Vehicle ferry, Lake Titicaca

We soon arrived in the lakeside town of Copacabana and checked into another nice and cheap hotel, this one chilly but not as cold as the one in La Paz. Copacabana is even higher than La Paz, at an altitude of 3841m. The days were sunny and fairly warm but as soon as the sunset we could feel the temperature plummet. It felt weird to be at Lake Titicaca because it is so big (118 miles by 50 miles) that it feels more like the sea than a lake. Most nights we would wander down to the lakeside to enjoy the extremely beautiful sunsets...

Sunset over Lake Titicaca

...and then head into one of the many restaurants to warm up around the fire. Again we bumped into some old friends, this time 3 English girls we had done the Uyuni Salt Flats tour with.
Being only a small town, there wasn´t too much to keep us here for too long. We had a wander around the famous cathedral and lit a candle to the memory of our Grandads.

Cathedral, Copacabana

After a couple of days we took a ferry across the lake to Isla del Sol, the birth place of the Inca religion. We only spent a night here and it was like a journey back in time...the kind of place that you get the impression hasn´t changed in centuries (apart from the addition of Gringos). We took a stroll that evening and it wasn´t just the altitude (over 4000m)that took our breath away, the views of the mountains across the lake were amazing, as was the sunset.

Jon on Isla del Sol

Sunset from Isla del Sol

The following morning we got up extremely early to enjoy an even more amazing sunrise (check those mountains !!)...

Sunrise, Isla del Sol

...and after breakfast set off to walk the 3 hours to the top of the island to see the Inca ruins of Challapampa and catch the afternoon ferry back to Copacabana. The walk was generally fairly flat but where it did undulate it was really hard to walk uphill and the sun was strong, really strong.

Main road, Isla del Sol

We just about made it in time to catch the ferry and were back in Copacabana in time teatime and another cold Lake Titicaca night. The following day we were booked on the bus to Arequipa in Peru.

written by  jonnik on April 7, 2008 from Copacabana, Bolivia
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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La Paz & Mt. Illamani, 6402m

La Paz cathedral

We met up with our old friends Matt & Kathryn who we had originally met on the Pachamama tour in northern Chile and headed for a night out with them at ´Oliver´s Travels´ a traditional English Pub in the middle of Bolivia. Here we had a very enjoyable curry and a pint of beer, a most authentic experience !
One of the best things about La Paz was just to wander around and watch all the locals going about their daily business, the best place for this was the Witches Market where our hotel was. Now we don´t know if the women on the stores were actual witches, but you wouldn´t want to risk it. They all sold the most bizarre selection of things, from aphrodisiac potions to lucky charms to lama foetuses, which apparently bring good luck when buried under the porch of a new home.

Store in the Witches Market

The Witches Market

Another fantastic aspect of La Paz was the food, especially the 100% Natural cafe that we seemed to frequent almost everyday....we loved it ! This place and the cafe down the road where the crazy owner was possibly the world´s biggest Wycliffe Jean fan (give that DVD a rest, please...)
So yeah, a good time was had in La Paz. We also spent quite a bit of time researching what shopping would be done here when we returned in a few weeks. The shops were amazing, with so much Alpaca wool stuff to buy ready for the return to cold and rainy England. Oh and the choice of woolen finger puppets wasn´t too bad either....

Lady selling finger puppets

The Green Lagoon, 5000m

It was soon back into the jeep and across the bumpy tracks towards the next port of call - geysers and hot springs in the middle of the desert with clouds of lovely smelling steam. A short drive away was a hot pool that we all had a nice soak in....it was a bit chilly up at this altitude so it was nice to sit in some hot water.

Thermal Springs

Enjoying the hot springs

We then spent another couple of hours in the jeep before arriving at the place we would spend the first night, next to the 'Red Lagoon'. The scenery here was stunningly bizarre and beautiful again, with mountains around, lamas grazing around the lake and more huge flocks of flamingoes feeding in the salty waters.

Alpaca and flamingo

The Red Lagoon

The Red Lagoon

We took a walk around part of the huge lake and enjoyed the incredible place we were in.....then it was back to our luxury accomodation. To date we have stayed in some pretty basic places, but we had not yet encountered the concrete bed ! Once the sun went down, it soon became very cold very quickly and a stone bed did nothing to raise the temperature !! After eating the first of many 'fantastic' meals on this tour, we huddled round in the communal room (a bit like Emperor penguins) before heading back to the dorm to crash for the evening. It was a cold, cold night and we all slept with loads of our clothes on, including hats and gloves (it really was cold !)

The first stop on the following morning was an area of huge, Dali-esque rocks that seemed to have been randomly placed in the middle of the high-altitude desert....yet more bizarre Bolivian scenery.

Most rest of the day was spent inside the jeep enjoying the beautiful scenery and watching the lamas and alpacas watching us as we drove past. In the afternoon we visited the yet another colourful lagoon, this time the ´Blue Lagoon´for yet more amazing landscapes and even more flamingoes....who would ever think you would become blase about seeing flamingoes ?

The Blue Lagoon

The accomodation that night was definately an improvement on the previous evening....the place was warm and the beds were made of wood (not concrete), sheer luxury ! This hotel was right of the edge of the Salt Flats which we would tour tomorrow. The Uynui Salt Flats are the biggest in the world, covering an area of 12,000 sq km....try and get you heads around that, we couldn´t !!

Another early start for day 3, a few sunrise photos and then it was off in the jeep out onto the Salt Flats. The place was totally flat and blindingly white, and like nothing we had ever seen before. It was almost impossible to get any kind of perspective there....we drove across the flats and it seemed like the mountains on the other side were quite close but after half an hour or so it became very apparent that they were miles and miles away. It was fantastic for taking funny photos though, and, yet again, the camera was put to extensive use.

Kenty in the palm of my hand

Us in Will´s hand...

The driver then took us to a small island in the middle of all that saltiness...yet again, the place was bizarre !! It was covered in huge cacti, some of then over a thousand years old.

View from the island

Us and Will

After an hour or so walking around the island we got back in the jeep and headed across the flats towards the small town of Uyuni. But we stopped on the way to take yet more photos....it just had to be done !

Nik encouraging Will to stop smoking

Jon jumping

It had been another amazing tour and the little, non-descript town of Uyuni seemed rather boring in comparison. We said goodbye to the people who had travelled with us, checked into a hotel with Will and headed out for some food. Later that day we booked our tickets out of here, for the following night's 10 hour trip to the capital, La Paz.

written by  jonnik on March 30, 2008 from Uyuni, Bolivia
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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Day 1

The first day was a long one, stopping for lunch at the seaside resort of Pichidangui and then heading up to La Serena which we eventually reached late afternoon. We spent a couple of hours or so on the beach watching the pelicans fishing, but resisted going for a dip.

Pelicans, La Serena

After checking into the hotel we heard a familiar voice and there was Will, our old friend from La Casa Roja in Santiago. We hadn´t seen him for a few weeks and he was booked onto the rest of the Pachamama tour. That evening the whole group (16 of us including Maria-Jose, the guide, and Marco, the driver) went out for food and a few drinks. It was quite amusing to see that Will was now on the wagon....this was NOT the Will we had met back in Santiago ! The group then headed off to a karaoke bar but we made a sharp exit and headed back to the hotel....we had learned our lesson weeks ago in Valparaiso !!

Day 2

The following morning there was much confusion about whether or not the clocks had changed....they were due to but the Chilean government had changed things at the last minute. We headed up the coast to Punta Choros where we took a boat ride out towards Isla Damas, famous for it´s dolphins and sealions. The whole area is part of a national park but after an hour or so at sea we had only seen a few sealions and were a bit disheartened. Things soon changed.....the boat sped off and we soon saw loads of dolphins and more sealions and then came the best bit. Not one but two huge humpbacked whales were in the water right next to us ! We sat and watched them surfacing for about 20 minutes and it was truely amazing...

Humpback whale

Humpback whale

We then headed close to Isla Damas and got to see loads more sealions, penguins, gannets, sea otters and vultures to name but a few.

Vulture

Baby sealion

It was then back to dry land - the trip out to sea had been fantastic !

Happy after seeing the whale

It was then further north to eventually arrive in Bahia Inglesa (English Bay - named after an English pirate who arrived here centuries ago) where we were booked into some very nice, compact wooden huts. It had been a long day so after food and a couple of beers we crashed out fairly early.

Day 3

Today was a well earned rest day...we were to stay around Bahia Inglesa, chill out and prepare for tonight´s party. At lunch we headed into Caldera, the nearest town, and feasted at "Empanadopolis". Empanadas are kind of like a cornish pasty but with diferent fillings and we´d had many to date across the whole continent....none, however, compared to the ones we had today. They were fantastic !! That afternoon we had a stroll on the beach but again resisted going in the sea as it was an unnatural shade of bright green !! We later found out that the whole bay is used for fish farming....it was a bit like a giant fish tank that has never been cleaned !! At night the whole group got together for a barbeque courtesy of Maria-Jose and Marco. The food was amazing and much alcohol was consumed by all (except Will)...

Barbeque night, Pachamama Tour

Day 4

Due to last night´s extravagance we set off fairly late today, heading toward the city of Antofagasta. It was another long drive (respect to Marco), broken only for a lunch stop and then at a huge and very impressive sculpture in the middle of the desert called El Mano del Desierto (The Hand of the Desert).

La Mano del Desierto (The Hand of the Desert)

We eventually rocked up in Antofagasta where we were treated to the delight´s of it´s huge shopping mall and the amazing (NOT) food it had to offer us !

Day 5

Today was billed as the best day of the tour, and it didn´t disappoint ! After breakfast we headed up the coast to see "La Portada", a huge natural stone archway out at sea.

La Portada

We then headed inland towards the driest place in the world, the Atacama Desert. Late morning we stopped at a train cemetary where there were about 10 or so old steam locomotives (Robbie Rocker,you would love it !!) and various carriages abandoned. Because of the extremely dry atmospheric conditions they were in almost pristeen condition...it was pretty mad !!

Train Cemetery

We then had a late breakfast - possibly the finest scrambled eggs ever made...ever ! It was then further into the firery furnace of the Atacama desert. We stopped at the salt flats where we imbibed in a shot of tequila with what must have been the nicest tasting salt we had ever tried...

Tequila shots with the world´s best tasting salt

Ohhh tequila....it makes me happy !!

It was incredibly hot now but we all cooled down with a swim in a natural pool at the desert oasis of Peine...it was so nice !! Afterwards we watched the sunset at Laguna Chaxa, home to many flamingoes. The place was truely special with huge mountains and volcanoes around.

Flamingoes, Laguna Chaxa

After the sun had set we drove the short distance into San Pedro de Atacama and checked into the ´rustic´ hotel we were booked into. Maria-Jose had been a bit wary about taking us to this place but we loved it...it was a bit like being back in India. The hosts greeted us with a glass of sweet red wine and they had a huge fire roaring....this was just what we needed as we were now at 2438m and it was a bit chilly ! That evening the group all went out for dinner to a great restaurant. We enjoyed free Pisco sours, many beers and fantastic live local music.

Dinner in San Pedro (drunken driver and tour guide on left and right)

Day 6

A free day to enjoy the delights of San Pedro....we had a nice lie-in after the excesses of the previous evening then in the firery furnace of the Atacama at midday we headed out into the desert to do some sandboarding !! It was a great laugh, but getting back up those huge dunes at that altitude and in that heat was no mean feat !! They really should get some chair lifts installed...

Sandboarding

Totally rad, dude....

Later that day we headed out to the amazing scenery of the Valley of the Moon. We trekked through salt caves and then along a huge ridge to enjoy the beautiful desert sunset.

Enjoying the sunset

Back at the rustic hotel was the last night that the group would be together after a fantastic few days. In typical fashion it was another late night with the odd beer or two being consumed. The trip from Santiago to the Atacama had been a great experience and we had met some great people...

written by  jonnik on March 22, 2008 from Santiago, Chile
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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Cerro Aconcagua

We eventually rocked up at La Casa Roja at about midnight to find the party in full swing. It was great to meet up with old friends and we eventually stumbled to bed in the wee small hours. The following day we booked onto the Pacahamama tour to head north through Chile up to the Atacama desert.

written by  jonnik on March 20, 2008 from Mendoza, Argentina
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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Crazy Argentine, San Telmo

The following day was spent pounding the pavement, seeing a few sights and shopping - we must have walked for miles !! It was back to the plaza in the evening for food and to soak in the atmosphere.

The next day we invested in some metro tickets. Buenos Aires is a big city and there was no way we were gonna spend another day walking around it ! We headed to the Japanese Gardens in Palermo and had a very nice picnic in that little oasis.

Japanese Garden

That night we headed back out to Palermo for a most fantastic experience - pints of beer and real Indian food in a pub called ´Bangalore´. The food was amazing and the place was like a proper pub back home....just what was needed !!
Before we left Blighty, all those months ago, our wonderful neighbour had asked us if we would try and track down a statue of one of her ancestors, Admiral William Brown, who is credited with founding the Argentine Navy in the early 19th Century. We hadn´t yet seen it, but whilst in the famous La Recoleta Cemetery, the next day, we stumbled across his grave, and a mighty impressive affair it is. La Recoleta Cemetery is like nothing we had ever seen, the graves are almost as big as houses, but William Brown´s stands out from the rest. All the others are black or grey stone but his is a huge green metallic column (maybe like a ship´s mast), it´s green to show that he was Irish, and sits in pride of place.

Recoleta Cemetery

Admiral William Brown´s Grave

Later that day we sampled more of BA´s fine culture at the Thelonious Jazz Club (also in Palermo). The music was ´nice´, the cocktails strong and the clientele rather cool (but not as cool as they thought....). We also got to sample (on the house) Argentina´s national drink, Fernet. If ever you get the chance, and even if it´s on the house, make sure you turn it down - it´s proper grim !!
The following day, sunday, we were a bit hungover after all those cocktails. We eventually made it up the road to the famous San Telmo antiques market. The place was buzzing with loads of market stalls and lots and lots of live music and people dancing. We chilled out to a cool Tango band and rocked it up to some Argentinian roots and treated ourselves to CD´s from both bands (sometimes music is just meant to be heard live !!).

Live tango music

Radio Roots (better live than on CD !!), San Telmo

Tango dancers, San Telmo

Afterwards it was out for more of BA´s gorgeous food. This time to another pub for an authentic Thai curry. We spent the rest of the night watching the numerous Tango dancers in the plaza and talking to some crazy locals...we love San Telmo !!
On our last day we set about hunting down the statue of Admiral Brown and finally located him. We pigged out on yet more gorgeous food (a ´pizza sandwich´...try it, it works !!), packed up and got the night bus back west, across the continent again, to Mendoza, home of Argentinian wine...mmmmm.

Obelisk, Avenida 9 Julio

Street scene, Buenos Aires

Admiral William Brown statue

written by  jonnik on March 12, 2008 from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Argentina
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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Run out of gas...

That night the weather took a severe turn for the worse and there was a huge storm. Luckily, we had waterproofed the tent in El Bolson and we managed to stay dry. So, the following day we were up and soon on the bus heading out towards the headland to see some wildlife. It was a great day, despite the fact that the Orcas failed to show up. We saw penguins, sealions, elephant seals, armadillos, grey foxes, guanacos (a bit like a lama) and rheas (a bit like an ostrich).

Sleeping Armadillo

El Zorro Gris

Sea Lions at Punta Norte

Elephant seal and pup

We were a bit disappointed not to see the Orcas. This is what it might have looked like if we had, but at least the baby sealions had a good day !

The elusive Orca Whale

We stayed another night at the posh campsite and the following day headed back to Puerto Madryn for a night (laundry had to be done) before the BIG trip north to Buenos Aires.

Camping at Puerto Piramides

written by  jonnik on March 9, 2008 from Puerto Madryn, Argentina
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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Basic foodstuffs....

Funds are runing low....

El Bolson is a sleepy little town famous throughout Argentina for it´s hippy market the fact that it´s residents have declared it a nuclear free zone - respect. Piltriquitron, the surounding mountain range, is also believed to be one of the Earth´s energy centres.

Market day, El Bolson

On the way up the mountain

The first part was for the most part pretty easy, if not a tad warm. But after a couple of hours it started to get quite a bit steeper and the temperature started to plummit. Another hour or so later we arrived at the campsite, a gorgeous spot in the forest by a river. By this point is was bloody freezing, so the tent was quickly pitched and we set about getting some food on - a culinary treat of packet soup and savoury rice....not the best to eat but nice and light to carry. We were soon in the tent, wearing most of the clothes we had brought with us !! It wasn´t the best night´s sleep, definately one of the coldest nights either of us had spent under canvas but we made it through to daybreak, which occurs rather late in Argentina around 8am.

First night camp in the forest

Whilst we were packing upo we spoke to 3 Argentinian hikers who had set off from the bottom that morning. They told us there had been frost on the ground earlier, we could well believe it !! We set off again toward Cerro Catedral, and the last bit was pretty steep indeed. The effort was worth it though as the views were fantastic when we arrived. The Slovenian lady had told us that it resembled The Dolomites and she wasn´t wrong. The mountains were stunning and perfect for climbing - Kev, Iain and Rich you would have loved it.

Climbers at Cerro Catedral, Bariloche

After pitching again and another rehydrated meal Nik spent the afternoon reading by the lake and Jon set off to explore the surrounding area. That night, given the extra altitude, we feared would be even colder than the previous but it was quite a bit warmer and we were able to get a bit more sleep.

Nik filtering water from the lake

Early morning at Cerro Catedral

The following day we packed up late morning and set off back down the mountain. We thought it would be easier on the way down but it was harder than we thought - must have been the lack of fod and the fact we did it all in one go. We rewarded ourselves with chips and George Bush juice (coca cola) at the bottom and, after catching the bus, were soon back in Bariloche. We headed back to see our Slovenian friend but decided against another night camping in her garden and checked into one of the rooms she had for rent. We were knackered and felt we´d definately earned it !! So we stayed in town for another couple of nights, feasted on more chocolate and ice-cream and booked our bus tickets to El Bolson, a couple of hours south.

written by  jonnik on March 4, 2008 from San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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