Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
After a well deserved post-hike massage in Cusco the three girls headed to Lake Titicaca, a massive lake that is at an elevation of 3600 metres, where we were joined by Maayan for his last few days in Peru. A three hour boat trip via the Uros floating islands (which were made entirely of reeds) had us arriving at Amantani, a small island where there are no cars and no electricity (apparently the government turned off the supply 7 years ago). We stayed overnight in very basic local houses, and the following day we had a few hours at Taquile island where the men & women wear certain colours to display whether they are married or not ... much more obvious than a wedding ring! Upon returning to Puno it was time to say goodbye to Maayan, and the girls continued through to Bolivia. It was in the small lakeside town of Copacabana that we heard a rather amusing rendition of Nirvana´s "Smells like teen spirit" by some guys in a local cafe ... we couldn´t help but giggle when they pulled out the pan-pipes. From there we headed to the aptly named Isla del Sol for a couple of days, and then had a short bus trip to La Paz, known as the city that touches the sky due to it´s high elevation (3600metres).
Our time in La Paz was action packed, starting with an afternoon at the wrestling (essentially a really amatuer version of WWF), followed by a day mountain biking down a winding, narrow, gravel road known as the "world´s most dangerous road" due to the 400m sheer drop. Pretty scary stuff when you get told to ride on the path closest to the cliff! But the views were sensational ... though not sure how much de & Sarah saw as they were going so fast ... and we were rewarded at the end with a cold beer, a swim, and a t-shirt declaring "we survived". Next it was a visit to San Pedro jail ... a very unique place made famous by the book "Marching Powder", where the inmates have to buy their own cells, pay their own way, and can have their families live inside with them.
The following morning we said farwell to Sarah :( , who was off to the UK to visit family & friends, and Nic & de made their way to the base camp of Huayna Potosi mountain with a couple of guys, Andrew (a big Tongan with long dreds & lots of funny travel stories) and Michael (a Heath Ledger look-alike from California). We started the climb from 5,200m at 2am, equipped with crampons, pick axes, and wet weather gear. After about 3 hours of climbing uphill in the snow, Nic chickened out at 5,600m when she saw the snow turn to ice, and decided to return back to base camp to sleep. Meanwhile de continued on for another 2.5 hours to reach the summit of 6,088m for sunrise (not to mention the 4 hour slog back down to base camp). De was quoted aftewards saying it was the hardest thing she´s ever done ... and from the tired look on her face, I believe her!
After experiencing the snow, sleet & freezing cold conditions of Huayna Potosi, we decided to head north to the jungle, where it was to be hot & humid (yay!). Unfortunately for us though, the bus trip to Rurrenabaque was an absolute nightmare (boo!). An 18 hour trip turned into 30 hours, with a flat tyre, driving along a narrow gravel road in the rain with 200-600m sheer cliffs and no guard rails (it was the continuation of the "world´s most dangerous road"), reversing to let other buses & trucks pass, and then the bus broke down in the wee hours of the morning in the middle of the jungle so we had to wait for another bus. It was a prety terrifying experience, but we saw some amazing scenery and managed to arrive in the jungle safely. The following day we set off on a three day boat trip along a narrow river where we were able to see all sorts of wildlife, including alligators, capybara´s (which look like giant hamsters), pink dolphins (rather ugly looking), anaconda´s, turtles, monkeys & various birds. We even went piranha fishing (quite ironic to see de the vegetarian putting a piece of meat on a hook and trying to catch a fish! ¨(de - i was just feeding the piranha), and swam in the river with the pink dolphins knowing that there were alligators lying on the river bank only 20m away ... eek!
Needless to say we flew back to La Paz rather than going on "that" road again ... though a 19 seater plane flying near mountains was also a bit hairy! Now we are in serious need of some chillax time ...
- comments