Peruvian Nights...

Hello Lima, can we have a bear....

An early La Paz start (4am) by sharing a taxi with one of our fellow Intrepid travellers, then flight to Lima, Peru. A momentary blip as we thought we may have missed our pickup as it took ages to clear customs.... no other reason than ending up in the slow queue. Then when we did get to an immigration officer, it was so laid back to be intriguing, the official talking on speaker phone to one of her mates as she processed us. But, collecting the last bags on the baggage claim (a bonus, they were even ours) we did find a driver patiently waiting; Buenos Dias Jose....

We join another tour here, different company (G Adventures) and a level of comfort up. This was due to lining dates up and Caro's research, this 'National Geographic' tour has appeal and not an excessive price difference....

As we arrived mid morning we explored the closer area, and found Lima (or this part, Miraflores) to be very westernised and modern. A lovely area to walk around, and a great coastal walkway.... with lots of restaurants etc, we will return here at the end of the Peru tour. Whole area masked in sea fog, which it apparently is 2/3 of the time.

A bonus, Caro found that elusive bear from darkest Peru...

This evening we had our meet and greet, and headed out for a meal with some of the group. Slightly different demographic... mainly older, ie older than us!!! American, Canadian and Australian. A young (20's) German couple to round off the 14 clients plus our guide Ali ..... Escobar no less, although he claims only a 3rd cousin of Pablo (although we will ask when we reach Columbia next month).

Finding the sun.... and sand...

A day of bussing South, albeit after a late morning start. Making our way out of Lima soon illustrated how this whole area of Peru is part of desert, and is constant sand hill to sand hill. Many shanty communities of people exercising squatter rights to claim land ownership. Meanwhile on the coastal side of highway many new developments of condo communities... A stark comparison.

The vast majority of housing in Peru, and was the same in Bolivia, is unfinished. Apparently if a house is deemed complete it is taxed... but not otherwise. This in combination with the poor economy makes for a very different look to the country than NZ!

Lunch stop gave us an indication of the large meals... so much so that we chose to miss dinner later. Our first night at the coastal town of Paracas.. and yes, the fog cleared on cue as we arrived...

A day of activities

Although we covered a reasonable distance travelling from Paracas to Nasca we certainly weren't deprived of things to do. First up was a 2 hour return boat trip to the Ballestas Islands, a reserve area with lots of bird and sea life. ..the poor man's taste of the Galapagos islands!!! We saw lots of black footed boobies, Inca terns, Humboldt penguins and thousands of Cormorants as well as sea lions and starfish.

One of the intriguing aspects was finding that the government collects all the guano (accumulated droppings) every 7 years... by hand!  

Next was a stop at Pisco for a distillery tour of and a tasting of the Peruvian alcohol  Pisco.  The mixes were very nice, strawberry, a Bailey's type etc , the straight stuff was throat burning !!! similar to brandy. The Pisco ice cream was pretty tasty too!!!

Our lunch stop was 40 mins further on at Ica, a place surrounded by extensive sand dunes. An option was to go for a ride in a dune buggy and sand board..... with a little Pisco in the system why not.???? Well the buggy bit was a bit like a roller coaster ride, 10 seater powered by 1970's Chev V8 but probably last tuned in 1980's!....the boarding probably the calmer option?? Anyway it was a lot of fun even if one of us was feeling a bit nauseous afterwards!!!

From there we drove until reaching the roadside tower to look over the Nasca plains which was right on sunset and then into the Nasca city for a 2 night stop.

Its believed the Nasca people were a culture from 100BC to 800AD living on the southern coast and arid valleys of Peru. They have been traced through their excellent pottery skills and their geoglyphs. The largely flat desert area has a number of lines and pictograms which were "discovered " in the 1920s but have now become a big tourist destination. There is another theory that they may have been aliens ...watch national geographic channel!!! 

First up the next morning we buckled up and flew over the Nasca lines...amazing!!!!! We flew over 12 obvious drawings eg a spider, a dog, a monkey etc plus there were lots of lines,quadrants etc... not easily visible except from the air, up to 100 metres long, AMAZING. 

In the afternoon we toured a cemetery that contained pre Inca bodies. We viewed 12 diffrent 1500 year old mummies, bones and pottery resting in individual inground mudbrick huts that have been unearthed by archeologists and judging by the ground contours there's a whole lot more bodies down there!!! The history behind this was extensive and quite fascinating.

We had a traditional dinner cooked in a fire pit ...similar to a hangi but the chef may have needed a few tips as the meat was very tough....luckily there was a cat under our table to feed it to!!

Onwards and upwards...

Another big day of bus travel saw us follow the coast South... still more desert before crossing some very fertile river valleys. Such descriptive names as Valley of the Beans, and Valley of the Rice. 3 guesses what was grown in the respective valley's!

Then a steady climb upwards to Peru's 2nd largest city, Arequipa for a 2 night stay.

From imposed hardship to volcanic rituals

Arequipa income is largely from mining and shows more wealth than some areas. However tourism is growing and a long and interesting history is driving this, along with beautiful architecture.

A morning city tour was spectacular with volcanos as backdrop. A tour through a large convent 'village' gave an insight into the closeted life of the nuns who lived there in the 1700's. Committed by their families at the age of 12, their life was mapped out... total silence, 10 hours per day praying and living in cells! A small number still are in the area but on more relaxed terms.

An afternoon tour, after a guinea pig lunch (overcooked so not so appealing), of a museum explaining ancient rituals was sobering. A mummy, very well preserved, of a 13 year old girl sacrificed on the volcano top by the Incas was the focus. This mummy was recovered reasonably recently... at the same time a number of other sacrifice sites were found... bodies included.

The following morning a flight to Cusco... where we will start venturing towards Macchu Picchu..... 

A few more Bolivian days

Bussing with the people

So from Uyuni to Potosi ....a 4 to 5 hour public bus trip through amazing county-side; lots of canyons, cuttings and hills/ mountains all shades of reds,pinks and greens. Clear evidence of the minerals that abound in the lands!! Also lots of mining towns to take advantage of those minerals!!!!! And lots of llama grazing everywhere in between.

We arrived in Potosi about 2pm and our guide Marisol took us on an orientation walk with lunch being the priority!!!! The midday meal is the main Bolivian meal, and restaurants offer a cheap set menu of salad, soup, main and dessert. Often the local speciality is at least one of the courses.

Potosi is one of the highest cities in the world at 4067m asl.  It is a UNESCO world heritage site due to its history and architecture. During the 1600's Potosi was larger and more important than London or Paris at that time.

The background to the city is dominated by a mountain known as the Cerro Rico (the rich mountain) . The mountain was discovered  in  1545 to hold vast amounts of silver and it's still producing silver today along with tin and zinc. It is estimated the mountain produced 60% of all the silver mined in the latter half of the 16th century. The Spanish were behind the extraction of  the huge amounts of silver which they processed  (the mint) and sent back to Spain via llama, mule and to their waiting ships.

The mint (which is now a museum) opened in 1572 and was the way to process the silver for transportation. Thus the production of coins began from 1572 to 1940s.. The initial coins were the first actual currency produced in the world and took over from product bartering/trade. As technology improved the mint was added onto but the older parts left intact so makes for a fascinating tour.

Of course all this extraction and production of silver was not without human casualties ....which was mainly forced resident native populations...experts think up to 8 million people died during the Spanish occupation.  Makes for a rather sad and dark history. It was interesting to find the $ sign is derived from the S and I of Potosi when overlapped.

Anyway all quite fascinating and a city still emerging as a, well justified, stop on the main tourist trail.

Some of the historic churches let you climb up their bell towers  which makes for stunning birdseye views of the towns.

Dropping a bit

So after a 24 hour stay in Potosi we boarded another local bus to the town of Sucre (2810m asl).  The 4 hour bus trip took us through more intensive farming areas; crops, quinoa, some sheep, goats and cows.

Sucre is the capital city of Bolivia, the 6th biggest city in the country. It is also a UNESCO city because of its Spanish history and the whitewashed colonial buildings that still abound. Sucre is also known as the White City and made for a pleasant 3 night stay.

So we've climbed church towers , walked to city viewpoints, visited the local cemetery and visited a dinosaur footprint park.

The Dinosaur park trip, included in our tour cost, seemed a little kitsch initially.... But was actually quite fascinating once we got past the plastic ones! Real dinosaur footprints in a clay cliff were discovered after a quarry was abandoned for limestone extraction (used in concrete production). The area was deemed unsuitable due to high contaminant levels. Over the following 20 years or so the rain washed off layers to expose a high number of quite distinct footprints.... seemingly going straight up the cliff.

Quite fascinating... apparently no dinosaur bones just their prints preserved in very wet, then rapidly dried, lakeside sand as they were taking a drink on the plains on their journey to Argentina. Subsequent huge earthquakes/uplift formed the mountains, folding the flat land up. And then the mountain dug out..

Our last night in Potosi saw us go along to a Bolivian dance show.... Quite fun apart from the fact I was dragged up on stage by one of the pretty senoritas to display how good I was at Dad Dancing, aka The Geriatric Shuffle!

Get on the plane

Leaving Sucre we flew back to La Paz for our final night of the Intrepid Tour, and spent the afternoon taking Caro on the Cable Car she had missed at the start of the tour, and wandering/browsing the markets. Back in our hotel room we could take in the view looking directly into the San Pedro prison.

Bolivia has been amazing, loved all the various aspects and made us realise there is more to the country that will have to wait... Jungles and Lowland areas sound fascinating as well. A fun group led by a wonderful local guide added to the experience.

The other thing about Bolivia is dogs.....dogs everywhere!!!! They are outside shops, parks, on roads or just in the middle of nowhere.... most seem fairly happy with their life ....quite often when we were wandering one would pick us up and wander with us for a while or for a whole town tour !!!!

And the other,other thing is Bolivians enjoy parades and brass bands.....seemingly any excuse and streets are closed down,traffic diverted and the band's and marchers come out ...the bigger the noise the better!!!!!

High?... we guess we are

Bolivia.... let's get intrepid

After a mix of evening departure, double flight with associated transit wait, and time zone changes our arrival into La Paz was 1.30am.... yawn.

However the drive from the airport situated at over 4000m altitude to the city centre of 3600m was spectacular, seeing the lights of the city whilst travelling through largely deserted streets. And a light dusting of snow.

Immediately we noticed the strange sensation of difficulty in climbing one flight of stairs but sleep was a more pressing priority.

The view from our hotel room in the morning gave a 'wow' moment before we did some exploring.

We joined up with an organised walking tour which gave us a great overview of the central city area. Guided through a few market's, including a witches market and a love potion market.... before moving on to the main political square. One of the buildings in the square still sports bullet holes from a relatively recent (early 2000's) altercation between rival groups.

Great to get a feel for the city and the markets are amazing. Seeing the local, ladies in particular, in their traditional clothing and hearing the explanations was great.

Our first day was rounded off with our introductory meeting for the Intrepid Travel group tour we are doing in Bolivia. We are quite lucky as there is only 3 other travellers, with our guide advising this is very unusual but will effectively make for a private tour.

La Paz for a day

If you ever wondered what Caro is like when she's high, this was the day we found out! In hindsight yesterday's activities were too much... and we should have known as even a local on the flight in had warned us to have a relaxed first day. Yep, although we were all drugged up, altitude sickness had hit with Caro feeling very ill and spending the day sleeping 🤕... but thankfully felt much better by evening (Although disappointed to have lost a day).

I hadn't been affected too bad, headache and that strange exertion feeling excepted. So on I carried and joined the rest of our group as our guide Marisol, a La Paz native, took us to the nearby Moon Valley by local transport (itself an adventure).

Following our return to the city we had a trip from the valley back up to the airport level by the large cable car system. The cable car system was opened 2014 and is an efficient method of moving the population around.

Llama anyone?

The first travel day was reasonably big with 8 hours from La Paz to Uyuni town. Lots of interesting scenery, the first part with snow lying. Some large areas of construction evident close to La Paz as the population grows... although still looks like a large worksite with dirt roads and roadside street vendors.

The countryside has lots of farmland... but not as we know it! Crops grown, but not evident now in winter, include potatoes, quinoa and barley. Largely still worked by hand or horse, although tractors are used in some of the bigger places. No fences with local knowledge being boundaries. Thanks to the eating trends of the western countries quinoa has become a rather profitable crop to grow for export though it's a laborious harvest as all hand picked.

As trip progressed some livestock was evident. Sheep!.. but small flocks being tended by a person whilst they free range grazed. They are penned at night. Cattle, dairy produce in one area... once again small numbers and minimal mechanisation. Llamas also farmed on a free range basis.

After arriving in Uyuni we had an introductory walk around... very cold, preparing for next few days. Then dinner, what else but grilled Llama! (Noel had that not Caro.... they're too cute!!!!)

Do you want salt with that?

A morning load up of our mode of transport for the next 3 days, a Toyota Land cruiser which comfortably held the 6 of us plus driver along with roof rack of supplied duffel bags for our reduced luggage. The day was spent on the amazing Salar de Uyuni Salt Lake... a massive area visible from space, easily the world's largest. It was stunning !!!!! vistas under a blue sky, although a little cooler, over huge salt distances including a stop for some fun perspective shots and to an "island" covered in cactus; this place is phenomenal.

Feeling on top of the world!

We had early on visited the salt factory, a very basic hand method of crushing and bagging. The actual harvest still follows basic traditional methods, although tractors are used to form grader rows for hand collection. All by local communities.

The huge disappointment to us was being informed that the whole lake is threatened due to a strong push to allow harvesting of Lithium for battery use. This would not only destroy the whole lake as they dig the lot out, it would also contaminate areas surrounding the lake (due to chemicals used and by products of the process). Somewhat ironic given the environmental push for battery use!

Onward to our accommodation, made of salt bricks even our bed base was salt bricks, a more basic level ( ie no hot water or heating!!) but clean and lots of blankets supplied.

They did warn us it could be cold

This day was a lot of slow driving over totally metal tracks, or in some cases not even that. But a stunning day with a twist! Highest point reached was around 4600m as we traversed the Andean desert, running parallel with and close to the Chile border, before dropping in altitude slightly.

Passing some lagoons with Pink Flamingos was a highlight as well as the Red Lagoon  the colour of which was caused by algae. It's also the biggest lake that the pink flamingos breed on: apparently there's thousands in residence over the breeding season....now there were still a few small groups generally ones with juveniles that haven't mastered the art of flying in time for the migration to warmer climates ....I bet they are a bit sad at this point!!!!

We dropped our bags at our next lodge and lunched there. This was very basic accommodation.... shared dormitory style, no heating, no hot water, 2 toilets to 36 people....

It was actually snowing now and very cold, as forecast. However it isn't that usual, and the locals surprisingly are not that used to the consequences. We headed off after lunch to continue the planned program (with a promise of a soak in hotsprings at 4500ish metres),

It soon became a bit of a concern that the snow drifts were building up, and our driver was picking a path through the area off the main trail. Then, we spotted another Landcruiser completely stuck in a drift. No way could we pull him out as they were that well bellied. Our driver assisted for a while with shovelling until Noel convinced our guide that perhaps we should leave them and ensure we could get back to the lodge and radio for assistance. That was the result luckily and an empty vehicle doubled back to rescue the occupants of the stuck one.

So the lodge soon filled as no vehicles could get further. A small fire in eating area helped a little, but it was an afternoon of tucked under blankets in full 5 layer clothing followed by an early night. The most disappointed was our guide Marisol, whereas the rest of us accepted it as a bit of excitement...

Gotta catch a ghost train....

Our final day of 4 wheel driving led us back to Uyuni, but first travelling out of the now snow landscapes from a very cold lodge. Impressive scenery continued including passing the Red Lagoon again, but on the other side.

Even the Llamas sought shelter

A number of stops, but even once out of the snow zone the wind was bitterly cold... ending up with 6 layers of merino, puffer jackets, windbreak jacket, double gloves.... a veritable Michelin Man ready to rob a bank with balaclava and sunglasses!

Our lunch stop was a National Park of a huge area of rocks, formations etc. Once again amazing scenery with the well practiced layer up, out of vehicle, walk around and reverse.

Final stop was at the train cemetery on the outskirts of Uyuni, many old trains were brought to the area ex other countries to work in the mining industry. Trucks took over, the railway became redundant and the trains all parked....to slowly rust away!

We headed to our hotel to utilise their hot water and prepare for our next leg... which will be our next post.

Ahh... BUENOS AIRES

BUENOS AIRES.... 6 nights is only enough 

We immediately got a taste of the city vibe on our taxi ride from the airport to our accommodation... floodlit (huge) statues (cabello statues!!🐎) along wide tree lined avenues before the drive past multiple architectural building styles! Then a short walk to find dinner amongst the very trendy Palermo neighbourhood.... (our lovely BnB was ideally situated with a very helpful and informative host),

Day 1 (uno)

Although it was raining we were not deterred we took a South city bike tour. Buenos Aires is not that well set up for biking so made for some hair rasing moments!!!...

Anyway we explored the La Boca area which is considered the working class area and not the place to dawdle in..... but it has a very proud football heritage and also it's considered the birth place of tango.

Then thru Puerto Madero (hoity toity part) to Plaza de Mayo with it's presidential offices and a whole lot of other stately looking buildings.

Winding our way up one of the major avenues on rush hour was interesting....

Picture if you will us country bumpkins being led valiantly across a pedestrian crossing on the world's second widest street. Bearing in mind a pedestrian crossing in this city is little more than a target... and the particular one we were on seemed to have the equivalent of all the cars in NZ bearing down on it!

But, hey, we made it and the wet wasn't too big an issue for the tour, apart from our guide who seemed the worst affected.... don't think he would handle a poor Southland lambing day 😁

Day 2 (dos)

Lots of walking and exploring... so many grand buildings!, but seamlessly blending in are other buildings. The money which must have been available in Argentina's affluent times of late 1800's, early 1900's is mind boggling. Since then the country has undergone numerous downturns and political upheaval... still witnessed now with the exchange rate moving around drastically enough that many businesses only accept cash.

Bookstore within theatre building

The highlight of the day was Recoleta cemetery..  a walk around by ourselves initially and then managed to find a tour guide and learn lots of details, and ghost stories. This place is phenomenal, each site/plot trying to outdo each other in grandeur. Each of the 4800 sites is able to store up to 20 remains... making a "population" of up to 19000. (Technically, but number varies as they are family plots. Also if family is unable to keep up maintenance, or no descendents remain, the plot may be sold. The 'residents' moved out and they start again). There's also a resident population of cats that look after the cemetery...

Day 3 (tres)

Today we took an hour long train trip north of the city to a town called Tigre. It's a gateway to the Parana wetlands and a holiday day trip for the city folk.

Had lots of canal tours available, a handmade furniture market and the best panaderia (bakery) ever!!! The other highlight was the train trip itself with people selling lots of food, lollies, tissues etc and  buskers..... moving through the carriages.

Day 4 (cuatro)

This was the San Telmo market day which was absolutely enormous!!!! Originally selling antiques from bygone era's it's morphed into a huge find anything you want sort of affair. 

After wading our way through that we had a closer look at some of the plazas that abound throughout the inner city.

Day 5 (cinco)

We took a ferry ( 1 hour trip) to Colonia in Uruguay.  It's a UNESCO world heritage site (um... now there's an idea for Arrowtown). The town was founded in 1680 and is a series of old buildings, a town gate entrance, cobbled streets and some new archeological diggings. Apparently in summer it is overrun with people but we struck a very quiet day; it was amazing to walk around ....lots of random old dogs wandering too. Also a few random old vehicles parked, for a touch of?

Day 6 (seis)

Our last day in Buenos Aires and a quick trip downtown for some final pics......and the only time the subway failed us; obviously due to a breakdown somewhere .... it takes a lot people a lot of places very efficiently but if something goes wrong it doesn't take long to implode!!! 

Lasting memories.... the grandeur of the buildings, most streets were tree lined making it an attractive city with uneven footpaths; crazy traffic; the late night socialising, not all the restaurants would be open by 9pm with people mainly dining from then. 

It's a city of cats and dogs. Some dogs seemingly homeless (but in good condition) wondering streets/sub ways/on trains...everywhere!!!! We swear we saw the same dog twice on/in different train/subways, miles apart! he must have an annual pass or just living ruff...

The Argentinians are very passionate people with regards to their territories and politics and willing to protest for their beliefs. We witnessed a number of protests which seemed to revolve around blocking traffic and making as much noise as possible (drums, fireworks, music.. you name it).

A very social people witnessed by a restaurant or bar seemingly every few metres. Speaking of food the cake shop displays are out of this world!

We enjoyed our time here, and really only saw a small part of what is obviously a diverse and wide ranging country. Sorry it took us so long to get here (all through our wild days, our mad existence, we kept our promise... etc) but it's been great!

Evita (Eva Peron) was pleased we made it....

and look.... a cabello!!!!

Iguazu.... wow!

Day 1

After our brief sleep at the Buenos Aires airport hotel (5 hrs) we had an early start for our flight to to the city of Puerto Iguazu. Arriving mid morning at our lodging gave us the chance to spend the afternoon exploring one side of the Iguazu Falls.

A bus ride over the border to Brasil.... woop, woop a passport stamp at the most relaxed customs border we have ever seen... and dropped off at the Brasil National Park.

Get on the bus!, waiting at Puerto Iguazu bus station

WOW! a cliche, but words are hard to find to describe the scale and size of the falls.

Returning to our  Argentine hotel, after the mandatory off the bus exercise for another passport stamp, it was time to wander and find a great (mexican) restaurant. The frightening discovery however that cider is not seemingly  found in this country... so it's Beer for Caro, ah well... needs must!

Puerto Iguazu is a relaxed city bounded by 2 rivers, on the other side of which lie Brazil and Paraguay respectively. We soon realised our planning to spend our first few days here was a good idea. The smaller city, friendly relaxed people and the added bonus of, unexpected to us, 3 days of mid 20's temps eased us pleasantly into our trip.

Day 2

Spending all day on the Argentine side of the falls reinforced we had only seen a smidgen of the falls effect the previous day!! These things are huge and dramatic, and yet it is obvious the river is actually quite low... what the falls must look like in full flow would be mind boggling.

We spent the day doing quite a bit of walking around both upper (top of falls) and lower (bottom obviously) trails.... at the same time keeping an eye on the scuttling Coati (possum sized) which are persistent food seeking pests. Supposedly aggressive and rabid it paid to keep clear but we witnessed one get a sandwich out of someone's backpack!

Spot the (50 seater) tour boat heading into mist. They have emergency crews watching full time.

Noise and power of falls at this view point was staggering.

Day 3

A relaxed day exploring the city area before our late afternoon flight back to Buenos Aires.

A note on our blog, we will avoid naming hotels etc as we do not want to sound like a trip advisor report... but will possibly comment if good or bad. Should anyone want reference names etc for their use just ask us sometime😊.... where we stayed in Iguazu was great. Not 5 star (but neither was the price!!!)  but very clean and adequate, very close to centre of town, bus station etc and had an attached restaurant and bar... 

Paraguay on left, Brasil on right, Argentina in foreground