Pampas and Jungle

The Pampas tour was a 2.5 hour drive down another potholed and muddy road. Our driver was essentially a lunatic and although we had one small stop (we came off the road in the mud and we had to push the car back out) we made the journey in 2 hours less than the other buses!

We were then put on to a motorised canoe and headed through the river (a nice calm, gentle one) towards our camp. We stopped along the way to see some animals that were alongside the river bank before finally getting to our accomodation.

A few of the animals we saw from the boat

Our accomodation was situated in mosquito heaven.....or for us mosquito hell! These bastards were as big as your thumb nail with the appetites of starving men. The only way to escape them was too be on the boat going fast so they blew away or in the middle of the day as the heat got too much for them.

Sometimes not even that helped as they sheltered under the seats on the boat and could bite through jeans! Alana ended up with a backside resembling a pepporoni pizza and I was covered in bites all over my back. Our only escape was under our mozzy nets at night which thankfully worked very well.

In the evening we went Caiman hunting on the boat with our torches and spotted a few along the banks and one small one alongside the boat.

In the morning of the second day we went looking for Anaconda. We trudged around a stinking, fetted swamp in a vain search for a snake. We were not successful. On the way back however we did spot a snake swimming in the water ahead of the boat, not an Anaconda but atleast we had seen a snake!!

Searching for Anacondas

When we got back we had the first proper shower in four days. We and I am sure the others around us were pretty happy.

After lunch we went looking for the elusive Pink Dolphins to swim with. It wasnt long before we started to see a few of them but they werent interested in hanging around and playing with us, which in all honesty with fine as none of us really wanted to get into the water!

We managed to see quite a few dolphins but they were extremely difficult to photograph.

They were right there......we promise!

After our final night we were meant to watch sunrise over the Pampas but it was raining so we managed to sneak a couple of extra hours sleep. In the morning we went Pirhana fishing. This proved fruitless and we later heard that it was almost impossible to catch Pirhanna in the wet season as they are to spread out and prefer to head to clean water rather than the swamp. It was worth a try though.

Who has the biggest crocodile grin??

The Pampas tour was good and although we didnt catch Pirhanna or see an Anaconda we really enjoyed it. Among other animals, we did get to see:

• Caiman
• Alligators
• Toucans
• Sloths
• Pink Dolphins
• Capawara (largest rodent in the world)
• Howler Monkeys
• Titi Monkeys
• A range of different birds
• Spiders
• Lizards
• A swimming snake
• and Turtles

After a brief night back in Rurrenabaque we were on the jungle tour. This had been paid for by the tour agency as a replacement for our rafting trip.

We headed into Madidi National Park by boat. Once moored we had to help carry our supplies along with our things into the jungle accomodation. Before getting there we had to cross a river up to our thighs and then across a tree trunk spanning another river/muddy hole which I of course fell into! Gutting after only just getting all of our washing done the night before from the rafting trip!

The jungle tour consisted of 3 walks into the jungle. Two day walks and one night one. One of the day walks was for animals and the other for plants.

The jungle trip was completely different to the Pampas and we really enjoyed it. We were quite lucky and we able to see quite a few animals on our walks (usually it is difficult due to how dense the forest is). We were lucky enough to see:

• Wild boar – a small group of around 30 and then the next day a group of over 100!
• A snake (it was really rare to see this type of snake as they usually hide in the water as the boar like to eat them!)
• Tarantula
• Many other spiders – in this area there were 11 species and 9 were poisonous.
• Bullet ants (if they bite it hurts as though you have been shot apparently, for up to 24 hours!)
• Red ants
• Leaf cutter ants (my highlight!)
• More ants
• And more ants
• A massive toad.

Some of the plants we saw that the jungle has to offer included:

• A 'natural viagra' plant
• Jungle weed – doesnt look like cannabis but apparently once the leaves are dried ad smoked it has the same affect.
• A plant that helps with arthritis
• A garlic tree
• One that helps if you have been bitten by a snake
• LOADS of hallucinagenic plants

After these two trips we flew back to La Paz in an 18 seater plane/coffin, straight down to the tour company to get our bus tickets/speak to them about a partial refund and then onto Potosi.

The Rafting Trip

The Tour Company Jargin (my own words).

The rafting trip is a pleasant 5 day, 4 night trip casually drifting down the river marvelling at the beautiful landscape flanking you. From tropical cloud forest to deep and awe inspiring canyons the rafting trip is the quintisential way to see the jungle and reach your destination of Rurrenabaque.

When not slowly meandering round the graceful curves of the river there will be stops for us to explore the rainforest, experience the flora and fauna and swim in beautiful lagoons and waterfalls.

At night you will camp on the side of the river or in local communities adding to the experience of a lifetime by hearing the nighttime calls of the jungle.

This is an experience you will not forget!

For more information go to www.deep-rainforest.com

The Reality.

It did not start well.

We were due to leave at 5am, so at 4:50am we were up, washed, clothed, packed and ready to go. We got downstairs to our hostel reception to be given a message, delivered the previous evening that informed us that we would now be leaving at 7am! Brilliant! We trudged back upstairs, got back into bed and then just as we were falling back asleep we awoken to the call of our reception clerk telling us our taxi had arrived.

We were met downstairs by our guide for the trip, Ivan and loaded into the back of our car before picking up two girls that were also on our trip from another hostel. They were Trine and Muni from Denmark.

Over the next 7 hours we drove to Guanay along the road that we would have taken if we had gotten the bus. It was potholed, muddy, thin and dotted with landslides – we were all thankful that we were in the car rather than the bus as we fish-tailed around the corners.

Once in Guanay we were given a couple of hours to ourselves before we were to return and start the trip down river. We amused ourselves with a couple of beers and set about getting to know each other a little better.

When we returned to our meeting place we were informed that we were unable to start the trip as one of our guides had been drinking since midday and was now not only completely shit faced but had also gone AWOL!

Due to this fact we were put up in a hotel for the evening instead of camping (as you can imagine....gutted!). We were particularly happy with this outcome when, in the middle of the night it started to rain. Monsoon rain. It rained so heavily that we had to move our bed away from the window as rain was coming in and hitting us (there was no glass in the windows just mozzy nets). By the following morning however, the rain had almost cleared up (a bit of drizzle) and we were set to start our trip.

Over breakfast I enquired with our guide if it would still be safe to go on the rafting trip given the amount it had rained the night before. We were told it would be no problem. This tour had been running for many years and besides we had experienced guides with us.

We then got to the river and saw our raft.......

I am unsure why I am holding my life jacket so weirdly, I think after seeing the raft and the speed of the water my nerves took over!!

So, our raft was little more than inner tubes, bamboo and bailer twine. Excellent! On top of that was to sit, our luggage, the food, tents, stove and 8 fully grown people. Add to that the river was now a raging torrent with whole trees and logs drifting downstream and we had us one hell of a rafting trip/group suicide depending on your point of view!

As we clambered aboard this ten year olds summer holiday project, the people of the town started to appear on the bank of the river to see off these crazy Gringos.....would we be stupid enough to leave.....yes, it appears that in fact we would!

Barely 20 minutes into our trip we were forced to stop at an abandoned (for the wet season) gold mine along the side of the river to fix a puncture. A puncture in a raft. Wonderful! Yet another omen we decided to ignore.

The raft waiting for its puncture to be fixed!

Sitting quite low in the water...

The girls drifting merrily, merrily, merrily downstream (about 5mins later all hats in this picture were MIA!).

Puncture fixed we were back on the raft, crashing through rapids as we headed quickly downriver. By now, although we were wearing rainjackets and ponchos over our lifevests we were soaked from the waves of muddy river water that had crashed over us but were having quite an enjoyable time. Then we started to come round a bend.

Up ahead was the worst rapids we had seen. The central wave about as high as me (atleast 6ft) was looking daunting as we headed straight to it. The main guide started shouting at the other guide in Spanish, I started to shout 'Paddle', we all braced ourselves, the outcome was inevitable. We hit the wave and were immediately flipped into the raging torrent of muddy water.

Given the (bordering on child abuse) dunking I had been given by my father in my childhood everytime we were near water and the fact I am a reasonably strong and confident swimmer I didnt panic to much as I hit the water, found I was still under the raft and pulled myself out. When I surfaced however I was the only one out. Shit! I thought I had been under for a longtime and I knew Alana would be panicking hard. Either that or she could now be half way down river with one of our bags that had come loose and was a good 200m away.

Soon after however, Alana's head popped up out of the water, a brown mustache of mud on her face and I hauled her onto the now upturned raft. Now everyone else started to appear. Trine was up on the other side of the raft, the guides were out, so was Ivan. Muni and our cook Carmen (also Ivans wife) however, we still nowhere to be seen!

Alana then spotted them both. They were still under the raft with only their heads sticking through the inner tubes! Carmen had been hanging on to a rope when we capsized, a rope that had managed to intwine itself around her wrist so that she was now stuck under the raft. Muni, not being a strong swimmer had panicked and not wanted to let go of the raft incase she drifted away. Ivan helped Carmen and Alana saved Muni while I helped the guides get back the few bits and pieces that were floating along side us as we hurtled, now completely at the whim of the river downstream.

We all clambered back onto the upturned raft, now sitting on the inner tubes while our bags acted as buoyancy and the head guide managed to steer us into the side of the river using the only 1 of 3 paddles we had left (typically the one that was already broken!). Once safely at the side we disembarked our vessel and the girls headed up the steep bank, while the guides untied the remaining bags from under the raft and Ivan and I hurled them up to the girls.

Once all the bags were off it appeared that we had gotten lucky and that the only bag missing was the one containing the camping stove. All our bags were safe and thanks to the waterproof bags Alana and I had been given for Christmas a couple of years ago, the majority of our things were still dry. Infact all we lost were one of Alana's flip-flops/jandles and her hat. Unfortunately although not lost, Alana's camera had gotten wet and died, only to be resurected a few days later, but now with a grime film covering the lens.

Off the raft we were in the jungle. Essentially lost. Thankfully, we found a village about 20mins walk away and to the amusment to the local children, turned up dirty, wet and slightly in shock.

We were to spend the night here.

Once we had managed to get into some dry clothes and have a shower of sorts (the water came from a stream and due to landslides was only slightly less dirty than the water we had come out of), we started to feel a bit better. Alana and I played card games with the local children and tried to dry our clothes in the sunshine.

After something to eat we crawled into our tents quite early. It had been one hell of a day!

We were alive!!

Our resting place for the night.

The following day we were taken back to Guanay. As we passed the river it was evident that the day before the water had been atleast 2metres higher than it was today. We could probably get on the raft again.......not that that was going to happen!

After lunch in Guanay we headed to the next town and caught the bus (the bus we had tried to avoid) the rest of the way to Rurrenbaque.

Once we arrived we were straight on to the Pampas tour.

Bolivia

Copacabana (or just Copa) was our next stop on Lake Titicaka, on the Bolivian/Peru border (we were the Bolivian side). This is the highest natural lake in the world and again an important site for the Incans. It was believed that this was the birthplace of the world and all life had come from here.

Sunset in Copa

The Isla del Sol and Isla de la Lunar (literally the island of the sun and island of the moon) are on the lake. We went on a day visit to the Isla del Sol. After being dropped off on the northern side of the island we had a choice to make. We could either mooch around the Northern side and then catch the boat to the Southern side and do the same OR we could walk from one end to the other over a 5 hour period and then catch the oat back to town. Guess which one Alana decided we were doing!

The trek along the island was quite enjoyable although the sun was quite oppresive and the trek itself took us longer than we had first thought it would. The views were nice and it was good to be able to walk together at our own pace.

Bloody woman!

Alana....sorry, I mean a Llama!!

From Copacabana it was a short bus journey (3 hours) to the Bolivian capital of La Paz.

When we arrived we immediately looked into going to the jungle and pampas. We were told about a boat trip that took us down the river visiting the 3 different types of jungle – the cloud forest, semi tropical jungle and then finally the tropical rainforest. Brilliant! The only problem was it only went on Wednesday and needed 6 people. It was Thursday and there were (including us) only 4 people confirmed! We decided to wait for a week in La Paz as there would surely be more people interested in a weeks time. Plus there was plenty to do in La Paz to keep us occupied.

La Paz

The first tour we did in La Paz was the 'Worlds Most Dangerous Road'. This used to be one of the main roads to La Paz but there were often accidents where motorists would plunge to their deaths 600m below after coming off the side of the one laned road.

We were going on bikes. In the rain. Thankfully the bikes looked to be in pretty good nick and had hydraulic breaks and good tyres. We were also given helmets and elbow/knee pads and gloves to help protect us should we fall off.......the bike that is, not the road!

The tour started on a tarmaced piece of road towards the WMDR so we could get used to the bikes etc. This was fun in itself as it was more than steep enough to get some great speed up without peddling and hoon around the corners.

The WMDR however was a completely different different kettle of fish. It was essentially a track with stones and boulders scattered throughout the desent along with a few waterfalls and rivers running across it. This may not have been the best idea!!

It was fun though and although the views were again a little spoiled it probably made it safer as we were able to concentrate more on the ride and our safety. There have been 28 deaths on the road (well probably the valley below!) since 2008 so the concetration was needed.

The road with waterfalls sweeping across it.

Its a long way down!

The ride was great fun and although our only just dry shoes were once again soaked we would both do it again.

As, while I am writing this I am being looked at over my shoulder, I'll have to conceed that Alana was faster than me and hooned down the road at breakneck speed, even saying at one point that she would like to get into down hill mountain biking!!Bloody idiot!!

Ready for anything!

That night we met up with a couple of Aussies we had met on our trek and went out drinking with them.They were flying out in a couple of days time going back to reality so a big night was needed. It was had!

After getting home a little worse for wear at 5:30am we spent most of the day in bed. When we eventually did get up it was only to go out for dinner with them to the Steak House as they flew out the following morning.

We had an awesome meat platter with steak, Llama, chicken, black pudding, chorizo and ribs accompanied with fries and as much salad as we could eat. Awesome!

The next trip we did was to Chacaltaya (a mountain) and the Lunar Valley.

Chacaltaya used to be the worlds highest ski resort but due to global warming this is no longer the case. In 1940 there was 1km of snow recorded at the resort, in 1980 ½km and now they are lucky to get a metre. Apparently it hardly ever snows........hardly ever that is, unless Alana and Dan are visiting!!

Instead of rain, this time the amazing views of Lake Titicaca, La Paz and Huayna Potosi (a 6088m peak thats popular to climb) were blocked by snow! We did however get to appreciate some of the different coloured lakes on the way up (due to iron, copper and lead deposits from the ground)before heading off to the Lunar Valley.

At the top

Some of the lakes.

The Lunar Valley was located just outside La Paz and has rock formations sculpted by the wind and rain that look (funnily enough) like the moons landscape.

Where's Wally?

OUCH!

A cheeky moon at moon valley!

It had almost been a week of us waiting in La Paz and apart from the drinking, eating and tours we had also managed to get me a haircut (basically shaved on a Number 3 as the barber couldnt understand English and my Spanglish does not go as far as explaining how I want my hair cut!) and visit the witches market. It was now the moment of truth, could we go on our boat tour?

No. We couldnt!

Unfortunately no one else was interested in the boat tour, however the company could offer a rafting trip, following the same course along the river but taking a little more time (2 days). We decided that this was the best option we had, not wanting to get the bus to Rurrenabaque (the Jungle and Pampas) and not being able to fly both ways. 

How naive we were!

Dried Llama fetuses in the witches market - good luck if buried under your house apparently!

A stall in the market.

Machu Picchu

Our apologies for the break in updates, the internet connection in Bolivia was too slow to even try updating, plus we were busy with all sorts of adventures that you will read about shortly.

A brief overview of the BEST coldest, wettest most miserable days of our lives!

We had to get to Cusco a couple of days in advance for our trek to acclimnatise to the altitude so we would not get sick on the trek. We spènt this time looking around Cusco which itself is a beautiful city and buying some souveniers........Alana purchased a new jumper that was so big and woolly it also meant we had to purchase a new bag to keep it in!!

A view from the main square.

Another view from around town

The famous 12 sided stone......go on, count them up!

The Trek

Day One.

We started pretty early at about 5:20am. As any of you that know Alana and I we weren´t the most sociable of people on the trek at this hour! We continued on a bus to a small town and had breakfast, bought some sweets (Snickers and Skittles which would later become lifesavers!!) and a walking stick. This was the single most important and best purchase I have EVER made!
Once breakfast was over and everyone had introduced themselves we continued to the beginning of the trek.
It was an easy trek on the first day with plenty of stops so the guides could gauge everyones fitness. I managed to keep up a relatively good pace even though I was carrying both Alana's and my stuff and 5 litres of water giving the backpack a combined weight of about 20kg's (2 backpack Norton has nothing on me!!).
Even though it was an easy walk we soon learned the difference between gringo flat (actually flat) and Inca flat (steady inclines).......we soon learned to hate Inca flat!!

Our group at the beginning of the trail

She had almost had enough!!

One of the Inca sites on day one

Day Two (The challenge day)

After the good weather of yesterday we awoke o what would become a common occurrence.....rain, well actually a misty fog with intermittent rain. This was actually quite welcome because within 10 minutes we were sweating horrendously as we munched on our coca leaves (taste not recommended!!) and began to climb 1200metres up to 4200metres above sea level. The beginning of the day wasn't too bad but then we hit 'Dead Womans Pass'. This was a killer! We trudged slowly but surely up these steps refuelling with Skittles that were immediately burnt off.....all the while I was STILL carrying the backpack which I was rapidly becoming to loath!

The little engine that could!

At the top (4200m). The smiles were Skittle fueled....we were buggered!!

Unfortunately as it had been raining (as visible from the photo above) after all our hardwork there was no rewarding view at the top of the pass, our reward came in the form of now being able to go downhill to our camp. This however was probably worse on the legs than going up, but nothing was going to stop us now we had the end in our sights! I couldn't wait to get this bag off me, have a cup of tea and possibly change into some dry clothes (rather than the current ones that were drenched not only with rain but also sweat!).

Our camp on day two. It brightened up as soon as we arrived!

Day Three

We were awoken early again by our guide and our 'tent service' (basically being woken up and offered a tea, coffee, hot chocolate or coca tea at the door of our tent – something I could get used to Alana!!) and set about getting ready for what was meant to be the most beautiful day.

After yet another amazing breakfast we set off on what was to be a far easier day then yesterday. We only had two small passes to cover and a bit of 'Inca flat' before we set about our descent on a staircase that is affectionately known as the 'Gringo Killer'!

Unfortunately after a bright and hopeful start it began to rain again and the clouds and mist set in meaning we were unable to view any of the spectacular scenery that is common on this day of the trek. It did however make us view the beauty that was immediately around us. There were many flowers and plants flanking the trail along with the mountain itself. The others on the trek were of course treated to yet another day of Dan and Alana beauty so they were happy at least!

After our lunch stop we had to pass through the Inca caves where they had carved their route through the rocks to continue their route to Machu Picchu. These were pretty cool although slightly slippy in the wet. We also visited an Incan fortress which was also impressive. They had good planning when it came to where the wanted to place important buildings. Often they are in a position to survey surrounding landscape for miles and in some instances are almost impenetrable.

Eventually we hit the Gringo Killer, which thankfully turned out to be a little easier than expected. Most of our group made such good time that we decided to take the longer route to the camp and visit another Incan site.

When we arrived at the final campsite we were able to have a hot shower (we didnt bother) and have a cold beer (we did bother!!) before having an early night ready for our extremely early start the following day.

Day Four.

As there are many tourists and tour groups along the trail it is important to be up early enough to be one of the first groups to make it to Machu Picchu and hopefully get some good pictures without too many other people in the background.

We started at 3:30am. Yes. Thats right. 3:30am!! In the rain. We quickly made our way to the gate ready to start day four of the trail and were lucky enough to be the third group to arrive meaning we were able to shelter from the rain while all the other groups stood out in it while we waited for the gate to open at 5:30am.

Due to the amount of rain, the gate was late opening as an official had to run along the trail and ensure there had been no landslides during the night. The trail had been closed for the two days previously due to this and the tours had had to descend down the hill and follow the train tracks around to the local town and then bus to Machu Picchu adding an extra two hours to their time and obviously a making it a disappointing way to end the trail.

As soon as the gates opened and we were able to go we were off to a flying start. The weight in the backpack giving me extra momentum, sometimes scarily so. I was doing well and not far behind Alana and the others at the front of our group, overtaking the other tours in front of us and making good time until I hit the climb to the Sun Gate. It was only about 50 steps but they were incredibly steep......I was almost on my hands and knees crawling up them!

The amazing view from the Sun Gate!

The view from this point of the trail is again supposed to be stunning but due to the rain (it was pouring down by now) we were unable to see anything. Before I had time to catch my breath Alana informed me we were off again and we continued our sprint to Machu Picchu.

When we arrived, although soaking wet and completely knackered the view was well worth it and we were exrtremely glad we had decided to go on the trek rather than get the bus. Alana and '1 incredibly heavy backpack Norton' had made it!!

After waiting for the rest of our group to arrive we were taken on a tour of the site. Im not going to lie, it was miserable. Although the tour was really good we were all tired, cold and completely soaked. Even our waterproof shoes were now squelching as we walked around.

After the tour was complete we spent about another 2 hours walking around on our own, although we didnt climb Wayna Picchu (the mountain in the background) as the clouds kept coming in and making visibility almost impossible.

We bused down the hill to the local town (Aguas Caliente) and headed to the hot springs to warm up for a couple of hours, before heading back to Cusco on the train and bus, eventually arriving at 2:30am after an extremely long but most satisfying day.

You may be wondering why the trail to Machu Picchu is so long and hard, or maybe you're not but I'm going to tell you anyway.

Only royalty and important Incan figures were allowed to follow the trail we took. They believed that the higher they climbed the closer they were to their gods and therefore the more divine they could become. Commoners that visited Machu Picchu would climb afar quicker and easier path to the summit.

Although, the site is quite large the main inhabitors were religious figures and Incan astrologers. They experimented a lot with growing different crops at altitudes they were normally unable to grow at (usually coca) and studied the stars intently.

As you may have noted above (I believe I mention it once or twice) I was carrying a heavy backpack throughout the trek which certainly took its toll, however there have been many other people carrying far bigger loads along this trail that deserve a mention.

Firstly were the Incan slaves who would have carried the Incan leaders on thrones along this path when they deemed it necessary to visit Machu Picchu, which must have been overwhelming. The second group of people were our (and other groups) porters who would literally run along the trail carrying twice the weight I was and set up our camp and make our meals. They are incredibly fit and worked tirelessly for us, always with a smile and always with a 'Hola' as they passed!

Our chef Eddy with the cake he had made for our last night. The food was amazing throughout the trip!