Ridge Runners South America

Back in Nz

2006-05-03T19:49:00.000+12:45

Most of the group arrived back in NZ at 4am this morning. Andrew and Morwen are exploring the Salar, with Hazel staying in South America for another five months. The routes home for both groups were long, the Jungle group having a bizarre stopover in Arica. We were herded off the plane in the blazing midday sun to stand in a stationary queue for 20 minutes, go through immigration, get our bagage xray checked and then sent straight back on the plane. I guess it keeps people in a job. The next stop was Irequiqa and then onto Santiago. The view of the desert, ruggered coastline and then the magestic Andes was great - that is until we started to descend to Santiago when the smog obliterated everything. As we had checked into Chile at Arica, it meant that we were able to go into the terminal and catch up with the Salar group including Hazel. It was great to see them again and catch up with their experiences in the Salar and Chile. All too soon we had to board our flight back to NZ and our first view of rain for a while. The weather we had on the trip was quite remarkable.
My views on the Zongo road follow and hopefully some pictures
We had a great last day on the bikes, with a descent of around 4000m from Chacaltaya to the end of the Zongo road.

Chacaltaya in it's heyday used to be the highest skifield in the world. This was back in the 80s as there was clearly an absence of snow if we could mountain bike down the road from the main buildings. The views of Hyuana Potosi and the surrounding mountains were stunning.

We then blasted down the road to the turnoff to the Zongo turnoff. Here we were back on the jeep for the road to the head of the Zongo valley. The switchbacks began in earnest with altitude being lost very quickly. The road surface was pretty loose in the inside of the corners which made for some hairy moments at times. Add the big drop on one side and it certainly got the adrenalin flowing. The Zongo has about 8 dams in it and provides most of the electricity for La Paz. The engineering feats were certainly impressive. The ride was one great big downhill blast with very little traffic. We had lunch at the local football field where a tournament was taking place over the Holiday weekend (the Monday was May day, kinda like our Labour day). The Bolivians certainly know how to organise a knees up, with pop music blasting out during the game, an early conclusion so that the partying can begin and then a live band to sernade the crowd when they are enjoying the local brew.

After lunch we had the chance to bag a chicken as we passed through a couple of villages. Alas our aim was out so no one had to part with the 3 Bs compensation fee. All too soon the road ended and we celebrated in style with Bill letting off a round (or 2) of fireworks. I think he was a bit miffed that the dynamite hadn't gone off in the Jungle. Boys will be boys...we then had a dip in the river which was clear for once rather than the murky gunge that usually passes for a river in Bolivia.

The Zongo valley was certainly beautiful and we got to experience it on the jeep ride back up.I appreciated this as had been too busy concentrating on riding on the way down. Being fourth or fifth rider in the bunch was certainly interesting as you were essentially trusting the person in front as the view of the road was sketchy due to the dust cloud being wiped up by those in front. It was also great to see a prosperous valley - the power scheme provides the villagers with a good job, and also helps with the local infrastructure.

Then an attempt at washing clothes and out for a very western last meal at Ram jam. I was looking forward to the taxi rides but they were pretty much nonevents as the city had emptied out due to the long weekend.

Over the next couple of days I hope to download some more photos. These will be interspersed with the text of the previous posts (as above). If you want to look at the posts in April then click on the link on the left of the blog "April archive" and they should come up.

All well in La Paz

2006-05-01T15:42:00.000+12:45

A quick note that the Jungle crowd are all in La Paz and expecting to catch the plane tomorrow (Monday) as per schedule.

The group on the jeep from Rurrenabaque had an 18 hour epic getting here in one of the unreliable jeeps we had to get to the Pampas. They had stops to weld the suspension back, repair the brakes and I'm not sure what else. They became very concerned that the driver was too tired to drive and sang to him for some time before he turned the radio up.

The group in the mini van had a superb driver and arrived in 15 hours. We generally stopped for 5 minutes every 2 hours and never for more than 10 minutes. Not sure how that would go in a NZ drivers log book. We also got to drive up the (still incomplete) new road that will replace the WMDR. An incredible feat of engineering that not surprisingly has chewed through $US80m.

Today 7 of us rode from Chacaltaya (5,300) to the bottom of the Zongo (900m). What a buzz. From Ski field to banana belt in less than 3 hours of riding. I have some bruises and scratches on parts of my anatomy that will hurt on the plane tomorrow. Bill sustained some damage to even more delicate parts - both accidents occuring while fooling around at the start and nothing to do with the full-on blast down the rough gravel tracks.

Ross

Salar de Uyuni

2006-05-01T04:42:00.000+12:45

To Uyuni (tuesday)
After such a smooth trip so far, we hit our first snag on the way to Oruro. We were forced to take the overnight bus instead of the train as there was a strike on the line further down and they wouldn{t take the train to Uyuni. Thankfully we still had Mario with us and he recieved several calls advising us of the problem and sorting out the bus. We were the first on the bus to hear about the strike (actually the second one that effected us that day as we did some off-roading on the 1st bus to get around a retired minerss strike). So we had the afternoon in Oruro before leaving on the 2nd but at 9pm.

We arrived in the middle of nowhere at 4.30am and we were taken directly to the Salt Hotel for a few hours of real sleep and the placewas absolute luxury - everyone was impressed. We had a day just chilling there before starting the Salar Trip.

Salar de Uyuni Tour (thu, fri, sat)
Unfortunately we didn{t get to go to the Train Cemetry due to the mixup in planes, but the rest of the trip was pretty good. We had an extremely quiet driver, so we were never told anything, but the other driver was really good and gave us lots of history and info about the area. The tour notes became a bit like chinese whispers as the guidespoke spanish, one of the Canadians translated into French and thenbetween the Canadians they sorted out an english translation. Ourjeep would then get a delayed version of events when we stopped.So we arrived in San Pedro (chile) about midday yesterday after anearly start and a swim in the hot pools. THe swim was great. It was freezing outside (literally) and stripping off to get into the pools was a challenge. But so worth it! We were served breakfast once we were out and someone took a temperature reading of 0 degrees - about 3hours after we were up. So I was really glad to have a down jacket and several of us were still wearing our Mitchelen Man suits at 10am.

It{s somewhat hotter here in San Pedro and we are just chilling outfor the last day as we did the Valley of the Moon tour yesterday and had another really great guide.

smile
Hazel

La Paz on Sat

2006-04-30T13:28:00.000+12:45

A quick update b4 we go out for a meal. Half of the crew from the jungle made it up to Le Paz about 20:00 (Gerry, Bill, Bex, Ross, Jimmie, John, Jenny, Andrea, Pete). The others had a breakdown in the Jeep so we don't know when they will be here.

Graeme, Greg and Guy (the guide from Gravity) blasted down the Jungle Rail Trail to Yolosa.
The ride involed some rocky uphill riding, numerous bike carries over slips and some awesome downhill. The first two being made somewhat trickier then normal due to the heavier Kona Coilers which are designed more for downhill. The mountains at the top of the track were huge, with the views stunning and the exposure at times being rather impressive. One also had to watch out for bamboo on the track as it was majorly slippery.
It was touch and go whether we would make it as about 5m of the track had slipped away. We took hammers, rope saws and a wicked machete and sorted out some rope/timber bridges. This involved chopping down trees on the edge of the trail. No easy feat as one had to avoid falling down the cliff and also felling the tree in a manner whereby it didn't disappear down the bank as well. We made it to Yolosa for a well deserved beer about 4pm. We then came back up the WMDR in the jeep and back to La Paz. A real adventure....

Back In La Paz

2006-04-29T13:25:00.000+12:45

Graeme, Greg and Guide guy are finally back in Le Paz.

Thursday
The day dawned fine and hopes were high that we would be in Le Paz by lunchtime. Maybe a bit high as we put together a survival kit (complete with map) for those from the Pampas. Alas just as we were about to leave the Hotel we got a call saying there were problems with the plane. We cruised into town, not wanting to miss out on our setas and after a couple of hours and lots of hazy communication we were told that all the flights had been postponed till Tuesday as the plane had eaten a bird and one of the propellers was severely damaged. The Israelis down in Ruru went spare but what else could one do. The military started to charge 3 times the price for a seat on their Hercules and they weren´t even flying till tomorrow as they didn´t have signoff from their superiors for the plane....Luckily Guy was with us and a few clls later we had a jeep leaving in 20 minutes. Eventually that turned out to be about 16:20 but at least we had a way out. It was interesting to note how the news that we had a way out spread round Ruru like wildfire so we hid at Bala tours. Unfortunately our chocolate cake man didn´t show up before we left so we got sick of biscuits on the way up. The only other option out is one hell of a 22 plus hr ride in a bus... We helped out some other tourists that needed to catch a flight the next morning outy of Bolivia, so there were 7 of us in the van in total.

Friday.
It was a long night with a 15 hour jeep ride cluttering over rough roads, one puncture and freezing conditions going over the pass on light to get into Le Paz. Memorable points of the trip were watching the dude repairing out flat tire at 1 in the morning. He used a pick to get the rim off the tire and was only wearinbg jandals. Btw - Bryan Adams dubbed in Spanish at 11pm doesn´t really cut it either... It was also weird, smiling away at 4am in the morning thinking that we´re just going to go up the World´s Most dangerous Road in a jeep after the driver had been going pretty much solid for 12 hrs...People pay good money to keep away from it !!! I don´t think the Swiss miss in the couple we helped out was too keen as she swapped seats with her boyfriend so that she wasn´t on the edge with the massive dropoff. I do admit that it was a bit more exposed than the Rimutaka hill rd, was gravel and didn´t have any fence on the outside. One we got up the top Guy then advised us that a bus with 40 people on had plunged over the edge in Feb. It went so deep into the valley that they didn´t bother going down to retrieve the bodies. It really is the frontier here...Not that I´m trying to put off the 15 that have their trip tomorrow - I´m sure you´ll make it through. We did, one just has to be flexible here. After a few zzs Graeme put up with Greg doing his last shopping. We then caught up with Guy to sort out the rail trail ride tomorrow and theZongo on Sun. Off to the locals market in town to get some machetes, saws, rope etc to build some track on our way down tomorrow. Should be a real adventure.

That´s it from me - will probably be the last update from Me as the last two days mtb will be full on - a fitting climax to what has been a really adventurous time in Bolivia.

The Pampas

2006-04-29T09:28:00.000+12:45

We have returned from our 3 relaxing days on the Pampas.

Swimming with dolphins was great, could forget about the caimans (crocs that grow to 7 m), stingrays, anacondas, piranahs etc - but the murky water wouldn´t let me forget about the chigas and other water bourne nasties. Karen was touched by the dolphins 5 times, so we recon she is pregnant. Must have been doubly scarry as in the murky water, visibility was about 10cm and the dolphins approached from below.

The birdlife was very prolific. Must have seen 50 different types of large birds inc, shags, cormorants, maribu storks, eagles.

It was warm at times but the bugs were less of a problem than many New Zealand trips. Accomodation at Bala lodge was comfortable. They kept bats in the sleeping areas to eat the bugs that made it through the outer layer of mossy nets. They flitted about during the night sqeaking and crunching on the bitties, but not enought to disturb a good sleep. In the mornings our personal mossy nets were peppered with mossy wings and bat poo.

Driving out to the Pampas had a few moments of drama. The three 4wds were not fit for a demolition derby. Ours had the front propeller shaft on the floor and the steering ball joints held together with inner tube rubber. A tropical downpour slowed us considerably as the three jeeps had only three working wipers, and the two on our vehicle must have been original 1985 ones. One of the jeeps had a young driver with a bandage covering a nasty gash over one eye and lead in his right foot.. His passengers were choking on the petrol fumes and when we caught up after they had bogged there was insurrection in the crew with Karen threatening to give him matching eyes and Gerry confiscating the keys. Problems were resolved when the transmission on his jeep failed completely while we were rescuing the next jeep through the bog. We left him and his BOS car behind and began walking the last 5kms. Eventually the 2 remaining land cruisers caught up and with people riding on the roof and bumpers, finished the journey - 3 hours late.

The health of the 15 of us on this leg is all good. Pete has had a bit of a reaction to sandfly bites from the River trip. His ankles look like bloated pin cushions - but he is still able to enjoy a beer so we are not treating it seriously.

Our plane out of Rurre has been cancelled and we face a 14 hour bus ride tomorrow. My behind may find this worse than 8 hours on a bike.

The last few days have been surprisingly relaxing. However this will probably change as we start at 5am tomorrow and Sunday will probably be a big run or bike.

Ross

Chilling out in Ruru

2006-04-27T08:45:00.000+12:45

Wed
A great meal last night at Moskkito Bar, som pool and more than a few drinks for some. But a good night for all none the less. A chance to let our hair down.
We awoke to heavy rain and up until 9am it bucketed down. Then the sun came out. Great to experience but not something I want repeated tomorrow (touch wood). IT´s kinda touch and go to get out of Ruru on the early flight to Le Paz tomorrow because of the backlog. We should know tonight.
The pampas group left around 10am and the jeeps they left in certainly had seen some work in their life. Graeme and I chilled out with Guy at the hotl. A breeze for most of the day so not so hot. But the mercury is creeping up there again - 33 deg on my watch.
Looking forward to the jungle rail trail ride on Friday, sounds as though it´s going to be a real adventure.

The river and Jungle

2006-04-26T07:52:00.000+12:45

Greg is writing up the fantastic two days of cycling while I write this on the river trip. The bike wride was truely amazing, but the pace changed at Mapiri and we experienced yet another interesting face of Bolivia.

Mining is the reason that Mapiri exists and the place is like an old wild west town semi transplanted into a modern world. Dinner was in a Pollo restaurant - the menu was fried chicken with fries and rice - take it or leave it. Price $1.40. It was good food washed down with a few beers delivered from the pub next door. The restaurant was also a gold exchange and we watched as the proprieter sat at his desk exchanging the miners weekly finds for Bolivianos. He had a set of miners balance scales and was paying about 100 BS a gram (about 50% of the current commodity price. Young men would arrive and collect 300- 1000 BS (5 BS to NZ$) for their small paper raped finds. Kids would collect between 30-300 BS. Expressions of satisfaction to disappointment being easy to read. A matriach arrived and collected over 3000 BS, a fortune here, and tucked the funds into the front of her bra without a visible emotion.

After dinner I sat outside the restaurant watching the street and the people. A prostitute across the road was plying her trade with little apparent success while young couples promenaded. The girls were smartly turned out in brief tops and briefer skirts with platform shoes. While the guys would have looked great in Grease. All this on a main road that was dry mud and river bolders - don't know how those girls could walk. But it was Saturday night.

Sunday saw us breakfasting at the Mapiri port at 8am. Our boat was a 60 seater based on a dugout canoe. but with planked sides to provide more freeboard. Power was from two 55hp Johnson outboards while some protection from the sun was provided with a blue plastic canopy. Our capitan was Walter and his motley grew looked rough. They hardly had a top front tooth between them, but they prooved very competent and friendly.

Our journey on the Rio Mapiri began with a braided stretch and comments from Bill that it was no different from parts of Canterbury (not sure how he could confuse the surrounding jungle with Canterbury). However it soon entered a gorge and we experienced some trepidation about the rapids. The boatmanship was excellent and we soon became blase about the odd splash over the side.

Gold mining dominated the river and there were workings everywhere. Some were family businesses, with just a sluce box and a bucket. Others were bigger with a small petrol pump, while a few bigger operations remained. Coca was grown in the top of the river and there were bags awaiting collection along the way. All this meant a muddy river, but the jungle was still thick and varied.

On the river, under the canopy with the motor powering us down stream we were kept quite cool and insect free. Guanay, where we stopped for lunch and supplies was quite different. Away from the river the heat was intense and we were happy to lunch at the best restaurant in town. We had to compete with the matriachs in Sunday best bringing their broods in after church- so it was obviously a good choice.

We finally got to a camping spot about 5:00 pm. The boatmen attacked the undergrowth with machettes to clear a campsite while we gringos headed up the nearby stream to a swimming hole and waterfall. Our capitan lost the route a couple of times but we all had time for a great swim. The wise washed their clothes and wore them dry. Dinner was a very pleasant affair prepared by our guides Travis and Guy (pronounced Gee). A few wines and a bottle of Sangini making it more so. A starlit mild night and a great nights sleep.

Monday's highlights included fishing with dynamite, swimming, a visit to a Loco (a tribe) village, a three hour walk in the jungle in the heat of the day and another camp on a sandbank. The sandbank had large cat prints (probably jaguar) covering it. I was sharing a tent with Graeme and in a vivid dream about a game of rugby I grabbed Graemes head thinking it was ball. He woke with a hell of a start.

This morning we were to see the lorrikeets leave their nests (see Nat geographic 2000), but our guides slept in and we missed it. So we rolled on down the river. We signed out of Mididdi National park at the station on the river (which by now was the Rio Bene). Here we were greeted by a 9 month old spiny anteater that licked and sucked our fingers. From here it was onñy 30 minutes to Rurrenabaque and the end of the journey.

We have checked into the Safari Hotel, the best place in town. No aircon, but it's remarkably cool. Town is full of tourists - a real contrast as in the last 5 days we had not seen another Gringo and in Consata (out first night) we were the first foreigners in town for 6 months.

Tomorrow we leave for 3 days in the Pampas. Expect to see lots of wildlife and catch up on the bugs which have been surprisingly few.

Ross

Hitting the saddle

2006-04-26T07:10:00.000+12:45

Thursday
Chilled out in Sorata for a day. About time I think. Visited Sorata in the morning. The biggest achievement of the morning was to crash everyone´s internet in the cafe when I turned my pc off. I always knew that 28k link was dodgy. Just as I was about to leave a shop the local Policeman came in to have a chat to the owner. That had an interesting discussion outside while I tried to lay low inside. Things can get heated around here quite quickly. Went back to the hotel and chilled out for the rest of the day, taking time out to think and talk about more important things. Practicaly the whole group chilled out. We then had a group meal and said our goodbyes as the group is splitting up today.
Friday
Up early to hit the road in the Gravity vans for the climb up to the 4800m pass where we begin the cycling. Great to have a leaving party at such an early hour in the morning.Great view os Illampu on the way up - the 2-3 hr ride up to the pass was worth it for the views of big country in itself. Then Guy and Travis (guides) kitted us out with bikes. I managed to score a Kona Stinky which is a freeride double suspension rig. Heavy but just the beast for blasting down, down, down - nearly 4000m for the day. It was 4WD road riding, nothing technical but there´s nowhere in NZ where you would get that decent in a single trip. Coming down through the mist, barely making out those in front at over 50kph was certainly the buzz I was looking for. Bill was certainly having fun on the downhills as well. At one point in the ride there was a bull half blocking the road for the frontrunners, I´m glad he didn´t take a liking to us like the local dogs do. We also tried hard to clean out a chicken in the villages , but alas there was no luck. I think the going rate was 3bs (50 cents NZ) - cheaper than a cracked windscreen on the journey back up. Jerry, Russell and I had fun blasting out the last few kms , the others struggling in as it had been a long day in the saddle. The dust certainly had taken it´s toll, Graham and I looked like collminers at the end of the day....The hostel reminded me of an Italian place as the garden was full of fruit trees - coffee, oranges, papaya...u name it.
Saturday
Another day in the saddle with a twist. We had to construct the road at one place as well !!! There was a complete washout, and we came across it with another 4WD. At the time what I didn't realise was that the washout was created by miners looking for gold. With the help of the locals we started to bridge it but then there was a rather large roaring noise. Alas seeing Geoff (one of the drivers hightailing it out of there) I was not sticking around. The locals stayed put until the last few seconds because they knew when the miners were going to trigger the slide. Then all kinds of stones and gravel came hammering down the river. How inconsiderate of them to destroy the stream crossing! Or was it unrealistic of us to expect the road to be there to mountain bike along? I guess we are in Bolivia afterall. Nature had done for us in 1 minute what would have taken maybe 20 minutes...A bit more building and then some pretty smooth driving later the trucks were accross - allbeit with people hanging off the side to keep them level. We were than trucked up a big switchback and through an old western town that would have been humming when the goldmingin wa at it´s peak 20 yrs ago. A quick 20 min blast down in to Mapiri for the night and the stinking heat. A couple of interesting thinsg to note are that the guides didn´t think we would have any worries with malaria (although everyone is still taking the tablets) and there aintmany bugs down the jungle as on the West Coast of NZ.
A few stories from the guides that seemed funny while yarning round the campsite...
1) One wet rainy day down the WMDR the guides changed 19 sets of brakepads for 15 rides. That must have been one costly trip
2) A guide and his driver Kerman were in the village of Cabanari for the night. The driver had a full load of bikes on the top of the jeep and was wodering about their security. He asked the guide who replied "I don´t think there are any Police in this town". Kerman was all smiles as he knew they´ll be just fine...
3)One of the guides & friends were staying in a mobile home in Sorata. However they had decided to stay in ther main Playa (or square). The first morning the local policeman came up and ushered them into his offuce. 40bolivanas (Bs) is the fee for camping overnight. Marty (one of the friends) replied that "there was no sign". Again the policeman tried to extort the 40Bs. THis time Marty replied "can I have a tax invoice - numbered as well thanks". This time the demand was for 20Bs. Marty just laughed and invited the local policeman for a beer at 3pm...
BTw - After the unrest in 2003 in Sorata it took the Police a whole year to go back there....
4)Last year when the miners were on strike they took to La Paz on mass and decided to throw sticks of dynamite around the central playa of the capital...

2006-04-25T12:33:00.000+12:45

Allan, Koa, Hazel, Brendan, Mary-Anne and Kelly have just come back from a very interesting trip down and back up what is commonly known as the World´s Most Dangerous Road, or Death Road. It links La Paz in Bolivia with Brazil and is a vertical drop of about 3,600 metres over about 50 km. Six of us went down the road on mountain bikes and got taken back up again by bus. The trip back on the bus was more hair-raising than the ride down. And the most dodgy driving was observed on our return to La Paz. Dodging people, dogs, cars, taxis and trucks on the local roads seems to be a national sport. The weather was great once again and the views of and from WMDR were fantastic. We went with a Kiwi guide called James working for Gravity, who have and still have, a very good safety record. Apparently James recently came second in the Bolivian national downhill mountainbiking champs. But he was very safety conscious and gave us lots of good advice for negotiating the road without mishap.

When we started our ride at about 5,700 metres, it was very cold and we were well wrapped up for the very fast initial downhill stretch on high quality asphalt. By the time we reached the bottom of the narrow gravel part of the road at about 1,100 m, it felt as if we were in the hot steamy jungle and all our warm gear was stashed in the accompanying bus.

We all swallowed heaps of dust on the journey and were six dust heaps by the end. But a luxurious shower at Choroico at the end of the ride was great, as was a dip in a swimming pool followed by a buffet lunch.

Unfortunately, the dusty ride back on the bus undid most of our efforts at cleaning ourselves up.

The WMDR is being replaced by a new and higher quality road but construction problems mean that it is not permanently open yet. The view of the new road from Choroico suggested that large amounts of money have been spent and are yet to be spent on this road before it will become the main thoroughfare.

Allan Stowell

2006-04-24T09:51:00.000+12:45

Just a quick update.

Those going to the jungle got away fine on Friday morning for the first day of their bike ride. THe rest of us wentback tobed for another hour or so until the restaurant opened for breakfast. We then had a very relaxed day with a walk up to a village where a dog had a go at me, I was not very impressed. Mario (our Liason person) was of no help at all as he was bitten a few days ago by his mother´s dog and dislikes them even more than I do. However it all ended fine, except that I never got the photo of the church I was after, oh well.

The following day we walked down to the caves and cought a very full taxi back in the heat of the day. It was another relaxed afternoon lying in the hamocks, reading and writing, and we finally ventured into town to try something new for dinner.

Today has been very uneventful, with a long bus tripback top La Paz. It took quite sometime to get out of Sortata as the bus apparently got a puncture on the very rough road from the hotel to town. So they replaced a reasonable looking tyre with an extreemly bald one and we headed back up the road to La Paz. The road works were in full swing and the trip seemed to take forever.

We have since had another shopping trip to the Witches Market (be very worried Bill) and now everyone is looking forward to playing dodgems in the taxi on the way to the restaurant tonight. Although first we get fitted for tomorrow´s ride down The World´s most Dangerous Road. Should be fun!

Keep smiling
Hazel

Sorata Option - Cycling and Hiking

2006-04-21T06:20:00.000+12:45

So much to tell, so little time.

Copacobana was so different from our experience in 2004. Our arrival co-incided with Easter and the biggest festival of the year. Many people had done penance either riding the 140kms from La Paz or walking 40kms of the way. The beach was crowded with tents (although the water temp in Titicaca was only 9 degrees as the lake is at 3800m). The queues for the blessing of the cars stretched throughout town. The blessings themselves are a strange mixture of beliefs. Cars are decorated with garands of flowers before a priest sprinkles holy water from a plastic bucket over the engine and car. Incense is wafted through the vehicle and the passengers receive a blessing. Then fireworks are let off in front of the car and a bottle of beer sprayed over it.

Penance done and absolution granted, the locals hunker down to some serious partying that makes the Mount at New Year seem tame. Drunks everywhere, the beach, streets and local hills covered in litter and a strong stench of urine and raw sewage. Despite warnings at the hotel we mostly felt safe, but it was not the same lovely quiet village we experienced last time.

The Utama Hotel was comfortable and everyone enjoyed the chance to socialise in the central courtyard.

Eleven of us left Copacobana to cycle part of the jorney to Sorata. Gravity provided really excellent bikes and we were soon heading down hill to lake Titicaca on rough gravel roads that were to proove to be the best we rode on. A short stretch along the lake side was very picturesque as we cycled through the pueblos and admired the pristine waters (a great contrast to Puno). Then we were gradually introduced to a series of rolling hills that got steeper and steeper. This is a relative term as the altitude made any hill a challenge. I am sure we would have hardly noticed these undulations at sea level. The roads were rough clay and often partly washed out, despite this being the primary acces to several villages. There were several opportunities for down hill blasts and I was lucky to stay on my bike after attempting a cople of washouts at speeds beyond my ability - the price was a soaking in the deep puddles that followed.

At the top of one hill our ears were assulted with loud music blaring out of the local village, 500 m away. The pueblo was having a party and everyone was out on the edge of the soccer pitch that constituted the plaza. Huge quantities of beer were being drunk and we were welcomed with clapping and cries of encouragement.

We had lunch of trout at Tiquina before settling down to a 90 minute drive to a pass at 4200. From here we were to ride the 20 odd kms and 1600m of descent to Sorata. It was bitterly cold at the pass and I was shivering despite full storm gear as we prepared the bikes. Thick mist was a further disincentive and in the end only 4 of us (Gerry, Karen Anton and I) started the ride. The road is being upgraded and we had to pass several large trucks lumbering down the hill. The mist was very thick, as was the mud and we were frequently cycling at the limits of our abilities. Our guide, Gee, rode in front and would whistle if he saw a car coming. Often we only saw the car at the last minute. It was an incredibly exhilarating journy, particularly when the mist cleared and we could increase the pace. Bikes were substantially faster than the following vehicles, although they caught us up on the climb back up to Sorata from the last river. We arrived in the village just on dark and were offered a lift for the final 15 minutes to our hotel (Altai Oasis). Feeling very pleased with ourselves we elected to ride the remaining distance, sans lights in steady rain. The last 15 minutes seemed to take forever as it was very dark with only the occassional outine of a wheel rut and several nasty (to us) uphills. The four riders were very pleased with themselves and totally covered in mud. It was a really great effort from Karen who had never riden a mountain bike in anger before. For those in the van and jeep it was probably an uncomfortable and long slog.

On Tuesday we all went for a walk to the San Pedro cave. This was about 24kms return with about 300m of climb. A great effort by Mary and Gill who refused a ride on the way back. The cave itself has a lake (where I retained the wally hat by stepping into it) and lots of bats.

Yesterday Owen, Gerry, Anton and I attempted to walk to Laguna Glacier. The locals told us we were loco, but we convinced a guide to take us and had a great walk on a brilliantly fine day. Owen and Gerry elected to wait at about 4,500m while Anton and I continued to the lake. We were certainly feeling the altitude by the time we got to 5,000m but the views were well worth it. The place gets it´s name from a lake where the glacier terminates in a 20m wall. Great views of lake titicaca and of Sorata 2400m below.

Having a quiet day today as we prepare for the Jungle tomorrow. We have a 3 hour jeep ride to a pass at 4,800m before a bike descent to about 1000m. We may have to clear a couple of slips to get the support vehicles through. I suspect there will be more very tired bodies by night fall.

Morale is incredibly good. Last night the climbers arrived looking absolutely shattered. Most have had a good nights sleep and look human again today.

It may be a few days before the next post.

Ross

We are still alive - and loving it !!!

2006-04-21T02:12:00.000+12:45

Hola,
Yes everything is still trucking along nicely. The Mountain provided the biggest challenge and certainly took it´s toll on a few (me included) but everyone is down below altitude and loving being able to breath...The cycling group have had a blast and also managed to keep the Wally hat.
I think I´m lucky to get this update through as it´s the most expensive internet so far due to being an international toll call. The internet was down for a couple of days and today is the San Pedro festival here....It was certainly touch wood when we tried to connect in this morning.
Monday night
The group in Le Paz had so much fun playing expensive dodgems through Le Paz. We had two awesome taxi rides through traffic to get to the Ram Jam Restaurant. The food was again good but there was a disagreement over the bill. Nothing serious but I think it´s the spanish way to spin one yarn at the start and then it takes several more questions and a tlak to the head honcho to get the full story. However, the taxi rides were brillant. No Road rage, but everyone o so close and much tooting of horns. We tried taking on a bus but as per usual big wins the day. All the taxi drivers push it to the limit, hate to give way but there are very few incidents as the cars are remarkadely clean of panel damage.
Tuesday
Everyong was packed up had an all you can eat pancake breakfast which runs at the hostel from 7:30 to 9:30. I think they limit the number of pancakes because they only seem to have one pan going at a time.
Ground up out of Le Paz and then we could see the mountain - Hyani Potosi from the Zongo Pass. It certainly was a beautiful sight. We then bussed up past the abandoned tin mine which had leched into one of the lakes making it a bright red colour. Packed up at the road end and cruised up to the high camp. Le paz is at 3600, high camp was 5120 so around a 1500m gain in altitude. This proved significant that night. Only a couple of hundred metres of a wander but certainly hard won. Brendan did a sterling job by blasting up the mountain and then coming back to act as a porter for those struggling. We then set up camp and donned snow gear for a play in the snow. We were trying to practice selfarresting but the snow was way too soft. It was also way to soft to put crampons on - some of us didn´t bother. Plugged some steps up to the first point and then ran down the hill. I think this was my undoing as I didn´t have a good night.
Wednesday
About 2:30 9 of the 14 set off to conquer the mountain. Unfortunately I wasn´t one of them but them´s the breaks, there will always be another time. I must say a special thanks to Kelly for putting up with me last night.
So according to the others it sounds as though this peak was not a walk in the park. Everyone was roped up the whole way up and the last 100-200 m was on fixed rope. Some impressive crevases were crossed on snow bridges. Anyway a sterling effort was done by Hazel, Brendon, Jimmie, Andrew, Russell, Jenny and Graeme. They summitted around 08:30 that morning. Bex and Pete didn´t quite make it but good on htem for trying. Everyone said that it was one of the hardest things they had done due to the altitude. I think Andrew was heard to remark that it was one of the ¨stupidiest¨ things he had done in his life. As for the rest, we took just as long to come down as go up the avo before. By the afternoon we had pretty much recovered so it was definately something to do with altitude. The wx was awesome so I´m looking forward to seeing the pix. It was then time for the bus drive from hell. Steve had warned me about these, but everyone thought 150km no worries. 6 hrs later we made it to Sorata. We managed to stop off for some bread in a town (Ma....). People were friendly enough but always looking at us. It wasn´t till we got back on the bus that our friendly guide Mario (he´s one awesome dude) told us that when the unrest had happened over the gas in Bolivia this town had been a hotspot. Supposedly the locals killed some of the military and the local politician is very anti-western. Nice of him to tell us that once we were back on the bus. We then ground through to the pass looking at some stunning high mountain scenary. The road was certainly work in progress though.
A toast to Pachu Mummi at the cross. Man the beer tasted good as I had abstained due to being at altitude and wanting to conquer the mountain. As is the Inca way I think the toast was to the three things - pachu mummi (mother earth goddess), the mountains and a safe journey down the road. It was certainly interesting. Heavy mist, a big drop off one side and at night....At one stage Kelly reckoned we were coming into land at Wellington Airport. We could vaguely see the lights of Sorata far down below through the heavy mist. We then experience the beginning of the San Pedro festival as bands played in the square and people danced in awesome costumes. Just Wicked but I think people needed a feed and a decent sleep. We are staying at a place called the Altai Oasis which is certainly pretty cool just a jeep ride out of town. It was certainly fun riding in an open deck 4WD. I felt as though I was 16 again....No fear, practically anything goes in Bolivia.

A quick update on what the others riding did but I doubt I will do it justice.
Tuesday
The riding was awesome round the peninsular on quality bikes and then a bus to Sorata. They actually rode down the road that we had so much fun coming down at night. Ross described it as a wicked experience, blasting down the road in thick fog - sans lights, but I don´t think Karen was so happy. Good on them for doing it.
Wed
The group did a round 25km walk to the San Pedro caves. Pwoer cut in the hostel this night , always keep that torch handy.
Thurs
Four of the group attempted Lagunas Glacier. All the locals thought they were loco - crazy. Ross and Anron made it up from 3100 to 5000 so a wicked effort. Gerry and Owen also put in an awesome effort, they now know (like I do) what altitude is really like. Then got back to the end of the trail to call a taxi and no phone line - dead as, a common occurrence round here. So an extra 1.5 hr walk. Everyone was in good spirits though, although tired when we meet them

Adios
Note - No photos as we are only running 28.8k link and I´ll try to organise someone from the Salar to group to put an update up in a couple of days time in La Paz. I´m off hammering down to the jungle on a bike and then chilling out on a boat to the Jungle. Should have another update in five days time when I hit La Paz for some sweet singletrack with Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking.

Copacabana

2006-04-18T02:33:00.000+12:45

Saturday
Left Puno in the afternoon. Bus trip to the border was pretty uneventful.As for the border crossing - so laid back it wasn´t funny. So we´re now in Bolivia and all it´s scams. Hard to leave Peru behind as it has been good to us.Half hour bus ride to Copacabana which is in party mode at the moment. So we were advised to watch valuables and have a meal in the hotel that evening. Some of the crew went down town and didn´t find it too frightening.
I went up to the hill overlooking the town - nice vista and alot of families around. A couple of louts started to throw bottles off the top so I legged it back down to the hostel just before dark. I tend to stick out like a sore thumb round here. Haven´t seen any albino Indians yet....
Nice meal in the hotel and good to catch up with Alistair from Gravity chewing the fat about the mtb round here. Plans were laid for the morning trip to Isle de Sol. Jenny and Anton went down to get some food for the next day and had an interesting experience. A domestic took place right in front of them , people had obviously been partying over Easter. They also asked for some cheese - sliced. The chap behind the counter promptly went to slice it using the meat slicer - nice !!!

Sunday
Up early to run out the peninsula. Wanted to do this because it reminded me of Dunedin. Wx was overcast and run went well. Up at 3800m altitude and still managed 17km in just under 2hrs, including walking up the hills. Altitude doesn´t seem to be an issue for me. I guess I should wait for the mountain. Most of the locals were friendly but thought I was crazy..Got To Yayapacha (sp) and it bucketed down. Now I got taught a lesson. I think that Bolivian wx is four seasons in one minute !!! I had taken enough kit to keep warm while running but hadn´t taken enough to hang around in. Managed to hire a boat to take me to the north of the Isle de sol - all with my limited english. They had to take out 5 buckets of water from the boat before we got going !!! Still raining when we got to the south end of the island so I bailed nd got dropped off here. waited half an hour for the others and then went for a tour of the south part of the island with Mario. He was a very good guide showing us Andean oregano and the local ruins. It was very touristy here - one cool feature of the buildings being trapezoidal windows. Just like the Incas did. Bucketed down the whole time and my watch temp got down to 10 degrees. Today I´m back at 25 degrees. Man was I cold. Then we caught the boat back to Copacabana. Had lunch and chilled out in the afternoon. Another party hd walked from the north end of the island down to the south to See the stone where Manco capac and Mama Ocho had been created. They were the godparents of the inca family. Once the wx cleared up they enjoyed themselves. In the afternoon we saw the blessing of the cars. They get sprayed with beer, blessed by the priest and then fireworks are lit. Some of these in people´s hands. I like it how people spray the beer, drink the rest of the bottle and then drive off. Drink driving is a problem round here as people just bribe their way out when they are caught. The blessing of the cars is a big thing here - it´s to keep the car safe when they are driving. Cheaper than a new set of tires I say !!! Others hecked out the Cathedral and the Market. A bit more relaxed down here !!! Then out for an awesome meal - I think everyone ate a bit much. People were in good spirits again though. Most are struggling sleeping at altitude again. Some are struggling with gut issues but the mood is upbeat as we contemplate the climb and being below 2800 at Sorata.

Monday
Up early and off for a run. Had an interesting standoff with a dog until a local chased it away. Also had fun racing a kid on a clapped out bike. The others sleep in . Anothe good breakfast and great to see Ross ready to attack the world with his smelly shoes. The crew splits up into ones riding down to Sorata and less altitude. The others are anticipating the climb up Huyani Potosi.The bus ride through to Le Paz was cool, with the views of snow covered mountains just awesome. Included going accross Lake Titicaca. We were squashed into one boat like sardines while the bus went across on a barge. Le Paz is big and busy. Managed to find presents for my work collegues at the witches market - beware !!! What with llama foetuses, frogs, various concoctions available there is definately alot to choose from. The others checked out town, walking right past Police with sub machine guns and shotguns !!!

more photos

2006-04-18T02:19:00.000+12:45

the crew on Wayna Picchu

Don´t u love the colours

All the crew at Machu Picchu (incl Big Willy)

Kelly on the Inca Trail

More photos

2006-04-18T01:53:00.000+12:45

Kelly and Greg on Wayna Picchu

The crew on dead women´s pass

Lemon Meringue Pie

Temple (largest in South America)

Machu Picchu from Wayna Picchu

More Pictures

2006-04-16T06:29:00.000+12:45

Machu Picchu

Puno

2006-04-16T05:48:00.000+12:45

Good Friday
Left Cusco and long bus trip to Puno. First stop was a cathedral at Andahuaylillas which had been built by a local who was interested in comverting people to Christianity with an Incan Mix. Then onto Instituto Nacional de Cultura Departamental Cusco. Nearly didn´t go in here but it was well worth it. A huge temple to the Creater God. This temple was pretty run down but at one stage was the tallest building in South America. There were many circular store rooms here as well. Man was it hot though - the sun was really burning. Gotta love the Sun though.
Next we went to feed the llamas. There was also a shop that created it´s on jewelery. Got to see the workbench and the primitive tools that were used to create some stunning pieces. Then off for lunch - because it was Good Friday we were going to be eating vegetarian. However the last few tour buses had complained that there was no meat so we got chicken and beef. The chicken was superb - our lucky day. Then onto the bus and we cruised up to a pass that was around 4330m high. Here we had a view of the Incas Scred Snow mountain. The police also had oxygen at the ready at the pass for any unwell tourist. Classic. It was very much like the Lindis Pass in Otago but higher and larger. Some of the mountians in the distance were upto 5600 m high. There were also some very localised snow showers going through and the temperature had cooled down significantly. Also interesting the difference in road quality between Cusco valley (very touristy = superb roads) to high plain = bumpy. Just cruised through the plains admirring the scenary and wishing I was on a bike. Cycyletouring would be superb thru here. Then we made it to Julica. This is famous for it´s black market and wasn´t really tourist friendly as we were given the bird by the locals. I was glad to be staying in Puno. This was about an hour away and on Lake Titikaka. We were staying at 3800m and people were feeling the altitude. About 300,000 inhabitants here. Then off for a meal - great restaurant and the best band so far. But o so loud.

Saturday
Out on the Lake today to see the Reed Islands. There is this lovely green algae that sits on the top of the lake but the reeds filter it out so that the Udos people can live here. They originally lived on the land however the Incas came and busted them over. As they were the only ones with boats they fled to the island. Here they fish for 18 varieties of fish and live on islands with a base of 2m entirely made of reeds. The reeds are also eaten, used as fuel, boat construction. About 3000 people live on the islands. The locals were impressed by a Haka ably lead by Jerry. Great that we have someone who has the skills to lead it. Just needs a bit more practice. Eventually cruised back into Puno to use up our last sol. Off to Bolivia and copacabana after lunch. The group is all in good spirits and no major health issues so far.

Machu Picchu - Finally some pictures

2006-04-14T15:35:00.000+12:45

Thursday
First up hope everyone has a good Easter - Cusco is humming tonight as it is Thursday and tomorrow is Good Friday.
Up early to see beat the rush at Machu Picchu. Jenny and I walked up, better than coffee for waking up. The others caught the bus. Not much of a sunrise so it didn´t matter that we couldn´t get to the Sungate. Hazel meet Big Willy on the bus - the guide (see program). We later meet him just after 9am for a very imformative tour. But first some decided to scale Wayna Picchu. This gave a very impressive view of the ruins and some exposure. The group split again with some going down to the Temple of the Moon and struggling to get back on time for the tour. My legs definately did not thank me for this. I think there were a few people who were feeling it today but everyone is handling things very well. The short Inca Trail people managed to get up Winna Wayna yesterday ' great that they were able to get there. A supreme effort for some of those involved. Anyway back to today. In the meantime Andrew and Owen had made it over the slip to the sungate. The tour was really informative - certainly helps one perspective of the place. More on this when we get back. Lunch and then check out the Inca drawbridge - an amazing piece of engineering. Alo showed the original route into the place which was extremely exposed. Not for the faint hearted. Then back to AC by bus or foot. Time to evacuate the excuse for a hostel we had been staying in, some food and the train back to Ollantaytambo. We then managed to loose three people meeting the bus but eventually made it back to Cusco. I´ve finally figured out how to load some pix - I hope you enjoy them. Takes forever to download them so only a sample....

Our guide - everything under control (apologies for the blurry photo)

Pisac ruins

Locals - Ollantaytambo

The vista

Machu Picchu from Wayna Picchu

Cusco & Machu Picchu

2006-04-13T10:17:00.000+12:45

Monday
Awake early and took the bus out to Tambomachay. This was a public baths or hunting retreat for the rich. A glorious day, but had quite a few things to do so ran back thru the ruins on the way while the others walked. Also wanted to try myself at altitude.Was fine, although one definately has to exert more energy to go up. The ruins were PukaPukara (red fort), Temple of the Moon, Qenqo (originally I thought this was a big lump of rock but turned out to have a sacrificial altar in the middle), Saqaywaman. The last was a military outpost. The others had an awesome guide, although the standard varied. Then down to Cusco, checking out the Cathedral when Mass was on. The Last Supper painting had coy (guinea pig) as the meal on the table and rather than Judas - the local spanish ruler was imposed. The natives here love the spanish - not. Managed to get a few erands done, then back to the hostal for a briefing on the Inca trail. Also saw technology at work here. The local locksmith was trying to dry a hardened steel padlock with a hand drill. I couldn´t help but admire his tenacity but give mean 18v Electric handdrill any day... Saw the procession of the christ statue briefly (so many people) then took the bus to Ollantaytambo. A rather late night, but a good feed of Pasta for the run tomorrow. One of the best hostels, (though rather noisy) a shame we had to be up at 3am the next morning. Oltlanta (sp) poled top in the local election but 30% is not a big enough majority. So there will bea run off between the top two to see who is the winner. He will be Peru´s first native president if he is successful.
Tuesday
The day so far. Up early but had some issues to get through the gate at the start of the track.One of those hurry up and wait times. Off at 0545 hammered down the river to LLactapata. Great to be in big country again. Our three guides (Bernardo, Walter and Orno) were struggling to keep up. Bernardo had run the trail in 6hr30 back in 1990. An impressive ruin then off to Wayllabamba. This is where the climbing started. Really tested myself up to Dead Womans Pass - couldn´t resist. The altitude didn´t hit me until 3600m. Topped out at 4200m. This highest part of the trail. Techo stuff now. Had my heart rate monitor on. Max heart rate was 169, lowest 59. If I got my rate up to 160 beats per minute then I struggled. Slowdown to 150 and I was away again. Two young porters were silly enough to try and keep up. That didn´t last long as they had 25kg on their backs. Racing the gringos seems to be a favourite pass time. They love it. 2hr 13 to the top of the pass. Could hear frogs up here. Rather chilly up on the pass as I spent an hour there and the weather closed in a bit. Everyone was doing well, Koa being the dark horse in my books. Also an impressive effort from Ross,who said he couldn´t acclimatise ?? Owen put in a sterling effort as well. Then a blast down to Pacamayo. Great fun slaloming between all the tourists and racing the porters. Was not impressed with being mistaken for a porter. After lunch (and watching hummingbirds) we went up to the second pass - it was getting hot now. Sayacmarka had an ingenious aquaduct, some interesting holes carved in the rock to lock the store rooms off but had some cruel steps up to it. Carving the holes in the rock were have taken forever - a test of patience. Man was it hot here. A bit further on the mist shrouded us again, someone did see a condor (one of the big 3 animals for the Inca,the others being puma and snake). Through the tunnel and a bonejarring decent down to Winay Wayna. A lot of the porters on the track thought us to be Loco (crazy) but a tourist took the cake.She told us "you´ve gotta be crazy" as we blasted down the hill. I couldn´t resist replying that "we were just having fun". Which we were - everyone really rated the day. The ruins at Winay Wayna were awesome. The craftmanship of the Inca is just awesome, their attention to detail sublime. I think it has something to do with their work ethic - "not being lazy" is one of the three rules they live by. Down to the Urubamba river and along the railway tracks to Aguas Callentas as slips had closed the track past the sungate and thru to Machu Picchu. Started to rain on the tracks. Everyone got through, with an impressive effort all round. Special mention to Bill, Bex and their servant Jimmy. They turned up around 1800 the altitude having an effect on Bill and Bex. A true mission for them in my books. Between 6hr 30 and 7hrs running time for those at the front. Some more stats - Total accent 2229m, descent 2781m, highpt 4200m, low point 2135m. Had a bit of a hiccup with the bags as they didn´t arrive till 2130. Hazel did a fine job sorting the mess out. Some of the fashion was downright styli. Gloves do work as good sox,and polypro was just the bomb...So we hit the town,had some pizza at a restaurant that had a constuction zone for a kitchen. Seems to be the tourist low season so there is a lot building going on. Tried the local Cosquena beer - went down well. However Steve, you were right that Ac is a bit of a s**thole...
Wednesday
Can´t believe we haven´t been here a week yet. So much fun, so far. A few sore bodies but no cripples. Most people chilled out in town after a sleep in. Me I couldn´t resist climbing Putucusi. About 8 of us went for a wander, first to see a waterfall. Also saw some pungas and the Hiram Bingham train - very impressive, this is THE train into AC. The government has a bit of a monopoly on the access into the town as there is only a railway line and the trains are state owned. We eventually found the track up the hill. Also saw some impressive rapids - paddlers would be impressed. Me I just thought they were downright scary. The weather was closing in so I blasted up to the top in 33 min. A wicked view of Macchu Picchu and Wayna Picchu. I felt as though I could reach out and touch them. Some interesting ladders to climb up, although not as exposed a the Tararua Peaks. Five of us made it up the top. Top effort.
The short Inca group are meeting us tonight, it will be good to see them again. Macchu Pichhu tomorrow (an early start) and back to Cusco.
Everyone is handling the conditions well.
Note - there may be two posts for this timeframe ,better to have both than miss out.

Inca Trail in a Day

2006-04-13T09:23:00.000+12:45

What a great day. All 17 of us who had intended to do the full trail made it.

We spend the night in Ollantitambo and were up at 3am. Unfortunately the benefits of the early start were largely lost when the guides slept in and then we had a real hassle with officials at the entrance who held us up for an hour because a passport number did not match the number on the permit. So much for the special opening at 4 am.

We finally got started at 5:50 am and the mountains were fantastic in the early morning light. We quickly split into two groups with the front group running all the downhills and flats with the second group deturmined to walk the whole track. A stop at the ruins of llactopatta provided a partial regroup and gave the guide a chance to catch up. Bill was particulary taken with the glimpses of village life alongside the tarck. The next stop was at the control station of Wayllabamba (3,000m) Greg was probably there in 1h45, but about 10 of us left there at 7:50.

From Wayllabamba the track climbs through a high altitude forest before emerging into a long, steady uphill grind through snow grass. Several of the group were lucky enough to see a condor and the llamas grazing just below the summit added an air of authenticity. Greg reached Dead Woman Pass 3h20 after we left the start at km 82 and by 10am there were about 10 of us there with him (including Koa, Hazel and Jenny). The altitude was taking a big toll on some with Kelly recording a blood oxygen level of 75 and a very high pulse. The pass misted over soon after Greg arrived and was quite cold, particulary as we were sweat soaked after 2 hours of maximum effort.

From the pass the trail drops 600m on a steep stone staircase. Pete´s knees were giving him hell but Greg and I raced the porters down the track in an exciting blast. We stopped here for a leasurly lunch in the sun before grinding up 400m to the next pass (which some people found harder than the first). Another run down 400m of stone steps and we arrived at a fascinating set of ruins. Time for those in the front to explore these and marvel at the engineering required to build the channels that brought water to the site.

The trip was taking a bit of a toll on a few of us by know and there was a big round of panadol while Andrew popper a few stomach calmers to ease a very fragile gut. The trail climbed steadily up through bambo forest in an incredible feat of engineering. At times the trail was built up at least 6-8 metres and passes through a tunnel carved out of the rock. The mist on this part of the track provided welcome relief from the sun.

From the 3rd pass the track plunges 800m down what is initially an incredibly steep set of steps carved out granite. Once we were through the steepest bit it was another chance to let loose and run freely down the hill. A real buzz dancing down the uneven steps.

We regrouped at Winay Wayna and spent 30 minutes exporing the ruins (probably the best on the trail). Heavy rain two months ago has washed out the track from here to Machu Picchu, so it was plunge down the hill for another 400m on the porters access track. By now everyone was feeling stronger at the lower altitude and we ran as a group of 10. From the bottom it was 4kms along the railway track to Aguas Calientes. This was a bit of an anticlimax from the usual spectacular finish at Machu Picchu, Greg, Brendan, Russell, Allan and Kelly sprinted this while the rest of us were happy to just walk it briefly. The first people finished in comfortably under 11 hours with the last finished in under 13.

Heavy rain while we walked the train track meant we arrived in town soaking wet. The hostal was disorganised and our clothes had not arrived. Fortunately this is a great group of trampers used to cold huts and improvisation. We went out to dinner in a ragged assortment of clothes including longjohns, skirts improvised from jackets and overtrou.

This morning everyone is well and moving remarkably freely.

CUSCO #2

2006-04-11T00:07:00.000+12:45

Tried emphanadas for lunch - the Karne (meat) ones kick the kase (cheese) ones hands down. The guy in the Cafe reckon he did the best coffee in town. Will be back to check it out.
The Inca Museum was interesting. Never complain about a DOC swingbridge as over here they make them out of grass !!! Supposedly there is one still in use today - they have to reconstruct it every 12 months. Definately worth trying in the days after it's been constructed.
Also checked out the famous Inca wall with the 12edged stone, Puma and Snake. Man one can tell the difference between the Inca, Spanish and pre Inca walls
Chilled out in a cafe in Cusco - reckon Graeme and I found the best Pie de Limon ( Lemon Meringue Pie) - it would have been over 10 cm high. Others went up to Sacsayhuaman - I think some found the going hard due to not being properly acclimitised.
Then met the group for dinner that night in a Cafe off the Plaza. A good feed, but just as we were arriving a band turned up. Also was a massive thunderstorm late in the afternoon.
Pete also landed the "Wally" hat for thinking that "si" means no. A few lessons in Spanish for that lad have been recommended (it's actually yes). The tradition will continue every day for the trip. Hopefully a photo later - some technical issues there....
A late night coffee was on order and the Cafe we visited at lunchtime lived up to it's boast - they even knew what Americanos and Mokas were..
A magic night's sleep.
Sunday
Up and a slow start to the morning due to losing the bus driver and guide. Election day today, so a later start that was intended. It seems that people who have voted get their index finger coloured purple.
We hit the road on a magic day to Pisac. The ruins were quite spectacular with the channelling for water quite ingenious. Back down to the Pisac market - so many stalls of the same thing. But I'm sure the shoppers were having fun. Then thru to Urubamba for lunch. Another good feed where people tried the famous Inka Kola. Not really comparable to out own L&P - I don't think it could be described as "World Famous in Peru"....
Off down the road to Ollantaytambo. Spectacular ruins - the guide did an interesting talk, although I was to keen to explore the ruins more. Managed to get up a bit higher and found the high priests lair. Altitude didn't seem to affect me too much although I was definately working harder. Fingers crossed for the Inca trail. Also saw some bigarse bugs - one as big as my thumb.... The Incas were very much about worshipping the sun - they even carved off some of the mountain to make a sundial. The traffic jam to get out of the village was interesting - organised chaos as per usual. Also saw a truck full of the local people which was impressive.
On the drive back from Urubamba we saw saw spectacular high altitude scenary - for me the highlight of the day. The mountains had started to clear up and it was just magic. Hopefully some photos later
Back in Cusco Hazel had arranged a meal with Cuy (guinea pig). Worth trying - especially the head, but very little meat on the bones.
Some of the party then went to a native dance. Very colourful with some amazing costumes.
Then back for a briefing on the Inca Trails.

**********
There has been a change of plan here with the passes for the trails being issued on seperate days. The long trail will be done on Tuesday (tomorrow) the short on the Wed as per plan. The long trail people will go back to Ollantaytambo later tonight and then it will be an short night as we are starting at 3am the next morning. We will then stay an extra day in Agua Calentas - probably a well earned recovery day.

Cusco

2006-04-09T07:06:00.000+12:45

Made it to Cuzco, nice place, great weather. Had a long day yesterday (36 hrs) visited Santiago and Lima. All going well, altitude is noticable. we are about height of Mt Cook.

Spent seven hours in santiago - third most polluted city in the world after Mexico City and Sao Paolo. It showed. Great flight in though, the Andes in the background were certainly high. Climbed San Christobal Hill ( named after Christopher Columbus ) and then went to the Chilenaza restaurant where we meet Morwen and Andrew. They had a fantastic time down south in Southern Chile. Huge meat feast at the Restaurant as well as a Pisco Sour ( which is actually sweet). Then back to the airport and off to Lima. Played musical gates at the airport - were treated very much like cattle. Then took forever to get through customs at Lima. Eventually made it to the hostel at midnight after driving thru the Mangere of Lima..

Group going well. Arrived in Cuzco this morning from Lima. Hotel very nice, Had a bit of a walk round, found the Plaza and the Inca wall with the stone of 12 corners and off to the Inca museum soon.

This is us

2006-04-05T19:45:00.000+12:45

Our travel schedule.

2006-03-29T15:00:00.000+12:45

The group splits up to do the Inca Trail (with a short and long option) and there is also a choice between exploring the jungle and braving the Salar....

Date Stage 1 – To Cuzco
Apr 6 Optional early flight to Auckland
Apr 7 Depart Auckland at 5:25 pm
Apr 7 Arrive Santiago at 12:45pm (i.e. 5 hours before we left). quick tour of Santaigo. Fly to Lima arriving at 10:50 pm. Brief overnight in Lima with no time for sight seeing.
Apr 8 10:05 am flight to Cuzco – arriving 11:20am. Afternoon free for rest/gentle sightseeing
Apr 9 Cuzco - Gentle sightseeing or 8 km walk through major ruins
Apr 10 Cuzco - Easter Festival
Apr 11 Depart in morning for Ollantaytambo. Afternoon exploring Ollantaytambo. May be able to travel via Pisac
Inca Trail – Full
Apr 12 Up before 4 am and starting on the trail by 6am. Finish at Machu Picchu and bus or walk down to Aguas Calientas for the night.
Inca Trail - short
Apr 12 A more leisurely start for 16 kms of lower-altitude walking. Finish at Machu Picchu and bus or walk down to Aguas Calientas for the night.An option exists to take the train directly to Aguas Calientas.
Machu Picchu – Lake Titicaca - Copacabana
Apr 13 All day at Machu Picchu. Then catch the train at 4pm back to Cuzco. Arriving about 8:30pm
Apr 14 Early morning bus from Cuzco to Puno (about 8 hours to cover 388kms). We follow the railway line and climb slowly and gently to a pass at over 4,000m.
Apr 15 Morning on the Reid Islands of Lake Titicaca. Afternoon drive around the Lake and across the Border to Copacobana in Bolivia.
Apr 16 A free day. Take the boat to Isla del Sol and explore the birth place of the first Inca. Run 17 kms along the peninsula and row out to the Isle, or just blob out and explore Copacabana.
Huayna Potosi
Apr 17 Bus to La Paz – Fit ourselves out for the Climb.
Apr 18 Trek into base of Climb
Apr 19 Very early start – climb Huayna Potosi – Hopefully drive to Sorata at end of day
Sorata
Apr 17 Travel to Sorata – Cycle the bits you want to, stop at a trout restaurant for lunch.
Apr 18 Trekking, resting, running or cycling around Sorata. Lots of walks from 1-4 days – can do in small groups.
Apr 19 As for Apr 18.
Sorata
Apr 20 Full day in Sorata
Jungle Trip
Apr 21 Cycle
Apr 22 Cycle
Apr 23 Boat
Apr 24 Boat
Apr 25 Boat
Apr 26 Pampas
Apr 27 Pampas
Apr 28 Pampas
Apr 29 To La Paz
Apr 30 La Paz (Option to Cycle Death Road or Tiwanaka)
May 1 Leave La Paz for Santiago – Arrive 6:10 pm
Salar de Uyuni
Apr 21 Trekking or cycling from Sorata
Apr 22 Trekking or cycling from Sorata
Apr 23 To La Paz
Apr 24 La Paz (Options to Cycle Death Road, Tiwanaka)
Apr 25 To Uyuni
Apr 26 Uyuni
Apr 27 Salar de Uyuni
Apr 28 Salar de Uyuni
Apr 29 Salar de Uyuni
Apr 30 San Pedro de Atacama
May 1 Bus to Calama (2 hours) plane to Santiago
Flight Home
May 1May 3 Leave Santiago 11:15 pmArrive Auckland 4:25 am

Martel's get together

2006-03-04T09:12:00.000+13:45

Great to see a good gathering of people - the last time before we leave in 5 weeks time....Ross and Hazel have slaved hard to produce a stunning handbook - even with a personalised touch. Ross also conducted a question and answer session, along with a final brief of how all the details have panned out. Pete has come through with the clothing emblazoned with a cool patch. No mistaking us now...Thanks to the Martels for hosting us and "Adios Amigos" to Morwen and Andrew next weekend. I hope they have a safe journey in the stunning country down Patagonia way and we will catch up with you in Santiago on the 7th April

Our guide for the Inca Trail

2006-02-22T20:12:00.000+13:45

Big Willie will be our guide on the Inca Trail. He has a wicked sense of humour, a great knowledge of the region and speaks good English.

Last year he introduced himself as being called "Big Willie" to distinguish him from all the "little willie" guides. He explained that we were treking in the wet season and would need good luck and the support of Pachumama if we were to enjoy good weather. We could follow the Inca tradition and sacrifice a virgin - his tent door was always open.

Team member bonding

2006-02-16T16:51:00.000+13:45

Over a few drinks on a gorgeous summer's night at the Martel's place, it was noted that we needed some way for people at home to track our progress while we are away.
Here it is.....