So England were unlucky in the world cup by failing at the painful penalty stage (once more aaarrgh - not that I could see the match or anything). Heard there were big riots in Jersey too *ouch*. Thought France actually deserved to pip Italy to the title though - that is sport!
Back on the trail.....................we resume accounts from Fri 30th back in La Paz after my incredible Salt Flat journey right?! *testing, testing* memory
Well.........I could have been dining at the Ritz (one does actually exist here in La Paz believe it or not!) : the meal on the 15th floor of this skyscraper five star hotel was fandabdibidosi - felt like royalty but obiously not dressed up to the nines neither paying out ridiculous amounts for a main meal.. lamb grilled steak plus trimmings. yummmmmeeeeeeeeemooo. We were lucky to get served booze since like in Peru, all say of any alcohol is strictly forbidden in prep for compulsory election polls a couple of days after whenever the deadline is.... crazy...(methinks one needs to introduce a similar policy in UK to combat binge drinken lol)... Then went separate ways from final Tucan Tour II tour mate , Welsh Jess.... so back on me tod again in the short term so it appeared..... bovad?
1st July: escaped the city whilst I could for pastures more green, quiet and warm..... Copacabana was the destination - small bustling over gringofied port town 3 hours north of the capital, leading to the Island of the Sun and Moon on the huge Lake Titikaka I mentioned before whilst in Peru on tour..... Planned to spend 2 nights on the actual Islands to both relax and avoid the shitty absence of all public transport on the election day , Sunday... So I happily jumped on a minibus shuttle with mostly locals including 1 hysterical, unconsolable poor mid-aged woman who had just learnt her teenaged daughter with a child had caused herself harm via drugs or injections or whatever...so she was crying non stop on and off for the whole journey desperate to arrive to see how her daughter was.. potentially suicidal for all she knew.. just received a bleak mobile phone call first thing that morning...she was a nurse as well to make matters ironic....shouting at the driver to stop doing their traditional hang around until the last minute when no more pasengers can be crammed in...stopping at every opportunity to hail more aboard etc.. taxi fares are extortionate and there is no air route you see..... Enough of the morbid stuff....also aboard was an American family of 3 and a crazy Slovenian woman, Tina, with almost Bolivian citizenship now.....
More on that character to ensue. Right so after haivng to cross a narrow strip of land at San Pedro de Tiquina via speedboat whilst our bus was carried across on a flat boat, we arrived in plenty of time for the second and final boat crossing to the Island an hour and a half on the Lake.... Copacabana was very rowdy with world cup followers glued to screens everywhere...the views were really nice from the windy good-conditioned coast road leading down to the hollow.... silhouettes of the Peruvian side, the pretty coastline and port town fading in the distance and the shape of the Islands we were appraching, slowly emerging......sat up top and absorbed the sun which I had sorely missed for a goood week or so (especially hearing of the short but intense JUNE heat wave in Jersey SO early for us normally).
When we landed the other side, I teamed up with this Slovenian girl and together, we had to climb the very steep Inca Stairway to reach the headland from where the Illimani mountain was very vivid, pale white amongst a few clouds and bright blue sky...... lake sparking and all that.....then searched for AGES for suitable accommodation.... good price but basic...... knew was gonna be cold so had to brave outdoor toilet and shower at night. Eventually after looking round loads rooms and bargaining we came up trumps at the first place one passes on one side of the Isle. Great view and warmish room so no complaints. Little restuarant next door to take refuge in if need be. The local kiddos were on 2 week "winter holidays" so were following us round like the plague demanding photography with llamas or donkeys, purchases of products, sweets or pencils to offer... very persistent... ended up tipping a few cents for showing us to our hostal nicely.... Adults around? no fear.....out working or inside catering etc... wouldn't see that back home. very clever little things the youngsters are with such responsibility but it seems normal to them I guess...
After walking around to get bearings, we just caught sunset from our side ...faint bluey movey pink sky with mountains a little misty. idyllic.... peaceful as. Then we found a recommended resturant and sampled fresh trout from the lake, probably caught thqat day or the day before..that or kingfish are specialities really..... was nice and huge portions. also had really nice natural cocoa. yum.... promptly retired to bed after a long day travelling...
A bit more info on this mysterious Slovenian girl then ay.... well she studied crazily back home in Europe for many years doing Psychology and many lingos, but one day felt suicidal and ended up following the tales of an acquaintance by coming to live in the depths of the Bolivian jungle amongst the indigenous families for a whole year to look for THE TRUTH..... She eventually found peace in her heart and claims to have had a personal meeting with Jesus etc so now she is very religious and gives blessings for all meals and happeneings plus reads a lot of the bible at night etc.. so I was a little put off at first not being acquainted with such a lifestyle, but really she was very sweet and charming and not imposing at all. Has been in Bolivia for 8 yeArs in total, working 4 years as the director of an organisation which feeds 100s of poor kids around the area every weekday.. now she is spreading lifestyle improvements by theatrical works in the nearby towns eg aboartion, contraception, hygiene, smoking...... good on her. is happy here in short term at least. completely fluent of course.. so i was glad to have company of someone with inside out knowledge of the region and people...
Sun 2nd: awoke fairly early for our 2 1/4 hour walk along the north pass of the isle running through the middle more or less....
paths were tough but not too steep but the sunshine was beating down loads so went overboard on protection etc.... so many photos were taken of the natural beauty both of the lake, the islands, the rocks, the bays with little beach like coves, and also the small settlements.. basic of course but sufficient..... well we got to the northern point (Santiago Pampas) 11km ahead, and hada brief tour of the ruins (Sun Temple)... labarinth, sacrificial table to Pachamama - god of the earth (anciently virgin girls, now just llamas every 21st june).... also saw small carvings of sun and moon and of a puma body in rocks..... nice.....
Afterwards, we carried on at a good pace but took back the windy and steep coastal route, passing through two towns at one of which we had lunch - Challa'pampa. set neatly at the foot of the land with its own private little cute bay and limited buildings.. Luncheon: the only thing left on the "menu" at this household type inn place was spaghetti in homemade tomato sauce.. hilarious but our hungry stomachs and weary minds took that gratefully of course. There was also a small museum about ther area but we only did a quick once over thanks goodbye jobby. The heat really tempted us to dip in the lake but the salty smell and marsh made us decide against. Then we plodded on around lowdown and came across Challa where the locals were congregating to vote...with limited transport on the isle, many had to walk form the other end or else got a small boat across in the early morn bless. This was a bit bigger as there was a school, more lodgings and places to go, but still rather desolate..many random animals were roaming the beach eg PIGS of all colours. donkeys, chickens, sheep... And after 2 3/4 hours of climbs and descents and pauses to catch breath at high altitude, we eventually got back an hour before sunset.......saw it from the other sie of the lakethis time and it was proper bright red - orange - yellow tint, stretching for miles...... bumped into the American family at their hotel so we went for a civilised dinner altogether.. free bottle of VERY COLD red wine on them too so didnt do so bad.. food was great for how they live - diced beef, soup and nana split... all in candlelight this time. A bit achy from all the walking (10 miles maybe in total), we slept for hours oopsie....
Mon 3rd: We caught our morning boat back to Copacabana - completely over-piled with gringos and a couple of locals... really shocked the thing didn't sink as the motor was struggling ........certainly wouldn't pass health and safety regs back home. Back ashore, I only had an hour or so to quickly look around the town before lamentably returning to La Paz again due to time pressing issues. Left Tina behind to continue her holidays but promised to meet up again on my next tour in the Rurrenabaque savana lands. Finding myself in the capital once more, I promplty sorted my travel on to Rurrenabaque (Rurre)....Opted for a scenic domestic flight in lieu of a hardcore dodgy 20 hour local bus journey passing via the world's most dangerous road in daylight etc. Whinced at the cost difference but felt a lot more secure and thought it would def be worthwhile..... Btw there were no problems to report regarding rebellions in the elections! So, a day of admin really not too exciting so will leave at that eh..
4th: arrived at the airport at 5:30am for my half an hour flight to Rurre... the plane was so weird - just 1 seat aisles 10 seats long... looked like a tunnel inside and headroom was more targeting dwarves I sware... Bolivians are generally short, but not THAT short like. I mean even the Aurigny yellow Joey planes take the mick on that front! Nonetheless, the flight itself was awesome.. smooth, confy though cold.. and had incredible views of the mountains seemingly a few feet below us, then swiftly changing to the jungle and grassland type. Met an English couple of the flight and decided to join forces with them and spontaneously pay for a tour with their agency via a rep who was waiting to collect them at the airport.. Cushty no work involved package....3 days tour of the "pampas" ie low wetland grassy savanas....all inclusive eg basic accom food, ativities, transport...
So Day 1 of tour: left bright and early at 9am from the family-run agency in town (incidentally, I instantly warmed to the humid, dirt track based village town whih seemed to boast in character.) We were joined by a French couple to make 5 people in addition to the guide, a 4x4 driver, an assistant guide, a cook and assistant cook........that's it.... all squeezed into this old banger of a jeep but it was authentic for sure... very bumpy 3 hour drive to the shore of the river Yacuma from where we would start our tour... On the way, we spotted a few stray wildlife eg 2 sloths which were a lot smaller than the ones I saw in Costa Rica...also stubborn and hid in the trees.. camouflaged due to beigey brown complexion.. hmmm...We passed through a couple of villages en route and entered into the National Park area at lunchtime... By the time we arrived at the port, it was incredibly humid and beating with sun.. a pleasant but abrupt change in weather from the altitudes of the capital and lake islands.
All boared the wooden long slim boat and we made our way along the river to our lodging. The crew were a great laugh and we spotted many animals on our way - chiefly turtles and alligators, not forgetting many diff species of birds... Lunch was a feast - sort of beef stew with ice, yuca, veg and goregous fresh grapefruit juice. As for the accom: well yes it was very basic indeed.... wooden hut for communal bedroom consisting of a bed, mattress and mozzie net each with candles for illumination.. Dinidng rooms was a separate hut, very spacious... food cooked on a stove with wood burning and all that... The toilet was a bit disfuntional in that there was this familiar white basin randomly stuck in the ground with a wind-breaker like enclosure to keep business-doing a little private. Twas seatless with paper to be chucked in a pit in front to be burnt when it sufficiently accumulated beyond acceptability in terms fo size and smell.... Water to manually flush came in the form of bucketed fresh but murky river extractions lol so all in all a bit silly... may as well of had a purely bush toilet procedure... Showers - no sir.. shortly to be installed but I resisted jumping in the river unlike the guides!!!!!
Our first activity was a 3 hour observation trip along the river.... pink dolphins,macaws, herons, turtlees, eagles, vultures, capivaras (world's largest species of RODENT - like rat stroke pig stroke otter type thing...
webbed feet an body adapted to water..a little shy but they roam in groups and look knda cute.) The guide seemed very knowledgable and enthusiastic with good humour...and spoke nearly wholly in spanish which I wasn't complaining about....We would turn off the motor and get close up to the animals before explanations of how they live and that. Nice.
The day ended with a docking at a prime sunset viewing point up on the boggy marshlands...Dinner came in the form of a garlic spag bol (a recuring staple diet in Bolivia methinks.) Pallllenty to go round amongst the tourists and workers alike. Night-time outing was a caiman/alligator eye reflection spotting with a short walking tour after.....
Not that exciting really, probably due to the fact I had recently done a similar thing in the Peruvian rainforest. A few intriguing specimens of frog & nocturnal sleeping birds were seen in addition to many alligators lurking around the boat and in the distance....in fct a lot of time was dedicated to explaining star constellations. With nothing better to do and limited light, we all went to bed early, sticky and oily from the excessive repellent and sun screen dosages (still managed to get bitten on hands an elbows even with 100% deet sensibly applied at intervals.. bah)
5th: slept surprisingly well and ready to go on our day 2 mornign activity - anaconda hunting. saw just the one youngun measuring about 1.5metres, happily weaving through teh mashland... Guide Freddy grabbed it for us and dropped it on the floor for photos and chit chat... was friendly and non poisonous so happy days......Was chuffed to see that one due to the chances....spent the remainder of the morn walking parallel to the river spotting more birdslike woodpeckers and stalks. In the aftee, we all tried our luck at piranha fishing off the ide of our boat with small basic rods...
Apparently we would have to eat our catches for supper that eve.... had great fun and ened up catching a couple of babies which had to be put back in the river. Between the group we got 2 big ones in addition to the 3 the guide caught with ease......On our return to camp, we saw our first group of monkeys... howlers....tiny ones so hard to observe...
Dinner: thankfully we were treated to a normal spread as well as trying our fishies.... once the head had been dicapitated and the big spine bone and teeth removed, what was left though succulent and tasty, was very scarce haha... not salty or tangy so I enjoyed picking...
The following morning would be our sunrise moment so once again, no partying......
6th (say 3): I was in charge of alarm clock setting so I settled for 5 30... we zoomed off zombified along the river to get a good view and on our way, we saw a dead, decapitated anaconda -seized by an eagle apparently then soon to be attacked by turkey vultures... this one was bigger so it is amazing how the bird swoops down ad kills it. The skies were bright and amongst the thin clouds, the huge sun slowly rose. After a gorgeous but stodgy brekkie of pancakes, cookies and fried stuff, we had our final group exursion.. Highlight! though none of us gringos dared to enter in the murky, alligator and goodness knows what infested waters, the guide did so... just to show us how it was swimming with the dolphins, which circled round in good numbers... spent most of the time trying to capture just one good shot or video of them lol...... had pinkish backs and were uite small but not too shy....Apparently they protect us humans agains the alligators when swimming etc.. hmm. On our way back, we had the delight of seeing a 3metre long caiman close up.... shot like lightening in the water though was highly amusing watching all the turtles and alligators jump and nose dive in to the water as our boat was passing.. We had a near miss whilst traversing this shallow patch where a tree had fallen down across our path.. the motor seemed to crunch and nearly conk out but we were fine.... oars were at the ready just in case, however... Following our last lunch we returned inboat to the jetty and then in jeep back to Rurre to spend the night... the ride was rough as but the cheesy US/UK popmusic was pumping aloud so we had a laugh...... Was glad to be back to civilisation once more and to have a shower..........managed to track Tina down who had returned from Copacabana so we all went out and ate together.
7th: After a bit of oohing and aahing about whether to hang around for an extra day in Rurre or not, I decided it would be best to leave and prepare for moving across to Chile as my funds were limited, had no bathing gear and restricted spare clean clothing plus I knew the bus ride back would be in the region of 20hours....sooooo, despite having a free accommodation offer, I had to think of reduced time in Chile thus upped and leaft..Missed Tina at the bus station as she rudely slept in so that wasn't a nice way to leave but c'est la vie.
Most interesting story to tell to date: Our bus was the first to leave at 9am..a dodgy local bus with 99% bolivians on it...was recommended this company from the tour agency boss due to pleasant longish food and stretch stops throughout the whole journey.... but Tina had recommended another one due its record of having the fewest (virtually none ever) breakdowns and falls off the death road............ anyways, the journey was hellish.... no air con, seats uncomfy and not v spacious, weather hot and sticky....lunch and dinner stops over an hour long each..... we broke down once in the afternoon and had to jump out for 45 mini whilst the "service" of the bus was taking place..involved 3 men climbing under the front and hammering away at soem part of the chassis and knowking things in place etc.. saw some wooden planks for support even.. one fat guy (driver) was standing on this crow bar thing wedged diagonally between the front passenger wheel and something else....funny!!!! lots of banter happening and passengers surrounded the action whilst others sat on the edge of the road eating fruit liek monkeys. .... eventually got back on track and all was hunky dory.....By this time, a couple of the other buses had caught us up and people were moaning at this lol....
After a late dinner, we revved on a few hours until something in the engine or petrol tank was iffy and the bus started to jump and jerk intermittently...got to a break spot where the crew revised the vehicle briefly before carrying on...... once 5am came the bus was jumping like a cat on hot bricks every time a gear was changed and by 6am, after stubbornly continuing on 5metres at a time, the bus came to a grinding hault and remained stationary...... did not find out the exact problem but after half an hour, the majority of passengers decided to gather belongings and get off...some angry, some seemingly little bothered, some indifferent...obviously such tings as spare busses, recovery services, passenger priorities don't exist in corrupt Bolivia let alone onward journey plans free of charge etc.. No, we just waited whilst the sun warmed our weary and cold souls up....and boarded this huge lorry sitting in the back in the open air on the floor lol...was typical hitch-hike style..completely safe since they stopped before we flagged 'em down and the dozen or so Bolivians easily got us a free ride to La Paz.... 2hour trip along dusty rocky roads.......DEATH ROAD for most of it lol.. broad daylight and birds' eye views of the steep high cliff faces as we weaved along the hills and passed the oncoming traffic giving was to us by law.... I sware the road can barely be a metre wide each side of this lorry...scary but exiting and a great laugh like...
got chatting to locals who asked where I was from etc then pursued to rant on about how poor the country is (planet's poorest??! not)and that it feels like a depressed US colony deprived and all that.....told me to spread the news in the media and all. quite patriotic lol......
(8th) So I safely got taxied back in to the capital at 10 am.... 25hours after initially leaving Rurre.. no sleep or shower and very hungry.....but relived to get back and still grinning at the adventure....all me stuff was stored in the same hostal as before so I was quicky clean and back to humanity....had no real plans for the day expect for chilling and poss cathing the 3rd place world up play-off match..... oh - walked as far as the posher hotel and shopping zone of the city and took in the sights.. many parks, footy pitches lined side by side, high rise hotels emerging from the mountains, a circus etc... very tranquil.......... dined at the hostal caf and attempted to recover lost sleep as Chile bus was leaving at 6am following day...
9th: bye bye La Paz and Bolivia and HELLO CHILE. an actual amooth-riding hassle free international journey across to Arica, northern Chile...had 2 "meals" served aboard and staff were friednly when it came to border crossing procedures..... very smooth but conscientious inspections on the Chilean side...........passed parque nacional Lauca.... very wide and full of wildlife and frozen lakes etc..flattish.......arrived in Arica at world cup final kick off time but first had the shock of struggling to find a basic hostal due to a mass arrival of Chilean army soldiers for some event....... landlord directed me in other directions and ended up content in a nice little central place.... had cable TV....... so caught second half and extra time of final.... how cruel penalties can be! For the rest of the day I wondered, but the town was deserted..prob coz a sunday and prob coz of football screening..... Arica is a moderately big city at the foot of the dry mountains..hailed as a beach resort but not that aesthetically pleasing...knew would only stay one night and day....
10th: revitalized, I went for a little hike through the centre doing the typical building snaps and squares.... a few nice plazas a nice port but nothing more...best thign was a church designed b Eiffel. The main activity was walking up to the famous battefield site where Chile fought against Peru in the war ofthe pacific in 1880 to conquer Arica as Chilean territory henceforth..... Is set up on the brown mountains encompassing the city, and consists of a museum (good), statue of mary and jesus, tomb and panoramic watchpoints...... nice walk to take me up to lunchtime....In the mid aftee, I boarded yet another bus to take me 5 hours down the coast to Iquique, hailed as the northern Chilean beach resort... Had a thoroghly exciting encounter with the interdepartmenatal customs officers mid way down.. unnecessary!!!!! so silly... and chaotic.... 1 passneger on our bus had her phone stolen without even feeling anything...quite ironic thetheft happened at a control point haha... we stayed stationary for 15mins with the crew wondering whether to get us off the bus again or carry on.. no signal either to try and call it..... could have been another passenger from another bus...
Was ever so impressed with the QUALITY of the bus..semi recliners, foot rests, headphones, air con, nice loo, Tv, snacks, clean.... amazing!!! Met this mid-aged local man who after conversing with me, randomly offered me his room that he rents from a lady whilst on businesss..... i thought it nice but had to deny subtly as couldnt be sure he was genuine... was just me....shame...
Got to beach resort destination, Iquique.
Promptly headed to this crazy family-run hostel....Name translates as "Teachers' guesthouse"...owner is a mid-aged snobby lady, with her allegedly simple-minded son helping out, and the grandmother literally on death's door... plus a maid (cleaner,cooker) and this Peruvian handyman/butler.... interesting set up in THEIR Home... have to pass throught the dining room and that to get to the patio where most of the rooms are found.. 2 cabin hut things and 1 big dorm where I obviously lodged... Collided with a gay American dude, Jesse (been living in a Chilean town or 5 months as exchange student, so a handy and reliable info/advice source), a sound English guy (Steve), a mad mid-aged single Kiwi bloke (John) and finally a mid-aged confused English chap (Gary). The latter two were soft drug talk obsesssed so after a while I left the communal patio/drinking area and got some winks..
11th: Iquique is a moderately populated coastal city, set at the foot of the sandy Atacamanian desert hills......mild climate this time of year (autumny ie low tourist season)so not bad....the hostel lads went paragliding off the mountain tops over the city and coast, so I tagged along to see... Had already done a more spectacular glide in French lake/mountain region so wasn't to enthused. Mind you, apparently, here is one o best places to do it in Lat America - conditions wise rather than aesthetically pleasing views.....seemed a good laugh... Whilst they were ascending, I took the opportunity to familiarise myself with the place and so wondered along the promenade....visiting a small, free, exposed marine zoo and walking an hour alongthe coast.
After the jumps, we finally got our lunch.... treat - John recommended this 3 course nice cheapish place and we certainly weren't disappointed...had ceviche (small marinated fish pieces in lemon juice and herbs, salad style) to start, then fish and spuds for main and flan for desert....not impressed by Chile national beer though! only complaint.. Come 5pm we emerged stuffed and decided to walk the beach and see an average sunset before returning to the madhouse and drinking a beer.....From there, we were all up for a night on the razz...long due..In Bar Barracuda, we perched oursleves on the bar and consumed "happy hour" 2x1 beers till 1:30am...chatted to bar staff and learnt wacky things about the hostel quad.... Gary ended up chundering at the hostel but i had a sensible amount! proud to leave them to it and crash out.
12th: late simple brekkie and then bought supermarket goodies for a lazy day lying on beach. wasn't quite warm enough to dip in the sea but relaxed all same. some locals were in wetsuits adn trying to surf on a swimmer's beach.. OK. At night, me and Jesse returned to Barracuda and had to try out this HUGE vicuna (llama family) steak...seriously big with huge etending bone.... shared between two... rather bloody but damn tasty...washed down with lcoal vino blanco.. cant go wrong mate. afterwards, just moped around looking at the city by night... early sleep.
13th: Festival outing witha funny ending.... despite the persistence and frowning of hostel owner ANITA at our rejections of tour offers organized direct in favour of going solo, (she actually told Jesse "I liiiiiike your money" in her distorted english accent!) we went to neighbouring village La Tirana at lunchtime for the Festival of its patron Saint, Maria Del Carmen... the place is very small and dusty and ridiculously hot (in micro climate at top of sandy dunes)...alcohol is NEVER sold of drunk up there....... the festival culminates with a mad bloody procession on bare knees and elbows to the church as a weird sacrifice... thankfulyl we only witnessed a mid week variety of dancing and processions with bands... forsome reason there is a strongchinese influence here in that the fab costumes and masks look like chinese style. all ages opf people took part and the town came alive....nice street foodstalls/fair stalls and all that to accompany.....nice atmosphere...
Ah, on the way we got stopped AGAIN for a suspect stupid police check....
apparently they were trying to prevent thieves from entering the plae but only looked at ID cards and that was that..... we had no docs on us due to being advised to leave all behind at hostel so had to confirm identity via radio lol... Jesse expressed his annoyance but that was that.
ooooh... and on the way back 4 hours later, there was a fight.........YES.... 1 silly young local guy refused to pay bus fare or said would pay up at the end...but he got off the bus and the conductor grabbed him by the neck and proceeded to argue etc.. then he tried to run off and nearly got run over..then in theparking lot, there was a bit of a scrap which ended ni the conductor throwing the guy back first on the ground andthen the cops arriving and arresting him.... weird sceario but certainly woke us all up!!! Jesse ran straight over to get a good view, thoroughly amused by the bizarre situation...
ANYHOW.........that eve those still left ie me, Jesse and Steve had an all you can eat Brazilian buffet in this neat palce tucked off the central grid........were pretty much the only guests so scoffed ourselves silly. Once again, I had to make tracks and squared bill at the hostel before boarding a night bus....an indirect service via Calama to San Pedro de Atacama near Argentinian/Bolivian border.
14th: had to get off bus at 3am for yet another regional BAGGAGE AND PASSPORT check int he freezing cold... of course the customs officers did little more than bat an eyelid and then sent us on our way (after unloading and loading our gear)..... 6am get to Calama and had to waitinthe terminal freezing ass off once more... after an 8am connection, arrived shortly after in groovay San Pedro... undisputed northern Chile backpackers' turf where prices are sky high (European standards) and locals are few and far between....the town consists of a plaza with church, townhall and tourist bureau, then several streets branching off.... every other shop is a bike hire, tour agency,hostel,internet caf or corner shop lol....
Reason for high tourist population all year round is due to the nature and variety of tours, day trips, and scenery surrounding the area. I mean, everyother group is of French-speaking due to the outdoor activity abundance... horse-riding, cycling, hiking, climbing...... etc etc... something to see and do 3korso in every ccompass cardinal point direction...ranging form geysers to salt flats to ruins to hot springs....valleys....
Now.... coming to the best bit now...accommodation for the 2 days...... Jesse had been there the week before and had recommended this unusual but unique rustic place.... this woman who runs a kiosk chiefly targeted at passing lorry and bus drivers passing over the official CUSTOMS point crossing to Argentina. she has been doing up her rustic housing and making it into a guesthouse......has 1 room ready at mo..... price is half thatof the central hostels.... hot water to shower is geenrated from a manally it wooden fire stove outdoors lol.. chickens dogs and cats are roaming about happily... get the picture?
Senora Nancy's former kitchen and lounge have now been taken over by a cool chilean chef............he is renting a room at her palce whilst beingthe OWNER of the eating quarters... equally wants to transofrm that part into a troursity gastronomical gourmet place BUT ata goodprice to rival the extortionate central resturants....so he has barely got things runnning.... once a week, Carlos has to go to Calama, 3hrround trip and buy fresh food to equip himself.....
So....that morning I dumped my stuff in my nice room with ensuite facilities (family of4 live in box-sized rooms though?!) ... had breakfast local style at the market for great value........ then booked myself on the cheapest tour I could find to see the death valley,moon valley and sunset......3pm departure and 7pm return......consisted of an outing to diff places with a guided explanation in spanish.. first say dinosaur valley (rock formations ressemble)..from there we could see a bitofthe Atacama salt falts.. nothing on the Bolivian one though....afterwards we saw the death valley (name of disputed origin - 2 most plausible theories are that the Belgian discoverer badly pronounced the spanish translation of Mars Valley (Valle de la Muerte = death instead of Valle de Martes = planet Mars)...OR death valley beacuse the ancient indigenous people had to walk long distances with their livestock in weather extremes - freezing cold by night and backing hot bye day in the world's dryest desert where no rainfall has been recorded in 50 years in this sector.. no clouds... world's clearest skies here constantly..... ie much livestock etc perished ie DEATH........ despite the disputed name origin, the scenery and craters were stunning... we walked 30 mins down the valley in between the sauring sandy rocky mountains, taking in the vivid formations..........
Onward bound to the moon valley... easily associated due to its flat, cratered surface with several mounds and white coating etc......lovely...... we then mounted the dunes and sat downin tby the masses to watch sunset...dead quiet with beautiful skies spanning 360os. Obviously the stars began to flood the sky which was special.... made me think of home a bit I have to admit..
Was slightly diappointed to learn that Carlos the chef back at my "home" had gone to buy supplies so had to settle for a burger in local tea shop....was shattered after previous night travelling and the day's activities, so went to bed early and warpped up for 0oc overnight temperature (which I Felt non of- yay)....
15th: Had anticipated Steve's arrival (English chap from Iquique) that morning as he was following my route basically... cool.... so picked him up and got Senroa Nancy to set up another bed in my big room and so she did contently.. very happy to have to company and business...... likewise, I told Carlos I would definitely be dining there that night as Jesse had raved about his cooking..... He lived for first 15years of life in Lima, Peru as dad Peruvian... then went to live with divorved mother in Chile capital, Santiago where he studied home ec..... graduated from theonly french gastronomical college in the continent a few yers back and has since left Santiago, stressed out from cosmopolitan life...made a break for touristy San Pedro, some 20 hours north and has started this catering business recently....generally only feeds thehungry lorry drivers but is devising a masterplan for adverts, furnishings...you name it.....
In the day, I met up with this young Chilean guy Juan Pablo whonow lives with family in Valencia, Spain..... met him on the valley tour the day before and we agreed to accompany eachother on an intensive biking circuit.......firt went to the musuem whichcontained all about the Atacamanian civilisation pre inca to post spanish colonization....... had frightfully humane mummies there:
......tools, models, artificats of all description. fascinating. Hired our decent quality mountain bikes and purchased our bakery goodies for lunch..............off we set...
Now, Juan-P (JP) is a keen cyclist......so I was sceptical about his ambitious 60k roundtrip to hot springs in Puritama and back (36miles ie De La Salle school walk distance round the Island of JERSEY in 10hours or so!!!!)..he was interested so I agreed...neither of us had our swim suits and I couldn't bebothered to continue cycling along this seemingly neverending long road with the imposing volcanoes never getting any closer.........
soooooo we ended up returning half an hour into the ride... he admitted it was mad!!!
Instead, we did my preferred excursion, comprising of 4 diff places of interest, with at least some varying topography and sights along the way...was a 35k loop in total with long stop offs...
Replensishedwith water and sunscreen we made our way at a nice pace.....first call was Pakara de Quitor - some ruins 3k north of San Pedro.....being chilean, JP scammeda discounted entrance fee and we climbed the ruins to get a panoramic view of the valley,town and mountains in the background. had a long late lunch there andmoved on 2 mins up road to the Cueva Del Diablo or Devil's Cave.. with no torch or ligther betwen us, we dumped our bikes and entered the cave regardless only after ensuring it was safe and doable....after dirtying our clothes and scarmbling up and down the stones and feeling our way in the pitch black, we emerged into broad daylight a couple of times through the cave. was a cool adventure.......
3RD stop was the Quebrada Del Diablo or Devil's gorge/ravine...another 3 or 4ks north..had to first cross a river by taking off shoesand walking bike across it was that deep... entered in the thingy and cycled around this narrow, windy route with the rocks towering above and leaning over us......quite funky.... could see the sun starting to set above us so we exhited and headed back...eliminating Catarpe archeological site/ruins from our agenda. Made it as far as the initial Quitor site and climbed the ruins high enough to appreciate the sunset....again, pure silence to the extent one could hear ears ringing......the ticketman was chasing and whipping this cheeky sheep which kinda spoiled the moment but hey.
All in all, a nice envigorating hardcore offroad bike ride but ended up more tanned and feeling fit......
The day fo course ended with a great meal at the residence with Steve and other recruited eager diners. though we waited til 8:30 or so to eat, the wait was unquestionably worth it...starter was a spanish tortilla, and main was chicken... but everything was prepared from scrath and by Carlos alone..... loads of herbs, spices, sauces and love/passion added tothe taste.... was a right laugh and very impressive....could see him preparing away contently in the kitchen visible through a hatch... no complains especially for the price..within 6 months or so, I see him with a hugely successful rustic touristy restaurant with many choices on the menu..staff employed and decor amazing...Equally, for Senora Nancy....if peoplelike me keep spread ing the word, can envisage her having a very busy home!....painting and furnishing is in progress for both aprties already, in what is REALLY a basic, poor environment.....
Come 11pm we finish our night caps courtesy of the house and chill in front of the tele to the likes of finding Nemo and news.
16th: sadly had to leave San P for pastures new due to time restrictions not at all due to boredom....really could have done with a day extra there to do anotehr activity and sample more exquisite food..did have beakkie there......ample coffee and this delicious omelette with spanish sausage (chorizo) and cheese....properly garnished again... certainly puts my bread roll and scrambled eggs brekkie to shame throughout Peru and Bolivia lol!!!
By 10 30 am I had abandoned the town and was making my way to Antofagasta......5hours trip..thankfully no customs stops (think it's due to drug smuggling issues above all, but unheard of checking frequencies!!!).....got here today mid pm and decided immediately I would continue on to La Serena tonight.... Antofagasta is not at all pretty except for spme English Georgian period architecture a clock tower ressembling Big Ben in the main square.... port smelly and ugly and city centre plain...did a once over of the basics in 3 hours and then sat down to write the second half of this blog before 12 hour night bus to wonderful La Serena...may meet Steve there.
Will only be treating you to a couple more of these wrestched blogs now as only have 5or so weeks left.. Nooooo.. Do think I'll be ready to come back to home life at end of Aug though but not necessarily "face the music".
Well done to all those 2006 uni graduates. May the summer vibes be with you all!
Ciao for niaow.
A ",)
