Bolivia, Adventures at Altitude

In Salta we took in the main attraction which is an “exhibition” of three children from the Inca times who were sacrificed on the highest mountains in the area.  The cold preserved their bodies until they were discovered by explorers about 10 years ago.  The exhibition was interesting if not a little creepy, as you actually get to see one of the children’s bodies (they rotate them every week to help preserve them) in a glass display.

Salta provided us with both the worst and the best meals in Argentina.  The first was the worst, it looked promising for the outside but when a cockroach scuttled across the wall behind Sarah’s head I knew we were in for something special.

Cathedral Salta

We both ordered lasagne, as the restaurant name suggested it was a specialist in Italian,  but what came out could not be attributed to any culinary origin.  It consisted of a layer of cheese half an inch thick, a layer of soggy pasta, slices of ham (like the cheap ones in the supermarket), another slice of soggy pasta, another layer of cheese which was even thicker than the first and a layer of what could have been spinach but we couldn’t decide. To accompany this cheesy brick was a cocktail bowl of yes you guessed it, grated cheese, as if the Chef had thought we may not have enough already! He should had focused more on making it hot, as to make it worse it arrived no tepid. The following night, scarred from the lasagne experience, we headed for a restaurant that had been recommended as one of the best for steak and as this was to be one of our last meals in Argentina it seemed fitting to eat there. Luckily it didn’t disappoint and we had the best red meat we’d had in Argentina, accompanied by fine wine (which we knew a little bit more about after the winery tours in Mendoza) and traditional folk music performed by the waiters.

The next day we set off on a tour north of Salta to see the coloured mountains of Quebrada de Humahuaca. At first the weather was overcast so although we could see the colours they weren’t as vibrant as they should have been. To make things worse as we moved further north towards the Bolivian border we had our first experience of being at altitude.

Pete spies a coloured mountain

When we stopped for lunch in Humahuaca at 3000 meters above sea level we both felt very light headed and out of breath. However, we still managed to climb up the hill to the viewpoint but continued to feel out of sorts even when we stopped at our last destination Tilcara where we were staying the night before heading into Bolivia. Tilcara is 2500 meters above sea level so we were also very cold and started to get apprehensive about heading towards Bolivia and the salt flats where we would be reaching heights of 4800 meters. To try and combat our coldness and make us feel better we went to a local café and tried a drink called a Submarino which is a mug of hot milk with a chocolate bar submerged into it.  The café also had a log fire so although the headaches and breathlessness was still there we were felling a bit warmer.  In the evening we went to a restaurant where the owner put on a musical performance taking us through the history of Tilcara and the surrounding area, the one drawback being it was all in Spanish. However, it didn’t detract from our enjoyment as he was very animated and a born performer. The Spanish speaking patrons were laughing a lot which raised our spirits too and we went to bed feeling a bit more positive and ready to take on the affects of altitude.

The next day we felt a little better so took a bus heading to Bolivia. After a long bus journey to the border we met a Dutch couple (Robert and Femke)  and two English girls (Laura and Tamie) who also wanted to do a Salt flats tour. We all crossed the border together and got on a very bumpy local bus to Tupiza. We decided to do the Salt flats together and went to a couple of agencies to enquire about prices. In the first, which was attached to our hotel, we met another English couple (Rhys and Laura) who wanted to do the tour and we made up a group of 8 which meant we filled two jeeps. We tried one more agency which was cheaper but after meeting the guide; Archie, from the first place, we decided to spend a bit more to get the best experience. That night we went for dinner to get to know our tour mates a bit better. We went to a local place which served giant portions and was only 9GBP for all of us which was nothing after prices in Argentina.

After a good nights sleep we set off for the Salt flats at 9am. My (Pete) headache had subsided a little so I was feeling a bit better about climbing to higher altitudes, unfortunately as we started the ascent into the beautiful alto Plano my headaches started again, fortunately Sarah was feeling ‘ok’,  but she was  putting a brave face as I was starting to get a little panicky about some of the symptoms I was feeling…

The scenery on the first day was very wild westwith lots of wide open spaces and sharp jagged mountains.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid last showdown

The most interesting bit was seeing the place where Butch Cassidy  and the Sundance kid had their last showdown. As the day wore on the scenery got quite monotonous as the jeep was winding along tiny paths clinging to the side of mountains.  We arrived after dark to the village where we were spending the night and as we got  of the jeep realised how cold sleeping at 4200 meters wih no heating was going to be. At dinner we all wore our coats though the hot llama stew and  playing card games warmed us up a bit. We turned in about 9pm and took our coats off to get into our sleeping bags but as it was so cold in the rooms we kept our hats and gloves on! None of us slept well as we were so cold and were woken up at 6am when it was still dark. That day were all feeling the affects of sleep deprivation and altitude.

View of the first volcano

None of us paid much attention to the first stop which was a ghost village (ruins) but when we reached the highest point of the whole trip (4850 meters) our sprits rose as we got our first view of one of the largest Volcanoes reflected in a beautiful lake. The guide also gave us lolly pops which also helped distract us.  After lunch we entered the national park and as soon as we did the scenery became very impressive. There were volcanoes in every direction, a dessert which is named afar a Dali painting because of the unusual rock formations and a variety of  lakes all different colours depending on the mineral content. We stopped at some hot springs in a stunning setting but decided not to go in as Pete was not feeling well.  He continued to et worse ( headache and numb arms) and at one point we thought we would have to make the 8 hour trip to Uyuni which is at a lower altitude.

Geysers at sunset

Thankfully he started to feel better and we were able to visit the Geysers for sunset which was an amazing sight, like walking on another planet. After this we headed for the accommodation which was much nicer that the previous night and we all got as good nights sleep despite the cold.

When we woke up at sunrise the first sight of the day was the spectacular red lagoon which is frequented by flamingos. We spent ages taking pictures and were all excited about the rest of the day.

The Red Lagoon

We drove thought a dessert,  stopped to see a rock that looks like a tree, passed more lagoons and finally  reached the first patch of salt flats. It was only small but wet our appetite for the next day. The nights accommodation was a little bit warmer as we were now only at 3600 meters and we were even able to have a hot shower and sleep without our hats!

We set off at 6am to catch sunrise over the salt flats. It was a short drive and as the sky lit up we got our first view of the stunning white environment we were about to explore.

Salt flats at sunrise

As the sun peaked over the horizon we stopped to take our first novelty pictures where we tried to hold the sun in our hands or played with the long shadows that the sun was creating. The drive through the flats was amazing, all white around us with volcanoes in the distance. Our next stop was the cactus island ( one of 6 in the salt flats) which was completely covered in giant Cactus. After a tour round the island (its only small) we had breakfast and then set off to a deserted place in the middle of the salt flats in order to take the famous optical illusion pictures where you can play with the perspective of people and objects. We spent about 2 hours leaping around taking crazy pictures with props such as a plastic Godzilla, a Pringles packet and a toy aeroplane.

Sarah and Pete popping out of a pringles packet

The grand finale was a video we made where the whole group emerged from a camera into a Pringles packet! We were all very happy with ourselves after this as it came out really well. After the photo shoot our amazing cook Vikki (who had provided consistently  food throughout the trip) had made us whole roast dinner complete with roast potatoes, chicken and gravy. We all ate at least two plates each while we listed to the spice girls ( our guide Archie liked cheesy music) and kept pinching ourselves as we marvelled at the surreal white landscape around us.

After lunch we made our way out of the salt flats and headed for Uyni which was the end of the trip. We were all excited about sleeping in a proper bed with real showers but were also sad as we’d had such a good time together. The two English girls left us to get a bus to Potosi and we (and the other couples) found a hotel, had a hot shower and went to eat what turned out to be the best Pizza we’d had in ages.

Local schools celebrate Sucre's independence

The next day we set off on a 9 hour journey to Sucre. It was very uncomfortable but we finally made it to our destination at about 7pm. After settling into our hotel we went out for dinner but we all flaked out early after the long journey which was a shame as there was a fiesta in the square as the town was celebrating the 25th anniversary of their independence. The next day was the town was deserted so we pottered around taking pictures, exploring the market and then climbed the steep hill to a cafe where we spent a pleasant couple of hours drinking good coffee and looking at the spectacular view of the town. We all loved Sucre with its stately white buildings and relaxed atmosphere but were all on a tight schedule so we booked our tickets to La Paz for the next day and prepared for our last night. We had a lovely dinner at a shamefully western restaurant and also met up with one of the people we’d met in Mendoza. It was fun to compare notes about the salt flats experience and good to know that ours was much better!

On our final day we were lucky enough to catch some more of the 25th anniversary celebrations. This was the day that all of the school children of Sucre paraded around the city dressed in their uniforms and playing instruments. We watched for about an hour and were amazed at how many children lived their as the precession seemed to be never ending.

We finally left the town about 7pm on the night bus. We all had trouble sleeping as one window didn’t shut and the roads were quiet bumpy but after a stop at 2am we all passed out for a few hours. We woke up at sunrise to a spectacular view of La Paz from the lip of the bowl that the city sits in. As we continued down to the centre we were all amazed at how much we liked that place as we’d heard mixed reviews about La Paz. We got to our hotel very early and unfortunately they had messed up our booking and only had 2 rooms instead of 3. We tried to find other accommodation for all 6 of us but we ended up splitting up so we stayed with Femke and Robert  in the one we had originally booked. The hotel was really nice, it had wifi and satellite TV so we didn’t want to leave the room as we’d both been missing media since we’d been in Bolivia!

After some time with the media we explored the witches market where they sell potions and creepy fully formed Llama foetus’ for good luck. We also went to the square that houses the famous San Pedro prison. Apparently its possible to take a tour of the prison but its very expensive and the guards looked pretty scary so we decided to just view it from the outside. We had some great in La Paz the most memorable being lunch at a popular French restaurant where we had amazing chocolate mouse!

Us at the Super Classico in La Paz

On our last night we were lucky enough to go and see a Super Classico football game, the Strongest versus the Bolivars. We had great seats for only 25 boliviano‘s, so much less that we paid for the game in Argentina. We were with The Strongest fans so asked a local about the stats so we knew the odds of our side winning. It was a really exciting game and The Strongest won 2-0 and so we celebrated with the locals when they won and joined in their chants of ‘Tigre’ which means tiger. It was our last night with the gang we’d travelled with so after the game we went to Wild Rovers (a party hostel) for some drinks and felt quite tipsy as we left at 1am to go back to our hotel.

View from our hotel room in Copacabana

Pete and I had an early start for our 4 hour buss journey to Copacabana, a small town on banks of Lake Titicaca. We arrived at about 11 and headed to our lovely hotel, La Cupola,  which was perched on the hill overlooking the lake. The room was stunning with panoramic views but we were really tired so we climbed into bed and slept for a few hours. We had some late lunch in the restaurant which also had great views and decided to explore the town. The town was based around one touristy street which led to the water front. It wasn’t a great beach but the scenery was stunning with the bright blue water and  green mountains in the distance. We tried to go on the internet but it was so slow so we gave up and went to watch the sunset which was striking as there was a storm brewing and the clouds were lit up with lightening against a sky that was still pink from the sun. We had dinner in town which was not very good and as the rain started to pelt down we decided not to do the full day trip to Isla del Sol (the main attraction in Copacabana) as we wanted to sleep in and didn’t thinking that trekking in the mud would be much fun. When we woke up the weather was better so we had a leisurely breakfast and caught 1.30 boat to the island. The trip was a bit boring as we were inside the boat and our expectations for the short tour of the island were low.  But we were pleasantly surprised. Even though our guide spoke only a little English we learnt a lot about the history and economics of the island and enjoyed the walk up 1000 steps to the stunning view of the lake, through fields of runner beans and exploring the Inca temple of the sun. On the boat back we met another English couple who were turn out to be our travel companions for a couple of weeks as they were heading in the same direction as us. For our last night we had a nice dinner in the hotel and an early night to prepare for our journey the next day to Arequipa in Peru.

 

Up and Down Argentina

On Sunday 25th  April we took up the opportunity to watch one of the biggest Futebol teams in Argentina: Boca Juniors. Before the match we were taken to a nearby bar and served pizza and beer while being treated to the Boca chants by the locals.  The journey from the bar to the ground was scary because Boca is a rough neighbourhood, there were 2 police checks before we even reached the ground. Once inside the stadium it was very impressive, we were underneath the away supporters and had to watch out for grenades fashioned from whatever they could get into the ground, such as: full plastic bottles and bizarrely, sports bags…

The fans are loving it after a 2-0 win

The atmosphere created by the home support was excellent, we were facing them so we felt the force of their songs, drumming and spinning of giant umbrellas! Boca won the game 2 – nil which was brilliant as we experienced the crowd celebrating the goals. Afterwards we declined going onto the bar for celebratory drinks as I think we were all starting to feel the pace from the previous days.

The following morning we went back to Boca to the only area which is safe (in the daytime) and is a must see site, the wonderfully coloured houses by the port. The story goes that the excess paint from painting the boats was used on the houses which over time has created a brilliant mosaic of colour across a few blocks of shops and houses.

Colourful houses in Boca

After Boca we were on the road again leaving the wonderful Buenos Aires behind and the fantastic Hostel America del Sur, this time on a 17 hour bus journey north to the Argentina border town Iguazu, which is where the worlds most impressive waterfalls are situated. The bus journey was good, the seats reclined almost 180 degrees and we were served 3 meals, one of them hot, and a glass of a champagne!  I think we were spoilt as subsequent coach trips were not as generous but I`ll get to that later.

We arrived at Hostel Inn which is a big chain hostel around 8am, the rooms however were a little rough around the edges but we were only staying one night so it would suffice. We had planned to go on tour to the Argentinean side which gives you access to the footpaths around the largest fall in the set named Devils Throat, however it had been raining a lot (a theme that has been running through our trip thus far) so the walkways which actually traverse the river were flooded. So the only option to us was to view the falls from the Brazilian side, cue 2 hour minibus to Brazil and our third country in a week (Spain, Argentina, Brazil), so we went to Brazil for the day!

Sarah gets wet posing for a photo

I can’t recommend going to see Iguazu falls highly enough, they are fantastic, the footpaths take you within what feels like touching distance. When we got back to the hostel we enquired whether the Argentinean side was now open and also whether the moonlit walk was running and it was! We were very fortunate with our timing as they only run the full moon tour 5 days a month and we were there when the moon was at its fullest.  To do the tour you take a minibus to the Parque and then a little train to the waterfall. I thought that nothing could beat the sights of the falls we had seen earlier but I was wrong, seeing them by moonlight was a magical experience.  Because the rivers were so full the waterfalls were at their strongest and you could feel the force of the water running through the gangways that crossed them which added to the excitement; couple this with the powerful positive ions produced by the force of the falls and the result was near hysteria. After the tour they laid on Mojioto and a fabulous three course meal which was needed after the come down from so much excitement.

Night shot on our moonlit tour of Iguazu Falls

The following morning we weighed up our options and decided not do the Argentinean walk as we wanted our lasting memory of the falls to be by moonlight, I think also money and tiredness may have been a factor. We caught the afternoon bus back to Buenos Aires, another 17 hour trip on the coach, where we headed back to the same hostel to store our bags until our afternoon flight to El Calafate in the south of Argentina. Before getting our flights we went shopping for a netbook (a small cheap laptop) so that we could store our photos and use the free WiFi that seems to be available everywhere. I also brought a cheap tripod and remote switch which is a cable that connects to the camera with a button on it to press the shutter, it’s used for shots were you want to eliminate any camera movement when taking a photo, which is useful when taking shots at night, which I hope to do more of after the excellent photo of  the Iguazu Falls.

The flight to El Calafate was smooth and only 3 hours which seemed a luxury compared to our mammoth bus journeys.  El Calafate is based right next to the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, which you probably don’t need to speak Spanish to know is the Park of Glaciers, there is one glacier which is the most impressive: Perito Moreno Glacier.  We booked into the sister hostel to the one which we stayed in in Buenoes Aires, it was nice but not quite as modern but the staff were helpful.

We booked a boat tour of the Glaciers as the weather was due to be very wet

Me, You and the Icebergs

and the idea of a 6 hour trek on and around the glacier didn’t appeal.

Iceberg Forest in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares

The boat trip was very good and importantly mostly dry,  it gave us a unique angle of the glaciers and also the icebergs that populate the surrounding lakes. That evening we had a fantastic meal at Puro Vida which was located in El Calafate, I had a country chicken pie, Sarah had a vegetable lasagne and Melissa a mixed salad. What made this meal even more special was that it wasn’t just a slab of minimally seasoned meat or a ham & cheese roll which seems to be the staple diet here.

The following day we decided to move on as the weather wasn’t due to break for another few days but before going we took a taxi back to the park so that we good get another view of the Glaciers.

The alien Perito Moreno Glacier

The taxi driver, Fredrico or Fred was a keen trekker and had an amazing knowledge of this and the surrounding area so it was more like having a personal tour guide than a taxi driver. He drove us to various fantastic view points from which we took some amazing photos.

After this insightful tour we embarked on what was to be our longest coach journey yet, 30 hours, but we were seasoned travellers by now and it seemed to go by without any boredom (largely due to the stunning Patagonian scenery). We were heading to Bariloche which hosts some of the most impressive views in Argentina. Unfortunately we seemed to be out of sync with the weather, sunny when we travel, cloudy or rainy when we stop.

Cycling around Bariloche

The first day was cloudy and a rainy forecast for the following days inspired us to get out and explore, so we took a bus 20KM from town and hired some mountain bikes taking a 27km looping route through some very impressive scenery of lakes and mountains. Needless to say we were all feeling it after this and after enjoying a Tex Mex restaurant we crashed out. The following morning as predicted the weather was very wet and so we reviewed our options and decided that due to the forecast being another two more days of rain we would head to Pucon, Chile

The sunrise at the start of our ascent

where I had heard you could climb an active Volcano and actually see the Magma bubbling out of the earths core! As it was a relatively short 10 hour bus across the border we booked our tickets and the following day tackled it.

Early on the first day in Pucon we set off to

Us at the foot of Volcan Villarrica

make the 2800m climb to the top of Volcan Villarrica. The weather was a bit overcast but this made for a great sunrise

We were a bit upset we didn’t get to see the magma but it was still an amazing experience and the best bit was sliding down the mountain afterwards! We stayed in Pucon for a couple more days after seeing Melissa off, the town was very quiet but it was good to stop and take a breath.  After that we took a bus up from Pucon to Santiago which was another long overnight bus journey, we then caught an connecting bus from Santiago to Mendoza, this was a fantastic drive that goes through the Andes.

2300m up Volcan Villarrica

We took a well deserved break in Mendoza which is Malbec wine country and a really great place to relax as the climate is very similar to California, only 60 days of rain a year!  We’ve done two days of wine tours and as expected today we needed a full de-tox so we went to a day spa which had thermal springs it was fantastic, I have some great photos of us covered in mud ( as part of a treatment).

Mud treatment at a Spa in the Andes

We’re now in Salta planning our trip across the border to Bolivia so we’ll be in touch with more news soon!

 

Cafe del mar

 

Bongos and Sax at sunset

Coming soon.

 

Varkarla – the beach of choice

By the time we’d travlled the north, taking tours every day and sleeping on trains,  we were exhausted and were ready for a beach holiday. We flew from Delhi to Trivandrum but couldn’t decide on where to go from here.  Kovalam was meant to be too package holiday and Gokarna was high up the coast and would have meant more overnight trains so we settled on Varkarla which had good recommendations .

As we took our first stroll we knew we had made the right decision. It has a beautiful beach (though not as exotic as some I’ve seen in Malaysia and Thailand) but benefits from the fact that all the restaurants and tourist shops are high up on the cliff so you’re less likely to be hassled by hawkers and the setting feels more natural. The swimming is not very relaxing as its quite rough but if you like dodging giant waves and body surfing you’ll have fun.

 

Ocenaic Hotel

Easy going place a short walk from the sea view (50metres).

Rates as of Feb 2009

Fan cooled room in the house – 700 Rs
Fan cooled Cottage – 1000 Rs

n.b. A.C. rooms in other hotels with a sea view averaged 2000 Rs

 

Kesar’s Hotel Namaskar

Nice enough, but not for a long stay, very helpful staff.

Rates as of Feb 2009

Small Room: 300 Rs
Bigger Room: 400 Rs – we stayed in this size and found it ok for one night
Large Room: 500 Rs

Address:
917 Chandiwalan,
Main Bazar
Pahar Gamji
New Delhi
110055

Email: namaskarhotel@yahoo.com

Phone: 011-2358-3456

 

Taj Mahal

Having seen so many pictures of the Taj Mahal I was expecting not to be blown away, which was good as that was exactly what happened.

As the lonely planet suggests we got up at 5.30am to visit at sunrise. What they don’t mention is you are not allowed in to 7am so we stood around for an hour shivering in the cold and getting agitated as night turned to day. But the light was perfect when we finally got in and well worth the wait as there were very few tourists. I felt a surge of excitement as I saw the Taj Mahal framed in an arched doorway - it was pale pink in the early morning light and much bigger than I expected. After a brief rush to get some shots free from people we sat watching the light reflecting off the brilliant white shrine and enjoying the serene gardens.

We spent about 2 hours wandering round and took about 50 photos, including some dodgy shots of the Taj Mahal reflected in sunglasses! But it was getting hot and as we left the grounds at about 9am they were swarming with tour groups and we felt happy that we had sacrificed a lie in to see it at sunrise.

 

Hotel Sheela Inn

Having walked up and down in the  dark feeling safe/scared by the number of police walking around with huge riffles we found Hotel Sheela Inn.  It was very clean, had a great rooftop restaurant with stunning views of the Taj Mahal and a very smiley helpful owner.

 

Address:
Opp. Jalma (Near Shilpgram Parking)
East Gate Taj Mahal
Agra
282001

Phone:  0091-562-3293437 

www.hotelsheelaagra.com

 

Bus to Agra

It turns out that bus stations are easier to navigate than train stations and for a good price -  R150 each for a 5 hour trip – a better option for daytime travel.

Although a word of warning  – make sure you take snacks with you as the halfway stop charged us the same amount as the ticket for Pringles, crisp’s and 2 packets of biscuits.