Tiwanaku, the Wild West and the Southern Altiplano

We continued our adventures into 2010 with a trip to Bolivia's most important archaeological site, Tiwanaku, set on a barren plane 70km from La Paz. Tiwanaku was the cradle of Andean civilisation, first established in 1,000 B.C. The museum contained some interesting exhibits including trepanned skulls, pottery and mummies. However, the Spanish have left virtually nothing of the treasures that this site once held and we were left somewhat disappointed following the archaeological marvels of the Sacred Valley in Peru.



Our last act in La Paz before heading south was to visit the witches market where we acquired a travelling good luck charm in the form of a small black ceramic llama. Hopefully, with his cheeky grin, he will serve us well!




We packed our llama and headed three hours south to Oruro, a run down tin mining town that has past its prime. Oruro is famous for its elaborate carnaval held in February involving fantastically over-the-top costumes, water-fights and crazy masks. We wandered down the street where the costumes were being made and were in awe of the craftmanship. It's a shame we won't be around to see the party in full swing! We also visited a neat little mining museum administered by nuns with the entrance located in the town's main church. After a steep descent into the mine we paid our respects to 'El Tio' (the Aymaran god of the underworld) by offering coca leaves and money. The mining museum was not the only unusual thing about the church, there were also dark and mysterious murals depicting the contrast between heaven and hell. There were definitely pagan overtones to this brand of Christianity and it was an interesting example of what happens when two sets of beliefs are merged into one.




Our first South American train journey took us from Oruro to the Southern town of Tupiza. We were extremely impressed by the level of comfort and 'bow-tie' service which put British trains to shame. I even got to enjoy a hot chicken dinner as we watched the sunset on the endless horizon of the Altiplano. We arrived in Tupiza to find a town that would not look out of place in a Western movie. The surrounding cactus strewn canyons and red pillars of rock are known as the 'badlands' of Bolivia and played host to the final shoot-out of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid during a botched robbery in 1908.







Despite a childhood allergy, I thought this would be the perfect place to try horseback riding and fulfill my dreams of becoming a cowboy! To my amazement my reaction to the horses was minimal and before long I was cantering on the back of my trusty steed 'Gaucho'. It was an exhilarating moment and I felt truly free as we rode through the spectacular scenery.






After some delicious Argentine steaks and a few days by the pool we headed to Uyuni, a bleak desolate place with very little to recommend it apart from the convenience of booking a Salar de Uyuni tour. Indeed, the main highlight of the town (apart from leaving) was the train cemetery, choo choo. We found a sour, expensive gringo town so promptly got round to booking a tour. Due to the distances covered, lack of roads, wilderness and extremely cold nights, an organized 4x4 tour is pretty much the only way to see this vast area.





So first the bad news -The vehicle turned out to be a lemon, having lost its 122,000 km battle against the salt and rough roads. The food was barely adequate (with ketchup being the most exciting ingredient on offer) and the going tough on our backsides. We broke down about six times in three days and we spent 3 hours on day two amusing ourselves with an old mining tire in a sparrow fart town waiting for the 4x4 to be fixed!

On the plus side we saw some of the most startling scenery in our adventure so far. The salt flats were like an illusion and we took advantage of it to take some artistic shots. We also spent the night in a salt bed in a salt room in a salt hostel. It was interesting but very cold. We also met some wonderful Argentinians who were more than happy to help us with our Spanish.





Over the next few days we visted volcanoes, ogled flocks of flamingos, saw stunningly empty mineral stained lakes and basked in the isolation (apart from the 20 other 4x4´s on the circuit!)
We were also treated to a ´rock tree´and sightings of desert foxes, viscachas (Andean rabbit type creatures) and vicuña (wild realtive of the llama). On the last day we experienced the splendour of the Eduardo Avaroa nature reserve with its geysers, hotsprings and rugged moonscapes. When we got up at 3:30 am we were treated to the most amazing clear night carpeted with stars. The milky way was visible in its full splendour.








Following our southern Altiplano expedition, we now find ourselves in Potosi, the highest city in the world at 4100m! It has a tragic history that we will tell you all about next time.....


Ciao for now! Leon and Lydia

Jungle Tour in Park Madidi and New Year in La Paz

After a chilled out Christmas by the pool we boarded our jungle vessel on boxing day headed for Parque Madidi, an internationally renowned area of outstanding biological diversity. It was like entering a ´lost world´as the boat fought the strong current as we headed up river. Jagged mountain peaks (the last of the Andes before the flats of the Amazon basin) were covered in lush jungle greenery. Our first stop was at an Tacana sugar plantation where we learnt the art of crushing sugar cane. Leon made an especially good substitute for a horse as he almost single handedly turned the giant wooden beam to crush the sugar cane! We then enjoyed the fruits of our labour as we sat down and chugged back a bowl of fresh sugary limeade. The sugar buzz lasted the rest of the journey as we headed to jungle base camp.

We were hosted by an indigenous Tacana community in Camp Mashaquipe, a stunningly rustic collection of thatched huts with hammocks strung between tropical palms. With only our Australian and German amigos we had the place all to ourselves (apart from the resident Macaws, green lizards and TARANTULAS!). Lydia as an arachnophobe, was delighted to be shown the tarantulas living in the thatch roofs of the camp. Thankfully, we did not see any in our sleeping accomodation! Over the next few days and very early mornings (5am!) we were treated to an amazing array of flora and fauna. It was a like a Bear Grylls adventure in jungle survival. The variety of useful plants in the jungle was astonishing. With our guide, Eber, we tried about half a dozen delicious jungle fruits with our favourite being the ´jungle apple´ a delicious brown fruit that tastes just like homemade apple sauce. All we needed was a tasty wild pig! We also learnt how to extract clean water from bamboo, how to navigate, use a machete, find poison for poison darts, treat leishmaniasis, treat stomach ailments with the bark of a red tree and most impressively of all, we tried an anaesthetic plant whose leaves made our mouths instantly numb! However, we also came across a range of ´peligroso´and toxico insects and Leon even found a poisonous snake. The monkeys were a real highlight on our walks and we enjoyed a long argument with a large male howler monkey in the canopy above. We also saw capuchins and black-faced lion tamarins (Leon´s monkey namesake, as Leon means ´Lion´in Spanish).

As well as the nature viewing we also tried our hand at some indigenous crafts and culinary delicacies. We made jewellery entirely from jungle nuts and berries which turned out to be rather attractive pieces. The bonus was that we also got to eat the grubs inside the nuts!

On the last night we camped deep in the jungle, with only a thin mosquito net to protect us from the multitude of nasties and creepy crawlies. It was hard to get to sleep as a twig or branch would break in the bushes whenever you put your head down. Fortunately, our night was uneventful in contrast to our comrades who woke up to find thier campsite under siege by voracious leaf-cutter ants. They cut holes all through their mosquito net and then moved on to our friends shoelaces, favourite shirt, trousers and bedsheets. With their large, strong jaws it took over an hour to de-ant the camp!

The next day we set off early to the Mirador to witness a magnificient spectacle. Macaws come in their dozens to a cliff in Madidi to eat salt, which is necessary to help them process and expel the toxins in the fruits they eat. We were able to look out over an endless expanse of rainforest while groups of macaws swooped, dived and perched all around us. The sound they make is an unforgettable deafening, excitable screech. It was a nature moment we will never forget.

Sadly, it was time to head back. We found out that rather than returning by boat, we would be building a bolsa tree raft and riding it down the Tuichi river back to camp. We tied six logs together with bolsa bark and boarded our semi-submerged, but just about worthy vessel. It was a hilarious and unforgettable ride back to camp as we battled rapids and Leon battled a spider stowaway. No matter how many times Leon ejected our eight legged friend from the raft, like an 80´s horror movie it still managed to find its way back again and again! Thankfully we all made it back in one piece and bite free although rather wet and a little sunburnt.

Following our jungle adventure, we headed back to La Paz for Ano Nuevo. It was a fantastic evening with the night sky lit up with more fireworks than we have ever seen. Naturally we had to join in with our Lebanese bombs, Stealth rockets and firecrackers. To our great amusement the parties lasted all night and into the following afternoon. Indeed, Bolivians don´t do things in half measures!

Best wishes for 2010!

Leon and Lydia