THE INCA TRAIL AND MACCU PICHU (PERU)

As one of the top 3 locations I visited during my trip around South America, not only was my 4 day tour of the Inca trail and Maccu Pichu absolutely incredible, my base for my time spent around the area, Cuzco, was a really cool town, catering for absolutely every tourist's needs.

Before travelling to Cuzco I travelled from Copacabanna in Bolivia to Arequipa, Peru's second largest city. Here I managed to shake of the stomach bug problems I had developed in Bolivia with the help of a family in which a friend of mine had stayed with whilst on exchange the previous year. Without actually doing a hell of a lot in Arequipa, I still enjoyed my brief visit and managed to relax a little, attend to domestic duties such as washing and having my hair cut and also spending time with the family. However, I also had a good look around the city centre, taking in a number of the more impressive Catherdals and Plazas, whilst also getting some good views of the centrepiece attraction, the nearby 'El Misti' volcano, which I found very impressive.

After 3 days in Arequipa I took a half hour flight to Cusco where straight away it became apparent that my ever need was going to be catered for by the literally thousands of people trying to cash in on the tourist dollars flowing into the city. After being screwed by a taxi driver who apparently 'didn't have change'... I checked into a hostel and had a look around the city. The architecture of the many Cathedrals and other cultural buildings was absolutely incredible and I spent countless hours during my stay in the city, just sitting in the main square, watching people go by and admiring the buildings all around.

Cuzco however was almost certainly the city in which I had the most fun during my trip (narrowly edging out Argentine cities such as Buenos Aires and Rosario). The nightlife in Cuzco was fantastic, with every club offering a free drink between the hours of 9pm and 12pm, meaning it was possible to get absolutely belted by quickly moving between the 20 or so bars/clubs in the city before finally ending up at 'Mama Africa's' or something of the like. I quickly discover the primary objective for the night was to smash a drink down and then head off to the next pub, trying to avoid the hordes of locals trying to get you to go to their pub, sell you useless objects or buy a meal in their restaurant. One thing I never really understood whilst in the city was the countless people trying to sell information (how does one sell information ?). Nonetheless I had a great time wining and dining in Cuzco and met some very friendly locals and other travellers along the way.

Unfortunately my almost constant state of being hungover meant that perhaps I didn't appreciate some of the Tihuanaco ruins outisde Cuzco and in the Sacred Valley as much as I would have in a less sleep deprived state. However, compared with Maccu Pichu these were really quite ordinary I thought so perhaps I didn't miss out on so much. Nonetheless the tours I took were quite interesting and enabled me to learn more about the Tihuanaco culture, the construction of the various important sites and the religous influence imposed by the spanish conquistadors as they moved across Peru. Looking around some of the larger cathedrals in the city highlighted the importance of Christianity to the Peruvian people as all were adorned with lavish decoration, gold leafed wooden sculptures and many equisite paintings, a number with their own unique touch (such as a guinea pig being served up for Jesus and his disciples in the scene of the last supper.)

Still, the highlight of my visit to the region really was my 4 day tour of the Inca trail and finally Maccu Pichu. Despite Maccu Pichu being an obvious 'icing on the cake', the scenery along the trail was really impressive and I took literally hundreds of photos across the 4 days. Day 1 took quite a while to get started and after the usual buggerising about trying to pick up guides, porters and tourists we took a bus from Cuzco part of the way along the Sacred Valley before disembarking and splitting into our different groups. In my group there were only 5 others, 2 Swedes, 2 Americans and an old guy from Holland. After a few hours easy walking and a brief stop for lunch, we set up camp and enjoyed a nice meal before getting an early night ready for a big day of walking the next day.

Day 2 really was just a hard slog uphill, as we climbed from about 2500m to almost 4300m, finally rising over the 'Dead Womans' pass and then descending a few hundred metres to our camp for that night. I didn't think the day's hiking was particularly difficult, although at the higher altitudes, the lack of available oxygen certainly meant my progress was slowed somewhat. Still, I certainly did not appreciate little princesses walking past carrying absolutely nothing (they had hired porters to carry their things) and saying that walk really was quite easy... Quite surprisingly, the 70 year old dutch man in our group turned out to be the fittest member of everyone and reached the summit before all the other groups, including the porters. (I later discovered that he ran 20 kilometres every day and had been for the past 50 years !). After another great lunch, I enjoyed a relaxing afternoon, the majority of which I slept away preparing for another long day.

On the 3rd day we traversed some undulating terrain, not rising quite as high as on the previous day, but passing over 2 rises a little higher than 4000m. On this day we passed a number of outposts along the trail, all of which were quite interesting. Our guide was very informative and provided good descriptions of the history surrounding each site as well as the Quetchua culture.

On the last day of the tour we awoke early and made our way to the sun gate, where unfortunately we found the valley in Maccu Pichu was situated, to be completely covered in mist and fog, making it impossible to see a thing. However, as we descended to the sacred site, the fog began to lift, giving us some great views of the ancient city. For the rest of the day I wandered around Maccu Pichu, taking in as much as I could. The architectural precision of the lost city was absolutely amazing and I found it difficult to comprehend just how such large stones had been positioned and shaped using only the most primitive of technologies. I particularly enjoyed just sitting in a quiet area of the city, taking in its grandeur and trying to comprehend its scale. To gain a 'birds eye' view of Maccu Pichu I also claimed the nearby Huyanapichu, the trail being almost vertical meaning I was sweating my bollocks off at the summit.

After a few hours I left Maccu Pichu, knowing that I had witnessed something trully breathtaking, something that I was likely to make a return visit to sometime in the future.

Photo 1: Photo of 'Volcan Misti' with the city of Arequipa in the foreground.
Photo 2: Part of the Cathedral in Arequipa.
Photo 3: City hall in Cuzco.
Photos 4&5: Various archaeological sites around Cuzco and in the Sacred Valley.
Photo 6: Peaceful and tranquil lunch stop on day 1 of the Inca trail.
Photos 7&8: Views from 'Dead Woman's pass' on the Inca trail day 2.
Photos 9-13: Floral blooms along the Inca trail and other sites around Cuzco.
Photos 14&15: Outposts and checkpoints along the Inca trail.
Photo 16: View of the trail.
Photos 17-22: Maccu Pichu.
Photo 23: Peruvian children in local dress.

LA PAZ AND LAKE TITICACA (BOLIVIA)

Despite finishing my amazing 3 day tour of Salar de Uyuni only a few hours previously, my time limitations meant I was forced to leave my other 'team members' as I boarded a bus bound for La Paz the same day we arrived. Whilst over the previous few days I had gathered that Bolivia was in the midst of numerous political problems, the most significant relating to the government's plan to privatise the country's natural gas industry, I was certainly not prepared for the chain of events which occurred over the next 24 hours. Before leaving Uyuni I was warned by a friendly American restaurant owner that I was unlikely to make it to La Paz that night... nonetheless I decided to risk it.

My most immediate problem however turned out to be considerably less complex. Having booked a ticket from Uyuni to La Paz through the company I had taken my Salar tour with, I assumed that I would have no problem getting from A to B. However, I later discovered the company I was meant to travel with did not travel between the 2 cities. As such, I spent a number of hours chasing up various companies and demanding that the company refund my ticket. Thankfully this problem was eventually sorted out with the reluctant help of one of the drivers from my tour of the Salar. This sorted I enquired at the local tourist office about other places to visit within Bolivia, hoping to form some contingency plans should I not be able to get into La Paz.

That night I boarded the bus and immediately discovered that Bolivian bus trips were sure to be an adventure I was unlikely to experience elsewhere. Crammed into the bus were not only the 50 or so people that had actually paid for tickets (of which about half were Israeli's) but also another 40 more standing in every inch of free space. Sitting in my seat was an old man with his wife and after attempting to explain that the seat was mine, I eventually gave up, feeling sorry for them and retreated to the back of the bus to stand. Thankfully the other Israeli tourists were quite friendly and it was nice to speak english for a change...

After only half an hour of standing on the bus I was certain this was going to be one of the more painfull experiences of my life. When boarding I had wondered to myself why the bus was almost a metre off the ground, but after looking out the window once we had left Uyuni it became immediately obvious as we were driving through rivers and along roads not much better than those in the cow paddocks back home. Thankfully a few of the local Bolivians on the bus kicked up enough of a fuss that a 'tourist' was not being allowed to sit in their seat that one of the 3 bus drivers removed the old man and lady from my seat allowing me to sit down.

Making reasonable progress, we were suddenly stopped by a bunch of crazy protesters at a road block just a few hours out of the town in which we were supposed to change buses. As we waited and waited to be let through, it became colder and colder and following a mass exodus of many of the local people who had decided to walk, I was forced to grab my sleeping bag so as to avoid freezing to death. After a few hours we were eventually allowed to pass, although all the other buses and cars had left much earlier, the reason why we had stayed not being established although apparently not only had the driver fallen asleep, but also the bus had almost run out of fuel necessitating one of the other drivers to locate some more.

Arriving into our first destination, we managed only to grab a quick bite to eat before boarding the same bus and embarking literally on the most crazy bus ride I will ever have (of this I have absolutely no doubts !). As a result of multiple known road blocks along the route to La Paz, our bus driver decided to take less well known routes and back roads in the hope of avoiding delay. Once again, this basically resulted in us driving along dusty tracks and through paddocks at about 3o km/h. Eventually we were forced to take a main road and were almost immediately stopped by a bunch of dynamite weilding miners. Apparently this mob was protesting about something completely different to the rest of the country, but this didn't stop them congregating on the road and throwing hundreds of rocks onto the road. In an act of desperation our bus driver decided to try and drive through anyway, a move the miners didn't seem to take too kindly to and so they began throwing lit dynamite sticks at the bus. This put a quick end to our escape plans.

Eventually after pleading with the protest organisers we were allowed to pass and a few hours later made our way to the bus station in El Alto, just outside La Paz. Completely exhausted and pissed off with the world after the previous 24 hours events, I caught a taxi with a number of the Israeli tourists to a hostel they knew, which was apparently well placed and very cheap. The views of the city from the taxi on our ride into La Paz were quite spectacular, as buildings seemed to just sprawl for kilometers along and up the sides of the valley. Although not as impressive by day, La Paz was extremely densely populated and appeared to become more dirty and empoverished as the city spread up the valley slopes.

I spent 3 days in La Paz and found the city to be more interesting than many of the other larger centres I had visited elsewhere in South America. In many ways the city possessed a raw edge meaning whilst wandering the streets it was possible to see almost anything from 'witches' trying to sell llamba foetuses to drunkens using the drains as a toilet. I really enjoyed exploring various parts of La Paz, checking out archaeological museums and an explanation of the cocoa trade in Bolivia over the last few hundred years. In a moment of madness I also attempted to get into the La Paz prison, a self run institution in which it was apparently possible to be shown around by one of the inmates. Unfortunately/fortunately I wasn't allowed in by the guards outside and in hindsight this was probably lucky as I'm not sure how easy it would have been to get out once inside...

The multitude of churches, cathedrals and squares in La Paz were also quite interesting and I particularly enjoyed an exhibition of the best world press photos from 2004, which was being held in one of the cathedrals close to my hostel. However, by far the highlight of my visit to La Paz was the street parade held over the only weekend I was there. Whilst during the week the streets of the city had been filled with protesters who had marched in from other parts of the country, demanding whatever the hell it was they wanted, on the weekend these people were replaced by smiling faces dressed in amazingly coloured costumes. It seemed as though suddenly everyones problems had dissapeared and with the aid of a few beers everyone had a great time. Whilst wandering around checking out the parade, I was suddenly grabbed by one of the street dancers and asked if I wanted to join in... which of course I did, much to the amusement of everyone watching. A few hours later I was still at it, having a great time dancing in a massive cardboard costume and at other times, learning some dance moves from some very beautiful girls also part of the procession. Participating in something like this was once again an opportunity that I was extremely grateful to have been given and it gave me a true insight into the type of people the Bolivians were...

Another of the highlights of my stay in La Paz was a hair raising but amazing mountain biking adventure down the world's most dangerous road. Completed as a day trip from La Paz with the Gravit Assisted Mountain Biking company, this tour included not only a heap of great riding and provided an opportunity to meet other travellers, but also it passed through some trully amazing scenery in the mountains just outside La Paz. Despite having a small spill on the loose gravel towards the end of the ride, I thought I performed quite well and particularly enjoyed the initial 'sealed' sections of the road on which I could just cruise down and literally let go and take in the scenery. This is definately one thing I would recommend everyone in La Paz should try.

Photo 1: Sunset just prior to reaching La Paz from Uyuni (crazy bus ride).
Photo 2: La Paz city.
Photo 3: Last minute preparations before the ride.
Photos 4-6: Short breaks along the way (much welcomed).
Photos 7&8: Our guides (reassuring to know we were with safe & responsible 'adults' !!)
Photos 9-11: Scenery and other shots from the day.
Photos 12-14: Presentations, congratulations, a group photo and 1 very happy & relieved rider.























































Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world was my destination following my short stay in La Paz. I decided to leave La Paz rather hurriedly, mostly because I had been unable to shake a stomach bug that I had picked up after eating some dodgy food in a restaurant but also because I had heard there were likely to be big protests in La Paz the following day which could potentially have slowed my progress considerably. The bus ride to Copacabanna on the shore of Lake Titicaca was relatively uneventful despite the usual antics of trying to pick up twice the legal number of passengers in El Alto and I arrived in my final destination in the late afternoon. After checking into a nice hostel with great views I had a look around the town and met a few other travellers, who I shared dinner with at the restaurant attached to my hostel.

My first mistake was probably eating such a big meal after only just shaking off my stomach bug from La Paz, the second being that I ate the infamous Lake Titicaca trout. As such, later that night I was projectile vommiting all over the place and was forced to clean my room afterwards so I could sleep without the stench. The next day I felt absolutely terrible and seriously contemplated just chilling out with a few of the girls I had dined with the previous night, who were also feeling crook. However, my stubborness and need to continue moving dictated my decision and I decided to continue as planned, taking a 2 hour boat ride to Isla del Sol to have a look around the island. With temperatures approaching 40 degrees and my rapidly deteriorating condition, this was trully a mission of pain and it took every ounce of my energy and willpower to continue to the walk. Despite the Tihuanaco ruins on the island being quite dissapointing, some of the scenery from the 4 hour walk was quite impressive and in hindsight I was glad that I had completed the trip.

Without a doubt, Bolivia was probably the most erratic country I visited on my tour of South America and the country never stopped throwing surprises in my face. At the time of my visit I swore I would never return, a decision based mainly on the fact that I spent almost 24 hours waiting in the La Paz airport trying to get out of the country when I returned in the midst of a growing political crisis. In hindsight however I would say that the memories of my time Bolivia whilst not all positive ones, will definately remain with me for a long time to come and I anticipate that someday in the future I will return to the country to take in a number of other locations I wasn't able to visit during my first trip.

Photo 1: Sunset in Copacabana.
Photos 2&3: Photos from Isla del Sol.

SALAR DE UYUNI (BOLIVIA)

Quite unlike I had ever seen or experienced before, my 3 day 4WD tour of 'Salar de Uyuni' encompassed large areas of Northern Chile and Southern Bolivia between San Pedro de Atacama and Uyuni. The tour was undoubtedly one of my top 5 highlights from my travels around South America, not just because of the amazing scenery I witnessed over the course of the trip but also because of the friendships I developed with my fellow travellers sitting next to me in the 4WD for the four days.

On our first day we were picked up early and travelled the short distance to the Bolivian border, where after some discussion with the Bolivian immigration officials about the likelihood of seeing a Kangaroo on our tour, we grouped ourselves into 4 teams and packed our things into the various trucks. Given that 90% of the tourists which had signed up were from France, it was pretty easy for the rest of us to form a group - which eventually included members from England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and 2 from Australia. It did not take us long to coin ourselves 'team Diggler' a name derived from the porn actor 'Dirk Diggler' because apparently our German gynaecologist also shared the same first name !

Scenery from the first day included some stunning lakes each with a different colour - white, blue, green and red; caused by the presence of different minerals in the water and various algae growing on the surface. The colour of the mountains in this region was absolutely amazing and despite there being visible snow on the peaks, the stiffling heat and endless sand meant it was hard to believe that we were nearing altitudes of 5000 metres ! After a pretty long day of sightseeing and a quick kick around of soccer outside the 'hostel' in which we were staying we managed a few games of cards before getting a good nights sleep where almost all of us found it was hard to control 'toxic emissions' from our bowels, something we attributed both to the high altitude and spinach soup we had consumed for lunch.

On the second day we passed a number of very interesting rock formations generated by errosion of the parent rock by wind and flying sand. Despite there being no roads whatsoever and only a few worn tracks formed by other 4WD's, it seemed our driver Juan was in complete control and he not only managed to guide us around all of the most interesting sights, but also he did so at almost twice the speed of every other driver, all the while playing classic music such as U2 and Dire Straits, much to the jealousy of our rival groups. Unfortunately however, Juan's command of the english language was almost non-existent and hence I was forced to translate much of what he was saying so that the others could understand. That night we were treated to hot showers and comfortable beds in the famous salt hotel, a hotel built entirely of bricks dug from the nearby salt pans. It was incredible to see just how creative the builders had been and also to learn that by looking at the salt bricks it was possible to tell the level of flooding which occured (by observing the depth of the white salt layer, which indicated the amount of mineral matter carried down from the mountains) and also the level of volcanic activity in the region (from the thickness of the brown dust layers in the bricks).

Our final day of the tour was spent almost entirely on the flat, white and expansive salt pans directly south of Uyuni. Here we spent considerable time just taking in the magnificence of the surroundings and taking many photographs of the group, performing various actions or using the endless salt pans to help create a number of visual illusions. On this day we also visited 'Isla del Pescadora', the only place in the pans where visible life could be found. For a few hours we explored this small rocky outcrop, marvelling at the sheer number of cacti which were growing here, many of which were literally thousands of years old. Finally, we rolled into Uyuni, tired and from the sight of the town, wishing we were still out in the wilderness. Nonetheless, the trip had been thoroughly enjoyable and a fantastic experience for all.

Photos 1&2: Snow capped mountains and coloured terrain of the Atacama desert.
Photo 3: Volcanic activity - boiling mudpools and spitting geysers.
Photos 4&5: Wind erroded stone formations.
Photos 6-9: Desert lakes almost all of which contained signs of life (mainly flamingoes).
Photos 10-11: The Salt hotel - made completely of salt bricks.
Photos 12-15: Photos from the salt pan.
Photos 16&17: Isla del Pescadora a desert oasis situated in the middle of the salt pan.