From Chile into Bolivia + Peru ( Part 2 )

Trip Start Mar 04, 2008

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Peru Cusco, Peru
Wednesday, June 18, 2008

In La Paz we heard that you could mountain bike down the worlds most dangerous road, dropping from an altitude of 4700 metres and we thought we had to try it. So, insurance documents checked we headed off on our excursion to the peak of our cycle ride. It started to cloud over as we arrived at the top and the snow began to fall, our guide had advised us not to exert ourselves too much for fear of running out of breath. Quick safety check and a swig of local whiskey and we were off.. The first stage of our 70kms ride was on tarmac road and it was brilliant, I touched the bakes on occasion just to make sure they were working, other than that it was sheer speed, 30-40kms an hour, my adrenalin was pumping. After a couple of more kms on the tarmac we entered death road!! Mainly off road with pot holes, water falls, large rocks, cars and dumpsters thrown in for good measure, it was one hell of a ride. Every bit of of it was amazing for me, the 600 metre drops along side the track made it even more exciting, not to mention the views that were truly spectacular

Colca Caynon

. There was heavy mist for most of out drop, that for me made it even more exciting!
We left La Paz after 3 days and headed to Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world, it borders Peru and Bolivia. Copacabana was an excellent stop off point on our way to the border, small little town with excellent views over the lake. We took a small boat ride to neighboring Isla del Sol before making our way back for the evening. We crossed the border into Peru into the little town of Punu. Crossing the border you were greeted with fields and fields of freshly cut barley, stacks of hand cut barley stood perfectly for miles in fields dotted with stone walls. In the distance you could see the local farmers going about their daily chores with magnificent views of lake Titicaca. In Puno we visited the floating islands of Uros, we were greeted on one particular island by the local chief and his family before been ushered to a short presentation on island life and history. It was great to see how the islanders live here, getting much of their income from tourists and also by selling locally made handcrafts. The island we visited had 6 families living on there and they all seemed really happy, kids with beaming smiles with not a care in the world. We said goodbye to the villagers and they sang us songs in their native tongue and in Spanish, for me it was quite a moment!
After night in Puno we got on our way to Arequipa, a city down south of Peru and the usual trek for travelers in Peru. We arrived to our hostel and inquired about tours of the Colca Canyon. We were surprised to hear (well more shocked) that we would have to catch a bus at 1am if we were to make a day trip. So up we got after a 3 hour sleep and made our way to the Canyons. We reached a small village outside at 5am and had breaky before joining a group to our destination

Colca Caynon 2

. One of the main reasons people visit the canyons is to see the flight of condors and also the sheer beauty of the place has to be seen to be believed. We were told by our guide that we may see up to 10 condors if we were lucky. They delighted us when we arrived, condors soaring above the giant colca caynon, the 3 metre bird of prey making aero sounds as they swooped through the air, only making slight movements to avoid one another. We stopped at various miradors on the way down getting a chance to take some photos before making our way back to Arequipa.
After a quick bite to eat we hopped on an over night bus to Cuzco where I am now. I feel rather relieved to be here, the past couple of weeks have been planned with Cuzco in mind and now that were finally here, it gives us the chance to kick back and chillout before our Inca treks.. I had a little wander around the city this morning and its a lovely place, don't think i will mind spending some time here. After the Inca trek I plan to go to Lima before making my way across into Columbia. Thats all for now, thanks to everyone who has sent mails etc, I really do appreciate hearing from you all.

take care,

Mark