Subscribe to this blog25 March 2009
March in Review: More Pictures
By clicking on the respective album pictures below, you should be taken to a small selection of exclusive pictures which I have taken during the month of March while traveling through Bolivia and Eastern Peru.
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| Bolivia | East Peru |
Older monthly reviews:
February 2009: Paraguay, Central & Northern Argentina, Western Peru and Northern Chile
January 2009: Southern Chile (Patagonia), Southern Argentina (Patagonia and Buenos Aires) and Uruguay
December 2008: Easter Island and Central Chile
November 2008: New Zealand
October 2008: Australia, Principality of Hutt
September 2008: Laos
August 2008: Cambodia, Bangkok
July 2008: China's East, Uzbekistan reloaded
June 2008: China's West, Central China
May 2008: Siberia, Gobi desert, Beijing/Pingyao/Xi'an
April 2008: Moscow, Uzbekistan
posted by Reto at
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19 March 2009
Grand Finale at Machu Picchu
"It was in July, 1911, that we first entered that marvelous canyon of the Urubamba, where the river escapes from the cold regions near Cuzco by tearing its way through gigantic mountains of granite. From Torontoy to Colpani the road runs through a land of matchless charm. It has the majestic grandeur of the Canadian Rockies, as well as the startling beauty of the Nuuanu Pali near Honolulu, and the enchanting vistas of the Koolau Ditch Trail on Maul. In the variety of its charms and the power of its spell, I know of no place in the world which can compare with it." (from "Inca Land, Explorations in the Highlands of Peru", by Hiram Bingham - source: Project Gutenberg)Selecting the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu as "Grand Finale" for my round-the-world trip worked perfectly. Reading books about the discovery of this site did put me in the right mood, as I was preparing the trip from the nearby city of Cusco. There are several ways for the pilgrimage to Machu Picchu. The most famous one is the "Inca Trail" (or as the locals call it: "Gringo Trail"). But it seems that I have come here a couple of years too late: Peru has professionalized its tourism infrastructure and it is therefore not possible at all to hike this trail independently. Fares for organized hikes - including porters, cooks and already prepared tents on arrival - range from 300 to 700 US dollars for the four day hike (depending on the agency and the bargaining skills). More annoyingly, I would have needed to book this trek at least four to six weeks in advance.
Hiking under such prerequisites was not appealing to me at all. I might opt to go for a trek with porters and chefs when I'm retired - not being able to carry my own backpack, then. Even the slight variations of this trail - using mountain bikes or alternative routes - weren't appealing at all to me. This solved a potential dilemma in choosing how to go to Machu Picchu, since there is also the option of taking a very scenic and famous railway to the "basecamp" town of Aguas Calientes.Being a railway buff, I was more than happy to hop on the "Backpacker Train" (which is the official name of the service), leaving early in the morning from Cusco to Aguas Calientes. This route has five switchbacks (which are called "El Zig-Zag"). They enable the train to gain altitude shortly after leaving the train station in Cusco. Arriving on the hills surrounding the town, the train actually drives down the "Sacred Valley".
However, there are not a lot of backpackers on the "Backpacker Train" and I found myself surrounded by tour groups and elderly people who complained that they could not travel sitting backwards. Each switchback they were playing musical chairs while moaning about how cumbersome this travel was.
Nevertheless, this great train ride was a fantastic experience and I did not regret having abandoned the thought of trekking to Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, parts of the train services are off-limits to tourists and only available for Peruvians. Moreover, all tourist trains are ending in the town of Aguas Calientes, where the Peruvian government has a purpose-built, functional, ten year old modern train station building.Actually, describing the location of the small town of Aguas Calientes could be misleading to some readers, since it is nested in a deep valley next to Machu Picchu, surrounded by high peaks of forest mountains - featuring a small mountain river that slices the settlement in two parts.
However, what sounds like a nice place to stay before or after visiting Machu Picchu is as ugly as one can imagine. It's a chaotic mess of square concrete houses, that are mainly left in an unfinished building state since years. In fact, my hostel had a very nice building front and reception. When I went to the first floor, I realized that an entire wall of the building was missing - and I was able to have a panoramic view of the river banks. Being on the second floor, each time when I went out of my room to the "hall way", I would find myself actually walking in broad daylight, since not only one side of the house - but also large parts of the roof - were missing. This is truly a typical view in "downtown" Aguas Calientes.
Nevertheless, I opted to stay two nights there, since the word was out in the backpacker community to catch the very first shuttle bus to Machu Picchu to avoid the crowds. This bus leaves at 5:30 in the morning, which implies an overnight stay in this ugly little town. What caught my suspicion, shortly after arrival, was the notice board in the hostel, which informs guests that breakfast is being served between 4:45 and 8:00 in the morning. Although I was pleased to learn that I could have breakfast before catching the very first bus, I did figure out that I probably wasn't the only one having this stupid idea to leave ahead of the pack.When I got up next day, at the earliest possible moment, the breakfast room was already full of people. I quickly slurped a coffee and skipped the bread. So I left at five to the bus station. While I was walking there, I passed two other hostels and saw - through their non-existing walls - the same scenes of very busy tourist crowds having breakfast, too. Arriving at the station, there were about thirty people queuing, with some locals selling coffee and snacks. I counted the people in front of and figured out that I would make it onto the bus. But there were a lot of bus company staff in uniforms hanging around as well. Soon, I realized that this is a regular scene every day here. Looking behind me, I saw the queue growing by the minute. As buses pulled into the parking space, I did estimate about two hundred people waiting in line. Some of them clearly being angry or put off, because they also thought that they would beat the crowd by doing the extra effort in getting up very early.
Nevertheless, having professionalized the tourism business, the Peruvians do a good job in managing to absorb such big tourist crowds. Because the "5:30 bus" is actually a series of buses, driving up to Machu Picchu in a convoy. Eight vehicles were needed to bring all tourists to the Inca site. You do the math (at 48 passengers per bus). Arriving at the ticket office on top of the mountain did require another short queuing. But at six o'clock, gates were opened and we were all let in. The historical site of Machu Picchu is big enough to hide well such a volume of people. To my surprise it didn't feel crowded at all at that time - although I knew that I obviously wasn't alone.Visitor regulations, posted in various languages on information panels, on the admission ticket and leaflets, do forbid a number of things. On top of the usual one's (no littering, no climbing of ruins, no smoking, etc.) - I did find the following rules a bit weird:
- no food allowed
- don't use disposable containers or bottles
- no backpack more than 20 liters
- no walking sticks
There is actually no shop or kiosk beyond the entrance gate. Although I was carrying my water flask, I was a bit irritated by the fact, that an official entity would encourage dehydration - since most of the tourists these days are using disposable (aka "PET") water bottles. However, it seems that no one really cares about these rules and I did spot many tourists drinking from their plastic bottles, eating - and some walking using sticks.
After a scenic day at Machu Picchu, I left Aguas Calientes for other Inca sites in the "Sacred Valley" near the towns of Ollantaytambo, Maras and Chinchero. Satisfied, but a bit saturated from all the historic sites, I returned to Cusco.
From there, I will catch a bus to Lima and fly back home to Switzerland. Yes, the round-the-world trip is over. Although I would have preferred to stay a while longer on the road, I got used to the idea of returning home. And I don't expect a big culture shock upon arriving back in Switzerland.
However, I might need a vacation to recover from my round-the-world trip. Trekking through Ethiopia and Kenya is on the list of things to do in a few weeks time. But before that, I'll be brushing up my Russian skills in Moscow. Sounds confusing? You then better stay tuned to this blog...
Labels: Peru
posted by Reto at
17:31
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17 March 2009
Buenas noches, sexy woman in Cusco
Cusco is the tourist capital of Peru. This city boasts with tour groups, hawkers, nice restaurants, cafes, hotels - and: splendid sights in and around town.Although prices are obviously more expensive than in the rest of Peru, it is still possible to maintain a budget. I splurged a bit on the hostel, but I wanted to ensure that there was hot water for the showers at any time of the day (which is not so common in this country). Cross-financing the extra I paid for accommodation, I decided to moved around in "urbanitos" (city buses) and "colectivos" (minibuses), instead of taxis.
There are a couple of Inca-era ruins within a perimeter of 10 kilometers of the city of Cusco. Going to the farthest site by colectivo did cost 2.40 Soles (about 75 US cents). Called "Tampumachay", the ruins there were rather smallish, but I was looking forward to have a little hike back into town anyway. This walk along a pretty scenic road did feature other historic places, such as "Puca Pucara", "Qenko" and "Sacsayhuamán".
The latter one has actually a name which is quite easy to pronounce: Lazy tourists could probably ask a cab driver to bring them to "sexy woman" - and they would certainly end up being driven to "Sacsayhuamán" (at least during daytime, I guess).Back in the downtown area of Cusco, the "Wiphala", a rainbow flag of the Andes people, is omnipresent in the streets. Being the official flag of the city of Cusco, the seven stripes rainbow flag bears shocking resemblance to the state flag of the "Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands" - and/or the "Peace Flag". However, there are subtle rainbow colour differences in the various flags - Wikipedia helped to sort out my confusion.
Another fun thing to do in Cusco is counting the number of people trying to sell to tourists anything from pictures, souvenirs, tours, coca leaves and massages. Actually, the number of massage offerings I do get, makes the city feel a bit like Bangkok (Thailand). But then again, it is probably me having dirty thoughts here.
Anyhow, it is mind-boggling how many times per day I have to say "No". Together with another backpacker, we counted the numbers of times we had to say "No", just walking from the hostel to the "Plaza de Armas". After five minutes each of us had been approached by over twenty sellers.
To be fair though, one simple "No" is sufficient for them - and they let go. Not much of a bother, then. But having to say "No" all day long has the potential to put people in a depressing mood. But that doesn't stop me from resisting to say "Yes".Major sights in Cusco - besides Inca ruins - are churches and museums. I counted one cathedral, nine churches and ten major museums in this town of roughly 350'000 inhabitants. Which is way too much culture for me. And I confess that I did skip most churches and all of the museums. The Inca stuff (and the vibe of the city) was good enough for me. However, I might be traveling for too long and be a bit over-saturated by now from archaeological places. Because all that Inca fuss really leaves me so far very unimpressed.
Until the ninth of their emperors, the Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, (who came to power in 1445), there is little historical record and archaeological evidence and it is "assumed" there were other eight rulers between 1250 to 1438. Largely, this means, that we are talking about some medieval tribe that peaked during about one hundred years.
Sure, the Incas were definitely very good at doing what they knew (construction, skull surgery and some other random stuff), which is - I'm afraid - not a lot in comparison with other cultures that existed at the same time in other regions of this planet.
On top of that, the Spaniards - who obviously had not much cultural affinity - destroyed most artwork by melting down gold and silver artwork. They did use stones of temples to build churches instead. Being a selfish tourist in the 21st century, looking for exciting archaeological sites, I definitely see not much being left in "Inca land". Which makes me wonder how this country would look like, if the conquerors never had arrived on this continent.In Peru, the "conversational clock" is ticking differently than in other South American countries. Everything starts so much earlier here: "Buenas tardes" (Good afternoon / Good evening) is used as soon as noon is over. And we are talking about one minute past noon here. At strike seven in the evening (when the sun is down in Cusco), everyone switches to the disturbing "Buenas noches" (Good night) - used as a greeting when entering a shop or a restaurant at that time of day. Disturbing, because I do associate "Good Night" as a farewell, before going to bed. At second thought, I might start switching greetings and farewells once I get back home - just for fun and to see how other people react to it.
Unfortunately, now that I start to feel a little more comfortable in speaking Castellano, I'm about to leave the South American continent. Although I still make a lot of errors, miss heaps of vocabulary - and talk Tarzan-style ("Me Tarzan - You Jane") - conversations with locals have become more and more "complex" and longer. Which really now puts the fun into South America. But Cusco is big and worthy enough for a future, second visit.
Labels: Peru
posted by Reto at
21:25
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14 March 2009
Guess the countries of my SIM cards - until April 15th, 2009
Now for something completely different. The cheapest way to stay online during my trip was by using local, prepaid SIM Cards in each country. The cheapest one was the the SIM card in Laos, which did cost a mere US$ 10 (including a calling credit of US$ 9)! I topped up this card with another US$ 10 and was happily surfing and checking daily my emails during my whole 26-day stay in Laos.
More typical is a charge of around US$ 15 (including a calling credit of US$ 5 to US$ 10).
In some countries, I needed to present a passport - in others these cards were sold without any check over the counter. In one country (Cambodia), prepaid cards are officially not available for non-residents (tourists). However, money rules and usually the shop owners are more than willing to register the card under their name.
So far, I have collected thirteen SIM cards during my round the world journey. If you are interested in guessing which SIM card belongs to which country, then click on the following "Survey"-Link that I have created.
Go to Roaming Reto's SIM Cards Game
Note: The survey will close on April 15th, 2009. After that date, I will post the names (not the email addresses) as a high score list here.
posted by Reto at
21:24
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12 March 2009
Puno for the embarrassed
"Puno is a hole." This is the answer I've got by a weird traveler when I asked him the smalltalk question "Have you been in Puno?". Honestly, I did hope to get some information about this town situated at Lake Titicaca - or at least get into a casual conversation. Because I got bored during the two hour border stop waiting for our bus - going from Bolivia to Peru - to be cleared by the officials. But my conversation partner definitely had traveled too long alone. During his monologue, he never answered my questions, but would brag about how stupid all tourists are - obviously including me - and how much more authentic his way of travel was.When I changed subject by smalltalking about the duration of the formalities at this border, he felt the urge to explain to me that I haven't traveled much and - oh yeah - "you Europeans aren't used to border crossings, anyway". This poor, arrogant guy reminded me that one can travel for too long and go nuts. Sometimes, certain behaviour that is perfectly acceptable on a solitary island, will not be considered as being "social" when interacting with other people.
However, since an idiot had defined the town of Puno as being a "dump", this was a probable indicator that the place actually might be quite nice. Which turned out to be spot on. The setting of the town along Lake Titicaca is absolutely beautiful.Although there are two, three touristic pedestrian streets in downtown Puno, the area doesn't (yet) feel over-commercialized. I still found plenty of residential areas around the back alleys, as well as markets for locals where curious colorful items are sold at a bargain, although of no use for the average traveler. Strolling through this town takes the better time of an afternoon. Having a population of just over 100'000, the distances between sightseeing points are small enough to do everything by foot.
Since none of the current travel guides do feature the three year old lookout point "Condor Hill" (at 4017 meters altitude) (and since I was looking for a nice spot to take pictures during the sunset), I walked up there from a 3850 meters altitude in downtown Puno. What a struggle! Although I did adapt to the altitude in the meantime - not being sick, hung over or whatsoever - any minor effort does make me feel like a 60 year old man. However, the effort was rewarded, by experiencing a great panoramic view over Puno, the harbour and the Lake Titicaca. Moreover, one of the police officers hanging around at the top of "Condor Hill" was eager to point out all places downtown he knew. He was very proud of his hometown kept me busy in a conversation until after dusk.
Many people come to this town to break the long journey between La Paz (Bolivia) and Cusco (Peru). Being one of the biggest towns at the shores of Lake Titicaca also means that there is enough traveler infrastructure, such as hostels and supermarkets.Moreover, there are enough sites around town to keep a traveler busy for a couple of days. For example, the "Islas Flotantes" (Floating Islands) near the Puno harbour are an interesting - albeit a bit exploitative - tourist sight. These artificial islands are made by the "Uros" (a local tribe) out of bundled totora reeds which then act as huge rafts on which the people live everyday's life. The size of each of the islands provide home to only two or three families, although larger islands would house as many as ten families. This sedge is also the basic building material for the huts and boats used by the tribes. Actually, I bumped into the totora plant back while being on Easter Island. Which is another "Rapa Nui" mystery: It is unknown how this plant has made it there from Lake Titicaca.
These days, the families who live on these islands are all well dressed up in traditional clothes and do usually sell souvenirs to tourist groups. Which is quite a bother, because I spotted - behind a "floating island resort" - several corrugated huts and a building named "school". Which makes me think that this actually is the authentic way the "Uros" live nowadays. What a pity that I didn't own a boat to explore the islands on my own.
Another major attraction around Puno are the Sillustani towers, about 30km West of town. Centuries ago, ancient people from the Andean highlands and from the shores of Lake Titicaca, did build funeral towers to bury their important people. These towers at Sillustani are said to be the most perfect cylindrical buildings in South America. No, I won't enter into a rant about archaeological sites in South America, since I did this in an earlier post.However, the trip as such to the Sillustani towers was nice enough. The setting at the "Umayo" lagoon is definitely a picturesque scene. Unfortunately, the only (financially reasonable) way to go to that site is by tourist tour bus. Which meant that on the way there, we stopped to take some pictures of a farm boy with two Lamas - featuring the town of Puno in the backdrop. On the way back, we stopped at a family house, where we could buy hand-made souvenirs and taste local food. If ever during my travel I wanted to hide in absolute shame - this was the place. The tourist crowd behaved like being at the Zoo.
Unfortunately, the worst tour group experience for me was yet to come. Being a railway buff, Puno has a great sightseeing trump card up its sleeve: The scenic railway journey between the towns of Puno and Cusco. This ten hour trip is called the "Andean Explorer" and comes at a quite steep price tag (US$ 220 as from April, 1st 2009). Obviously, I did not realize when planning to use this mode of transport, that I was just setting up myself for yet another kitschy, glossy and unrealistic disneylandish experience.
As it turns out, the rail operator, "Peru Rail" makes this trip a very plush and first class experience, therefore attracting mostly elderly couples in white sneakers and baseball hats. You probably guess the fact of having folklore groups on board of the train - playing instruments and singing for money. However, you won't guess the absolute low-light of the trip: It started when the aisle of the carriages were converted into a catwalk. There, beautiful young Peruvian girls were walking up and down in traditional clothes to the humming sound of Parisian "Pret-a-porter" dance music. The old ladies loved it. Obviously, the models returned after the "show" to sell me their clothes. For my wife or my girl friend, as they tried to convince me. Yeah, sure! Amazing what corporate decision makers can conceive just to be able to squeeze out the very last drop of money from each tourist.
From that standpoint, the rail trip was quite interesting. However, based on that experience, I would not recommend anyone interested in railways to undertake this journey. There are similar to better trips in terms of scenery, technology and railroad architecture - for a fraction of the Peruvian ticket price. Moreover, in other places, tourists get to sit on the original train, interacting with locals. Something which is actually not allowed here: Trains for locals bound for Machu Picchu are strictly off-limits for foreigners.
But that's another story for my next blog entry...
Labels: Peru
posted by Reto at
19:01
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08 March 2009
Dangerous roads in La Paz
La Paz is Bolivia's administrative capital city. Don't overlook the word "administrative", as this country is one of the few one's being able to finance two capitals (the other being Sucre). There is one major road leading into the center of town, which is located at the bottom of a crater-shaped canyon. Winding steadily down from the suburb of El Alto (at 4150 meters altitude) to the heart of the city (at 3660 meters altitude), the bus ride features an almost 360 degree panoramic view during a half hour descent.Whether people love or hate La Paz, they all agree that this town features one of the wackiest city layouts worldwide. From tiny little brick houses to big business towers, everything seems to be "glued" to the crater walls. Staring too much at the hundreds of thousands of squares at the horizon probably can create hallucinations. Some travelers even argue that the interlocked squares of residential houses look very familiar - like a full "Tetris" game screen.
Another particular feature in this town are the shoe-shine boys. They usually wear full-face ski masks to hide their faces. This looks pretty scary and probably would be a perfect setup to prepare some people for a bank robbery. But these boys do shine the shoes only. They do mask their identity, because some of them are students who try - by this - to earn money for their studies. The other part of the shoe-shine boys - the elder ones - are drug addicts and alcoholics, who hide this way their state of intoxication.Traffic in La Paz is intense. Subjectively, I found this to be the most polluted city I visited on my entire trip. The buses and trucks seem to be exhausting extra-fumes which really made me cough. And I watched other people, including locals, who struggled sometimes for the same reasons, when crossing the streets. Nevertheless, since the city is located at a high altitude, the prevailing thin air might alter my overall perception in this matter. My hostel was located smack down in the tourist center, at the Calle Linares. There, the various markets are abundant and it is fun to watch how people and cars manage to squeeze through the steep, narrow and cobble-stoned streets. It's a constant mix of people hurrying by, while others stop to shop or to chat, while taxis and lorries are in a honking concert.
Rarely, I have actually seen such a segregated market organisation, where stalls in one road sell light bulbs only - while in another road toilet seats are on sale in a dozen shops or so. The most famous part of these markets is the "witches market" (Mercado de Hechiceria), where dried lama fetuses and other odd things on display are supposed to help people to recover from illnesses. One of the "witches" explained to me in Spanish the usefulness of a particular magical potion she eagerly wanted to sell to me. Since my Spanish language skills don't yet include various body parts, she resulted to the term "Viagra". Obviously, then I understood and I might come back one day - when I'm older.
Although I didn't feel too dizzy anymore because of the high altitude, I struggled after having walked to get to most attractions in town. In fact, going anywhere in La Paz involves going either up or down. There seems to be absolutely not the tiniest little bit of flat stretch of street in this city. During the second day, the weather was perfect. But I wasn't keen anymore in walking uphill to a panoramic lookout, since I still felt exhausted from the walks of the day before. Luckily, there was a one and a half hour city tour bus waiting for lazy people like me - which included a stop at the lookout as part of its itinerary.Therefore, I bought the relatively cheap ticket for this double-decker bus. The second floor actually had no roof - perfect for picture taking. But once on the tour bus, I spotted plenty of warning signs that mandated tourists to remain seated. The reason for this became quickly obvious to me: Since the bus was four meters high, the wires for telephones, electricity and other random stuff were criss-crossing streets at a little over that same altitude. At several instances, I had cables dangling down and touching my head. Scary tour.
Already in the mood for couch potato travelling, I did book another tour to the town of Tiahuanaco on the third day. I didn't fancy sitting crammed with twenty other people in a Toyota minibus for one hour. Since the tourist tour did cost one US dollar more than the public transport, my decision was quickly made to go the comfy way. Visiting Tiahuanaco means visiting Bolivia´s most significant archaeological place. The civilization of the Tiwanaku left a number of monoliths and temples in the area.
Being my first visit to a truly archaeological site on South American soil (the Nazca lines don't count, since they are of alien origin - remember?), I was disappointingly underwhelmed. The Spanish used stones from one of the ancient temples to build the nearby church in the 17th century. Obviously, what's left on the historical sites, is often really not much. One small open-air temple looked pretty neat, but the only original part was a four-step staircase. All of the rest was a - not too authentic - reconstruction, in an effort to please and draw in tourists. To be blunt: After Central and Southeast Asia, I am not impressed at all by the South American archaeological sites. Hopefully, Peru will alter a bit my disappointment in that respect.
On the last day of my stay, I went by mountain bike to drive down the "World's Most Dangerous Road" (aka: "Death Road", or "North Yungas Road"). Descending from the suburban town of La Cumbre - at around 4700 meters - down to the village of Coroico - at a mere 1500 meters - this 60 kilometer long road descends for 85% of its distance. Including some parts of ascending road, the total downhill altitude adds up to more than 3700 meters. Obviously, this is a physically effortless trip. But I found the challenge to be more on a technical and mental side: There are steep drop-offs, most more than 600 meters. Also, most of the road is not wider than three meters, without any guard rails or other safety installations. The surface is sometimes muddy, sometimes loose gravel - assorted with fallen rocks from the hillsides above. It is estimated that around 200 - 300 people were killed every year along this road. On one particular tragic incident, a fully loaded local bus went downhill in a curve, killing all of its over 100 passengers.Although the weather started very bad early in the morning, featuring wet snow and rain, the skies cleared quickly. At around nine o'clock, we (me and five other travelers) rode the deadly track in beautiful sunshine. And the further we did descend, the hotter and more tropical the weather became. All in all, this was an absolutely fabulous and fun day. The company, which provided us with great guides and good equipment is called "B-Side". Highly recommended. It's one of the very few companies doing rides with small groups only. The big ones (mentioned in the Lonely Planet guidebook and the Wikipedia) run the tours with over 15, 20 people. Due to their advertising exposure, these "big guys" tend to be more expensive as well, although I saw them using the same quality of equipment as we had.
Since 2006, there is a replacement road in use, which absorbs most of the local traffic. These days, mountain bikers are the most common sight on the "old death road". Nevertheless, more than a dozen adventure bikers have lost their lives here in the past ten years alone.
But then again, riding through La Paz in the official open-air double-decker bus is much more dangerous: Because it's easy to get strangled by the omnipresent overhead cable chaos in the streets.
Labels: Bolivia
posted by Reto at
23:03
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05 March 2009
It's the altitude, dude - on the road to Sucre
The constitutional and judicial capital of Bolivia, Sucre, is a small town of 200'000 people which boasts beautiful colonial buildings everywhere. The city's name doesn't refer to the sweet ingredient, but to the revolutionary leader Antonio Jose Sucre. He was one of Simón Bolívar's closest friend, who was back the most important leader of Spanish America's successful struggle for independence. Unsurprisingly, the city is full of history and consequently is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.Bolivia has endured many political changes over time: Almost 200 governments changed hands in its 183 years as a republic. No wonder, the nation has the lowest GDP per capita in South America, although it has enormous natural resources.
Currently, the country's first indigenous president, Evo Morales, rules Bolivia in a controversial way - at least this is what I keep hearing as an outsider. Some Bolivians praise his background as a simple coca farmer and left-wing activist to be the good solution for sustainable economic growth. Others are jokingly telling that the country is going to develop backwards with his antiprivatization laws and confrontational foreign policy.Particularly, the relations with the United States of America have politically suffered, since Evo Morales decided to suspend the US induced coca plant eradication program. Although this plant is being used abroad as a derivative (cocaine), it's part of the Bolivian lifestyle and culture. Chewing coca leaves does reduce pain and increases alertness. It is therefore fairly common to see hard working people chewing coca anywhere in Bolivia. The raw leaves aren't harmful nor addictive. They even contain a lot of calcium, iron and vitamins. Coca being a key farming product, Bolivia gets a lot of pressure from abroad, to ban coca plantations. All this keeps me quite curious about this nation's future.
Coming from the towns of Uyuni and then Potosi, the road was mostly a bumpy dirt track. About 80 kilometers from Sucre, the road became a solid track, but very winding. The bus I traveled with, would climb steep passes, only to drive down the same level of altitude to cross the next valley. This constant up and down over high mountains takes toll on the total travel time. The trip between Potosi and Sucre (roughly 150 kilometers) takes more than three hours. In general, distances in Bolivia are nowhere near the big numbers encountered in Chile or Argentina. But because any travel within the country involves crossing numerous high-altitude mountains on desolate roads, the trip times are enormous. Buses would be comfortable, but they mostly lack the on-board toilet (which are common in the neighbouring countries). Therefore, "pipi-stops" - such as I did encounter back in Laos - are common in Bolivia. And although the bus would sometimes stop at three o'clock in the morning on a remote farm land, I would want to wake up and go for a leak. Because I never knew, when the bus would stop next.
Doing such important stuff in the middle of the night under a very starry sky, in an altitude-sickness induced grogginess, made me think about weird things. For example, I wondered about how many countries I theoretically still would need to visit, to be able to say that I visited 'em all. Wikipedia on my mobile phone came to my rescue and I frantically tried to absorb most research about this subject while there was GSM coverage (which is surprisingly good and cheap in Bolivia). But there is no easy answer to the task of defining the countries making up my potential list - because it is all about terminology: "Sovereign States" (the proper term) must meet a couple of conditions, such as having a permanent population, a defined territory, government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.To complicate things, a number of sovereign states that meet the conditions are disputed, such as Northern Cyprus, South Ossetia or Taiwan. And then, there are the so-called "Micronations", some of them that I have already visited (namely the Hutt River Province). These aren't recognised states, but to me they are worthy enough to make it on my list, since they feautre mostly interesting background stories. Among the more famous ones are "Sealand", "Minerva" and the "Principality of Trinidad". Writing down a list of all these countries to be visited (does the "European Union" actually count as such?) will be always an achievement of personal interpretation. Because such a list will always include or exclude certain nations for whatever reason.
Here I am with my important thoughts and decisions on an altitude of 4000 meters, freezing the appendix off while peeing in the dark into a pothole on the main highway connecting Sucre with Potosi. Am I going mental in Bolivia? Or is it just what the American gringo on the bus used to say: "It's the altitude, dude". We'll only know, once I return to lower grounds.
Labels: Bolivia
posted by Reto at
00:13
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02 March 2009
Being in high spirits in the Uyuni Salt Flats
So you have been seeing this super cool picture of your friends jumping around in a desert. And you have been amazed at the photographic genius of your best mate, who is - by using a false perspective shot - holding two of his friends in his palm while he's sitting in a desert like a Yoda. Let me solve the mystery as there is nothing really creative about it. Because anyone can do these kinds of shots in the "Salar de Uyuni" (Salt Flat of Uyuni). Try a picture search on Google, Picasa or Flickr and you will be amazed how uncreative most people are - including me - when it comes to orchestrating a truly unique picture scene.Nevertheless, what sounds like the usual bold, grumpy statement from me, turned out to be actually much fun in reality. Being planned since a few months back as the big highlight in South America - among others places like Torres del Paine and Macchu Picchu - I was a bit bewildered that friends back home would urge me to visit the Salar de Uyuni. Seems that some years back, this probably was a travelers secret. Nowadays, visiting the largest salt flat in the world is simply a "must" for any visitor to central South America. Being a standard destination for most travelers, the salt flat is very well connected by tours starting from San Pedro de Atacama (Chile), Salta (Argentina) or even as far as La Paz (Bolivia). Being so well hyped, no wonder I was annoyingly chuckling, when I got this "hot tip" not to miss Uyuni.
After a bit of investigation, it seemed to me that the route from San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) to the town of Uyuni (Bolivia) would present most of the scenic views. In fact, the three day trip I booked was super-charged with numerous sights, such as the Laguna Blanca, Laguna Verde, Decierto Rocas del Salvador Dali, Geyser sol de Mañana, Laguna Colorada, Arbol de Piedra, Lagunas Altiplanicas (ie Laguna Honda, Laguna Chearcota, Laguna Hedionda, Laguna Cañapa), Volcan Ollague, Salar de Chiguna, Villa Martin, Salar de Uyuni (incl. Isla de los Pescadores, Museo de Sal, Minas de Sal) and finally the Cemeterio del Tren in Uyuni.Right on the first day, we took the "uphill" road to Bolivian border - after having stamped out at the customs check point on the Chilean side. Noting the road sign announcing an 7% incline, plus calculating the distance from the roadside markers (25 kilometers) - I arrived at the conclusion that we were gaining at least 1800 meters altitude (on top of the 2400 meters altitude from San Pedro de Atacama). Except for the very last part, which was winding, the road is more or less a straight track pointing all the way up to the Bolivean plateau. After one hour, we arrived at the Bolivian border post, at a measured altitude of 4'300 meters. This alone did set my height record of places visited. However, after clearing customs, we were bound to go even higher. Thanks to Will, member of our tour group - who was monitoring the altitude using his high-tech wristwatch - we could establish the absolute record height at 4'950 meters that same day.
Coping with such a high altitude is definitely not easy. Some of the people in our tour group did take altitude sickness pills, others not - me included. Arriving at the "Geyser Sol de Mañana" (Morning Sun Geyser Basin) - probably still at around 4'800 meters of altitude - I seriously struggled. These scenic and colourful geysers are bubbling very hot and evaporate a cloud of gassy smog. Breathing in this mix of thin air and sulfur gas was the biggest challenge for me on that particular trip. Thinking and talking at this height becomes a nightmare and I felt like being drunk, including the next morning's hangover headache - all at the same time. Some people of our group struggled a bit more, but eventually we all got better on the second day, when our itinerary would descend to roughly 3'800 meters.So, what's the big fuzz about this Salar de Uyuni? Well, it is definitely scenic, beautiful and breathtaking. It is one of these strange Nature places on earth, which are hard to explain. The sheer surface size of 12'000 square kilometers (a fourth of the size of my home country, Switzerland) and the elevated location on 3'700 meters above sea level make this salt plain stand out from anything else I have visited so far throughout my entire life (which is not much - the cynical reader thinks). The Salar de Uyuni truly do live up to the hype and somehow the salt flat seems to induce happiness. Everyone I met there was smiling, having a fun day and enjoyed being in this very special place. But visiting this area also meant the end of a great three day trip, by arriving in the town of Uyuni.
This town sprawls of four-wheel drives (4WD), that have large outdoor gear fixed to their roofs. In the mornings at around 10 o'clock, a common sight is the gathering of small groups standing next to these vehicles. Handshakes and a few polite words introduce the obvious members of the impending desert trip. It seems as if the towns' only business consists in selling excursions to the salt flat. In the afternoons, the situation reverses. Arriving outdoor vehicles arrive, spitting out happy people who bid farewell to each other. Some of them are hopping on the next bus to La Paz - some of them are staying in town to relax and wind down from a marathon trip.The type of travelers I did encounter in Uyuni, definitely had changed in comparison the the other countries further south on this continent. Suddenly, there are a lot of "hardcore"-type backpackers roaming the streets and camping with their tents in the city park. They look mostly like hippies arriving straight out of a time-warp from the 60's Woodstock Festival. The dress code among them consists of a woolen Bolivian or Peruvian cap, a colourful poncho and "Jesus"-pants with sandals. The more hardcore of them would even walk barefoot. For men, a sizable unwashed beard is a must, while many women wear similarly clean looking dreadlocks. Sure, you get these backpackers in many other cities. But I have never seen so much of them in one place (even the "hippie"-place in Don Det, Laos had less of them). This makes me truly wonder how all these guys and girls will look once they get "cattled" back to their real life in their nine to five jobs. It's as if they wanted to wear a carnival dress making sure not to be recognised.
But then again, the locals don't bother at all wearing special clothes or masks for their carnival festivities. How do I know? Well, it was carnival time in Uyuni during the week-end I stayed there. Lots of music, dance and street parades were keeping the town well alive in the evenings. Which did put a nice, albeit unplanned, final touch on a very scenic and special trip to one of Earth's most out of this World's places.
Labels: Bolivia
posted by Reto at
00:11
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