South America! - Cal Y and Sarah

Melbourne

8th - 15th Oct

8th - This morning the 3 of us woke up pretty early as Cal Y and Dev had to catch a flight to Melbourne and Cal E had one more day to chill in Perth. We said "so long and farewell" and took our last pic (see previous post) before heading our separate ways...sniff sniff :(

We then made our way to Melbourne, more specifically Geelong, to visit Rachel and Jack - family friends from home who were kind enough to let us stay at their lovely apartment for a few days - and spend some time doing the Great Ocean Road! The following morning we hired our car, reminded ourselves how to drive again, and started our road trip! Unfortunately the weather was pretty windy and rainy (just like home) but we still had some awesome views of the coast and did some serious kangaroo spotting! We stayed that night in Apollo Bay - in our first real hotel since our travels began - and treated ourselves to some awesome tapas. Note to self - given Ozzy prices compared to Asia, little 'treats' nearly break the bank so back to backpacker mindset from now on please!!!!

The next day we continued on our road trip which took us past a road full of Koala Bears hanging in the trees overhead! We stopped to take pics before heading on towards the 12 apostles which was an amazing sight. After this we made our way back to Geelong for a long awaited catch up with Jack and Rach who were returning from a trip to Byron Bay.

The bright lights of the city of Melbourne were calling and the following day we headed into town after having an awesome lunch with Rach, Jack and their friend Laura to say cheerio! Was great to see some friendly faces from home and catch up on all the gossip! After settling into our hostel in the Chapel area of town and getting used to luke warm showers and missing the home comforts of the last few days in Geelong we ventured out and met our friend Anna from Edinburgh, who happened to be on holiday in Oz for a few weeks, for a cheeky night out in Chapel.

The next day we got to catch up with another old friend, Lucie - whom Sarah went to uni with in Canada! We had a lovely walk down the wharf after visiting the ACMI (an interesting museum about the history of film and media in Australia). After a few glasses of wine, sangria and Melbourne's best tacos with Lucie, her sister Sarah and Anna, we made our way back home - getting pretty lost on the way as we unsuccessfully attempt to navigate the tram system....

Day 3 in the city and another friend from home to meet! This time it was Dave Murray from Uni and Cal´s old flat mate! We had a wander down to Fitzroy and had a nice lunch before heading back to the hostel for an evening of skyping before catching up with Anna for a last few drinks and some dim sum - yummy! Feeling spoilt being in a city where you can eat whatever kind of cuisine you want!

For our final day in Melbourne we spent the day in St Kilda and tried to go penguin spotting at the pier in the evening (where they come ashore to sleep at night) but the penguins weren´t really cooperating! We saw a couple but apparently as the weather had been pretty good all day they were staying out at sea for longer than usual and we were getting pretty chilly hanging around so we decided to head back into town for dinner and an early night as we had a red eye flight to Chile the following morning!!!!!

Santiago

16 - 18 Oct 

We arrived in Santiago feeling pretty tired after the long flight, especially as we left at 8am and it was now 10am in Chile so we had a full day ahead. We jumped on a bus to the hostel which turned out to be really nice if a wee bit out of town. Sarah decided she need a nap so went to bed but Calum was going to try stay up so went to enjoy the sun next to the pool (more of a paddling pool but still very nice to have)! 3 hours later Sarah still wasn't up......4 hours later, still no Sarah, 5 hours an some lunchtime sushi an still no sign of Sarah! Eventually around 3pm she emerged but of course by this point Calum was hitting the wall so after a short walk and an early dinner it was back to bed in an effort to beat the jet lag by tomorrow.

Up early the next day we headed into town for a walking tour of the city. This was a great decision as we learnt loads about Santiago and Chile and saw a lot more of the city than we would have on our own.The tour finished at 2pm so we decided to head up to the view point over the city at which a giant statue of the Virgin Mary stands (similar idea to the Jesus statue in Rio). It was a bit if a long walk up in the afternoon heat but the view at the top was great and we felt we'd really earned our lunch and beer afterwards!! That night we planned to head out to watch the Chile v Argentina game but sadly the jet lag caught up with us again and our 'wee nap' at 6 ended up lasting until after 11!!

Our 3rd and final day in Santiago we decided to head out to Valparaiso. We jumped on the bus for a couple of hours and were upset to find it considerably colder at the coast than in the city. Calum
with only shorts and a t shirt on was particularly unhappy!! It turned out to be a really interesting place though and not too cold that we couldn't explore the streets and hills the town is built on. We visited Pablo Neruda's house which is now a really cool museum, had some lunch and enjoyed wandering the streets of the town. That night back in Santiago we cooked some dinner and packed up ready for our flight to Arequipa in Peru the next morning.

Arequipa 

19-20 Oct

We arrived in Arequipa which was our first stop in Peru and headed for the centre of town to find a hostel. In not too long we found one fairly near the centre that seemed pretty nice. We dumped out bags and went out to explore the town. The Plaza de Armes (central square) was huge an had an imposing cathedral which made up the whole of one side of the plaza. We had read about a museum which held the remains of an Inca girl buried as part of an Inca ritual at the top of a volcano hundreds of years ago. Known as the 'ice maiden' or 'juanita' the mummy is in amazing condition considering how old it is an was really interesting to learn the Inca customs that led to her being buried in the volcano. (basically she was only 16 and was a sacrifice to the gods). The rest of the day was spent just exploring the town an watching huge religious a parade we were lucky enough to see that made it way around the town centre.

The following day we booked the bus to Cuzco for our long awaited Inca trek and spent the rest of the day as an 'admin day' catching up with emails, Skype an our blog. We had a nice lunch and agreed Arequipa was a great place to chill out but we were looking forward to getting Cuzco and starting our Inca trail!!

Cuzco

20 - 27 Oct

We hoped on another overnight bus (which would become the way of things for South America) and arrived in Cuzco on the morning of the 20th, a couple of days before our trek so we could acclimatise to the altitude. The first day was just spent looking around Cuzco and the centre of town. Again we were really lucky that there seemed to be a huge festival on while we were in the main square and so we were entertained by a huge number of the locals playing traditional music and dancing in amazing  costumes and outfits. That night we went for some dinner and then to a bar that had been advertising everywhere that there was a Beetles tribute band playing. We forgot that in South America everything starts late so although due to start at 9 it was nearer 11 before they appeared. They were brilliant though and pulled in quite a crowd which made it an awesome gig. They played all the classics and had everyone singing along, a great way to start our time in Cuzco.

The next day we slept in and decided as we had the Inca trail the next day it would be a good day to spend quietly. So far the altitude hadn't affected Calum too badly though Sarah was suffered for bad headaches (though the mojitos from the night before may not have helped!!). We grabbed some lunch from the supermarket and cooked it up back at the hostel which chatting to some of the other travellers that were doing different treks or that had just finished and were waxing lyrical about how amazing Machu Picchu was, we couldn't wait to see it! The afternoon was spent enjoying some time at a local coffee house before retiring early to watch a film and get a good sleep before the early start the next day.

Our Inca Trail started with an early rise to be picked up at 5.30am! The altitude had chosen some bad timing to start affecting Calum as he woke up feeling nauseous but we were excited about the trek so we headed off in the bus. Our guide were called Manueal (faulty towers esc) and Jannette and both were great, really welcoming and immediately set out the itinerary of the day. Our first stop was around 7 for some breakfast at a local restaurant which was really nice and then onto `Km 82` the starting point of the trek. It was at this point we noticed how light we were travelling compared to everyone else with just our little backpacks each and hoped we hadn't forgotten anything!! We set off on the first day which we were told would be the easy day. It was fairly flat with only a few up and downs but already Calum was struggling with the nausea from the altitude. It was a beautiful route though, taking us along the river and past our first sets of Inca ruins. We stopped for lunch but by the point Calum wasn't eating anything and sure enough in the afternoon he was pretty sick on a couple of occasion. We made it to camp though and Calum went straight to bed to try and sleep the sickness off. Sarah stayed up for dinner and chatting to the group, getting to know everyone. We were lucky to have a great bunch of people from all across the world; Canada, America, India, England and Australia.

The next morning we all arose in preparation for 'the hard day'!! A climb from our camp at 3000metres to the first pass called 'Dead Woman's Pass' at 4,200 metres. Thankfully Calum was feeling much better having slept from half 5 the previous day. So we stocked up on Gatorade and water and headed out. It was tough going as the sun bore down on us too but the pace was OK and we kept on plodding up. Back in Scotland a climb like we were doing would seem fairly straight forward but at this altitude it was anything but easy and was a strange feeling to walk 100 metres and feel so out of breath. The key was to keep going though and within a couple of hours we had reached our last checkpoint before reaching the top. We had some food and then made for the top. Unsurprisingly the higher we got the colder it got but the breeze was a welcome change to the hot sun and by 12 noon we had reached the top and enjoyed the amazing view back down through the clouds!! We had some picture with the other that were up at a similar time but with the wind and cold we didn't hang around and after 15-20mins we started to make our way down the other side to camp two. It was a 2 our downhill section that was a welcome relief from the mornings constant uphill so before long ourselves and Englishman Will arrived down at the 2nd camp and were able to relax for the rest of the afternoon as the rest of the group joined us to celebrate the end of the hard day!!

Our 3rd day was dubbed 'the long day' as we started with a climb to the 2nd and then 3rd passes before a long downhill into the final camp. This was also expected to be the most beautiful day in terms of views as we followed the old Inca road. It was a tougher than expected start up to the second pass but again once there we were treated to some spectacular views of the mountains and valleys. Unfortunately though as we neared mid morning the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down. This was where we realised we didn't have a key item - ponchos. We had rain jackets OK but they didn't cover our bags, mats or sleeping bags and so as we plodded on we grimaced at how wet our bags etc would be getting. Sadly the rain also brought a huge cloud of mist that covered most of the valley and hid what would have been some spectacular views from us. It was disappointing but we were reassured by Manuel that the rain today would pass and leave bright sunshine for the following day at Machu Picchu! So we pressed on through the rain having also been told that at camp 3 beers and hot showers awaited us. This brightened us all up and gave us some energy for the charge to the final camp through the wind and rain. Upon arriving Calum and Hugh immediately went on the hunt for the beers and showers but returned empty handed...........apparently the restaurant had closed 2 YEARS AGO but no one had thought to tell us!! As you can imagine the group were deeply upset, ourselves along with Di, Bob, Deanna, Will, Louise and Hugh in particular who had all been savouring the idea of some ice cold beers (especially Hugh who was celebrating his 30th birthday that day)! It wasn't to be though and to make matters worse the hot showers turned out to be a myth too. Fortunately Di saved the day later that evening when she revealed an amazing fruitcake that she had carried from day 1 and the cook had iced for her that evening in celebration of Hugh's 30th. So we raised our glasses (of juice) and enjoyed and evening of popcorn and cake before retiring to bed.

Our 4th and final day started at 3.30am!!! We had to be up early to get in the queue for the gate opening to Machu Picchu so the quicker we got up and ready the nearer the front we were. Although not best pleased about this to begin with once in the queue we realised we were the 3rd group and so very close to the front. Once the gate opened at 5.30 it was a 2 hours walk to the Sun Gate which would give us our first view of Machu Picchu. The 'fast 3' that had been leading the way since day one, Will, Deanna and Bob went off at pace to get past some of the others in front and ensure the Gate was quiet on their arrival. Behind them ourselves and Di, Louise and Hugh made tracks as well keeping a pretty quick pace also so that by 6.30 - 7 we arrived at the Sun Gate and were granted the most spectacular view of Machu Picchu we could have wished for. Being up there early really was worth it too as we managed to get some great photos while it was still quiet and then just sit and enjoy the view while the rest of the gang arrived behind us.

Once all there we took some group shots and then heading down into the ruins. We got down and all grabbed a long awaited beer to celebrate our arrived (yes it was only 8.30am but it was well worth it!) and then Manuel took us in for a guided tour of the ruins. It was an amazing place with more spectacular views and amazing building that had stayed unbelievably well preserved. We spent the next few hours just walking around but as the place grew busier we decided to head down into the town for the hot springs and some food. We headed straight to the springs first which were amazing and a great cure for the aching muscles. We then joined the others at a restaurant nearby and indulged in some huge pizza's and a couple of 'Grande' bottles of beer. We had a few hours to wait before the train so we had a relaxing afternoon drinking more beers and playing a mammoth game of 20 questions. Unsurprisingly a lot of sleep was had on the train home!!

The next day we arose feeling refreshed after a great nights sleep back in a proper bed and decided to go to the Chocolate Museum in Cuzco having had our fill of Inca related sights. We signed up for a chocolate making class later that day and then arranged to catch up with Will for dinner before heading to Puno that night on the bus. We did some skyping and then went to cook up some chocolate. It was great fun and the chocolate we made was delicious. We also got some great coco bean shells that they use to make tea in Peru and will bring these back to see how the family in Scotland enjoy them!! Sadly the chocolate we made wouldn't keep until home so we had to have that all for ourselves!! That night we caught up with Will for a few beers and some dinner (sadly the rest of the group had already left) but it was a great dinner with some ace cocktails to round things off before we headed off to Puno. We had a brilliant time in Cuzco the Inca trek being the obvious highlight but it was thanks to the brilliant group of people we did it with that made it such an awesome experience!

Puno & Lake Titicaca

27 - 29 Oct


We arrived in Puno planning to stay a few nights but as we arrived so early we realised we could leave straight away to do an overnight trip to the island of Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world. We decided this would be a good idea as would save us a nights accommodation so we dropped our things and headed off on the tour. Our first stop was at the 'floating islands' of Uros which are a cluster of islands of which the floor is all made of dried reeds. It was quite amazing to think that people lived on these tiny islands, most of which were only a few metres wide and long with only a couple of shack houses on them but the locals welcomed us on and showed us the clothes and models they made and then sold at the fairs and markets. It was quite a primitive way of life but an amazing insight into the local peoples lives.

Next we headed to Amantani where we would be spending the night, staying with a local family in their house. We had a lovely family although they spoke Quechua, an old South American language, so communicating wasn't the easiest. Our very basic Spanish also didn't help much but we got by OK. That day we climbed to the top of the highest hill on the island where we met another Scottish couple, Lindsay and John. And as coincidences go it turned out Lindsay was a friend of friends of ours and even more strangely it turned out her and Calum were already friends on facebook thanks to Lindsay adding him a year or so ago in error thinking he was someone else!! Very strange but very funny and amazing that we should all then meet at the top of a hill in a remote island of Peru!! That night we were treated to a local fiesta (party) as the local band got out their guitars, drums and flutes and performed for us while we all got up and partook in some local dancing, all dressed in the local outfits as well. It was great fun and very funny to see all us tourists in the hats and dresses of the local people. A great night though which rounded off a great day.

Our final day in Peru we said goodbye to our host family and headed to the final island of the tour Taquile. We had a really nice walk along the coast into the islands big square and then enjoyed a great lunch of local grilled trout. The guide then told us all about the island, the local traditions and outfits and how the island was run today. It was another great insight into a world so different from our own for example when the woman are young they start to make a thick belt using their own hair which they weave over time and then give as a gift to their future husband before they are to be married. Another walk then followed back down to the boat which would take us back to the mainland. That night we met up with John and Lindsay again and another girl Tanya that we had met in Cuzco and headed out for some local cuisine......guinea pig!! It turned out to be pretty good, if a little slimy, though Calum couldn't help but think of his sisters pet guinea pigs from a few years ago Gnasher and Gnipper as he tucked into the little thing, yum yum!!

The next morning we got up early an headed off with Lindsay and John for the bus to Bolivia. Peru had been brilliant, especially Cusco, the Inca trek and then the island trip, and having spoken to many people about Bolivia we were looking forward to another great two weeks ahead.

High times in Bolivia!

The altitude continues and keeps getting higher! Our first port of call in Bolivia was the sleepy town of Copacabana on the Bolivian side of lake Titicaca. Really pretty and a nice place to stop for lunch lakeside with Lindsay and John before heading onto La Paz. A lot of people go to Isla de Sol from here but as we had done some Islands from the Peruvian side of the lake we decided to head straight for La Paz so only time for a quick wander and some food before getting back on the bus! Once arriving in La Paz we were pretty tired after our early and long bus trip (which included a dubious ferry trip across the lake) and as we were still getting used to the altitude - the city ranges in altitude from 3,100m to 4,000m above sea level - we chilled out and wandered round the area beside our hostel and found a nice Italian for dinner with Lindsay and John.

La Paz

29 - 31 Oct

We had more energy the next day and made it to the Coca museum which was really interesting. We had tried munching on the coca leaves during the Inca trail but didn't really love them (they taste much better in tea!) but they are supposed to be really good for altitude (as well as other stimulating properties!) Anyway it was good to learn a little more about the coca industry and what is being done to combat the manufacturing of cocaine from the leaves. Next stop was a quick wander round the witches market - lots of lotions and potions and weird ingredients on display such as lama foetuses....didn't hang around there for too long! As La Paz is full of markets we did a spot of Christmas shopping before meeting up with John and Lindsay to book our "Death Road" mountain biking trip for the following day....

THE DEATH ROAD.....

Today was a pretty nerve-wracking and exciting day. Having next to no previous mountain biking experience we didn't feel particularly prepared for what was to come and the stories of the death road or the worlds most dangerous road as it is also described were not doing much to calm our nerves. The "road" itself is a gravel single lane track that is just wide enough for 2 cars to pass at certain points. It clings to the side of the mountain range so one side always has a severe drop of up to 600m with no barriers and is one of the only routes that connects La Paz with the Northern Bolivian Amazon region. The part of the road we mountain biked down was a 60k section that has been closed to normal traffic as a newer and safer road was built in 2006 albeit we still did meet a few vehicles en route. Prior to 2006, cars and buses would regularly (an average of one vehicle every other week) fall over the side of the cliff face whilst passing other vehicles or getting disoriented in the fog and mist and drive right off the edge. Even mountain bikers had not been spared and since companies have started offering this trip a total of 18 bikers have gone over the edge. Needless to say we were slightly apprehensive about getting down the trail in one piece.

We started at an altitude of 4,700m at La Cumbre pass to test out the bikes and have a practise. John had done his research and being a keen mountain biker had sourced us a company that had brand new bikes and good safety gear. This was great as we didn't really know what we were looking for and the dual suspension on the bikes proved for a much more comfortable ride compared with other people doing the trip with alternative companies. The first section of the route was down the new road so it was smooth and a great way to get used to the bike. Soon we parted ways with the new road and went down a gravel path to the start of the original death road, aggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!! Here we go!!!!!!

The first section was terrifying. The gravel road was filled with really loose and uneven rubble and the bikes swerved a few times trying to remain upright. Corners were steep and the road narrow at parts so you could really see how people would go right off the edge. Cal zoomed off from the beginning and zipped through the first section really quickly whilst Sarah, a little more tentative, slowly ambled down to the first checkpoint. A little shaky but excited, the consensus was that the faster you go the easier it is to control the bike and stay upright. So this was it, Cal zoomed off again and Sarah picked up speed during the middle sections which proved much better, steadier and increased the thrill factor by miles.

The route continued down through waterfalls, round tight bends and past amazing scenery. Having reached the bottom safely, with a celebratory beer in hand, everyone agreed it had been an amazing

experience and would love to do it again. After a quick dip in a nearby (slightly green) pool and a hot shower we headed back to La Paz pretty exhausted but with enough energy to devour a takeaway pizza and chill in front of the TV. Phew!

Rurrenbaque - jungle time! 

1 - 5 Nov

No rest for the wicked! The next day we were up early to catch a flight to Rurrenabaque ("Rurre") which is in the North of Bolivia on the Beni river and is the starting point for tours into the Bolivian

Amazon and the surrounding pampas region. Now getting to Rurre was not an easy task, flights were often delayed and cancelled as they only have a grass runway which is not ideal if it rains. The other

option is by bus which travels along....yup you guessed it - the part of the death road which is still open to normal traffic and snakes its way for over 20 hours all the way down from over 4000m to 100m in the Amazon. Well, after biking down part of it and hearing all the horror stories we opted for the plane.

We made it there safely and after a bumpy landing we made our way into Rurre to book a 3 day 2 night tour into the Pampas to do some animal spotting. The tour started the next morning so we spent the rest of the day wandering around Rurre and getting ready for the next few days.

The next day we were up early and bundled into our jeep with 2 Ozzy guys (Paul and action man Richie), Shane from Canada, Giu Liana from Switzerland and Havier from Spain. Our guide was Sam who was ace and before we had even reached the entrance to the national park had already found and caught a cobra, a great sign of things to come!

The 3 hour jumpy jeep trip was not the comfiest so we were delighted to start our smooth canoe trip down the river for some wildlife spotting. We couldn't believe how many things we could see and how

close up we were to everything! There were alligators and caiman crocodiles everywhere, on the banks of the river 1-2 metres away from us and also swimming right by the boat, some were huge! There were also groups of capybara (giant guinea pigs) frequently resting on the riverbank, monkeys in the trees over the river and countless bird-life flying around us all the time. It really was incredible. Our guide Sam was excellent at spotting all the animals and explaining what everything was as we sailed past.

Before we went to camp for the night we spotted some pink dolphins in the river and so jumped in for a swim. The river was brown so you could not see a thing and we were slightly nervous about what else was lurking in the water. Sam ensured us that the dolphins are very territorial and will attack any alligators or crocs that come near so as long as we stay close to them we should be fine.......they still

looked pretty close to us but we ventured in for a dip anyway. Now, dolphins may very well attack alligators and crocs but apparently they don't mind piranhas which swim freely in their territory - as Sarah found out when one took a nice bite out of her leg!! Never having moved quicker in her life, Sarah swam like thorpedo back to the boat, leaped out of the water (calmly and gracefully...) to inspect the damage - definite teeth marks had broken the skin and left a nice piranha shaped jaw print as evidence. Needless to say - swimming with the dolphins was over and revenge was to be had the next day as piranha fishing was on the itinerary! Happy days!

After all that drama we ended the day with a beer and a game of football at sunset with the locals. It was tourists vs the locals and despite Cal´s footballing skills and prowess the locals kicked the tourists asses and won 3.1. Ah well, maybe the re-match the next night might provide a better result. By the time the football match was over it was pretty dark and was time to go for some alligator and caiman spotting by torch light! This was pretty spooky as all you could see were eyes glowing in the darkness all around!!! Back to camp to have some dinner and an early night as we were all exhausted from the first days activities.

Day 2 on the pampas was supposed to begin with an early start to see the sunrise, however, being in the rain forest it had rained for hours during the night and there wasn't really an sunrise to speak of so we had a lie in and a nice breakfast before going anaconda hunting!!!!!! This consisted of gearing up with wellie boots and tramping in a boggy marsh for a few hours. This is harder than it sounds as with every

step you sink deeper and deeper into the boggy swamp and struggle to move with any pace at all, and frequently fall right over into the stinking marsh (as Sarah found out several times). After a few hours

of searching high and low for snakes (and not sure if we really wanted to be the one who happened upon one anyway) thankfully our guide Sam found one and called us all over. We all made our way over to him and had some photos taken with the snake before it was released back into the swamp and we were released back to our camp for some relaxation and hammock time!

Next activity was piranha fishing!! Time for revenge! Kitted out with bait and rods we went back in the canoes and headed to find a good fishing spot - perhaps close to where we went swimming yesterday??? Anyway, we spent a few hours trying to trap the little fishes and eventually we began to catch some. We caught 2 big ones that we could keep but the rest went back in the river. Sarah caught one little one that was thrown back but Cal had less luck, managing a few bites but no cigar!

Evening was pretty similar to the previous night with a sunset football match for the boys and volleyball for the girls. The locals won the football match 3.1 again but Cal was a turn-coat this time and played for the locals to make up numbers so managed to get himself on the winning side! On the way back to camp Sam spotted a baby alligator on the riverbank which he managed to catch so we could all

have a closer look. It was really cool to see one so close up. We released him back in the same spot we found him and continued back to camp for some dinner and a massive bonfire which we enjoyed late into the night with the rest of our group and the guides which was great fun!

For our final day in the pampas a morning of dolphin swimming was ahead along with a relaxing 2 hour canoe trip back to the jeep pick up point. We found a good spot to swim with the dolphins, Cal got in for a dip but Sarah decided dry land was the better option following her piranha attack on the first day! Actually on this occasion it was the alligators that we had to be careful of as despite the presence of the dolphins the alligators were scarily close to our chosen swimming spot!! Some of the folks on our trip (especially action man Richie) got really close to them in the water which was freaking our guide out big time! After a few nail-biting moments everyone was back on board and ready to head home. That night back in Rurre we went out for dinner and drinks with our group and Sam our guide and said our goodbyes before getting ready to head back to La Paz the next day.

We woke the following day to find a lot of travellers nervous about flights and getting out of Rurre and back to La Paz. The issue was that it had been raining overnight and the grass runway was waterlogged and not in use.... leaving many people stranded and creating a rather long backlog of flights meaning a lot of people were stuck for a few days before they could catch a flight out! Luckily for us we had booked with the less popular airline, TAM, which was rumoured to be really unreliable, but as it is also the military airline it had use of another airport 40 mins away which was open! Yay!! We got back to La Paz on time and managed to fit in some more Christmas shopping before catching a night bus to Bolivia's highest city - Potosi.

Potosi

6 - 8 Nov

Potosi is a world heritage site an sits at an incredible 4,090 metres. Just walking around the town centre leaves you dizzy and short of breath. We arrived really early and tired after a pretty uncomfortable bus ride so first stop was to find the hostel and get a few hours sleep to recharge before exploring the city. Potosi is famous for its silver mines in the mountains surrounding the city. The silver was first discovered in 1544 during the Spanish colonial rule and most of the reserves that were excavated from the mines were shipped to Spain. It is said that the mines of Potosi funded the Spanish economy for

over 200 years. In the late 1600s Potosi was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the world, with a population of over 200,000 people, but this changed during the early 1800s as Bolivia struggled

to gain independence from Spain. At that time the colonial rulers exported all of Potosi's remaining silver and other objects of wealth back to Spain leaving Bolivia one of the poorest nations in South

America and the world. So this is a city rich with culture and history but with a sad story to tell.

On of the main things to do here is to go on a tour inside the mines, which are actually still working today (with an estimated 10,000 people still working there) but mainly tin and nickel are excavated as

the silver deposits have been exhausted. We had a wander round the city and found a tour company that we decided to go with and booked onto a tour for the following morning. We spent the rest of the day going round a museum in the city that housed the minting machines and explained how the silver was melted down and made into silver bars that were exported back to Spain and coins that were used as local currency. It was really interesting and gave us some more information about what life was like a few centuries ago. In the evening we watched a movie called the Devils Miner which is a documentary about some children who were working in the mines in Potosi. This was  really sad to watch as life is truly horrible for these children and the conditions they work in are despicable. We had mixed feelings about visiting the mines but we had a little more info about it all now and were keen to see them in person.

Hold your breath!!!!

We got up early and went to meet our group for the mine tour. We got kitted up with a jumpsuit, wellies, hard hat and a head torch and made our way first to the miners market where we could buy gifts for the miners. You could buy juice, coca leaves, alcohol, cigarettes and dynamite. We were encouraged by our guide to buy only the juice and coca leaves which we did and made our way to the mine. During the mines history, over 8 million people are estimated to have died - the majority of whom were slaves from Africa, who were shipped over by the Spanish to work in the mines, and the indigenous population of the surrounding regions including men, women and children who were forced

to work for 24 or 36 hours at a time with no breaks and only coca leaves to chew for energy.

We made our way into the mines, following the train tracks for the waggons that are pushed by the miners from the excavation site deep in the mine to the surface for selling to local companies. There is a

lot of water on the ground as you walk down and the air is thick, hot and filled with toxic gasses making it very hard to breath at times, especially the deeper into the mine you go. The gasses that the miners breath every day is seriously damaging to their health and many miners retire before they are 30 or 40 due to ill health and many die very early as a result. Being down there for only a few hours was extremely uncomfortable so it was difficult to imagine how they coped being down there for hours and days at a time.

First stop on the tour was to visit Tio which is a special underground God the miners prey to and leave offerings for to bring good luck, safety and lots of minerals in their work. In every mine there is a Tio and miners visit the shrine on a daily basis. The one we visited was a pretty scary looking object and we sat around as our guide explained the rituals the miners perform. They begin by offering coca

leaves and cigarettes to Tio, then they offer an incredible 94% alcohol by first pouring a little on the ground for pacha mama and then a little over Tio and then the miners all take a drink themselves. We had a smell of the alcohol but counldn´t bring ourselves to have a drink of it as it was so strong - goodness knows what it does to your insides!!! They ask Tio to watch over them in the mines and ask for a safe shift and good minerals and metals in their digging. Any accidents that happen are deemed to occur because the miners have made Tio angry so making offerings to please him is believed to bring good luck. When things get really bad for the miners they perform a special ceremony where they sacrifice llamas for Tio in order to increase their luck and bring prosperity in the form of good minerals. We left Tio and headed deeper into the mine, meeting many miners along the way and watching them work and giving them our gifts of juice and coca leaves as we went. On several occasions we had to run very quickly and jump out of the way of the train tracks as the miners were running through the mines pushing waggons full of rocks and minerals - this was pretty scary at times and there were a few close calls as we struggled to move out of the way quickly enough! As we walked through the mines we often had to crouch very low to fit through small cracks and crevices to reach other parts of the mines, in the heat and smell of the mines this was really uncomfortable as we had to crawl through increasingly small tunnels and holes - very claustrophobic at times! Eventually we started to make our way towards the surface, the air became lighter and cooler and it was a big relief to get back out into the open air. We were only there for about 3 hours but we really felt that we couldn´t have managed any

longer!!!

It is believed that the structure of the mines is becoming increasingly unsafe as there is next to no regulation in the mines and workers use dynamite to blow up new seams all over the place with little warning to the rest of the miners working in nearby areas. The fear of collapse is very real and during our time in the mines we heard explosions on several occasions. However, the miners believe there is still silver and other important minerals to be found and continue to dig further into the mountain. They all work in cooperatives of about 10-20 miners in each group and they own or rent the part of the mine they are working on - this creates an ´every man for themselves` mentality and causes frequent dynamite accidents as other miners are not given proper warnings of planned explosions. Thankfully we made it out safe and sound albeit pretty physically and emotionally drained.

It was a great tour but we were pretty exhausted after it so we chilled out the rest of the day in a cafe with the others that were also on the tour before heading for an evening bus ride to Uyuni which was the starting point for the famous salt flats tour!!!! Very excited!!!

Uyuni

8 - 10 Nov

You only go to Uyuni for one thing - the salt flats - what was an ocean that has now dried up and left a huge lake of salt!! Otherwise the place itself is pretty ugly, similar to Agra in India that you only visit for the Taj, this wee town would be a quiet place if not for the huge salt lakes nearby that pull thousands of tourists here every year. We arrived into Uyuni pretty late but found a hotel an decided to get up early and find a company to do a 3 days/2 nights tour with.

So the next morning we came across the same company that we did our mine tour with in Potosi an decided that they would be good to go with again for this. We were delighted too when we arrived to start the tour to find we had another Scottish girl Ruth in the Jeep with us along with her Irish boyfriend Ger. Quickly we started laughing and joking so much so that the other 2 on the tour, Diane and Dan from Switzerland, thought we had all known each other for years and couldn't believe we had just met!

The tour started by heading to a train cemetery which was basically an area next to the town full of old rusted and stripped steam trains. They were pretty cool and you could get up on them for photos etc but

you didn't need long there. So quickly we moved on and headed straight for the salt flats. It was an amazing site as we drive onto them and everything around us just fell away until all you could see was white ground all around. We arrived at a 'salt hotel' in the middle of the flats which is made entirely of salt and had a look around before driving into the middle of the flats where no one else was around for

some lunch and to take the comedy photos which are an obligatory part of any tour to the flats! You can see some of the best ones below.

We then headed on to 'Fish Island' which is an island covered in cactus's and which you can walk up the hills and get some great views over the flats. Again we got some great photos as the weather was

beautiful. Before long though we needed the shade of the jeep again and so started to make our way to the salt hotel we would be staying in that night. Again the hotel was made entirely from salt which was

cool but both of us where tired from the day in the sun (Calum as usual catching a bit too much of it as his red face showed) so we had some dinner an then headed to bed for an early night.

The second was the 'lagoon day' as we planned to visit 4 different lagoons. The lagoons are huge lakes of water that sit in the middle of no where, some at very high altitude. In fact at one point we drove to

5000 metres which is almost the higher if Everest base camp. The lagoons are also inhabited by huge flocks of flamingos that stand and fly around the edges of the lakes. It was cool to visit the lagoons but after the first couple they started to all get pretty similar until the final one of the day, the Red Lagoon. This one did look truly amazing as the minerals in the water caused parts to turn a bright red colour that looked amazing surrounded by the mountains. We took the photos below and no effects were used in the camera!!

That night we had a nice dinner including a bottle of wine and a few rums which were great. Sadly the altitude had taken its effect on Sarah who was suffering some bad headaches so she missed out as she

went for an early night again.

Our final day was a long one as we made our back to Uyuni. It started with a trip to the geysers which were awesome. It was like something from Jurassic park as we walked through the clouds of steam and we got some great photos. Of course though as with most geysers it didn't smell nice at all due to the sulphur. We then visited the final lagoon, the green lagoon, which wasn't actually green due to the time

of year so we didn't stay long an quickly made our way back to the hot springs for a morning swim. This was the highlight of the trip after the salt lakes as we had the whole springs to ourselves and it was

great to get into the hot water with it being so cold at the height we were at. We lay in the springs for a good half hour soaking up the sun and warmth before we had to head off and start making our way back. The rest of the day was really spent driving to Uyuni with just a few stops for lunch and photos at some scenic points. We had one scare when a tire blew out in the middle of no where but Weberto our driver and guide managed to get it sorted pretty quick and on the road again.

Once back we went for a few drinks with all the guys before heading straight for the bus to Tupiza. It was an ace trip with a great group and some of the most spectacular scenery we'll possibly ever see in

our lives!!

Tupiza

11 - 13 Nov

After what was categorically the worst night bus journey of our whole trip, we finally arrived in Tupiza. It was 4am and we hadn't slept at all. Stuck up the back of the bus we couldn't recline our seats at all and the road was so bumpy all we did was bounce along for 8 hours from 8pm to 4am. We needed sleep so found the first hotel that was still open and took a room for a couple of nights. We then went straight to bed for a few hours not getting up again until 12! Once up we went for a wander around Tupiza and realised it was a very sleepy little town with not much happening, especially from 12-4....this was siesta time!! Eventually we found a place open for some lunch but realised this would be a perfect day for some admin and blogging so went to an internet cafe for the rest of the afternoon. Afterwards we decided to book a horse riding trip as Tupiza most famous for its 'wild west' scenery, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was filmed in the mountains surrounding the town and apparently the best way to see it is on horseback. We then grabbed a nice tea before heading to bed as before we knew it the whole town seemed to have closed down by 10pm.

We got up the next morning and went down to meet our guide. What neither of us expected was that this would turn out to be a 15 year old boy!! He didn't speak much English was we got by with some

spanglish and he took us on the bus to the horse ranch nearby. There we met a few others doing the trip, only 3 hours as given Calum had never before graced the back of a horse we thought this would be

enough. The horses were great though and we all set off into the mountains at a steady pace. The scenery was amazing and the addition of a cowboy hat for everyone made you really feel like you were in somewhere out of the old west. After an hour and a half we reached the furthest point right at a canyon which we could climb into and up to a waterfall which was a great place to cool down on the hot day. We then started to head back and even managed a few gallops as we all got a bit more confident on the horses. This almost backfired when one of the group managed to lose control of the reigns whilst trying to take a photo but managed to stay on as the horse started to gallop and luckily the guide was able to catch up and stop the horse.

Once back we went for some lunch with everyone which was nice and then had a fairly quiet afternoon as again everything seemed to close down between 12 and 4. That night though we went for a great meal at a local Bolivian place and decided it was time to head to Argentina and so booked our bus for the next day to head to Salta.