Category > Americas

Mar 24, 2012
Peru
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70 soles

Sacred Valley, Peru

After a terrible (but cheap) bus from Arequipa to Cusco, I fell sick.  Ack!  The full cama was a lie – we didn’t even have semi.  While Silvia, Óscar, and Flo ran off to plan out our passage to Machu Picchu, I hung out for the afternoon with Marlies (who also stayed behind at the hostel to sleep more).  With a stomach bug, walking wasn’t very fun, nor was eating – I did run into Matt and Tess (Salta, Tupiza) though!  Turns out they had just recovered from some food poisoning of their own…

Everything in Peru so far has been money money money.  We skipped most of the churches and museums in Arequipa because they were asking for so much, but this problem was even more apparent in Cusco.  (Wanna enter a cathedral?  25 soles…$10!)  Covered in tourists of all types, and not just the backpacker – plenty of flag-waving Japanese groups, old Americans dragging heaps of stuff…these people are willing and able to pay for everything, which kinda makes things difficult for the budget-conscious. Continue reading →

Mar 19, 2012
Peru
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Reunion

Arequipa, Peru

Other than a change of currency that I’m still not used to, and turning back the clock one hour (take that, Daylight Saving Time), the border crossing from Bolivia to Peru was uneventful and easy.  Arriving in Puno (a bit of an ugly city, but known for its connection to the Islas Flotantes, an extremely commercialised and touristic but interesting detour that I opted to skip) for a 15 minute connection to my bus to Arequipa, though…hectic.  After getting on the bus, people started openly complaining, which was a new and awkward experience for me – more than a few Peruvians were banging on the windows and stamping on the floor, yelling “HORA!  VAMOS!” – and we were only 15 minutes late!  Not a particularly great first impression of a country.  They repeated their complaining everytime we picked up a hitchhiker.

Arriving in Arequipa late at night without a hostel, I teamed up with the only other backpacker on the bus – Joachim from Austria.  Following our guidebooks, we settled in quickly and went to grab some dinner…Pizza Hut.  Heh. Continue reading →

Mar 17, 2012
Bolivia
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Paz

Isla del Sol, Bolivia

Leaving Rurrenabaque well sunburnt, it was time for more sun – Isla del Sol, that is.

Having made the mistake of buying an open flight ticket with TAM for my return from Rurrenabaque to La Paz, then not using it (it was either wait two days and use it, or fly with Amaszonas, which is what I did), I needed to refund my ticket at the agency I bought it. Unfortunately, the opening time meant that I would miss the tourist bus to Copacabana, the access point to Isla del Sol. The more unfortunate thing? The refund was only 70%, so I lost about $18 for nothing but more hassle.

I then took a local bus to Copacabana, which costs less than the tourist bus…but considering that I needed to take a taxi to the bus company (in a dangerous area, no less), I ended up having to pay more. And the bus took an extra hour too, whoo! It was an excellent ride though, hugging the coast of the stunning Lago Titicaca, one of the largest high-altitude lakes in the world. The road was mountainous as is normal for the Andes, which made for plenty of great viewpoints of the lake. Little communities, farms, random crops growing right by the water, boats… Continue reading →

Mar 14, 2012
Bolivia
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Sweat

Rurrenabaque, Bolivia

After hearing recommendations from other travellers (Andrew in particular, way back in El Chaltén, Argentina), I decided to make a three-day detour to Rurrenabaque, at the edge of the Amazon basin. The options? Bus for 24 hours (more on that later) or fly. Fly it is!

Well, I messed up a bit – my flight was at 3 pm, and I thought to myself to get to the airport at 1:30 pm, since the ticket says to arrive one hour early. What I DIDN’T read on the ticket was which airport – I ended up at the international airport, not the military one! Oops. With only 30 minutes to spare and a giant traffic jam, I grudgingly shelled out the extra 50 Bs to shuttle me there, just in time.

Except the plane wasn’t on time – we didn’t even board the plane until 4 pm. And zero semblance of security either! Well, a dog sniffed our bags (but not our carry-ons). Whoo. Continue reading →

Mar 10, 2012
Bolivia
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Bowl

La Paz, Bolivia

That’s what the city’s shaped like, from altitudes ranging from 3100 m to 4058 m.  And maybe that’s why all the cholitas (indigenous women) here wear bowler hats instead of the ones you see in other Bolivian cities.  (Ba-dum-shhhh.)

All the good stuff is downhill in the center.  The poorer you are, the further uphill you live.  And these hills are bruuuutal.  At least there are micros that run super-frequently everywhere and every which way, costing only 2 Bs. Continue reading →

Mar 8, 2012
Bolivia
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R&R

Sucre, Bolivia

“Quick, go go go!”

There was a strike in Potosí, preventing me from the normal option of leaving town by bus. Strikes of any sort are extremely common here, and bus routes to major cities are often blocked for hours or days. Antonio beckoned me into a taxi at 7 am, after I had woken up early (begrudgingly, as I was fighting a cold from walking around Potosí in the rain the previous day) due to his warning the previous night. “Maybe you can get around el bloqueado.”

I was lucky, and I did – after detouring around one protestor-made roadblock, immediately upon arriving BEHIND the bus station, the taxi driver pointed out to me a private car heading to Sucre. Unfortunately, it would cost me 6 times the normal cost – 60 Bs ($9) instead of 10. Ah well, worth the price of an extra day. Continue reading →

Mar 5, 2012
Bolivia
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Risk, reward?

Potosí, Bolivia

Due to lack of time, I did something I normally wouldn’t do – take a night bus arriving in the middle of the night. I bought a bus ticket from Uyuni to Potosí, leaving 7:30 and arriving past 1 am for 35 bolivanos ($5, 3 hours)…but was jittery enough that I bought another one for 6 pm, arriving at midnight, for another 30 Bs. Tried to get a refund on that 35, but was unsuccessful. Was told to go sell my ticket on the street…I just gave my ticket back to the woman and told her (in bad Spanish) to sell it again without paying me. She was confused, but after much hemming and hawing, accepted. Seriously though, hesitating over free money?

The bus was an experience. Bumpy bumpy bumpy. Also, despite being seated, there were plenty of people standing in the aisles for at least an hour – turns out we were making local stops. After arriving in Potosí at midnight, I caught a taxi for my hostel. I was really quite paranoid at this point – I’ve heard too many stories about people getting taken to random places and having money stolen. But that taxi had a radio, and the lighty thing on top – I was alright. We randomly picked up another woman though.

I took a taxi, my first since Buenos Aires almost 7 weeks ago, since I didn’t want to walk 20 minutes to my hostel late at night. But that ride took over 30 minutes…since the driver and the woman weren’t able to find my hostel! That was a bit of a headache… I’m glad I can communicate relatively okay now in Spanish though, or I would have been freaking out. After many circles, we found my hostel… a block away. Oops. Continue reading →

Mar 4, 2012
Bolivia
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Beyond nature

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

This is one of those things best left to pictures than to descriptions…so I’ll keep it short.

Jess, Sam, Shasha, and I departed Tupiza (altitude 2950 m) at 8 am, for the far southwest circuit to Uyuni.  We had a lovely driver/guide, Carmelo – the most enthusiastic person ever, though he only spoke Spanish.  (Every so often: “YAAAAY!” or “Llamaaaa!” whenever we saw a flock.)  As is required, we traveled in a convoy – two other trucks (four Americans, four Australians), as well as a few trucks (mainly rowdy Israelis) from other tour groups.

Our first day, we visited Quebrada de Palala, an area full of red pointy, needly geological formations; El Sillar, another valley of the moon; Valle del Diablo, an area impassible in winter due to heavy winds and blowing sand (of which we still got plenty, in summer); and the village of San Pablo de Lípez, a village of 150…except we maybe saw three people and a bunch of abandoned-looking houses with broken windows.  Turns out they’re tending to their llama flocks.  Oh yeah, llamas – we saw pleeeeeenty of them.  And ate some llama tamales for lunch too. Continue reading →

Feb 29, 2012
Bolivia
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Fast forward

Tupiza, Bolivia

We left Salta at midnight to catch the bus to La Quiaca, the border city to Bolivia.  Arriving at 7 am (meaning 6 am Bolivia time), we still had to cross the border on foot.  Wowwwww inefficient – at least we crossed in 2 hours.  Going the other way, the line looked at least 5 hours long!  The customs agent would stamp a few people through, disappear for maybe half an hour, then come back and do that all over again…

Bolivia feels different.  It’s more…Asia-like in some ways.  A few more stray dogs on the street, a bit more chaos, less developed, and everything is cheap.  Our two hour bus ride from Villazón (just across La Quiaca) to Tupiza cost only $2.

Now that bus ride was strange.  First off, we were walking toward the terminal, when the bus – already running – approached us, and some guy leaning out the door was yelling “Tupiza, Tupiza!” at us.  If you’re carrying backpacks and in Villazón, where else do you go?  We hopped in. Continue reading →

Feb 28, 2012
Argentina
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Music

Salta, Argentina

I had a wonderful final night in San Pedro just chatting away.  Making friends while travelling is very different – despite spending such a short time together, friendships become strong quickly.  People tend to be more open, and often talk frankly and honestly about topics usually never broached or cautiously sidestepped back home – dreams, faith, philosophy…  (Also, I learn interesting things, like that tiny owl hiding in the corner of the US $1 bill!  Never knew.)  But alas, I had to leave early the next morning for my 9:30 bus, and I said my goodbyes to Beto, Jimbo, Pamela, and Sofi.

Or so I thought.  My hostel was just outside of customs, and we were stuck at customs for a whole 3 hours.  Frustrated with that, I ran back to my hostel and hung out with them one last time while waiting for the several hundred people to pass.  More hugs, but also more goodbyes – those are always tough.  Well, at least I know now I definitely want to return to Chile someday, not just to see the places I’ve missed, but at the very least to visit some great friends! Continue reading →