La Paz, Bolivia

With an amazing and unforgettable 9 days of travel through Peru behind us we set off to our next destination – Bolivia and its capital city of La Paz, 10 hours away by bus. The drive itself was stunning as we followed the shoreline of Lake Titicaca and gazed at the nearby 6,000m Andes Mountains. It was also reasonably comfortable in the luxury-style bus that we boarded and had been riding throughout our time in Peru. Some of the buses have been two-leveled and all have featured independent reclining seats with blankets, on-board washroom, and sometimes even televisions for in-transit movies. But even with all these comforts our eyes have been fixed over the incredible scenery watching as the landscape has transformed from coastal desert, to tree-lined mountain valleys and now high mountain plain. On the extremely long bus rides we have caught up on sleep, reading or journal/blog entries.

Lake Titicaca is large and being so high in altitude is usually accompanied by a bright blue sky and blazing sun. It was no different as we traveled around its countless bays and enjoyed watching the sun dance off the water and the local farmers tending their flocks of sheep and cattle. The border crossing itself went smoothly enough as we got our passports stamped by both the Peru and Bolivia authorities and then changed our money into local Bolivian dollars, which to our delight trades at $6.8 Bolivian dollars to $1 US dollar. At that exchange rate it has made traveling through Bolivia extremely affordable with the average hotel room costing less than $20 US and the average dinner around $10 US. The one odd aspect of the border crossing was that we actually had to disembark from our bus and walk 100m across the border into Bolivia, where our bus was waiting and surprisingly neither it nor we were ever searched.

Following the border crossing we then continued along the shores of Lake Titicaca (the lake is shared by both Peru and Bolivia) stopping at the resort town of Copacabana and then the very strange lake crossing at San Pablo de Tiquina. Instead of building a bridge across a narrow channel of the lake the Bolivian government employs local boatman to ferry both passengers and buses across the water. Because the ferries (large wooden barges) are so old and can only handle so much weight the buses or cars go on one and passengers cross on a separate boat – watching as their ride bobs up and down in the high waves and praying that their transportation and luggage on board doesn’t end up at the bottom of the channel. Fortunately everything crossed smoothly in the choppy waters and we just laughed about the whole situation afterwards.

As we neared La Paz the beautiful flat countryside quickly gave way to a dense and chaotic mess of honking car horns and dilapidated red brick buildings stretching off in every direction. Fortunately this suburban area was short lived because the real city of La Paz revealed itself to be quiet beautiful. As we turned a corner a wide valley opened before us with homes and office towers spilling down both sides and all in view of a majestic and towering snow covered Andes peak at the base of the valley. It caught both of us off guard and we slid open the window of the bus to take as many photographs as we could.

After being dropped off in a very busy commercial area of the city we grabbed a cab and made our way to the Residential Latino, a beautiful old Spanish manor converted into a half home-stay, half hostel with two skylight courtyards. After freshening up we immediately set of to explore the city and find a decent restaurant. The restaurant search was very difficult but we did manage to find a great “European” inspired cafe called Angelo’s with countless memorabilia hanging off every wall and great food. It was so good (especially Carolyn’s coffee) that we actually returned on two separate occasions while still in the city. Searching for this elusive restaurant also gave us a great chance to see the city, which we quickly learned is very hilly and a heck of a workout. The plazas were very vibrant and ringed by beautiful old buildings and government palaces, while the pedestrian streets were awash in vendors and locals strolling.

The city is cold on account of its elevation and the time of the year but with toques and jackets we made the most of our day and a half in La Paz picking up some souvenirs and easily hiking over 10km up and down the hills. We may have left on only the second evening but thoroughly enjoyed our brief time in the city and the countless little surprises it left with us. All the locals that we met were so friendly and helpful and in particular we want to thank Jorge at the Residential Latino for helping us plan and co-ordinate our next destination: the Salar de Uyuni (the largest salt flats on Earth), 12 hours south by bus in Bolivia.

Peru Travel Tips

With our travels through Peru now behind us and Bolivia now underway we thought it would be fun to share some tips we learned along the way. Enjoy!

Tip #1:

“If a waiter offers you a free drink to entice you to eat at his restaurant, ask to see the size of the drink first as your beer or wine may be the size of a shot glass.” (Lima)

Tip #2:

“Make sure to use crosswalks as traffic is notoriously busy and dangerous.” (Lima)

Tip #3:

“When you ask a question in Spanish be prepared for a lengthy response in Spanish. If unsure how to respond just nod your head and say si.”(Lima)

Tip #4:

“When taking money out of an ATM make sure to take your card out of the machine and finish your transaction before walking away.” (Huacachina)

Tip #5:

“Dramamine and Gravol are essential travel aids for small planes and mountainous bus rides.” (Nazca)

Tip #6:

“Drinking cocoa leaf tea or chewing cocoa candies aides in altitude sickness”. (Cusco)

Tip #7:

“When traveling with a juice box in your backpack make sure that the lid is secure or be prepared to clean up a mess.” (Cusco)

Tip #8:

“When booking a hotel make sure that your check-out time is later than 9:00am”. (Cusco)

Tip #9:

“When paying $15 US per person for a hotel room be prepared to have a cold shower and cold room.” (Aguas Calientes)

Tip #10:

“When paying to use a public bathroom don’t except to find a toilet seat or any toilet paper.” (Machu Picchu)

Tip #11:

“When driving through a protest be prepared to drive over and around massive rocks that have been thrown onto the highway.” (Puno)

Tip #12:

“When trying to communicate your drink order to a Spanish speaking waiter, Pictionary and Charades doesn’t always work as intended.” (Puno)

Puno & Lake Titicaca, Peru

Following our adventures in Machu Picchu we boarded a 7-hour bus from Cusco to Puno – a Peruvian city situated on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the largest navigatible alpine lake in the world. The bus ride was very picturesque as we steadily climbed in elevation through mountain valleys to the Andes Highlands, a flat grassland landscape boarded by snow capped Andes peaks. Compared to some of our previous bus rides this one was enjoyable as there were few switchbacks. There was some excitement on board however as we passed through a few angry demonstrations where the local protestors decided to litter the highway with large rocks. I guess the bus driver had encountered this type of activity before though as he decided to drive right over the massive rocks and we continued on our way safely and without further incident to Puno.

Arriving in Puno we hiked around the city centre looking for a cheap hostel for 2 nights and were rewarded for our efforts with a very affordable room at $15 US per night. They also provided laundry services which were needed as we were beginning to run quite low on clean clothes. The city itself was quite nice with pedestrian streets and central plazas. There were considerably less tourists in Puno which also made it feel much more authentic. Our first evening there we ate dinner at a local Peruvian restaurant and enjoyed an interesting stir fry “saltedo” of rice, chicken, onions, tomatoes and large potato wedges complimented with pisco sours (just like an amaretto sour in Canada).  It was very tasty.

On our second day we walked down to the main ferry terminal and boarded a rickety old boat to take us out to Lake Titicaca and visit the famous Uros floating islands. We were the only foreigners on the boat but had a great time trying to decipher the Spanish tour. The islands themselves were very unique and unlike anything we have ever visited before. Centuries ago the local Uros tribe decided to build a village in the middle of the lake to create a safety buffer from their neighbouring tribes. There are countless reeds in the lake so they collected these in bundles, dried them and then laid the reeds in alternating patterns to create a stable floating platform. As the lower reeds rotted from contact with the water they would add additional layers on top as needed. They then constructed houses and boats out of these same reeds and have lived on the islands ever since.

It is predominately a tourist “trap” now but was nonetheless very interesting to see and stand on. Once back on shore we spent the afternoon bartering for some local handicrafts to bring back home as souvenirs, eating local street treats, and then retiring for the evening early as we had a 10-hour bus ride scheduled to bring us to La Paz, Bolivia the next morning.

Machu Picchu, Peru

Visiting Machu Picchu was simply amazing! We have both seen a number of archaeological sites in our travels but nothing really compares both to the grandeur of the Machu Picchu and to the location of the famous ruins. As the former royal palace of the Inca Empire and unknown to the modern world until the last century  it sits atop a pinnacle of rock with jungle like trees cascading down each side and a snake-like river hundreds of metres below. The neighbouring mountains are also lined with trees and sheer cliffs, and standing atop the ruins you literally feel like you’re in another time and place. Even though thousands of tourists make the visit every day it still somehow feels like it is yours alone to discover and you are a modern day Indiana Jones.

Part of this feeling is generated just by getting to the place in the first place. From Cusco we boarded a small mini-bus with 8 other passengers and set off on a twisting and winding road to the town of Ollantaytambo 2 hours away. It was a hair-raising drive with the driver repeatedly passing other vehicles and for some strange reason speeding up when approaching blind curves. We were not impressed. We were also dealing with a bit of a mess at the same time as a container of peach juice opened up in my daypack spilling sticky juice all over our books and electronics. Fortunately we were able to clean up everything in the tight confines and everything still works (thankfully there was a waterproof case over the laptop) but my toque is a bit peachy as it became the drying cloth (our backpacks were tied to the top of the min-bus and inaccessible).

Arriving in Ollantaytambo we relaxed for a few hours before boarding the Inca Express train to the town of Aguas Calientes which sits at the base of Machu Picchu. At Ollantaytambo all roads to Machu Picchu end and the only way there is to hike in on the Inca Trail (a 4-day trek) or board a 2-hour train. As mentioned in a previous post we opted for the train and were not disappointed in the sheer thrill and beauty of riding from the dry Sacred River valley into the dense forested mountains with Machu Picchu towering hidden overhead. We left at 4:00 in the afternoon and were rewarded with sunset vistas and 6,000m snow-capped peaks.

In Aguas Calientes we disembarked and found a cheap little hostel that unfortunately only had cold showers but served well enough as a base for our visit to Machu Picchu the next morning. One of the highlights is to watch the sun rise over the ruins and since we were only a 30-minute bus ride to the Machu Picchu summit from Aguas Calientes we rose early at 5:00am and travelled up the 13 hair-pin turns to the summit above. The view down was stunning and a landscape neither one of us has ever seen before. Arriving at the top we hiked to the Hut of the Funerary Pire and found a seat on a low stone wall to watch the sun rise. There were hundreds of other tourists around but we didn’t seem to notice as we sat transfixed watching the shadows slowly creep down the mountainside and over the stone walls of the ruins stretched below us .

In all we spent 4-hours walking through the maze-like ruins and snapping hundreds of photographs. The site is very steep in some sections with countless stairs and views out to the valley below and the snow-capped Andes peaks beyond. Coupled with the high altitude it is a strenuous physical test but we loved every moment of it. After our visit we toured around Aguas Calientes and its colourful markets before boarding the Inca Express back to Ollantaytambo and then a min-bus back to Cusco. It was a full 2 days of journeying and touring the ruins and will no doubt remain a highlight of our South America trip.

Cusco, Peru

Well after enduring our bus ride from hell we happily settled into the beautiful and endearing city of Cusco for a few days as a base for our Machu Piccu visit. The city is ringed by the Andes Mountains on all sides and is bustling with tourists, shops and well preserved Spanish colonial buildings and churches. The biggest shock arriving in the town is the altitude. At 3,000 plus metres above sea level it can literally take your breath away with the reduced oxygen. We were slow moving upon arrival, especially with our heavy packs, but adjusted well-enough given the experiences of the previous day. The best remedy for the altitude sickness we found was cocoa tea and little cocoa candies that we bought locally.

After finding a quaint hotel close to the central plaza we set off to explore the city and get our Machu Picchu tickets, transportation and accommodation in order. Getting to the archaeological ruins is not an easy task both from the sheer number of tourists making the same trip but also by the fact that it can only be reached by train or foot and is 4 hours away from Cusco. We opted for the train route as the area gets extremely cold at night due to the altitude and current winter season and were extremely happy with the decision (details will follow in a separate Machu Piccu post). The nights were so cold in Cusco that Carolyn wore 6 layers of tops, 2 layers of pants and 2 pairs of socks and still had a chill. I only had a rain jacket with me so I purchased a new North Face jacket shell and felt warm afterwards. But that warmth may also been from the fact that I bought it for $50 dollars US which would be about a quarter the price back in Canada. There are hundreds of North Face shops all catering to Machu Picchu trekkers and I definitely benefited from this overstock.

One of our highlights from Cusco was strolling through all the market stalls looking at the local handicrafts and bartering for a good price. The hand-woven textiles were very intricate and colourful and the alpaca products were soft to the touch. If we didn’t have the space limitations imposed by our packs or 6 more weeks or travel we probably would have purchased a number of items. Carolyn did pick up a pair of multi-coloured socks and has been proudly wearing them ever since. We also met a very nice couple from Brazil and the United States and had a great evening chatting over Peruvian beers with them. We wish Sergey and Ana all the best with the rest of their travels through Peru and Columbia.

Nasca, Peru

Have you ever found yourself watching a program on television, say on the Discovery Channel, and wondered what it would be like to visit the place they were showcasing? Well following our visit to Huacachina we were able to do just that. We had both seen documentaries on the famous Nasca Lines of Peru well before our trip and been captivated by the strange and gigantic markings of spiders, monkeys and birds etched in a desert landscape devoid of these creatures. Why were they drawn? Who drew them? And what would they be like to see firsthand from the air as they were meant to be seen?

Being only 2 hours to the north we decided to make the trip south to take in this landscape and the even stranger markings. After meeting a representative from Travel Air (the company that chartered our flight) we were driven to the airport and waited in anticipation of the flight to come on a small 8-seater passenger plane. I had previously flown on a plane this size over the Grand Canyon as a child but this would be Carolyn’s first time. We were both excited yet nervous and this only built as we were lead out to the tarmac and boarded the plane with 3 other tourists and two pilots.

Unfortunately what should have been an amazing experience with our faces glued to the windows looking at the Nasca Lines below became an agonizing 30 minute flight from hell. Our faces were glued to the windows not from excitement but rather from the pilots repeated desire to fly 360 degree turns with the wings pointing to the ground. We both felt nauseous and couldn’t wait to touch the ground again. We did the requisite photos of the strange markings below us but in truth actually enjoyed the scenery of mountains more especially when we were flying level. It was a crazy experience that we had to try but in hindsight we probably would have got as much out of the lines if we had just gone to the observation deck to view them from there.

Once we regained our composure and stomachs we made our way back to the town of Nasca where we unwound over a great Peruvian lunch of avocado, rice and meat and then toured the town centre. It was surprisingly beautiful for a town in the middle of the desert and being a Saturday night was just hopping with people out and about enjoying the evening. The money brought into the town from all the tourists paying for the flights was very evident compared to some of the other places visited thus far.

After waiting a few hours we finally boarded another Cruz del Sur bus to take us to Cusco overnight on a 14-hour excursion. Sorry let me rephrase that: on a 14-hour white-knuckle, punch-you-in-the-stomach, nearly *#!@ your pants ride through the Andes mountains and its countless switchbacks. Neither one of us has ever been so afraid. Fortunately we made it safely to Cusco but coupled with the nausea from the earlier flight and the 3,000 metre elevation above sea level we will be taking it slow for the next day or so to regain our composure and adjust to the altitude and cooler temperatures here. While the experience wasn’t fun it is part of traveling and you learn along the way. Plus enduring the crazy road brought us within a stone’s throw from Machu Piccu, which we have now booked our tickets for and will be visiting on Tuesday! It is sure to be a highlight of the entire trip.

Huacachina, Peru

Today brought us from Lima (a city of 9 million) to the desert oasis town of Huacachina, Peru (a small resort of 300 or so). After waking up very early we took a taxi to the bus station where we boarded the luxurious Cruz de Sur bus. It has two floors and comes complete with washrooms and meals for $17 US. During the 5-hour bus ride south down the Pan American highway we watched as the landscape shifted from dense city to desert with interspersed farming areas and small towns.

Arriving in Ica, Peru we took another small taxi 5km to Huacachina where we had pre-booked a room at the Hotel Mossone for the evening. What struck us immediately heading into Huacachina was the size of the sand dunes surrounding the little oasis with a lake in the middle. They towered over the oasis on all sides and stretched off into the horizon to the west. The village itself was very quaint and quiet and primarily geared to tourists based on the number of backpacker hostels and foreigners that we saw. After strolling around the lake and enjoying lunch we found little shop that rented out sand boards for the afternoon for $2.50 US. We rented two from a very sweet Peruvian woman, waxed the bottoms and then set of to explore the dunes and hike to the top to try sand surfing. The sand board is very similar to a snow board except that it is heavier and without the standard boots, buckles and plastic bindings.

Hiking in the sand we were shocked by how difficult it was. Climbing the first small incline we were immediately tired as every step was weighted by the sand and no solid footing. But we persevered and were rewarded with an unforgettable view of rolling sand dunes stretching off to the horizon. It was beautiful and we just sat and enjoyed the view and the feel of the soft sand in our toes. We managed to scale the highest dune by climbing along the ridge and at the top glimpsed the Andes Mountains to the east. Sand surfing was a lot of fun but very difficult to do with the loose straps and heavy sand. What was really fun and what we ended up doing on our way back down was riding the boards like toboggans and racing to the bottom. It was a blast and without question very messy. We both had a handful of sand in each shoe and the same in each sock. After returning our boards and pre-booking a flight to tour the Nasca Lines for the next day we grabbed two beers and hiked back out to the sand dunes to enjoy the sunset. It was magical and a perfect way to finish the day!