it to Jeruselem. Well, the Hotel Jeruselem anyway!!
Potosi is known for it's silver mine which is evident in the mountain that dominates the city's backdrop. Mined, even before the Spanish took control and founded the city in 1545, it is now run by a co-operative. Apparently working conditions little changed. A tour of the claustrophobic mine shafts can be taken. Lou doesn't do 'pot holeing' and I'm not in the mood for any more excitement, so we decide to simply potter about Potosi.
First up (that's 4060m.a.s.l up by the way!) is the Plaza 10 de Novembre. Many square/street names use dates for whatever reason in South America and this one features some colonial architecture and large Cathedral frontage. A side street from the Plaza leads to the church and monastery of San Francisco. Work is underway on the main entrance, but having read there is a good view from the tower we poke our heads into a nondescript side entrance. A guard/policewoman greets us and we ask about the tower. She takes us through the church and into an office labelled Secretary where a woman sits. She tells us the tower is 15 Bolivianos (there is about 9-10 to the pound) or the 40 minute tour, including the tower, is 15 Bolivianos! We go for the tour. We pay and ask when it begins. "Now" is the reply as she gets up, walks out of the office, beckons us to follow, stops just outside, asks if we speak spanish and to our negative response simply begins the tour in English! Thus starts our private tour of the monastery, church, catacombs featuring a chest full of bones and the highlight - the roof view. A series of steps leads, not to the tower, but to the many domed rooftop where a superb 360 view of the city and surrounding mountains awaits. Once down she thanks us for taking the tour and ushers us out the the main door. We avoid the workmen and stroll back to the plaza, around a bit, to a diner for lunch, before our date with an english speaking tour of the Casa Nacional de Moneda or Mint to you and I. Also taking the tour is, that's right, Dave, having made it to Potosi on the local bus without major incident. Founded in 1572 by the Spanish to mint coins from the local silver it was used until the 1930s. Various machines from donkey driven silver presses to electric equivalents are present. After independence Bolivian coins were still made here with the amount of silver per coin dramaticaly reducing over the years. The currency name also changed from Sueldos to Bolivianos to pesos and back to the current Bolivianos. It's ironic, given the vast quantities of coins once shipped to Spain, that Spain now makes Bolivian coins! Not all the coins made it to Spain however. A model shows a ship that sank off the coast of Florida. It was salvaged by an American. Two coins and one ingot were all that were donated to this museum. A fact that seemed to grate on the guide!
Suddenly the truck is breaking, wheels locked on the mud, and sliding towards the edge. I see the drop coming. I stand to move away from the window. It's a reaction, there is nowhere to go. Louise has a full view out the front. She has seen the digger arm swing out leaving Riki no choice but to break. We don't connect, but slide towards the cliff. "Everyone get out", is the command from the front. Later we find out Craig uses the window. We move away nervously watching the truck. The front wheel just inches from the drop only soft mud seemingly preventing the fall. Riki and Renee must step up and save Guss. We can only watch. A tow rope is connected to the very same digger. First the cable comes loose, second time the wheel ploughs closer to the edge. Riki is in the cab. A third attempt and Guss moves away and into the middle of the narrow road. Relief, applause, but we must get back on. Waiting cars impatiently hoot! They are ignored. A truck coming the other way can't wait and attempts to pass on the inside mud and gets bogged. We drive past, slowly. It's a long, long, long drive the remaining distance to Potosi. Jokey chat tries to break the tension.
The first welcome sight is a tar sealed road, but the way is still high and winding. Eventually arrival and a small basic hotel room that has never seemed so welcoming. Someone prayed and we made it to Jeruselem. Well, the Hotel Jeruselem anyway!!
Potosi is known for it's silver mine which is evident in the mountain that dominates the city's backdrop. Mined, even before the Spanish took control and founded the city in 1545, it is now run by a co-operative. Apparently working conditions little changed. A tour of the claustrophobic mine shafts can be taken. Lou doesn't do 'pot holeing' and I'm not in the mood for any more excitement, so we decide to simply potter about Potosi.
First up (that's 4060m.a.s.l up by the way!) is the Plaza 10 de Novembre. Many square/street names use dates for whatever reason in South America and this one features some colonial architecture and large Cathedral frontage. A side street from the Plaza leads to the church and monastery of San Francisco. Work is underway on the main entrance, but having read there is a good view from the tower we poke our heads into a nondescript side entrance. A guard/policewoman greets us and we ask about the tower. She takes us through the church and into an office labelled Secretary where a woman sits. She tells us the tower is 15 Bolivianos (there is about 9-10 to the pound) or the 40 minute tour, including the tower, is 15 Bolivianos! We go for the tour. We pay and ask when it begins. "Now" is the reply as she gets up, walks out of the office, beckons us to follow, stops just outside, asks if we speak spanish and to our negative response simply begins the tour in English! Thus starts our private tour of the monastery, church, catacombs featuring a chest full of bones and the highlight - the roof view. A series of steps leads, not to the tower, but to the many domed rooftop where a superb 360 view of the city and surrounding mountains awaits. Once down she thanks us for taking the tour and ushers us out the the main door. We avoid the workmen and stroll back to the plaza, around a bit, to a diner for lunch, before our date with an english speaking tour of the Casa Nacional de Moneda or Mint to you and I. Also taking the tour is, that's right, Dave, having made it to Potosi on the local bus without major incident. Founded in 1572 by the Spanish to mint coins from the local silver it was used until the 1930s. Various machines from donkey driven silver presses to electric equivalents are present. After independence Bolivian coins were still made here with the amount of silver per coin dramaticaly reducing over the years. The currency name also changed from Sueldos to Bolivianos to pesos and back to the current Bolivianos. It's ironic, given the vast quantities of coins once shipped to Spain, that Spain now makes Bolivian coins! Not all the coins made it to Spain however. A model shows a ship that sank off the coast of Florida. It was salvaged by an American. Two coins and one ingot were all that were donated to this museum. A fact that seemed to grate on the guide!
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