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So...headed to Cusco on 25th April. Most of you will know that I was here 3 1/2 years ago for the first time, but it was just as enchanting being back again. We spent the day wandering around the central plaza in the Andean sunshine, watching the traditional dancers whip each other (strange but funny) and eating empanadas (these have become way too much part of our daily diet--traditional snack food all over S.America, but really just like a mini cornish pastie! Yum!).
Went horse-riding the next day around Cusco valley--beautiful scenery but the enjoyment was hindered by us worrying about the horses; mine kept shaking involuntarily and Ali´s kept wheezing. Thats what we get for paying a fiver for 3 hours on a horse!
Headed to the magnificent Machu Picchu the next day by train. Spent the night in the tourist town at the foot of the mountain and started hiking up to the ruins at 5am. Spent the whole day wandering around in awe--stunning! We had tickets to climb the montana behind the ruins, but unfortunately the mist rolled in (very atmospheric though on the plus-side) and it started pouring. I didn´t fancy wearing soaking wet clothes all day so I turned back, but determined GI Ali kept going to the top. He returned a drowned rat, but a proud one! Ice cold beer and pizza finished the day off perfectly.
The next day was Ali´s birthday so we went on a day tour of the Sacred Valley. Great day seeing more sights, with a big buffet lunch, and finished off with a free shot of local liquor and live music on the bus home. Plus we got everyone on the bus to sing happy birthday! Headed out in Cusco for food & beers with a girl we met going to Machu Picchu, and ended up in a trendy locals bar watching live bands complete with belly-dancing in between sets!! Great night!
Overnight bus to Copacabana in Bolivia, right on the edge of Lake Titicaca. Walked around the lake a bit,and hired a pedalo boat to go to a ´floating island´ made out of reeds, which had a bar on it. Unfortunately, the tide was too strong and the boat too rubbish that we only got half way before having to turn back (it was like 1/2 hour at full resistance on an exercise bike!). Caught the morning boat to Isla del Sol, an island in the lake on which it´s believed that the Incan empire originated, and the people there still live traditionally (although there is an internet cafe so not sure how 100% true that is!). Hiked from the North to the South of the island which was absolutely breath-taking! Stayed in a basic hostel (i.e. no showers, toilet with a bucket for flushing, no toilet paper etc) but the views over the lake & mountains were amazing!
Headed to La Paz the next day as a stop-over (we also wanted to stay in the city with the highest seat of government in the world), then overnight to Uyuni to tour the famous salt flats (Salar de Uyuni). Arrived there off the bus at 8am and then we got picked up by our jeep to start the tour at 10, so no time to shower (and as there were to be no showers on the 3-day tour this wasn´t the best start). There were 2 other couples and our Bolivian driver Edwin. Our Spanish is manageable enough now that we opted for a non English-speaking guide--could have been a risky strategy but worked out fine. Spent 3 days visiting the salt flats (and spending a couple hours doing silly poses--see our photos), and driving through the desert near the Bolivian-Chilean border (so very close to the Atacama desert). We stopped at several lagoons on the way. Very beautiful, and many many photo ops!
All of us were heading South into Argentina so we got a night bus to the border. At 2am our bus came to a halt, as the roads were blocked by Bolivians (the rumour mill said at first they were farmers, then doctors, but finally it was discovered they were transport workers unhappy about minimum wage). We slept until daylight then decided to walk across the block to the nearest town. All roads from town were blocked, so there were to be no buses or trains for the next 5 days! After a 10K hike to cross another block we discovered that the road was blocked for another 90K, so we had to turn back very disheartened and shattered. Had to spend the night in town while we worked out what to do (although, this did give us the chance to shower--for those keeping track it had been 5 days since our last one!!!!!!). Desperate to get into Argentina as our time was fast running out, we managed to scrape 5 of us together and pay a taxi driver to take us through the desert to the border in his estate car. What should have taken 1 1/2 hours on a 90K tarred road, took us 5 hours complete with potholes, dust, rivers and several shots of pushing the car up the hills in the midday desert sun. But, eventually, we made it to the border and crossed into Argentina. Quite an adventure!
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