TravelStream™ news feed for member nicpam on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/nicpam en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:58:35 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1217136720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1217136720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1217136720/tpod.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:58:35 -0400 Nic & Pam's South American adventure!

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Huonville, Tasmania, Australia

Okay folks, we're back!So what's the verdict? Is 8 weeks enough to get a feel for Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia? Can we really say we've 'seen' those countries?Well, we figure 'yes'. The trip has been fantastic - our expectations have been far exceeded and we can't wait to go back. The parts of Sud America that we've seen have been amazing. The people are fabulous, the culture is incredible and the landscapes diverse and spectacular. We would definitely recommend doing the public transport thing - forego your comfortable tourist bus and get down and dusty with the locals. Some highlights:-*  Ecuador - the jungle, Volcan Cotopaxi and our bike ride down it, Banos, the people and the roads!*  Peru - our brilliant trek from Lares to Ollantytambo, Machupiccu (of course), dune buggying at Huacachino Oasis, finding a reasonable coffee at Arequipa, the hot springs at Chivay, nearly being wiped out while in a bike taxi in Puno (and yes, it's all been captured on video!) and visiting the Uros Islands.*  Bolivia - the Salar de Uyuni, conquering the World's Most Dangerous Road, surviving -21degC in the desert, finding a great pizza in Sucre and the smell of the Witches Market in La Paz.Some things we will miss about South America.....*  The great people *  The colours, crafts, cultures and costumes*  Dressed up dogs*  The unexpected*  The challenge to learn and understandSome things we won't miss that much about South America.....*  Crap coffees*  Cold showers*  Spending way too much time on the toilet!Thanks to all those people who have visited our blog - hope you've enjoyed it!Africa 2010 - here we come!Cheersnic & Pam
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1216957680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1216957680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1216957680/tpod.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:13:11 -0400 Nic & Pam's South American adventure!

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La Paz, Bolivia

Now this place seems familiar.Here we are back in La Paz after a flight from Sucre with the lovely local airline Aerosur. Well, they have nice colours anyway - purple and green. Shame about the dodgy takeoff and landing. At least no bits fell off the plane! (Sorry Qantas)!  We actually nearly didn't make it to the airport at all - in true Bolivian fashion a snap strike was called and the roads to the airport at Sucre were blocked. Lucky we left early in the morning before the strike force was at its full compliment. Consequently our bus driver managed to find an unoccupied route 'around the back way'. Lucky us!Back at the Hotel Rosario with Boris (our best friend away from home) and Ximena. We're in for some last minute shopping at the markets only to be told to get home quickly because the 'bandits' are coming out tonight. Whoever the bandits are. Anyway, we scurry home after a decent meal at the Tucan restaurant (opposite Olivers the British Pub - what? Where else would you expect to find a British Pub but in a city in Bolivia??). About 10 o'clock, sure enough, there's lots of yelling and shouting in the streets which escalates into gunfire an hour or so later. Glad we made it back to the hotel!Next day we're off to the airport and guess what, more strikes! And a marching band (actually a series of about 16 marching bands). We wait patiently (which is more than our taxi driver does as he lays on his horn). Lucky we anticipated this and left an hour earlier than necessary! Hit a dog on the road at the entrance to the airport. Great! Then get told by the lovely lady at the Lan Chile counter that we have tickets from La Paz to Iquique and Santiago but no further...........mmmm.........don't panic........worst case scenario is Nic doesn't get to work on Monday! Anyway, off we go for 45 minutes where we land in Iquique - a bizarre 'installation' on the north coast of Chile. From what we gather this is just a mustering station and immigration clearance point. We all get off the plane, clear Chilean immigration and then get back on the plane again. Well, that was worthwhile..! Get to Santiago where our reservations were 'found'...amazing! From here - home!Adios amigos!nic & Pam
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Uyuni, Bolivia

Hola from Bolivia!Well, we´ve moved on from La Paz. We had a 4 hour bus trip from La Paz to Oruro and then caught the train down to Uyuni (another 8 hours). A long day of travelling resulting in us arriving at 11pm in a cold hotel in a dusty town! The new group is.........interesting.......! The bus trip was awful. We´ve never been so embarrassed by the behaviour of people in our group.....swearing, bragging, putting down the country and people.....awful. Anyway, we stocked up on éssentials´in Uyuni - Snickers bars, water, lollies and assorted other goodies. From here we were to embark on a 3 day 4WD trip through the Salar de Uyuni (salt flats) and then on into the Bolivian desert and down to the border with Chile and the Atacama desert.  After a warning from our tour guide we hired  sleeping bags (it gets cold down there.......yes, we know that but how cold?). Mmmmmm, we were to find that out!!The Salar de Uyuni was amazing. We had 3 Landcruisers, drivers, a cook and the 15 of us, gear all piled on top. The flats stretched for absolutely miles, brilliant white landscapes with just 4WD tracks showing. First stop was the train cemetry just out of Uyuni (mmm, there are possibly better attractions around). We also stopped at Fish Island for photos and lunch. In the Salar there are a number of islands (literally, islands in the flats). This one was beautiful and allowed for thousands of ´cactus´´ photos.  From there we stopped for ´´trick´´ photos at a particularly white and pristine spot. Here you can do amazing things with Pringles boxes, wine bottles and other assorted accessories!!!! Incredible stuff!!On through the flats and into the desert with it´s beautiful colours, scenery, geysers, mountains and volcanos. First night camp was a ´´building´´ or as our guide Zaida called it, a ´´construction´´, in the middle of nowhere. No electricity, no heating, and numerous beds in large rooms. Luxury.  Well, it was really compared to the next couple of nights........! Rosemary our cook was sensational....cooking nutritious meals by candlelight with a single gas stove.....incredible!!Over the next few days we saw some incredible scenery, slept in temperatures of -21 deg C (bloody hell, that´s cold)!!  AND put up with most members of our group whingeing and moaning.........wimps!  One of the 4WD´s was breaking down consistently...nice in the middle of nowhere (and trust us, there was no-one around!). There's something about driving along dirt roads with not a soul in sight listening to the dulcid (?) tones of Michael Jackson and other assorted 80's survivors .........we're just about over Bonnie Tyler and her 'Heartaches'..!Anyway, the trip was incredible and something that many people who come to Bolivia don´t do (they usually do the salt flats only) so we´re pleased we did it. Mind you we were pleased to get back to Uyuni and something which remotely resembled civilisation!! From here, on to Potosi - nothing like watching 12 year old children working in the mines with a life expectancy of 10-20 years!!!Cheersnic & Pam
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Sucre, Bolivia

Hi again everyoneWell, we´ve moved on from Potosi and made it into Sucre after a 3 hour bus journey - no strikes, no road blocks etc which was pretty lucky!Just driving into Sucre the difference in the city is just amazing. You can feel the wealth as opposed to everywhere else we´ve been in Bolivia. Sucre is the offical capital of Bolivia although La Paz is technically bigger and has more industry. There seems to be a bit of rivalry between the two cities. The nice thing about Sucre is that is situated at a much lower altitude. Therefore, it seems positively tropical in comparison with La Paz and everywhere else we´ve been in Bolivia. The buildings are stunning - huge, Spanish derived architecture everywhere - making the city really pretty. The apparent wealth doesn´t stop the plethora of beggars hanging around the streets though (particularly next to the ATM machines - funny about that!).The hotel we´´re staying at is lovely - in an old Spanish colonial homestead. Very flash! The showers are hot and there is pressure - what a bonus!! Anyway, we enjoyed a pizza and bottle of wine in a little local pizza place which was fantastic. Best pizza we´ve had in SA which is saying something because there often hasn´t been anything else for vegetarians to eat on the menu - we´ve had our fair share of pizza over the last couple of months! We´ve ditched the rest of the group - not interested in drinking, partying and swearing lots..........!Next day we booked in for a mountain bike ride with Joyride - a local company. Sounded promising - except they kept trying to tell us that the downhill ride was too hard and should we really be doing it. Not sure what it was - the fact that we are female or maybe because we are a bit older than the rest of the group. Anyway, we finally convinced them that we were up to it and the two of us and 4 others from our group hit the trail.To sum up the ride we could say it was .......interesting.....!  One of our group, Andy, had a pedal fall off in the first 3 minutes of the trip. An auspicious start to say the least. Nic had a puncture 2 minutes later....! This meant that the guide had to donate his bike to Andy and stay in the support car for the rest of the day. We had no guide, we had no guidelines (and yes, again we´re talking 100m cliff dropoffs...nothing major!). Anyway, we all survived. The youngsters in our group kept saying how fast the oldies were going (much to their embarrassment) but it was all good fun.On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a little town not far from Sucre for some ´refreshments´. We stopped at this dodgy looking doorway and followed our guide inside to what appeared to be a local Bolivian ´´bar´´. Here we met this amazing woman who was knee high to a grasshopper (no kidding she came up to Pam´s waist) who proceeded to ply us with chicha - an alcholic drink made from fermented corn and other interesting ingredients!  It was totally bizarre but good fun!! Next day we cruised around, had a look at the ASUR textile museum which was really interesting as well as, of course, the local markets. Had a couple of crappy meals, one with the group and that was about it!Tomorrow we fly back to La Paz with 4 others from the group who are also finishing there. The rest of the group is continuing on to Rio - lucky buggers!Anyway, next stop La Paz for the final days of our journey.Ciao for now!nic & Pam 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1216577340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1216577340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1216577340/tpod.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:31:57 -0400 Nic & Pam's South American adventure!

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Potosi, Bolivia

G´day everyone!Well from Uyuni we had a fairly amazing 6 hour bus trip on to the town of Potosi, famous for the Cerro Rico or rich mountain where they mine silver, copper, tin and other minerals. We say an amazing bus trip because the roads weren´t even up to the usual Bolivian standard (awful)! Plus the bus driver had a death wish.. Anyway, the result was more complaints from the British contingent in our group....seriously...why are these people travelling..!!Got into Potosi in the evening and checked into the salubrious Hotel Jerusalem with it´s cold rooms and tepid showers. Mind you, after 4 days without a shower in the freezing Bolivian desert we were grateful for anything!The town of Potosi is famous not only for its mines but also for the prevalence of strikes in the area. It seems that many travellers get stranded here by the strike action, with transport in and out stopped frequently. We could probably think of other places we´d rather be stranded!! Apparently the last group from GAP to get into the area had to be flown out in a helicopter - now that sounds like fun!Anyway, we found a reasonable cafe which served passable coffee (for once) and spent an interesting night with the group eating falafels and omlettes (the vegetarian options on the menu)!! Next morning it was into the mines. These mines are famous as being the principal employment in the area. The miners work for a co-operative and get paid 50 bolivianos (less than $10) per day for working their guts out. Kids start in the mine as young as 12 and the life expectancy for these people is 10 to 20 years after they start working.........it´s really grim. First off we headed to the miners market where we bought ´´presents´´ for the miners in the form of coca leaves, cigarettes, alcohol (we´re talking 96% pure here - disgusting stuff) and, of course, dynamite. Yep, that´s right. Grab a couple of sticks of TNT, fuse cord and don´t forget the detonator!!! The kind lady kind gave us a step by step demo of how to connect the fuse, detonator and stick of jelly together - consequently we were all absolutely crapping ourselves in the little tour bus........! Little were we to know that our lives were in mortal danger later on!Anyway, we were taken into the mines which more resembled rat tunnels than anything else. Absolutely basic, there are injuries every day and an average of 3 deaths per month.....not good. An interesting experience to see but pretty horrific conditions.After exiting the mines we were ´treated´to a real live explosion with some of the dynamite we´d bought in the miners market. Our guide connected a couple of sticks up with fuses and detonators BUT THEN PROCEEDED TO LIGHT THE FUSE IN THE BUS...!!! Apparently it was too windy to light the fuse outside!!  Anyway, our guide then proceeded to run to a pile of sand, dig a couple of holes for the ´bombs´´ and then run like all hell back to the bus - just in time to avoid the explosion and cascading rubble and dust!!!  Only in Bolivia!!!Anyway, on a lighter note we´re moving onto Sucre which is the official capital of Bolivia...even though La Paz would like to claim that title. It´s in the richer part of Bolivia AND the hotel we´re staying at is meant to be really nice........a hot shower would be great......!!!See you all!nic & Pam
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1215708540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1215708540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1215708540/tpod.html Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:04:04 -0400 Nic & Pam's South American adventure!

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La Paz, Bolivia

Greetings!Well, you'll all be pleased to know that we´ve actually been allowed into Boliva. It´s amazing that for this entire trip we actually haven't had to get a single visa. Mind blowing really.We were pretty excited to be moving on from Peru. We certainly enjoyed our time in the country but it didn't have the same feel as Ecuador. More tourists, local people more interested in the commercialities of tourism and a touch more expensive than Ecuador. Not sure that it helped going down the coast of Peru with just day after day of desert scenes. Guess it's just not our thing. Have to say that we had a ball though. Did lots and saw lots and the tour with Tucan has been pretty good. Certainly the transport and accommodation has been spot on. Using local transport all the way is a great way to travel and see more of an area than in a pristine tour bus. Our guide Alvaro has his moments. Can't say he's the hardest worker in town and sometimes could have given us more info but generally things have run smoothly.Leaving Puno we travelled for around 3 hours before hitting the border. First into the Peru Policia office for the first stage of processing, then onto the immigration office to get stamped out. Crossed the border itself on foot and went through the rigorous process of clearing Bolivian immigration. Seriously, they didn´t even look at our passports, just whacked the stamp in. Bit of a joke really.Then onto our bus again and into the town of Copacabana, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. This place is a bit odd. A holiday resort town complete with posh hotels and palm trees right on the shore. Shame it gets down to freezing at night!Change of bus and a crossing of the lake which was a totally bizarre experience. How do you get a bus across a lake? Put it on a barge of course and motor it across. We all had to get out (thank god) there's no way we would have stayed in there!Another 4 hours and onto La Paz, highest capital city in the world at 4200m. A serious lack of oxygen here and the place is built in a valley so lots of hills either side. We staying at the Hotel Seniorio Montero to start off with along with bucket loads of other tour groups and our worst nightmare, the Budget Expeditions (18 to 35) group which has been haunting us since Lima. What a pack of party animals! Not flash really, some of them are pretty ordinary, lots of noise, parties and general goings on. Maybe we're getting old!!!The city is a traffic nightmare. Market stalls have just taken over the roads so traffic has to divert. The stalls spread across a huge area selling everything imaginable. Got lost in a local market on day 2 with Kenny and Laura. Thank god Kenny is tall so he towered over the locals which was handy as it was incredibly crowded! Everything is very cheap here. Just paid 18 bolivianos for brekkie (fresh juice, fresh fruit, muesli, yoghurt, toast, eggs, tea). That's about $2.50 so you can get an idea of cost from that!Yesterday we biked down ´Death Road´ supposedly the World's Most Dangerous Road using a tour company called Gravity Assisted Biking. If there is anyone reading this who is EVER contemplating this trip PLEASE use this company. They are the original, the best and the safest. There were some other companies doing this trip on the same day and the guides were feral, the punters were out of control and their whole trip was a race on really crap old bikes. Even the companies which tour guides recommend like Downhill Madness proved exactly that on the day. Anyway, the trip was awesome! Had a bit of a change of plan for the early stages of the trip as there was a huge party happening at Coroico (the finishing spot) and the police diverted bikers for their own safety (to remove them from the prospect of facing pissed Bolivian drivers)!!.  Anyway, did the first section on dirt on a trail called ´the ghost ride´, an easy 15kms or so of 4WD track as an intro-sweet. We had 'beautiful' Kona full suspension bikes totally tweaked to ride and they were just sensational!Anyway, on to Death Road - why is it called that? Well, it has something to do with the fact that it is a single dirt road track built into a cliff face. Therefore, there's a vertical cliff on one side of you and a vertical drop off on the other side-nice!!! Some of the drops are 100´s of meters. There have been 13 cyclists who went over the edge in the last year alone and each trip brings it´s own challenges. For us it was the fact that Nic hates heights!! Anyway, the ride is mostly downhill and around 50kms long. It was just brilliant. We survived (and have the T shirts to prove it....these dudes are collector´s items so we WILL be wearing them at home)!!We finished up filthy and wet after riding through waterfalls and streams. The ride started at around 4600m and we cruised down to around 1500m and ended in the Bolivian jungle at an animal sanctury. After a fabulous hot shower and pasta lunch, a few beers for the trip on the way home (back up Death Road in the support bus which we think was actually more scary...especially when the driver is on the mobile phone.....OMG)!!!!  General consensus for the group was that the trip was one of the highlights of our tour. Bearing in mind that no-one else was going to do it but we talked them into it!Anyway, we´re about to join up with another tour in La Paz. This time with GAP so it´ll be interesting to see how they are in comparison with Tucan. La Paz is certainly an interesting city. Don´t take photos of the women who run the stalls in the Witches Market because they´ll spit at you- fair enough! The witches market is great-you can buy stuffed toads, ostrich heads, llama foetus´s and a heap of other exciting things which will help to ensure that your home and life are blessed by Patchamama (mother earth). Sensational!Anyway, from here we´re off to the Salar de Uyuni - the salt flats which border the Chilean Atacama Desert. Very beautiful but bloody cold! Travelling rules!!Buenos nochesnic & Pam
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1215091140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1215091140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1215091140/tpod.html Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:46:45 -0400 Nic & Pam's South American adventure!

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Cusco, Peru

Well, after an exhausting trek and visit to MP we´re back in Cusco for some r & r. The rest of our group is heading to Puerto Maldonaldo (jungle) for a couple of days while the original 4 get to bludge around Cusco. Having 3 days without travelling or any commitments is actually a nice feeling.Cusco is great - lots of variety with shopping including some huge handicraft markets down the Ave del Sol. It also has the best variety of food we have found so far on the trip. The food offerings for vegetarians has been very limited. While our friends are tucking into their guinea pig (cuy) and alpaca steaks we have to settle for a tomato salad or veggie pizza. We´re just about over pizza to be honest. Anyway, the cheap price of beer makes up for it a bit although wine is pretty expensive and not that good.   We have a couple of favourite restaurants here - Sumac Misky which serves Andean food but with more interesting twists. We´ve also found a sensational Indian restaurant (the only one we´´ve seen on our travels) - had a pig out there with 3 vego dishes and rice plus fantastic bhatoora bread and a 1.1 litre bottle of beer for $20. Can´t argue with that!Cusco has some amazing churches and cathedrals, many of the roads and walls are Incan in origin - Cusco was the centre of the Incan culture. So lots of history, museums and things to see. It also has a beautiful Plaza de Amas. These plaza´s appear in most towns we´ve visited so far and represent the cultural centre of the towns. They are great meeting places - usually with people everywhere just chatting - shame we didn´t have something like them at home.Had a tour round the Sacred Valley which contains many, many Incan sites. Also, did a horseback tour of some other sites. That was an experience! Nic had a horse called Colleen which apparently means short tail. Turns out Colleen was a boy with a very dodgy hindquarter action! Very uncomfortable!!  Pam had a nice palamino called Bano which we promptly converted to Baño (pronounced banyo which means toilet - charming.) Simon, Laura and Kenny came along as well and we were all walking with straddled gaits by the end. The saddles were the most uncomfortable we´ve ever encountered but the horses seemed well cared for!After some serious shopping action it´s time to move on from Cusco. The others have returned from their jungle excursion which they said was okay but lacked a bit of action. They didn´t see alot of wildlife either. Seems like our Ecuadorian jungle experience might have been more fun!Next stop Puno, on the shore of Lake Titicaca - the highest navigable lake in the world!All´s good, adios!nic & pam
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Puno, Peru

After a great stay in Cusco, with time to actually kick back and relax a bit, we've moved on to a small port city called Puno which is on the banks of the ´famous' Lake Titicaca (highest navigable lake in the world).The trip was pretty amazing. We´ ve climbed in alitude from Cusco and now sit at around 3800m which makes for a bit of trouble breathing if pushed. Alot of the trip was across the ´high plain' or altiplano so not many trees or vegetation. Another 7 hour bus trip with one 10 minute toilet stop which we're getting pretty used to now.Puno itself is one of the main port towns which services Lake Titicaca and it's islands. We lobbed in to the hotel (which is very nice) in the evening and promptly found the Rock & Reggae Bar with a couple of others from the group (Mick and Laura). All good fun! The city centre is nice, again the town has a lovely Plaza which is the focal point for the locals. Little did we know that this would certainly be the focal point for the up and coming civil action (strike) which was planned for the next couple of days!Pam got sick (we've both had quite a number of bugs along the journey) so we couldn't make the planned overnight trip to the Uros (floating reed) islands and Amantani Island. We waved the others goodbye instead and camped out in the hotel. Actually it wasn't too bad. The others came back and said Amantani was full of touristas and the home stay visit was interesting but not a trip highlight.We did manage to get out to the reed islands the next day on our own and that was awesome. There are over 40 islands in the group, each occupied by a different family group. The people were beautiful and friendly and we found out heaps about their way of life. That night we heard the strike in action! Lots of voices, protesters, rocks thrown onto the street to prevent traffic movement as well as bottles smashed. Still, we were pleased that it didn´t affect our travels as apparently it did for some other groups. Pam recovered well and is bouncing again. (Heather S, thank the good lord for your travel kit because it's been well and truly used!!).This is our last stop in Peru. Now it's upward and onward to Bolivia which sounds interesting. Apparently it's a bit cheaper than Peru which is good. La Paz is also the finish of this tour with this group which is a bit sad. We've made really good friends with Laura, Mick, Simon and Kenny and it'll be sad to say goodbye. BUT on we go!Hope the blog isn't getting too boring. We're still having a ball and are quite relaxed which is amazing after travelling for nearly 6 weeks.Cheers for nownic & Pam
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Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Peru

We survived the trek!  Here´s a rundown of what we did (and it was awesome)!!!Day 1 we left the hotel at Cusco after packing our bags (and yes, we did keep our duffles to the 7kg limit but stashed some stuff in our daypacks as well). A 6 o´clock start saw us head to Calca in the Sacred Valley where we checked out a local bakery. Talk about hard work, mixing, kneading and rolling all the dough by hand. The rolls were cooked in a traditional wood oven and only took about 5 minutes to bake - taste....sensational! We each bought 5 soles worth of rolls which materialised in the form of a shopping bag full each (not all for us). Then on to the local fruit, veg and offal (okay alot of traditional pork, beef and chicken cuts but our guide Lucho pointed out the real delicacies - brains, guts, and other assorted charmers). Funny - we've stopped eating chicken and even fish since we've been here. Maybe it has something to do with the total lack of refrigeration........Anyway, picked up a couple of walking poles at the market and then headed to Lares via an Incan site - some storehouses and terraces. At this stage we were happy because we had seen ZERO other gringos or tourists. Nice!  Via a very dodgy road (vertical drop offs, potholes, meandering animals and children) we made our way to the beginning of our trek - nice spot near a stream - where we were told we were going to have lunch and then head off.Out came the table, chairs, tablecloth etc etc and we proceeded to sit down in the middle of nowhere and have a 3 course meal which was perfectly prepared and presented. Talk about bizarre. Our chef was a master! We also met our porter/horseman (Thomas) as well as some of the local kids. After filling up we were off - uphill....and uphill.....and, you guessed it...uphill! Beautiful Andean scenery unfolded as we climbed from 3600m up to the 4200m campsite. On the way we walked through Andean villages - very few tourists are seen in these areas, maybe 6 a fortnight, so we felt priviledged to see a glimpse of the realities of life in the Andes. We have to say these people were incredibly poor but seemed amazingly happy. The kids all had frostbite on their faces but were wandering around in barefeet or sandals. They don´t have fires at night (that´s because there are no trees around much at this altitude to get wood to burn). Their life is simple but fulfilling through their sense of community and willingness to help each other.Gave out bread rolls to some of the kids - see photos! Then on to our campsite through herds of llamas and alpacas which just roam around. Camp comprised 2 tents plus a cooking/dining tent - and no-one else (not a single person). Another 3 course meal and an early night as we were knackered after our climb. The temperature was freezing and our hired sleeping bags were not really up to scratch so even with down jackets, 2 fleece layers, shirts and thermals we still had a cold night. All this excacerbated by the fact that we couldn´t breath well in the high altitude and we both have a head cold!Up at 6am the following morning greeted by Thomas with a cup of coca tea.....this is the life! Then breakfast and onward up the mountains again. Talk about a climb. It was really hard work...20 steps and then a break as we were so short of breath and our hearts were pounding. We´ve never felt so unfit!!  Anyway, Lucho was great and gave us plenty of breaks but we felt so inadequate when the cook, Thomas and our 3 porter horses passed us at a run after packing up camp! After about 3 hours of solid climbing and rock scrambling uphill we finally made it to the first pass 4600m. Views were awesome and we felt elated. Then downhill for a while and then up again to the second pass at 4620m. Took lots of llama and alpaca photos as well as photos of the glaciers, moutains and lakes around us. The scenery was amazing.Downhill then, to our lunch spot (yep, table, chairs, 3 course lunch.........) through more Andean communities and dished out more bread rolls to the kids but also some maths books which Lucho´s mum had sent to these children (she is a teacher). Got to our campsite at around 5pm with Pam feeling sick (maybe from the altitude). Camped in a local village, played soccer with the kids, had dinner and went to bed around 7.30pm....early!Next day, awoke to the sound of pigs snorting outside our tent plus Thomas breaking in with coca tea. Pam is feeling better (good news). Breakfast was pancakes with caramel plus a drink made from milk, apples and quinoa (grain) - sensational! Then on and uphill again to some pre-Incan ruins at Pumamarcha. Had a good look around and then headed on to the town of Ollantaytambo. Saw lots of Incan terraces and learned alot about Incan agricultural practices from Lucho (very knowledgeable). Got into Ollantaytambo at about 11am and saw the first tourist since the beginning of our trek (amazing) had an early lunch and then caught the train to Aguas Calientas - a bizarre town close to Maccupicchu (MP) built basically for tourists. Trains are the only way to access this town and it is almost entirely built around the railway (literally you can be sitting at a cafe and have the train run with 2 feet of you on your seat!). The town is very expensive as it is totally catering to the needs of tourists.Needless to say we were looking forward to a hot shower......not to be at the MP Hostel.....Cold water, leaking toilet etc etc so we weren´t thrilled but never mind...maybe a good coffee would save the day.  Headed out in search of a cappucino, found a cafe which said they could do the deed and proceed to serve us with a bizarre concoction of milk, caramel, coffee and cream ....very odd and calorific...and at 22 soles for the 2 drinks bloody expensive as well! Still later we had a great meal overlooking the main square with live Andean music - panpipes etc.. the whole experience. And beer of course (1.1 litre bottle for 10 soles...3.50...we were happy)!Next morning up early for the pilgramage to MP. Caught the bus at 5.30am and were there for the gates to open at 6am with a bucket load of other punters. Lucho was still with us as our guide which was brilliant. Anyway, what can we say about this place...it´s just incredible....just like the photos...picture perfect. Had a look around the site for a couple of hours and registered to climb Huaynapicchu - the mountain which you can always see behind MP. Took us 40 minutes to do the climb which in some places was almost vertical. Don´t do it if you get vertigo - in places you have an 18inch wide stair, nearly vertical and with a straight drop off (no barriers). Sensational views so well worth the climb.After 'doing' MP it was back down to Aguas Calientas, train to Ollantaytambo and then bus back to Cusco. We have to say that the Lares trek was awesome...just us, our team, llamas, local communities and a real insight into Andean life. Just what we were looking for.Anyway, enough chat. We´re back in Cusco and tonight we have the South AMerican soccer league final - Liga de Quito (Ecuador) vs Fluminense (Brazil) so we have to find a bar to watch it. Go LIGA!!!!!!!Adiosnic & pam
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1214689080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1214689080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nicpam/1/1214689080/tpod.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:51:35 -0400 Nic & Pam's South American adventure!

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Cusco, Peru

Back again!After another night in Arequipa we've flown to Cusco - a 2 hour flight with a stop in Juliaco for 15 mins on the way. Great views of the Andes as we flew over the top of them.We have one night in Cusco and then we hit the Lares track on the way to Machupicchu so basically we have half a day to prepare for the hike. Most important - chocolate! We picked up a 400gm block of cadbury's for 18 sole which is horrendously expensive for here but it's the first time we've seen it since we've been here. We have a load limit of 7kgs for our gear plus whatever we're happy to carry in our daypacks so we have to be a bit careful what we pack.This evening we met our guide for the trek - Luis (Lucho) from Inca's Heartland trekking agency. He tells us that we are the only ones doing the trek tomorrow so it's us, him, a cook, a horseman and 3 horses! All the others from our group are doing the Inca Trek.  Why did we opt for Lares?  Well, basically we didn't want 498 other people joining us on our special walk. Also, the trek is possibly more challenging as we get to go over the Andes where as the Inca trek skirts the side of the mountains.  Anyway, we'll soon find out if our decision is justified!We've hired sleeping bags - hope they're warm enough at 4200m on the first night! If not, we'll just have to find a llama to cuddle up too!Had lunch at a great restaurant - finally a place with more than potatoes, beans, rice, corn, meat. Sumac Miskey.City is great but SO touristy. Gringo's everywhere and apparently a bit of crime around but haven't seen any of it so far (touch wood). A few hawkers and beggers too. Hotel is nice but lacks windows (seems to be a common theme over here along with the appalling plumbing and lack of hot water......no matter!).Anyway, onward and upward. If we make it we'll blog on again soon!nic and Pam
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