From Chile into Bolivia + Peru ( Part 1 )
Trip Start
Mar 04, 2008
1
15
20
Trip End
Ongoing
Cusco,
Peru
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
We left Puerto Montt to Santiago after a long wait around the bus station, by the time it came to get on the bus we were all ready for a good old kip and that we had. We arrived into Santiago early morning and immediately set out to find our hostel that was recommended to me. We all noticed the difference in temperature and that brought a huge smile all round and a wee spring to our step, well, after we all woke up anyway. Our hostel was in the Bella vista area of the city, lovely bohemian area, close to all the universities and campusīs and the streets were lined with various funky coffee shops and bars. After check in I set out wandering around the local area familiarizing myself with the various streets and where to get to the city center etc.. The hostel was pretty cool, staff were friendly and we met up with a couple of Irish girls we had got talking to in Patagonia
Expoding geysers, San Pedro
. We spent the next couple of days chilling out and walking round the city, we went to the city center park with lookouts over the city, it was then we discovered that the whole city was covered in a blanket of smog, you could barely work out the surrounding snow capped mountains. We took a day trip to Valparaiso, quite a small little town 2 hours from Santiago. I think we were having one of those days when we visited Valparaiso, we went up one of the many asuncions (lifts) that are dotted around the city. After that we were wondering what else to do and hopped into a cab to take us to the far side of town, of course he took us on a wild goose chase up one of the steep inclines around the city, I think he just took it into his head to be our tour guide for 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile Jen and Rita were in fits laughing in the back of the car while I was trying to tell him where to go.. So we ended the trip back where we started and a couple of pesos lighter. We decided to cut our loses and head back to Santiago! In all I wasn't too impressed with Santiago, just another city on route to the north, good stop over or 1st city entering into South America, but thats it for me. I had my 1st real experience with my rucksack just as I was leaving Santiago. I swear its getting heavier by the day, anyway, I was bending down in a shop to get some nibbles for my journey when I forgot I had my bag on my back! As I was bending down the bag toppled over my head and I came crashing to the ground
laguna Colorado
. I was lying there like a lady bird with my legs dangling in the air unable to get up. Luckily the shop lady came over to help me (all the time she was busting her sides laughing) Red faced I got myself together and proceeded to my bus stop. I left Jen & Rita the next day and took a bus to San Pedro de Atacama, my longest journey to date, 24 hours, would take me into the heart of the Atacama desert and I was really looking forward to it. I met a Kiwi guy on board, called himself cracker and as the name suggests, he was a bit of a nut case. Earlier on in the journey he was arguing with the bus driver as to why he had to move seats and why he couldn't take his shoes off, I was keeping my head down at that stage! As we arrived into San Pedro cracker started chatting to me and decided to come along to the same hostel. My first impressions of San Pedro was great, right in the middle of no where this little town just appeared and it was to be a great experience if a little expensive. We hired some mountain bikes the next day and explored nearby devils gorge, after an hour or so on the bikes, I was doing the usual Mr Wayne stance, why doesn't someone come up with a more comfortable design for a mountain bike seat?? Not asking for couch style but something that could stop you for aching for days after.. The next day we took a trip to Salar de Tara, some 4300 metres above sea level
Laguna Verde
. I experienced my first taste of altitude sickness here. I think it was partially to do with all the walking we did that day and partially I wasn't really prepared for it. I knew we were going high but never thought much of it I guess. Altitude sickness can be very weird, I had a massive headache, coupled with shivers and then to top it off mild vomiting. I spent most of the afternoon that day in the jeep, crawling out to take the odd photo and not really appreciating the amazing scenery around me. I was planning to go across the border to Bolivia the next day but I canceled it the moment I got back to San Pedro. The next day Rita and Jen arrived from Santiago and I was needing a break from my new friend, so it was great to see them. We booked on a sand boarding excursion that afternoon and had a great laugh, I had tried snow boarding before so it wasn't that dissimilar and I got the hang of it fairly easy, well fairly easy with a few falls in between that is. As for Rita and Jen well it was a laugh a minute, lots of front tumbles and mouth fulls of sand were all part of the process. We spent a couple of hours there and had great fun, the only down side being we had to trek back up the hill after very run. The next day we got up early (3am) for our geyser tour. The trip would take us 2 hours into the mountains to watch sunrise and see the geysers exploding as the ground was warming up with the heat of the sun. It was a spectacular sight. It was -11 and at one stage I had to keep jumping up and down like an eijit just to stop myself from freezing
Roaming lama, San Pedro
. As the geysers heated up so did the thermal pools and we had to try it out. So at -11 myself and Jen duly obliged, it was heaven, all the cold before hand was worth every bit, the water was really hot and we just floated there looking out at the freezing ground. The best was to come when we got out, trying to dry yourself in freezing conditions isn't the best way, the amount of umīs and ahīs coming from me was enough for anyone to think Iīm a bit mad!The next day was another early start as we gathered ourselves together for the next stage of our trip. We booked a 3 day 4x4 trek across the border into Bolivia and I was really excited about it. We crossed into Bolivia with no hassle and transfered to our homes for the next couple of days, the Toyota land cruiser was our base for the excursion. We hooked up with a German couple and drove deep into the desert. I was loving it, at one stage I felt we were taking part in the Paris to Dakar rally, each driver trying to keep ahead of the other, all racing towards the next sand dune. In all there was a convoy of 6 jeeps all throwing up dust from the speed of their rally drivers.. The first day we stopped at Laguna Verde and Laguna Colorado, beautiful salt lakes in the middle of the desert, then it was onto another thermal pool before a hearty lunch and the afternoon more rally driving with a few large rocks thrown in for good measure. Our 1st nights accommodation was one to be remembered, 1 for the altitude and the other for the cold
Sandboarding,San Pedro
. It was unbearably cold that night, the whole group was in bed at 7.30, simply because it was the only way to keep warm. After a fairly sleepness night we all felt groggy as we sped off on our second day that would take us across more rough terrain with amazing sights of flamingos swimming and packs of roaming lamas been chased by our convoy of jeeps. The second nights accommodation was grand compared to our first and we all had a good old kip before another early start that would take us to Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flats in the world, covering 12,000 metres, white salt for as far as the eye could see, amazing. We ended our tour in the little Bolivian town of Uyuni, a lovely little spot just across the border. It was here that I felt for the first time that I was actually traveling in South America, local Andean women wearing multi colored ponchos and top hats with a heady mix of smells and sounds that can only be associated with this area, it was great. The old ladies selling on their stalls seemed really happy and content to have us westerners wandering around and looking out of place in their country. From Uyuni we caught an overnight bus to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. The bus journey was one of my worse to date, 12 hours of ass breaking hell is how I would describe it. It was then that I also discovered that I could sleep with my head between my legs, as a result I now have the strongest neck in South America, ha ha.. We checked into our hostel and set about discovering La Paz.. La Paz is a city built on the side of a large mountain range some 4000 + metres in altitude above sea level, making it the highest city in the world.. It was another city for me that defines South America, a mix of local 9-5 office workers with a splash of Andean culture that produces a plethora of sights, sounds and flavors!
