Cheap llama foetuses and getting frightened on the death road

Near La Paz is a road designated by the International American Development Bank as the most dangerous road in the world, every year buses and lorries plough off the crumbling edges down vertical cliffs. Bizarrely this has turned mountain biking down the road into one of Bolivia´s biggest tourist attractions. You start amongst the snow, cycle 64km dropping a massive 3500m, passing though cloud forest and end up in a tropical valley. The ride and views are spectacular. For most of the way the road is unmade and at times, where waterfalls crash onto and wear away the road, only as wide as a lorry. Although vieing with other traffic it is quite safe because you and your bike are thin and you are in control. But just to increase the interest level the rest of Bolivia drives on the right but at some point, its not obvious where it starts, you drive on the left on the death road. Marilyn came down the road in the truck instead of cycling but much to my disgust still got the tee shirt

At the end of the ride we stayed in a beautiful hotel with pool, suana and the most spectacular 180 views of the mountains and valleys. Our mistake was to come back to La Paz on public bus and up the death road. I found it truely frightening, you go round corners and come face to face with massive lorries bearing down on you. There is no chance of passing so one of you has to back up close to the edge. For most of the journey all I could see out of my window was the sheer drop into the valley. When you could see the edge it was crumbling away and seemed to be worse than when we came down because of a massive storm during the night. We had to endure this for two and a half hours before we got back onto asphelt. Although its fun doing scary things we didint enjoy this and I never, ever want to go back onto that bloody road

La Paz is a exciting city. The highest captital in the world , it fills a valley surrounded by snow topped mountains. The city is full of contrasts. It has modern offices and restaurants but the majority of the popoulation are indigenous peoples and they produce some amazing markets and street food. There is even a witches market where you can buy all sorts of dried animals including llama foetuses, hallucinatory plants, weird herbs, model gods and good luck charms

We had booked a direct bus from Peru to La Paz but when we got to the terminal at 10pm it had been cancelled. So our 13 hour journey turned into a 19 hour odyssey consisting of 4 clapped out busses, crossing a freezing pass without any heat for 5 hours, a ferry where the passengers had to go on a different boat from the bus because they tend to sink and a swerve off the road to miss a donkey. Tomorrow we are moving on to Sucre- we are flying!

Leave every stone unturned

Last night we went clubbing. Marilyn woke me at about 1am and said we better go home. She was still dancing. That was after doing the 4 day Inka trail and getting up at 4am.


When we were researching the trail a number of people had written that it was one of the best things they have done in their lifes. We agree. Machu Picchu is magical. It is massive site, beautifuly built out of carved stone blocks. So much care had gone into its contruction that it was obviously very important but no one really knows its purpose or why it was abandoned. You can sit in the a temple loooking up at the 4 stangly shaped mountains that surround the site and down into deep valleys. One minute everything is totally clear. The next cloud sweeps into the valleys creating white seas and eventually billowing up until it envelopes you and the whole of MP. 10 minutes later its all clear again. We spent the whole day there and didnt want to move. Today we both feel emotional whenever we think about it and wish we were back.

Go soon because its slipping down the mountain and in future you may only able to see it by flying over the site

The trek is very hard. Climbing up 1800m to 4200m. The climb and altidude are killing but worst of all is the 3 hours decents down Inka stairs. While we are crawling along, gasping for breath our porters would literaly run past us with all the gear on their backs including full size gas bottles. When you get to the next camp your tents are erected ready for you. A kitchen is on the go next to the dining tent and within a few minutes they are serving up a really good three course dinner.

If you need a crap on the trail you have to try and dig a shallow hole, shit, cover it with grass and then put a stone on it. Dont pick up stones without taking great care

When you leave MP you get a bus down the mountain to the nearest town. A local kid dressed up as an Inka races the bus to each corner and shouts goodbye. Then at the bottom he gets on the bus and collects tips. It takes ordinary people an hour and half to do the same distance. Its a fitting end to a magical trip.



Marilyn and Jude in their ´I survived the Inka Trail´ tee shirts.


Next stop Bolivia

Boddingtons explodes at 3300M

We managed to get a place on the Machu Picchu Inka trail, its normally sold out months in advance, but had to wait in Cusco for 6 days. Not much of a problem because its a great city with loads to do. Most importantly it has two English and two Irish pubs. It is so nice to drink some decent beer and to sit in a proper pub after 2 months away. The draft beer takes ages to pour and settle at this altitude and a can of Boddingtons just explodes and you have to have two glasses to try and catch the froth as it flies everywhere.

We went white water rafting. Grade 3, don't know if that is impressive or not. The river is fed by melting snow from the mountains that surround Cusco. After we had been through the bigger rapids we had the option of jumping in and letting the current carry us down - we had helmets, wet suits and life jackets. Only myself and another guy did it. I was floating on my back looking back to the boat when I saw Marilyn jump in - this is the woman who would not let go of my hand when we went snorkeling. Because she had left it a bit late they shouted to her to swim away from the rocks. This she did quite calmly until she got safely into mid-stream. The boats picked us up at the next calm water. Marilyn said she jumped in because she thought everyone else was going to but she had really enjoyed it. The next day we did a 8 mile hike, climbing up 500m to some Inka monuments

After they had defeated the Inkas the Spaniards used Inka craftsmen to help build their churches and cathedrals. To keep the Inkas on side they let them incorporate bits from their own beliefs. So in Cusco cathedral we have the last supper with guinea pig as the main course, a pregnant Mary holding Jesus, a Mary with a snake across her chest and a black Jesus on the cross. The latter is the richest idol in South America. He is meant to protect against earthquakes so gets lots of offerings. He has 4 solid gold crowns and 10 solid gold ´skirts´. These are changed on a regular basis so he is always looking his best.

The Inka sites in the Sacred Valley are pretty impressive, especially the ones showing how they used technology. One site consists of a set of massive amphitheatres. Each level has its own micro climate and the Inkas used them to test plants in different conditions. The Inkas also harvested salt from a tiny stream on a massive scale. This factility is still in use, unchanged, today.

As I write this there is horribly loud music and speeches coming from the Plaza. Different groups of supporters are marching all over Cusco and there are loads of riot police on the streets. Its the regional elections on Sunday but all looks good natured. Our biggest fear is that we are going to hit another achohol ban

Can´t breath again

Now we are in the Andes again we are getting Mate de Cocoa. A herbal tea made out of cocoa leaves that is meant to help with altitude problems. We have also been shown how to chew it by wrapping it in a bit of lime rock. Its horrible like this and makes your mouth numb. Apparently if you chewed 5Kg of leaves you might get a mild buzz

Went to Canon del Colca a beautiful area full of canyons and the Cruz del Condor - A viewpoint where you can sit and watch condors soar below you, magic. This is such a beautiful area, dotted with lovely villages, that I wish we had spent longer than 3 days.

Wherever you go in Peru you stumble upon festivals. Some might just be a few school children dressed up and stopping the traffic. Others are massive affairs. Puno has a 5 day festival celebrating the rising of the Inca god out of the Lake Titicaca. Sunday consisted of 12 hours of processions representing various gods . All accompanied by loud unmusical brass music (with pan pipes of course). The highlight was the sacrificing of an alpaca and offering its heart to the Inca gods. Nice to see the Catholics haven't got it all their own way.

We were on a trek (traveler for country walk) and came across a walled cemetery filled with people. It was the Day of the Dead. Whole extended families come to have share a picnic with a dead loved one. They put food and drink on the grave so they can all share. Musicians are hired to play music and sing songs with the dead. It all involves a lot of beer and spirit drinking. Great fun way to remember your relatives. All the graves had crosses on them but the Andean people pick and mix religion as they feel fit
















Stayed with a family on an island on Lake Titicaca. No motorised transport, electricity or plumbing. The family cooked all our meals in a tiny thatched hut on dung fires. Their children took us to the top of a mountain to see the view and Inca remains. On the way back we found a store that sold rum and acted as the local bar. We took the chidlren in with us for an Inka Cola. Climbing back down to the house was fun in the dark but they took complete control holding our hands and guiding our steps. They where only 8 and 9

Englishman with another new hat on floating Island in lake Titicacca

PS Isnt the news from USA great. I know in the big picture it doesnt make much difference but I feel it is a little bit of justice to Bush and his cronie

One moment I was happy running round my wheel..........

Marilyn about to devour a sweet little guinea pig.  She has also eaten Alpacca. Not the one in the picture but I bet it was one of its babies.
















When we started this trip we had little interest in the pre-Inca civalisations but we are begining to realise what fantatic cultures they were. We took a flight over the Nasca lines. They cover over 180 Square miles and include animals, geometric shapes and straight lines. They where created over a period of 700 years, starting 3000 years ago. They can only be seen from the air and although there are theories no-one really knows what they were for.

The Nasca people used to create mummies and bury them in shallow graves. Most of these have been robbed and you can see human bones and cloth scattered over a huge area. However. some have been saved and the indian in the picture is 1000 years old. There is virtually no rain on this plane
BUSES
Having done over 120 hours on South American buses we feel we are now in a position to pontificate on the service
1. There are two types of bus service. Luxury express with names like Cruz del Sur and Ormeno Royal Class. These buses have reclining seats, drinks and food service, toilets and tread on the tyres - other buses dont
2. Luxury buses hardly ever leave at a time you want
3. Timetables for all buses are for decorative purposes only. Buses often leave an hour late and arrive two hours late. No-one explains why and no-one makes a fuss
4. By law all buses must show violent films. A minimum of 100 bloody, gruesome deaths is considered a minimum.
Non-luxury buses
5. Your bags are tagged and you are given a corresponding ticket. However, this is just to give the driver something to do. Anyone can take any bags they want. So every time the bus stops everyone gathers round the windows to make sure their bags are not getting nicked. If there is any suspision everyone dives off to protect their bags
6. Pickpockets and other toe-rags love buses. There are loads of scams includuing sending children under the seats to get into your rucksack on the floor by your feet
7. Buses only stop to let people on and off. If you are desparate for a wee you have to jump off and go by the side of the road. Marilyn´s record is 8 hours without a pee
8. The floors sometimes get wet but I am sure it is only condensation
9. You get the authentic smells of Peru by taking the bus
10. You can buy just anything from cola to full meals on the buses. Sellers ride on the bus for a few miles and then get off and wait for the next bus going in the opposite direction.
When we have a long trip in front of us we tend to get a bit nervous especially if travelling a night. However, (touch wood) we have had always arrived in one piece. The buses are fantastic value for money costing about 1$ an hour
SOME OTHER STUFF
1. Marilyn has asked me to point out that she went down every sand dune perfectly. On the other hand I wasnt positioned on mine properly and it started to buck eventually hitting me on the nose and sending me sprawling into the sand. By the way the sand dunes are massive., including the biggest in the world at 2078M, Ben Nevis by comparison is 1344m
2. Even engineers and other educated people in Peru cant get jobs so they become taxi drivers. In major towns 14 out of every 15 vehicles is a taxi
3. We love live music but every band in peru reminds us of Ipswich high street. We hear that bloody ´´Id rather be a sparrow than a snail´´ song at least 30 times a day. marilyns daughter, Lucy, has suggested that if we could kill the pan pipe leader all the rest might fade away
4. Peru only has squeek cheese that is impossible to eat because of the noise it makes in your mouth
We are now carrying on further down the Southern peruvian desart and then going back up into the Andes to Arequipa