Wednesday, 17 XI 2010
I'm Copanacabana bound (5h with border crossing - 15 PEN) but will the Bolivians let me in? I mean I want to enter as a Polish citizen. If I'll have to enter as an American I will have to pay $135 for a visa which will be valid for 5 years. My uncertainty is caused by the fact that my polish passport expires in 5.5 months. Usually you need to have a valid passport for at least 6 months. I'm still gonna try. Here I go... haha blah blah jeje de Polonia si blah blah... I'm in YEAH!!! Either they didn't see it or just didn't care enough. Fine with me and I saved $135.
$1 = 7 BOB (Bolivianos)
I got to Copacabana around 12:30pm. Knowing that the last boats take off to Isla del Sol at 1:30pm I didn't have much time to do the few things I had to do. They were: drop off laundry, buy food for two days and get on the boat. Not knowing exactly where everything was I quickly started asking around. One man said I can drop off laundry at his hotel, told me where the market was and that he has the boat tickets. Great, I'm gonna make it. And the lying started. I wanted to go to the north side of the island and slowly make my way to the south side camping overnight somewhere in the middle. He told me there are no boats to the north at this time; only to the south. Ok, fine I took the ticket to the south (15 BOB). Of course there were boats to the north but not with the company he was selling the tickets for and getting a commission. When I went back to find him and get my money back he was nowhere to be found. There was no more time left so I went to the south.
The boat ride took 2h. There was 5 BOB entry fee to the island. I have red that the ruins on the south weren't that interesting so as soon as I got on land I took off up the hill in search of a camping spot. The whole trail from one end of the island to the other takes about 4h. About half way through, on the highest point I found a perfect spot with views in almost all directions. By the time I set up my tent and cooked dinner it was time to hit the hay or the sleeping bag. It was very peaceful, quiet and a nice sunset on top of it. Good times.
Thursday, 18 XI 2010
Since I was heading for the north (farther shore) the last boat was leaving at 1:30pm so I couldn't sleep in too much as I originally planned. Not too important. It was a pleasant walk along the central ridge of the island. The only downfall was that it was brown and burned by the sun. The views of the lake on each side made up for it but I need GREEN around me.
There were nicely preserved ruins on the north side with sacrificial table and a housing complex crawling down the side of the hill overlooking a nice small bay. You pay 10 BOB for the ruin complex on the north and another 10 BOB for the ruins on the south.
It was warm and sun was shining high like it should on the Sun island. I took the last boat directly to Copacabana (2h - 20 BOB).
Hola Gi :))) ¿Qué tal?
There was very impressive church in the Plaza 2 de Febrero. It had extensive wood carved altars all around the sides as well as in the middle. It looked as it wasn't fitting it was so huge. It had a nice feel to it.
A hostel man had a weird way of bargaining there. First he showed me a room without a private bathroom for 20 BOB. Then a one with private bathroom for 30 BOB. When I asked him if he'll give me that one for 25 BOB he said no but he'll give me the other one for 15 BOB?! LOL So I was ready to pay 25 and he dropped the price from 20 to 15. Ok, I took the one for 15 hehe overlooking the lake.
I went back to get my laundry. Now I understood why they said "We'll weigh the clothes when they're clean" (10 BOB/kg). It was because they weren't completely dry! I wasn't gonna get ripped off like that. First the scale was broken so the little girl took my bag and said 4kg! What a bunch of bull. This batch of clothes weigh less then 2kg when dry. I demanded to get a working scale. That was taking forever so the other girl took the BROKEN scale again and QUICKLY weighed my clothes saying 4.5kg. My response was simply NO! So then she quickly said 2kg. I paid for 2kg to be done with it. Another thing was that maybe my clothes were clean but they smelled!!! I don't know what they washed it with but sure wasn't a detergent. Now I had to wash them again because even the deodorant couldn't get rid of the peculiar smell.
So as a hello Bolivians were lying and trying to get an advantage of me every chance they got. I hope that doesn't continue or it will ruin the country's image in my eyes.
Isla del Sol:
Copacabana:
Friday, 19 XI 2010
Time to keep going and head to La Paz. More lying came from the people that wanted me (and some other tourists) to take the bus they were selling tickets for. They would swear that there is nothing else that goes to La Paz for hours but when you turned the corner there were more options. I met few more travelers that wanted to get there so we joined forces in looking for the best/fastest way. Finally we chose to take a taxi to Tiquina (8 BOB), then took a boat across (1.50 BOB) and from there a micro (8.50 BOB) straight to La Paz. Believe it or not at one point we had 24 people in this tiny thing!!! We couldn't believe it either but they pack themselves well. I was kinda ok but anybody taller don't have any place to put their knees.
At one point the micro was coasting. The driver tried to start it up again but to no avail. What the? When it slowed down enough that we could walk faster and one of them jumped out and started pushing it. Not thinking much some of us jumped out too and helped. Others jumped out just take pictures jeje - Adrien. It didn't take long before it finally caught on and we were zooming once again. Unfortunately it died again a minute later and we were just gliding down the highway on the power of will or our weight of a gang of people inside. We coasted to some buildings next to the road and luckily they had some gas hehe yep, it was just lack of combustible LOL.
At one point a small baby next to me grabbed my thumb and was holding it really tight for more then 10 minutes. His whole hand was as big as my thumb but packed some force. Is this the moment when I should have a huge need to have children?!...
The view of La Paz was pretty stunning as we descended to the valley. The houses were crawling up the steep slopes as far as the eye could see. Most of us went their own way. I got to know Adrien (frenchie) a bit better and we decided to hit the nearby mountains together. He had all the gear for trekking but haven't used it yet. I guess he was waiting for someone like me to push him that direction hehe. We were running around town trying to find some information about trails we can do solo without a guide and organized group. This proved more difficult than we imagined. The tour agencies didn't really want to help us and the city's tourist information was clueless. Adrien had to go back to Copacabana to get the rest of his stuff. Still without any reliable information we chose the trek/mountains to hike around in. I had one more day to look for info and if not we were going to print out "topo" maps of the area from google maps and somehow make it happen. There were no maps what so ever to be found and it was starting to piss me off. Finally one tour agency (Andean Base Camp, calle Illampu # 863) started taking with some sense and was willing to help me even though I didn't want to take a tour with them. The info wasn't exactly what I was looking for but he referred me to another person that supposedly have some military maps. It was a bit late so I decided to visit him tomorrow.
Finally it was a time to find a hotel as I was running around with a full bag for most of the day. Earlier I had no time as Adrien had to catch a bus back and we needed to know what were we going to do. I looked at few and surprisingly they were pretty expensive for Bolivia. Finally I found really nice one for 70 BOB with wifi, hot GAS shower (rarity), breakfast buffet, cable TV and spacious rooms. Why not?! Time to spoil myself for $10 LOL and live it up (Hostal Sol Andino).
Saturday, 20 XI 2010
I bought a sim card for my phone so Adrien can get in contact with me but surprise surprise. I can't use it until I register the phone?! What?! It is for when someone steals your phone the government can block the signal to the device rendering it useless in Bolivia. Didn't take too long and something to discourage thieves.
I went to see Shaul; an Israeli guy that runs a low key tour agency. There is no office or advertisements. Just a name next to a door bell and a plain piece of paper with something written in Hebrew in the window on the first floor. Looks little shady but it's the BEST tour agency in town.
He is located on calle Tarija 372 between Illampu and Linares
He will take you wherever you want. He will organize a non touristy tours. Off the beaten path of all other tour agencies. He can combine canyoneering and whatever else you want. He's a real chevere guy that is about the customers and not after your money.
The trek we chose did not have much water along the way so Shaul told me about yet another one with lots of it. He does have military maps of the area and he did let me photocopy them for free! That was very nice of him. He only asked me to either destroy them or bring them back so somebody else can use them. Also to bring some pictures afterwards. He marked which passes we should cross and more or less which way to go. He also had a description of the trek but only in Hebrew.
I was waiting for Adrien to contact me but as it was getting later and darker I thought he changed his mind and stayed in Copacabana like he originally planned. Finally around 10pm I got a call that he have just arrived in La Paz. At that point I had already booked a tour for the World's Most Dangerous Road (WMDR) to do on a bicycle. Since we didn't have food and I didn't arrange the transport (private 4x4 taxi that would cost us 500 BOB - 4h) he also decided to do the WMDR. We postponed the trek till Tuesday.
Sunday, 21 XI 2010
The cost of the tour was 340 BOB + 35 BOB road entrance. The bicycles were ok. Actually you don't need super duper ones as the road is not that bad. It's called world's most dangerous road because few people would die on it every year. It is located between Coroico and La Paz. It starts at elevation of 4,650m (15,200ft) and ends at 1,200m (3,900ft) 64km (40mi) later. The width of it is only 3.2m (10.5m) and it is only dirt without barriers and cliffs up to 600m (2000ft) high. Is it that dangerous? Not really but it's really fun. We would race down launching off of the rocks and lay into the turns faster and faster hehe. I needed these shots of adrenaline! I'm pretty deprived of it here and I NEED IT!!! LOL ('hands shaking') There was just a bit of pedaling up hill. The rest was to get more speed flying down hehe. I wouldn't mind doing some more of it but this time on some single tracks.
Monday, 22 XI 2010
Today we had to get food for the trek and take care of police business for Adrien. Unfortunately he was robbed at his hotel in La Paz. He went out to dinner in the evening and upon his arrival he realized his laptop, iPod and expensive glasses were missing. Weird because he had a private room which he locked and there was no sign of forced entry. After reviewing the security tapes everything was clear. The receptionists changed while he was out eating. Some guy that looked like extranjero came in and just asked for the key to number 12. The receptionist just gave him the key without thinking or checking if he's the one staying there. 5 minutes later the thief left and you could see a rectangular shape of a laptop under his sweater. How unfortunate. The hotel would only give him a free night or two.
Adrien had some insurance which needed an official certification from police. We had no idea how hard is it to get it. He new some Spanish but not enough to get his point across so I went as his translator. First we had to go to the tourist police. From there we went to the hotel with one of them and surprise surprise we had to pay for the taxi because they don't have proper vehicles. We waited there for the receptionist at fault to show up. Hotel would try to excuse themselves by saying that Adrien agreed that he doesn't want anything from them which was a lie. He never agreed to anything as the hotel said they'll notify police and see what they can do. Then they would fully blame the receptionist and that he has to pay for everything, and that hotel is not responsible for anything missing from the room. Later on we came back to the station just to find out since there is video and pictures of the thief regular police has to take care of it. Of course at different police station in different part of town. More reports and explaining what happened to about three people one at a time. Then we had to go with other policemen to the hotel AGAIN to confirm the story. We had enough of it. All he wanted is a certification that he was robbed. As it came out at the end that all the reports and evidence has to go to yet another department for approval before the certification can be issued. That takes about 4 days. Great... now we have to come back after our trek. So we spent time with police from 2pm all the way till 10pm and still didn't get the stupid paper.
Day wasted! While waiting around we found out about other robberies where tourists were the victims happening all the time. You have to really watch out in La Paz. Tomorrow we're hitting the mountains to relax and decompress from all this shit. One worry is that the weather forecast is showing rain for the next 10 days or so. Without the rain pants it's not something I can take lightly. Oh well, we'll see tomorrow...
Tuesday, 23 XI 2010
Bad weather or not we're going and that's that. This is the only chance and we're not gonna miss it.
The "truck" suppose to leave at 6:30am bound for Amaguaya from El Alto. It only goes once a week and hopefully they didn't change the day on us. We took a taxi pretty early (60 BOB) and got there at 6:05am. Good we did because the truck was leaving that very moment. Luck was on our side :) Now only for the weather to be good. We loaded up on the back of this 4x4 Toyota pickup where there were no benches or anything prepared for human transport. The only thing there was a "roll cage" for people to hold on as most were standing back to back without any room to move a muscle hehe. Let the adventure begin :)
After an hour of a chilly ride we stopped in one of the villages for breakfast. Shacks were lined up on one plaza offering different things. Since this is gonna be our last real meal for a while we chose the breakfast option with chicken soup, rice, potatoes, salad, and of course big llama steak hehe. That's right, steak for breakfast. That's a thing of a norm around here. I'm not gonna complain LOL. It was pretty good.
As we were loading up we noticed that many bought more stuff at the market and are trying to fit them as well. If that wasn't enough two or three new people hopped on. There wasn't enough room from the beginning so one guy was just hanging outside. We had 26 people in the bed of this small Toyota - it will always amaze me how they can pack themselves in.
Once we hit the dirt roads another older lady started to climb on but there was literally no room to breathe. No one was interested in trying to make any room so I decided to give my space to her. My new space was outside standing on the rear bumper and holding on to the roll cage. It wasn't the best of spots cuz the dust covered me instantly and continued to add layers as we were zooming towards the mountains. Not to mention I could have fallen off. I had to employ my rock climbing fingers to hold on for almost an hour! Somehow I managed to do this and as some people were dropped off literally on the side of the road (where they had their houses scattered in the middle of nowhere) I could rejoin the rest on the pickup bed. The ride was very bumpy and it was tricky not to hit the bars too many times. It took us 5:30h with 30min breakfast but it only cost us 30 BOB each. A private 4x4 taxi charges 500 BOB for the whole car so we saved a lot and it was fun...well maybe on the beginning. Riding in these conditions was a bit much for that long.
We got off in Estacion Lloco Lloconi and before we started our hike into unknown we had lunch which consisted of banana bread or actually bread rolls with bananas inside of them :)
It was noon and we started to look for the trail. Trail? There are no trails on this route. It's all up to us to navigate ourselves having only a map and a compass. This is what I call fun and adventure :) Not knowing exactly where we were on the map we started looking for a stream that suppose to go from a higher situated laguna which we had to pass.
After walking along the river we found the stream. Is this the one we're looking for? Who knows but we have to check. The slope was super steep and not easy to hike as we were already starting at 4,200m (13,800ft). Unfortunately the weather turned to worse. Fog and small drizzle came limiting our visibility greatly. We couldn't find the laguna which should be pretty big and the slope kept just climbing and climbing. Dirt with grasses turned to rocks. We realized that most likely this wasn't the right stream and possibly we were dropped off in the wrong spot.
Coming to terms with that we decided to just look for a camping spot. Not any camping spot but one at 5,000m (16,400ft)!!! We climbed and climbed navigating around cliff faces and scrambling on rocks. We got to 5,000m but we couldn't find the spot and through the fog we saw what probably was the peak of that mountain some more meters up. Since we only had about 30min of daylight left we had to turn around and go to a pre-found spot while ascending. We had to settle for spot at 4,925m (16,160ft) hehe.
Some luck and hope shined at us as it cleared up as we were setting up our tent. Nice views opened up and WAIT!!! THERE IT WAS! The laguna we were looking for. As it turned out it was before and not after Lloco Lloconi as the map showed. It was chillin' just west of us. Adrien only had 5 days for this trip or he wouldn't be able to catch his plane from Rio de Janeiro back to France. We decided to decide in the morning. Either we are gonna continue the planned route or just wander around the mountains in the proximity and walk back the way we came with the truck. The weather was gonna be the deciding factor. After eating a hearth ramen noodle soup :P we knocked right out as we had only 3h of sleep the previous night.
Wednesday, 24 XI 2010
We woke up to a beautiful weather and a layer of ice on our tent. The clouds were below us with only peaks of jagged rocky mountains piercing through. Amazing views would be lightly said. We ate our oatmeal mixed with coffee and some sugar (the supermarket did not have hot chocolate!!! Scandalous!). The decision was made to try to complete our initial trek since the weather was nice. We headed out at 8:15am.
We started to scale around the mountain as our first pass was directly above the laguna we couldn't find yesterday. Our luck ran out very quickly today as the fog came with the speed of light and we could only see for about 30 meters or so. We couldn't see the surrounding peaks and couldn't follow our map via terrain features. I turned on all my land navigation senses and kept going. Not knowing how far or how high we were we had our finger crossed. With my mountain experience all I could do is make educated guesses. The map wasn't that great either for this cuz it was only 1:100,000.
Frustrated and determined at the same time we were moving forward and up. At least it wasn't raining.
We crossed a ridge but in what location??? Again, I made a series of educated guesses and we kept going. It is the worst case of route finding where you don't know exactly where you are and can't follow the map.
We found a laguna that didn't really fit the profile on the map. Where are we? Maybe just an unmarked lake...so we hoped. The idea of being way off of our course was pretty devastating and nothing we were about to accept right now.
We kept positive and kept going down. Suddenly there was an opening in the fog and a chance to see what's ahead of us. Not thinking much I threw myself down the hill as fast as I can not caring that I had my big heavy pack on my back. I had to catch a glimpse of the scenery and try to put ourselves on the map and heading in the right direction. I went into the llama mode hopping over rocks and big grassy patches "few" meters at a time. It was worth it! My fog route finding skillz worked like a charm and we were where we wanted. Our further plans had to be changed due to a series of cliff faces but that didn't matter much. We were on the right track :) Somehow we had to make up the time lost during the first day if we were gonna do this in 4.5 days. Hmmmmm...
The weather kept getting better and we were able to navigate super steep faces. In the fog it would have been almost impossible and way too dangerous. We got down to the valley around noon and chose the way up to the next pass that was hiding inside some 700 vertical meters (2,300ft) higher. The climbs here are pretty brutal. The slopes are almost vertical and without trails it's pretty hard to negotiate them with big backpacks. Sometimes we could use some animal trails that either disappeared or went in a different direction after a bit.
Around 1pm the weather changed in a second and thick fog surrounded us. Not being able to climb high enough to visualize the pass we were walking blind again only using our senses and making more educated guesses. If that wasn't enough it started raining. Not that hard but consistently without any end in sight. Still not having waterproof pants I knew I was about to get pretty miserable. Actually, the waterproofness of my boots didn't really worked for a while now and I didn't wanted to think what was coming. It didn't take too long before my feet were wet and almost frozen. The temperature at these elevations change very drastically. Adrien wasn't exactly ready for such steep mountains and with high elevation was having a harder time. It's hard and tricky to navigate and walk over never-ending piles of slippery, moving boulders and rocks. To add to our misery as we climbed higher the wind picked up and it started SNOWING!!! Cold, tired and hungry we had no choice but keep walking and hopefully find that pass. Almost zero visibility was actually the worst part of it all.
We finally found it around 3pm (4,900m - 16,000ft) - THANK YOU!!! The snow was hitting us directly in the face with a punch from a cold wind. We had to go down into the next valley quick but it didn't look good. The possibility of the super steep slopes all around us cliffing out was almost guaranteed. Luckily after descending a bit the snow stopped and it cleared up YEAH!!! We could see our destination for the day and a portion of the route for tomorrow. The descent was almost vertical and by no means easy but at least the slippery when wet factor was taken out of the equation. Once on the valley floor, looking back we wouldn't have thought of climbing in the places we went down. If you have to you can do anything...I guess.
It was 5pm when we started to set up our house for the night right besides the river. My pants were mostly dry and my toes were not cold anymore. Good end to a difficult day. Potato pure with tuna was on the menu for dinner and it tasted pretty damn good. Goodnight...
Thursday, 25 XI 2010
Today is a catch up day. We lost lots of time on the first day and somehow we need to make it up. Wake up was at 5:30am but the cold kept us in a bit longer. Our standard coffee oatmeal breakfast fueled us up to start the day and we headed up for our daily mountain pass.
The weather was great and we felt good. We conquered the pass without any interruptions and dove into yet another valley. It is fun to make your own route negotiating rocks, rivers, wetlands, cliff faces and whatever else gets in your way. Today we also had to hop across a huge boulder field as the water was flowing under and around them. It was super fun and a bit tricky as not all of them were planted solid and we had our big packs on our backs weighing us down.
The valley seemed never-ending. Once we finally got to the place where we had to turn into another canyon and head for the next pass the fog came and once more we were walking blind. After some time negotiating the steep slopes of the canyon we got to the river which we had to follow up. There were humongous boulders thrown around everywhere and with the thick fog it gave out a special vibe. It felt very mysterious, magical and spooky at the same time. I wanted to camp right there and then to get a bit more out of it but we had to keep going since we didn't know long we'll need to complete the whole trek. We were going all the way to almost 6pm. It was time to put our bones to rest! We were going pretty much for 10:30h without stopping or eating (just few snacks). I guess we should have stopped and eaten lunch cuz we both got a hunger headache and by the end we barely had any energy left to swing our feet forward.
It was a loooooooooong and beautiful day where we didn't get soaked or nearly frozen. We used every bit of it to make up for the lost time from before. Thank you weather Gods!
One more thing. It's very bizarre how fast the weather changes here. During the day I have to constantly put on or take off clothing. It's not just one article of clothing. I have to go from just a t-shirt to wearing sweater, jacket, hat, gloves and still wanting to put something else on to keep me warm and comfy. These drastic changes happen many times during the day in a heartbeat. You better be ready for it or you'll be sorry.
Friday, 26 XI 2010
I woke up around midnight and I thought I was on fire! For some odd reason it was very hot. I unzipped my sleeping bag, opened up the door to one of the vestibule and finally after two hours I fell asleep again.
The plan was to wake up at 5:30am and head out by 7am. That changed when we had a little problem. What the?!!! We can't get out! The zipper froze and a layer of ice covered the tent. We had to wait for the sun and hence headed out around 8:30am. A bit late but we estimated that with the yesterday's push it'll be enough.
Today we had to concur the last as well as the highest pass. The weather was great. We didn't care about the temperature. All that mattered was that it didn't rain/snow. We reached the pass (5,050m) in about three hours. To have a better view we climbed a 'rock' a bit higher and rested at 5,100m (16,700ft). The views were... no words to describe it. I could stare at these peaks and faces for days. Some were covered in snow and some were showing its sharp edges and needle peaks. It was truly a sight to remember. The crowning of our trek was well worth the hardships we have endured. I'm also glad I bought small binoculars for $11. It brought me 10x closer to where I wanted to be. Money well spent.
We walked down from the mountains and we were scaling the barren valley as far as the eye can see. Not knowing how much ground we have to cover to get to the main road we walked all the way till 6pm. We found a semi-flat spot for the tent and had dinner. Out of nowhere a man showed up and said it's 20 BOB per person to camp here. We looked around and there was NOTHING around. Just some rocks and hard ground. We didn't know if that's true or not so we only gave him 10 BOB total so he'll be on his way and not come back later with more locals.
As soon as the sun sets the temperature drops as it would jump off the cliff. The only refuge is your sleeping bag. You better hope you have a good one!
Saturday, 27 XI 2010
We estimated (without any reference hehe) that we have no more than 4-5h) to walk so we didn't rush to get up. After another glorious oatmeal breakfast, this time without coffee and it was soooooooo much better, we started hiking around 9am. We walked across plains and fields passing few houses here and there. This walk wasn't interesting as we left the giants behind. We walked past one bigger village that looked totally deserted and on to the next one where supposedly there was a bus to La Paz. Big, bad and dark clouds were raining buckets of water in the near distance. We were just waiting when will it open up on us. We finally got to Chachacomani at 1pm (we had lunch in between). Luck was on our side again because the bus was leaving that very second (3h - 7 BOB). We're back safe and sound. Hot shower was mighty fine...
The weather and nature threw at us tons of barriers and obstacles. Maybe we grimaced at them for a sec but non of them were able to stop and make us turn around. Our determination and lust for adventure was as strong as they come hehe.
Adrien was a good companion for this trek. Even though he was a bit slower he never complained. Always kept a good attitude and even when dead tired he kept making the steps to go a bit farther. Both of us didn't know when to stop jeje. Once we climbed a rim or turned the corner we wanted to know what's behind the next one. Some evenings this game continued till dark hours, till our energy level was completely depleted. Trek on buddy!!! I'll be coming to visit and fly some parapente with you in France. Maybe we'll hit some Alpean peaks as well :)
Sunday, 28 XI 2010
What we thought was gonna be a simple retrieval of the robbery certification it turned out to be a long ordeal again! The shifts changed and the sergeant that was in charge of Adrien's case wasn't in today. Nobody else could help us because they didn't know the case number and on Sundays they couldn't check in the computer. One finally gave us his cell phone number. Of course he wouldn't answer. We tried later and finally spoke to him. Adrien had to leave today if he was gonna catch his flight from Rio back to France so there was no option to wait till tomorrow. Sergeant Cosme agreed to call somebody at the station and arrange for the certification pick up. We went back there a bit later but nobody got the call. When we called Cosme back again we got somebody else saying he won't be back till late. What the fuck?!!! This is bullshit and totally a waste of time. We had to give up. Other policeman said we can task somebody with picking up the certification with a copy of a passport and have them send it wherever we needed. Adrien asked one French girl that worked at the hostal and she agreed to do it. Hopefully she won't have any other problems with this tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised.
We found out that other, similar robberies take place. One oriental couple locked the door to their private room and upon return their electronics was gone and there was no sigh of forced entry. They were staying in the same hostal we were right now, Hostal Solario (30 BOB). Other person lost his whole backpack. It just disappeared as they were trying to inquire about hostels and his buddy didn't pay that close of attention to the luggage.
I'm tired of all the shit in this town. It's too hectic and disorganized. I don't even have any need to see any tourist sites whatever they might be. The first day I walked in to one museum that wasn't interesting at all. I had to get out of this city quick. There is much more trekking to be done in the nearby cordilleras but it will have to wait for another time and the dry season.
I left to Cochabamba tonight at 11pm (6h - 70 BOB).
Monday, 29 XI 2010
Rain welcomed me in Cochabamba as I was looking for a hostal. I stopped at one of the plazas just in time for something to take place. There was a police band, military police in formal uniforms, officials and school children. The flags were raised, the anthems sung to commemorate this date. Unfortunately I didn't catch what was it remembrance of. Something about Cochabamba winning something and not giving up. As the military police platoon was circling the plaza a lightning struck a palm on the plaza with a huge KABOOM!!! shaving off some leaves and making a mark. With the timing it almost looked as it was planned.
I didn't feel like doing much so I just wandered around town for few hours. The town have a lot of parks/green sections. It felt nice to relax in a shade and watch the everyday life of people rushing somewhere, going forward with a purpose. It had a nice feel to it.
Tuesday, 30 XI 2010
I was supposed to meet with one local from CouchSurfing but in the end he failed, not called and we did not meet. I went around visiting some churches and a museum of medicine (not to interesting). I tasted many ice creams (hot, sweaty day) and saw a movie "Todo un Parto" (Due Date).
Also, I went to the south of the center where the markets are located. And I mean market upon market stretching for many city blocks in each direction. This place is a total crazines. You can buy literally everything! Crazy place I tell you! Totally different feel from the one on the north side.
Wednesday, 01 XII 2010
I had enough of big hectic cities so I left to Villa Tunari located by the road on the way to Santa Cruz (4h - 10 BOB).
It's elevation is barely 300 m.a.s.l. The heat and humidity hit me with a force of a sledge hammer. In seconds I was soaked. It wasn't helping that it was the rainy season and hence even higher humidity. The information on the main plaza was excellent where I found out everything I needed to know. I set up in Residencial America (30 BOB) and was a happy camper. Getting the vibe of a small village in the tropics with no rush or hurry felt pretty good. Finally some total relaxation...
Thursday, 02 XII 2010
Without any rush I got up and headed out to a local market for breakfast. Sandwich with egg (3 BOB), with meat (7 BOB), fresh juice: banana (2.50 BOB), apple (4 BOB), strawberry (4 BOB), sweet bread roll (1 BOB), empanada with cheese (1 BOB) was on the menu.
Around 11am I got to the park Machia (6 BOB) just to find out that due to rain last night it's still closed. The trail goes up the mountain and it is very muddy and slippery. Luckily I didn't have to wait 1.5h as some other people and in 10 minutes or so the park opened. To my surprise you couldn't take in any backpacks, wallets or anything else with you; only water. The reason being that the cappuccino monkeys sometimes get aggressive and steel things from you. That should be fun hehe.
The humidity was off the charts and I saw soaked under a seconds. The park proved to be super disappointing. The trail was under an hour climbing up to the lookout point and then to two super small "waterfalls." I only saw two cappuccino and two bigger black monkeys. Non of them wanted to play or steel whatever I had in my pockets :( This park is a gip and not worth going to. Hot, sweaty and muddy.
I went back to the village and after a shower I went for a stroll. It felt great (once stepped away at least a block from the main road). As the time stood still and people lived in a total relaxation. Rusting cars, building falling apart or overgrown with vegetation but yet a cheerful music coming from behind the walls. Big backyards and green trees everywhere. I felt the tranquility of the place and I liked it.
For dinner I just had some bread and few fruit juices topped with a fresh mango and lets not forget about the ice creams AAAAAAAAH!!! That's life...
Friday, 03 XII 2010
Unfortunately it's time to leave this place as there is more to explore. It is a cool place but waaaaaaay too humid/tropical.
Hopped on the bus bound for Santa Cruz. I should have paid 30 BOB but the driver said 50 BOB and I had no choice as I didn't know when is the next one and I wanted to get there before dark (6h). Of course the bus was overcrowded and sweaty. Not the nice relaxing ride I was hoping for.
I arrived in Santa Cruz with about an hour of light to spare. I quickly got to the tourist information to get a map before they close and off I went in search of a bed. Literally a bed with nothing else. The prices were around 100 BOB which is pretty pricy for Bolivia. The other bracket was 25-35 BOB. I went for the economic one that was a dog house. Unfortunately the room had no fan and as I soon realized it is essential here. Tomorrow I will be looking for something else, I don't care if it'll cost me more.
Tired after this horrendous trip I just walked a bit around and went to sleep. I didn't feel like doing anything else.
Saturday, 04 XII 2010
Mmmmmmmmm... salteñas!!! They are 'empanadas' with meat, potatoes, egg and whatever else but on the sweet side. That's what I've been eating for breakfast lately washing it down with a 'refresco' that came from a big mysterious bucket. It's better not to know.
I didn't have to look long for a better hostel. Room in alojamiento Santa Barbara was for the same price (35 BOB) and it had a nicer, bigger, clean room where the matters wouldn't stab you and it had a FAN! without the fan - NO DEAL! It's still only economico but it will do for me. More money for the delicious maracuja (passion fruit) ice creams 'drool...' You would love them mom.
There really is almost nothing to see in Santa Cruz. Due to lack of options I went to the zoo (10 BOB). It was actually a pretty cool one. You could see lots of birds, monkeys, pumas, tigers, gators, reptiles, fishies, even a bear, and other animal critters.. I really liked the owls. Their huge round eyes kept examining you with curiosity.
I went around town for a bit and in the evening I met up with Agata (Polish) and Mathisa (Brazilian). They volunteer here teaching english in exchange for food and board. The days here are super hot and steamy but the evening brings a nice cool breeze. It is pretty nice to hang out around the plaza after dark.
Sunday, 05 XII 2010
Today there was a kermesa for Mathisa. It's a kind of fund raiser. Since you can only get a 90 day visa in Bolivia per year you have to pay a fine for each extra day you stay over. Since she's going to be here for about 6 months and doesn't make any money she needed some help. They sell food, beer, caipirinias and the profits go to her.
It started out pretty slow and didn't look promising. The people exchange organization that was setting it up was pretty unprepared and "slow". One genius solved a problem. Since there is no ice for caipirinias then we just don't sell them. Huh? Really?!!! How about just go and buy some. It turned out pretty fun with these and other occurrences. SECO Agata! Jeje
Monday, 06 XII 2010
It was time to leave this hot and not to interesting town. Without any rush I went to my favorite street cart where I ate 3 huge salteñas (2 are filling) hehe. Around noon I took a colectivo taxi to Samaipata (30 BOB - 2.5h). After about halfway the road climbs into very picturesque mountains.
Since there was plenty of daylight left I took the same taxi to ruins of El Fuerte (50 BOB) with Suzana and Antonio (70 BOB for the taxi roundtrip with waiting around for 2h while we visited the ruins). These were a pre-Inca ruins. I did not expect too much from them as there are almost no evidence to support the theories. The main ruin was a huge rock with lots of carvings of stairs, drainage system, niches, and other mysterious things. Around there were some remains of housing complexes and that's it. It's ok if you're passing it by on to another destination. It's not worth coming here just for El Fuerte.
The village of Samaipata is very small, quiet and peaceful. It's cool to just walk around and enjoy the time standing still.
Tuesday, 07 XII 2010
Mosquitos wouldn't let us sleep buzzing and sucking our blood. These little pieces of ... should all DIE!!! So annoying and useless grrrrrrrr.
Breakfast consisted of a strawberry milkshake (4 BOB) and some cheese empanadas (2 BOB). Afterward we went to the El Fuerte museum. We watched a video about the site and saw some pottery found at the site. Small but nice.
Susana went back to Santa Cruz yesterday and with Antonio (Bolivian) we decided to travel together for a bit and visit Ernesto Ché Guevara places. Past 11am we took a bus to Vallegrande (3h - 25 BOB).
It is bigger than Semaipata but still gives out a quiet, peaceful and tranquil vibe. It is super nice to walk around the streets taking it all in. Very relaxing...
This pueblito is where El Ché's body was being displayed after his execution in La Higuera to prove his death. It was shown in a small laundry/wash building. It still stands and is a memorial where people write or inscribe stuff on the walls as they come to visit.
Across and a bit outside of town his body was buried in secrecy. Finally in 1997 his burial place was revealed, body exhumed and transported to Cuba. Right now there is a mausoleum there that can be visited only with a guide.
On the main square there is a tiny, two room museum. You will find his uniform, shoes, pictures and revolution's history also written in English (10 BOB).
Wednesday, 08 XII 2010
Our next Ché spot for today was La Higuera. To get there we first went to Pucara (25 BOB - 1.5h). Today was a fiesta for one of the Virgin. There was a procession with a small statue of the Virgin around the small plaza accompanied by loud fireworks and music. After the mass and procession at noon the beer bottles got opened and the party began with dancing and all. We did not stick around.
We were about to walk the 15km to La Higuera when a taxi rolled in and offered to take us (20 BOB). it took us about 45min due to dirt and rocky road. La Higuera is the tiniest of these pueblitos I have visited in the past few days. There are literally 10 houses. This is where Ché was executed. It happened in the school house. Unfortunately the house was destroyed because somebody didn't like it and a new building was raised and it doesn't really have any value. There is a statue of El Comendante and his huge head next to the plazita. Little park in the middle have a shape of THE star and that's it for the "town". You can walk up and down the dirt road and look at the hills. You can't dive into the bush as it's protected by thick, dry and thorny vegetation. I was hoping to wander around but it ended up just on hope. Instead all I could do is put up my hammock in the star garden and relax the rest of the day. I thought it would be cool to spend the night here but it turned out kinda disappointing. It's enough to come here for half an hour or so, take some pictures and move on.
Thursday, 09 XII 2010
The final battle between the military and the guerrillas took place in Quebrada del Churo close to La Higuera. With Antonio we had the current owner of the land, Santo, to show us around. It was a steep descent to the canyon where was the stream and the final moments of that resistance. On the way down we passed by the house of la Enana where Ché had his last meal as a free and ideological man. The Bolivian army surrounded, killed or captured the guerrillas along with their leader. I don't know how were they able to be sneaking around in this impassible terrain. Almost every plant was guarding it's place with long and sharp spikes. Also, the vegetation was sparse and uninviting. Props to all of those brave souls!
If you think that Ché was only about communisms then you better hit up his diary. He was a bigger inspiration with standing for what he believed then about in what he actually believed in.
"Hasta siempre Comendante!!!"
It was the end of my travels with Antonio as he wanted to rest some more from the city noises and stay another night in La Higuera. Muy buena gente!!! Nos vemos amigo!!!
Upon return to La Pucara nobody knew what time will be the bus to Villa Serrano. From there I can take another bus to Sucre. It was around 1pm and all I had left is to wait and hope it will actually come as nothing is for sure in these small villages. This was the third day of the fiesta and all the people were barely standing. They would wobble from place to place holding each other up and try to look dignified. It was pretty funny actually. There were some remaining bands that tried to keep the tune and keep the fun going. I even saw drunk people stop their cars in the middle of the street, take their shotguns from the trunk and start firing into the sky. Hmmmmmmm?!!!
While waiting I met two Brazilians, Luccas and Lucas jeje. We decided to have a beer to pass the time. As we were walking to a local store we were called over by some locals. Immediately we became Abraham's primos and were invited for a cup of beer. Only that these cups didn't stop coming and they were treated as shot glasses LOL. More locals gathered and we had our libacja hehe. It was pretty fun and integrational to joke around and talk about this and nothing with the borrachos haha. Fun times!!! Another group was passing by and Abraham had to introduce his primo Polako lol. From there I was taken up by dance in the street by Carla and we rolled into a house with a band and more people having fun :))) It went from here until almost 5pm when the bus to Villa Serrano arrived. Buena gente where we were accepted from the start and treated equal. Con mucho gusto amigos!!!
Of course the bus driver wanted to overcharge us. He wanted 45 BOB when the normal ticket cost 25 BOB. After some negotiation we ended up paying 30 BOB and off we went. There was no way we were going to arrive at a convenient hour and we could forget about getting to Sucre today. That's ok because we had lots of fun partying with the locals hehe.
Of course I had to stop the bus on the mountain road to relieve myself after being "forced" to inhale the amounts of Paceña I did jeje. It took us 5h to get to Villa Serrano.
Quebrada del Churo:
Pucara:
Friday, 10 XII 2010
We hoped to hop on the bus to Sucre first thing in the morning. We couldn't be bigger dreamers. There are three buses and they all leave between 4 and 5 pm. There is a morning bus but only on saturdays. Great, that means we'll be arriving in a big city by night. Not my favorite thing to do. That means we'll be loosing a whole day D'OH!!!
Villa Serrano is a small village. We didn't know what to do with ourselves. It was baking hot and only relieve was in the shade on a park bench. We did not want to walk around in the scorching sun. In a one room museum there was world's biggest Charango with the length of 8m (26ft). Internet was down and the only other thing to do was absolutely nothing...
We arrived in Sucre around 9:30pm (5h - 20 BOB). After finding a hostel (50 BOB) we headed out in search for food. We wound up in Joy Ride Cafe where the sign said "No solo para gringos" jeje. It looked like it though.
Lucas ordered a plate of 6 wings. This is exactly what he got. 6 regular, big chicken wings LOL. Not the small things that are just called wings. He couldn't finish and we had to help him. To my surprise they had some dark beers and not only Paceña which is not that great. Mug here, mug there, shot adentro and the party started.
This "cafe" had a club upstairs. Since we're here let's check it out. The whole floor was moving and we were moving with it. Don't know who or how but at one point we were heading to some other club called "Mitos". We almost danced the night away finally getting back to the hotel almost at 5am. When we left the club was still packed and not looking to close anytime soon.
That's what happens when you go out in Sucre in search of food at night LOL. Fun times with my Primos jeje.
Saturday, 11 XII 2010
Luccas and Lucas didn't have long vacations and they had to be moving fast. We got up at 8am!!! Murder! They left for Potosi and on to the salt flats. Buen viaje primos!!!
This was gonna be a slow day without much sleep and much needed rest. I went to see Castillo de la Glorieta. It was a mansion of some wealthy family. It was a pretty cool tour for some reason hehe. Later I went up to Recoleta to have a panoramic view of the white city.
I strolled in a tour agency to check out what they're offering. I really wanted to take a dirt-bike tour. After talking about it for a bit it wasn't what I was looking for. They can be done by amateurs so I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything fun and forget about single track uphills. I went for a mountain biking tour #3 which should be challenging and the best one out of the 4 options (200 BOB with lunch). I didn't have much hopes for it but I just had to do something physical other then hiking. It's getting pretty bad as I'm being starved without my outdoor hobbies...
I wanted to see local metal concert but after partying last night it was too late and I crashed out.
Sunday, 12 XII 2010
We met up at 9:30am. My group consisted of Ian from Canada, Paul from England, our guide Kntz and a guide in training Maria. To my surprise the bikes were actually pretty good. Higher quality dual suspension with disk breaks and all.
We started in the city with a lot of uphill to get outside. Maria wasn't well informed of the trail and she was dying from the start. The trail had about 20km but it wasn't that easy. Parts were demanding and tiring. Not to mention it was really hot and sun was burning without mercy. First half of the bike ride was in somewhat populated area and I didn't really like it. Finally we got to some cool parts with trees, cliffs and some faster downhills. Unfortunately there was only a very short section of single-track.
Overall the trail was cool with nice views but not exactly what I was looking for. I wanted single-track and not the wide dirt roads we would travel on. The physical difficulty was good but technical one was low. I enjoyed it but I don't think I'll be doing any tours of that kind anymore. They always shelter the tourists and I'm not getting any challenge. It's just like a tease and I always want more!!! I miss my hobbies and my toys!!! I can't sit still for too long without doing something. I have to keep moving and get that sweet adrenaline going... This is me and I always crave it!!!
After the ride we had stakes and ambrosia. What was weird how she prepared that drink. First she put the flavor and some alcohol into the glass. Next, the lady walked off into the field with these glasses on a silver platter. It looked very peculiar and interesting as she went straight to the cow and milked it right into our glasses! All on a silver platter LOL!
Monday, 13 XII 2010
So I decided to do it. Without much information and without a map I decided to go hiking in the Cordilliera de los Frailes. Ok I had a "map" that looked like it was drawn by a kid. No terrain features or any real scale. My whole trek of two days fit in a box of 1.5 inch = useless. The only thing I took it for were names of the villages. Everybody was telling me not to go without a guide because it's super easy to get lost and people there speak only quechua. Some of them could tell me something useful but they chose not to. Fine, I'll do it all by myself. Screw you all.
Another thing that tried to discourage me and failed was the weather. Black clouds were hanging low above Sucre looking like they were about to open up and sweep you off your feet. With very limited information I headed out to parada Ravelo anyway. I was determined to go and sleep somewhere in the middle of nowhere in a tent. There were no more seats left on the bus to Chataquila so I got a standing space for the same price as a seat (10 BOB). The road out in that direction is being worked on so it's only open 12:00-13:00 and 18:00-7:00. I don't know why we left at 10:30 just to wait an hour before the road opened. It got cold and wind was sending chills down my back. I was a bit preoccupied but I started it and I was gonna finish it!
Finally I got to Chataquila at 1pm in a thick fog. It is located at 3,700m (12,100ft) which is 1,000m (3,300ft) higher than Sucre. It was drizzling a bit and I couldn't see anything. Great, that reminds me of the trek in Cordilliera Real. Nothing could be done but to cross my fingers and press on. The entrance to the pre-Hispanic trail was well marked a bit past the chapel. It was well maintained and headed steeply down. With the fog and dead silence it was kind of nice and mysterious. I wish I could see the mountains and drops which looked like they were going forever. Oh well, next time. This trail goes directly to Chaunaca but that wasn't my destination. On the "map" it looked like there is a trail taking off to the left and follows more or less some canal. I found some trail but couldn't be sure if that's it. I took it anyway and it was the right choice. Soon after I was walking on a dirt road possibly in a right direction. The fog eventually lifted and only the peaks were still hiding high above. The views were superb and without the scorching sun the walk was very enjoyable. Different sections of the mountains had all the shades of green, red and purple painted like an abstract. Very picturesque. Small "mud" farm houses hidden in the shadows of the huge and steep cliff faces.
One small village (6 families or so) had a perfect spot. High above the river at the feet of some jagged, high mountains. That place would be really nice to have a shack to hide away in and escape from everything and everybody.
I didn't get to Maragua as intended. By 6pm I found a really nice spot for the tent and I stayed.
Tuesday, 14 XII 2010
It took me another hour to get to Maragua. It's a small village with nothing to offer. The walls of the crater that the village sits in have the shape of mysterious arches with lots of colors.
The road ended and I was just heading up the crater walls in the direction of a tree that stood above the rim. From there there was another canyon and another ridge. I did not know exactly if I had to cross it or follow the bottom in one of its directions. I took a wrong turn. Luckily I stepped off only for about 10 minutes before some farmer set me straight. Whoever I asked they would only show me one direction and tell me to take it all the way to Potolo. Every time it was a big fat lie. Sure the direction they showed me was correct but only till the next turn and there were many. I really had to guess and hope I chose right.
The sun was shining high and there was no water in sight. I would climb up and climb down over and over again. The time was ticking and I had no idea how much longer and where is the village of Potolo (my final destination). Does it even exist? I did not want to stop as there was a possibility to catch a bus from there around 3pm. Miraculously I found Potolo around 2pm. Just in time as I have ran out of water. There was never suppose to be a bus in the afternoon. Hmmmmmmm... I love the quality of information here.
Luck again was on my side. I was just hanging around the main plaza and in about an hour a pickup showed up heading to Sucre. It took me for 10 BOB and I arrived there before the dark hour.
I did enjoy that hike. The scenery was constantly changing along with many colors. The only bad part was that during the second day there was no water what so ever. If the first day wouldn't be cloudy and without the sun I would drink a lot more and I wouldn't have enough water. It barely lasted.
Wednesday, 15 XII 2010
Without jumping out of bed super early I went to Potosi (3.5h - 15 BOB). On the bus I met Yan from Quebec, Canada. Since we had same plans we decided to travel together for a bit.
As we were approaching Potosi it looked very uninviting and uninteresting. This city located above 4,000m (13,100ft) surprised us. I have to say that it was probably the best city in Bolivia that I have visited. Lots of old buildings squished together in small streets. Different shapes and ornaments painted in different colors had its charm. At night people would pour out on to the streets and hang out on the plazas. The atmosphere was very cheerful and full of life even though the temperature would drop significantly after the sunset. Hat and jacket came in handy.
Holiday spirit was in the air. Many lights hanging from the trees, above the streets and on buildings would light up in the shape of christmas trees, bells, angels and of course Santa and his faithful reindeers. The only thing missing was snow.
Thursday, 16 XII 2010
Cerro Rico (4,850m - 15,900ft) towers over the town. It is a mine that have been exploited since 1550. It gave lot of silver over the years. Less right now and the main mineral is zinc. This is a cooperative mine so whatever the miners take out is what they make. If they find big veins they can make lots of money. On average though a miner makes about $400-500/month which is pretty good in this county. That is why a lot of them start as early as 15 years of age with a clear disregard for their health. This job is not an easy one. You have to work really hard in confined spaces breathing in the dust that will cause deadly lung diseases in the future. The average life of a miner is between 50 and 60 years of age.
We took a tour to experience the hard life of a miner (80 BOB). First we visited a processing plant which separates the minerals with the use of many chemicals and a whole army of mixers of different shapes and sizes. We went into the mine and traveled in the darkness through the small corridors that would get pretty low and narrow. Sometimes we had to blue ourselves to the wall as the miners were running with the carts. As we were getting deeper and deeper it was getting hotter and harder to breathe. We would also squeeze through small cracks, climb shuts via ladders and crawl from one chamber to another. We approached one miner that was chipping away at the rock making a hole for a dynamite stick. We asked how does he know it´s not going to collapse some other tunnel? How does he know if there is one close by or not? He took a rock and started knocking with it on the walls in different places and said he just listens. WOW great method. We better get out of there.
On a small scale we experienced what it is to be inside the mine and it is not fun. The mine have been exploited for nearly 500 years and the peek lowered some 300m (1,000ft) during that time. It probably looks like a Swiss cheese on the inside with hundreds or thousands of tunnels running in all directions. How much more can the Cierro Rico take?!
It was quite an experience. On the end we had a dynamite explosion presentation that shook the ground pretty good.
In the afternoon we visited Casa de Moneda (20 BOB). It is a colonial building where the Bolivian coins were made from scratch. Elaborate collection of machinery, presses and related. Visits are only with a guide and it is worth the time.
Friday, 17 XII 2010
Today we went to Uyuni (5:30h - 35 BOB). The town does not have anything to offer. It is a gateway to visiting the Salar (salt flats). Without your own wheels it's impossible to explore it. You don't really have a choice but to take an organized tour. You can go for however many days you want. The most common is a 3 day tour. With Yan we went for the 4 day option. 760 BOB + 165 BOB (entrances) which included transportation, lodging, all the food and transfer to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
Saturday, 18 XII 2010
First stop on our tour was a train graveyard. Bunch of old locomotives and some train cars rusting away in a rows one after another. Unfortunately a lot of them were cut up and scavenged for metal. It was very interesting to see and fun to climb on and around them.
A bit down the road we stopped in a small town before the Salar where they were collecting salt. Interesting thing was that almost all the buildings were build from salt bricks. It was also an excuse for the town to try selling artesania where some were made of salt as well. Yan bought salt dice.
We entered the Salar. A flat desert as far as the eye can see covered in salt. It was a very impressive view. We visited a hotel located inside made almost entirely from the White powder. After driving some more we arrived at the Isla Inkahuasi. It was not too big overgrown with cactuses. It was quite a sight. The views from the top of it were tremendous. You can see some mountains in the far away distance and car tracks across the plain shooting off in different directions in straight lines disappearing at the horizon.
Our last stop for the day was right at the edge of the Salar in a small pueblito called Agencha. This was where we were going to sleep tonight. Volcano Tunupa was towering above us painted with many different colors. Peace and quiet was in the air.
At night we went for a little walk. No light pollution nor city noises. The stars and the moon illuminated our way. It was nipply and what I loved was that the salt looked like snow and it finally felt like Christmas was around the corner. It felt really nice…
Sunday, 19 XII 2010
Breakfast hmmmmmmm... All they wanted to give us was coffee and some bread with marmalade. Finally, after asking few times the hotel agreed to give us some eggs. The eggs really were for one person and they were drowned in oil (soooooooo bad) and if I would throw the bread at somebody I could of hurt him. The lady told me it's fresh even after I put my finger through it without changing shape in front of her. WTF?!!! We were about to go hike the volcano so we needed some food to have some energy.
The moral from this is not to agree to go with people of one day tour and later join the ones on a three day schedule. When you go right away with people for four days the food comes from the company. You can also make sure you're going with the company that you booked the tour with and not just being shoved as an extra to some other one where the standards are different.
Before 8am Yan and I set out for the volcano Tunapa. We had to walk for almost an hour uphill before we got to the parking lot where we would have been taken in a jeep if we had a standard 4 day tour. Good exercise but that part was on a dirt road and kinda boring.
We visited a small cave with Inca mummies. There were about 7 of them just chillin. Some had hair, skin and/or clothes. They weren't being preserved and one of the person said that they deteriorated a lot over the last 15 years and that they won't last.
Since we were under impression it takes about 10h to go up and down the volcano we intended to go only to the mirador. The views were amazing. On one side you had a sea of salt going deep into the horizon where it was joining the sky. On the other side you had a very impressive and colorful volcano that was calling "Climb me, CLIMB ME!!!" Yes sir; right away. I couldn't resist and had to keep going. With Jaime (Colombian) we left the trail and started heading up on one of the spurs totally mesmerized... Unfortunately we didn't have a whole day. We got to one point but still not high enough to look into the crater. Jaime had to catch his tour so he left immediately after. I had some more time but probably not enough. I could see the next high point from that I could probably achieve within 40min. It looked steep and not the face you wanted to go up but I was soooooooo close. I couldn't continue because most likely I wouldn't make it back in time and it was killing me. I felt like I failed greatly. I got so close and yet didn't achieve what I was craving. Sad and kinda mad I turned back grrrrrrrrrr... If I would have an extra hour I would have gone for sure. If I only knew it wasn't 10h I would have left earlier and achieve my nirvana.
We met our new group for the next two days. One couple from Australia, Brandon and Belinda, and the other one Will (English) and Edyta (Polish born in Australia). We had lunch and after chatting a bit we knew it was a good group and we'll have fun time together.
We went to Isla Inkahuasi…again. We really weren't supposed to go there yesterday. We didn't really care with Yan because it was really nice to spend time in the salar. Unfortunately the sun was burning without mercy. After that we scaled the vast white plains (12,000 km^2) for about an hour and said goodbye to it. It was something else and I really enjoyed its serenity.
Monday, 20 XII 2010
Today we were going to spend mostly in a car stopping here and there to take some pictures and stretch.
Our first stop was to Desierto de Siloli. It was a bizarre formation of very sharp rock "towers" mangled and twisted in all kinds of irregular shapes. They were guarding the mountains as far as the eye could see.
We traveled farther to the mirador for Volcan Ollague. It is still active and puts out bursts of smoke on a regular basis. The landscape of the mirador area have a labyrinth of small passages between and around the boulder/rock formations. This would be heaven for a dirtbike race. In my head I was flying on my steel horse jumping off the ledges and looking for the shortest way through the mini canyons. It would be very tricky and dangerous but the adrenaline would flow in unlimited amounts...
Next, we visited three lagoons where hundreds of flamingos would lounge around walking across the swampy water. I had no idea they could be found above 4,000m (13,100ft).
Edgar, our driver, put the pedal to the metal. As we were flying through the sandy desert out of nowhere bunch of humongous rocks rose out of the sand. One of them had the shape of a tree and the rest weird layered formations. I couldn't resist and started climbing one after another hehe. I do miss rock climbing and slowly I'm loosing my finger strength.
Our final destination was Lagona Colorada (150 BOB Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Abaroa entry fee) where we also spent the night. The views at the lagoon and all along the way today were pretty amazing. Lagoon also housed the biggest population of flamingos. The colors of the water would change even into red depending on the temperature, sun, level and some other factors. Also, in one area the shore would be some kind of a white powder. It was of decent size and looked like the surface of the moon with "craters" and holes. It was kinda spongy and would somewhat absorb our steps as we walked around. If was out of this world.
The sunset brought incredible cloud massifs. It looked like a flood overtaking the blue swallowing it whole. Black and evil looking rain clouds were pushing in from the back. The view left me with my mouth wide open for quite a while.
Our tight group finished the day playing Makao and salty dice. Fun times!!! Thanx guys :)))
Tuesday, 21 XII 2010
Wake up was at at murder 4am! We had to go so early to get to the Geysers Sol de Mañana at sunrise to see them at their best. It was worth it. The view of the sun rays hitting and illuminating the steam coming from below was extraordinary. Bubbling baths and hissing sound accompanied the morning silence.
Since there were no showers last night at the super basic hostel we stopped for the morning dip at Polques hot springs. It was chilly outside and the idea of coming out wet later was not appealing. We all did it and did not regret a second of it. Nobody wanted to get out hehe. The temperature was 38 deg C (100 F). At first it was a bit too much but after a few seconds just perfect. Not to mention the amazing views stretching over the lagoon and mountains in the background.
After a pancake breakfast we headed for our last stop of the tour, Lagona Verde. With the wind it changes color to green. Soon after it there was the border with Chile.
This whole area including the Salar should be visited on a private tour, with a rental car, or even better with a motorcycle. Climb several volcanos, camp in the middle of nowhere and scale the openness...
“Todo es possible, nada es seguro.” Edgar, our driver, guide and philosopher.
Bolivia has a lot to offer. Nature diversity is stunning and never-ending. From the peaks living amongst the clouds, deep jungle bush to barren deserts. People are a bit more reserved and the poverty gets in a way of showing the people's intensions. I did enjoy my time here.
