Today was dominated by car trouble – in the end it turned out that the rubber mount for the rear drive shaft had worn out so that the drive shaft clanked when gas was applied for acceleration. At first we thought it was tire imbalance from an inch of mud on the undercarriage. We stopped by the side of the road and removed the mud from the wheel wells. Not enough! We stopped at a car cleaning shop in Calama. With all the power hoses, it took nearly 4 hours to fully remove all the mud. The car looked like new but the clanking continued and progressively got worse.
We did not want to break down in the Chilean desert. We pushed through some 200KM to Antofagasta, the second largest city in Chile and on the Pacific Coast. We contacted Porsche South America in Miami and Porsche Chile in Santiago, some 1400KM away. They helped with the diagnosis but Porsche service was only in Santiago. We stopped at a Jeep/Dodge/VW for their 4-wheel drive expertise – when we were thinking that it was still in the power transfer unit. The manager verified that the problem was the drive shaft mount, which probably broke driving over the rocky tracks across southwest Bolivia. Disabling the rear wheels allowed the car to move slowly, but not for purposes of a 1400KM drive. So the dealer made arrangements to truck the Cayenne to Santiago Porsche. We checked into a nice new hotel with ocean views and booked flights to Santiago for Friday.
Justin took over making the arrangements. The Jeep service manager was extremely helpful and kind, and even drove us to the hotel. We had a nice visit with him over drinks. Justin’s Santiago friend, Pato, made arrangements on the Santiago side and for a golf date on Saturday. We appreciated the graciousness and warmth offered to us.
It is all part of the adventure and once we made it to Antofogasta the apparent automotive disaster resolved itself into an inconvenience and money. We made it to sea level, in a nice city and slept soundly. We did not take many pictures today.
The Porsche altimeter maxed out at 5,000 meters (16,370’). The Aduana (customs) between Bolivia and Chile at the San Pedro crossing was at 5,200 meters. Geysers of all sizes were everywhere. A thermal electricity plant was at the site. Breathing was difficult at 16,000’. Majestic, snow covered peaks, shrouded in fog and clouds added to the wonder. It was snowing, then it hailed. All together, it was an out of body, magical experience..
The wonder of it all: Evidence of volcanic activity splashed all around, erosion sculpted rock trees, chemical lakes and all the off-roading. I had pleasure in just existing in this grand Andes desert at such elevation. It is so remote! The Borax bergs, and the arsenic filled green lake were evocative sites among many.
The border crossing was interesting leaving Bolivia: Passport un Uyuni, Aduana at 5,200 meters and police check at the border. Chile was busy but efficient. They got it through, including scanning all our baggage, in less than 45 minutes.
The bookends on the day were the rustic hotel in the mining town and the even more remote “eco hotel” near a flamingo lake. Both are owned and run by indigenous people. But tonight’s stay at 13,550’ has hot water and the service is friendlier and more helpful. It hailed shortly after we arrived and some hail bounced on the roof to get us indoors. As I say, nothing but the best for Carol & Justin.
It rained very hard last night. The spectacular drive up to 14,250’ was challenging for the first 2/3rds of the distance. The low-lying areas were muddy so the car steered like a jet ski, a snow mobile or the Carrera GT in the rain. When a puddle was unavoidable, the entire car was sprayed with muddy water – see the photo series. Luckily, traffic is sparse.
We stopped at a little town to take photos of the work of the designer of the atrium in the mining hotel. Ah, we thought the car was muddy then. We enjoyed numerous lakes with flamingos, ducks, and other birds. The flock upon flock of flamingos was a particular treat. We also enjoyed the “sand sculpture” area – basically wind and water erosion left boulders looking like trees, frogs, you name it. The car was even muddier.
The last 1/3 of the road was not a road at all, but total off-roading, mostly through rocks. It was the most complicated terrain for the car yet. It lived up to expectations. The elevation system, however, complained from 13,500’ & up.
We stopped for a picnic at a multicolored lake, set in the nearly barren high plateau and surrounded by stunning snow covered peaks. It was like nowhere we have been before. The next and last lake, where we are staying, had huge flocks of flamingos wandering in its borax salt flats. We enjoyed being with the flocks. They reminded us of the seagulls & pelicans at home.
The Railroad Graveyard at the edge of Uyuni was a walk back to the 19th Century. Visitors frolicked all over the rusted steam engines. Several girls lay on the tracks to be photographed – Were they waiting for their Oil Can Harry?
Even after buying a tarp and wire to protect the undercarriage of the car to go into the Salar, we declined the water passage in the Cayenne – too many electronic sensors to tolerate the 8” salt water. We enjoyed taking our pictures from the end of the road and taking pictures and playing with the animal salt sculptures in the Salt Museum.
The ride to Saint Cristobal through the salt landscape looked like Death Valley in the high Andes. We covered 150KM of dirt road, mixed (70% good) quality in the salt valley.
San Cristobal is a newly relocated silver mining town. The mine is owned by the Japanese, who have constructed comfortable houses for the workers. We were charmed by the creativity of the atrium at our rustic mining town hotel. It is formed from recycled giant mining equipment. I loved the bar stool using a giant machine spring as its base. The room is pretty basic (cold water shower), but the aromas of cooking coming out of the kitchen are nice. We enjoyed a visit with Jose (Joseph), our local guide. He is a Quechua speaker. Half of the area is Aymara speaking/ half Quechua. They enjoy very good relations. I will ask about the cultural differences between the 27 indigenous languages here.
Potosi has a ways to go in its reinvention as a tourist destination, but it is working on it. Evidence of its glorious past is mostly in its colonial churches and government buildings. Noisy Saturday night/carnaval revelers filled the streets late into the night. Oruro, on the way to Potosi, is where Evo Morales had leave town when dynamite was exploded near where he was to give a speech. Food shortages, especially of sugar, and higher prices have the Bolivians upset. Potosi is where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their end.
The drive was again spectacular at 11,500’-14,000’. It is difficult to stop taking pictures of the mountains, canyons and valleys of llamas. The small mining towns and indigenous villages added to the scenery. We had the joy of the Colorado Plateau & the Southwest at Andes elevation. Enjoy the pictures! About 85% of the road was well paved and the rest is in progress.
Uyuni is a gritty little desert town that exists mostly to serve tourists to the Salt Desert. Back packers seem to be a large part of the tourist trade so pizza is the standard fare. Carnival just started so parades and ‘blancoing’ abound.
After over 3 months, I finally caught a respiratory ailment so I am on antibiotics. Tomorrow we head into the salt flats and islands. (Having trouble loading the pictures)
We drove through fantastic scenery from a low of 11,000’ to a high of 14,250’; including 2 gigantic lakes with marshes, canyons galore like Utah and Colorado and tens of miles of terrain like our Painted Desert. At 13,000’+, the valleys had herd after herd of llamas. The houses in the country villages still had thatched roofs and were made of mud brick. Some of them were abandoned, perhaps to go to the city. It was all very scenic and a real treat. The people were very nice when we interacted with them.
Potosi is a colonial mining town. The bloom is off the silver and tin mining and the tourist trade is geared to young adventurers where a $4 a la cart meal is deemed pricey by the books. We are staying at El Colosio Hotel—Potosi’s 5 star hotel and have a magnificent view of the town and mountains beyond. We had an excellent dinner at Fogato – I had mixed greens and the Parillada. The sausages were our favorite. The town is very festive and full of people - this being Saturday night.
Note: Things are not always perfect, but a fine dinner seems to restore our positive attitudes – basically, that is what the Adventure is throwing at us. The perennial lack of information or disinformation of Latin America, particularly Bolivia, got the better of us today. Our travel agent didn’t know whether the road to Potosi was fully paved or still had 100 miles of dirt road, as was the case 10 years ago – he has not made this major trip in Bolivia and didn’t ask the hotel in Potosi when he made the reservations (nor are we sure they would have known!) The time estimate was 9-12 hours depending on whether it is raining or not. My AAA map and another showed a paved road. The map made in Bolivia was unclear. At the hotel, the Frenchmen gave a 9-hour estimate but were uncertain of pavement, not having taken the trip thus not knowing the effect of rain. My cautious companions like to play it safe based on a worst-case scenario rather than relying my “daring do” judgment. So we departed La Paz at 7AM, rather than our usual 9AM departure. There was also concern based on maps and books whether gas would be available for the car—today’s concern started when the tank was at half. Personally, I feel that there is no way the major route to a major city anywhere in the world wouldn’t have gas every 90 miles based on my experience in the deepest Sahara Desert 30 years ago. We arrived unnecessarily tired and hungry which does not make for happy campers.
The Dark Side: The lack of information, etc. was very difficult. We arrived at our hotel at Potosi at 2:30 PM with 4 more hours of daylight left (in 7 ½ hours). The road turned out to be fully paved and in fair to excellent condition all the way. There were 3 gas stations in the town we thought was our last chance, when our range was still 100 miles on the car computer (before a 3 gallon reserve hits) and there were more on the way that were not listed. As a result, we spent ½ hour waiting in line at the first gas station we saw.
As the great Napoleon said, an army marches on its stomach. When I am outside my habitat, I like a consistent morning routine: wake up at 7, breakfast at 8 and depart at 9. The erroneous information disturbed all 3 of us.
The air quality in Bolivia is the worst so far. The old buses, trucks, and old beaters, in that order, are poison spewing machines. Even Porsche’s recirculating system is no match to those fumes. “Diesel cough” is the result.
In short, information inadequacy (verbal, signage and maps) and vehicle fumes are the dark side. I don’t like but expect occasional poor road quality and inner city traffic jams. The fact that the roads in South and Central America are often better than they used to be needs to be more widely known. The border crossings in South America are smooth – nothing like the Central American nightmares.
We spent hours walking around La Paz. It is vibrant! First major stop was at the Bruja’s (witch’s) market for tapestries, etc. Second stop was the travel agent for the Salt Desert. After checking out several eating possibilities, we had a fine lunch at El Presidente Hotel. We stopped at the archaeological museum for the Tiwanaku artifacts, but it was closed for a month. It was not practical to travel to the Tiwanaku site.
We ran a bunch of errands in the city: Haircut & mani-pedi $13; money changing (7/1); and misc. purchases. Things are cheap in Bolivia – like going back 30 years relative to the $. We have been following Egyptian events and celebrate the people’s victory. We had another excellent dinner at the downstairs French restaurant.
We depart at 7AM tomorrow for Potosi and the Salt Desert.
Our indigenous guide’s discussion of the Catholic Church’s take over of the society was the most interesting part of the visit. First, the island had a small pre-Incan temple to the sun that still stands and has been put back into service. The 3 steps in the Andes iconography refelect the 3 levels of existence and 3 commandments: 1. Don’t lie, 2. Don’t be lazy, and 3. Don’t steal. The 3 pattern is also reflected in the canals that tap spring water and transfer it to the community. It is ominous that the ‘don’t lie’ channel is running very low.
Juanito discussed with some bitterness that 8 million indigenous died enslaved by the Spanish in the Potosi silver mines. Their families and animals were held hostage while they served 3 months a year [same as the Inca tax] carrying pinewood to melt the extract and to dig the mines. Until the early 1950’s the indigenous could not own land and the Catholic priests had a 15 day right of signorny. He was very proud Evo Morales is the first indigenous to be president since the conquest. There is a referendum on whether anyone can own more than 10,000 hectares and even with that much, they must actively use the property. We had considerable discussion of the current volatile situation.
The indigenous courtship pattern was also interesting. After approval of the parents and acceptance of community responsibilities, the prospective bride and groom move-in together for a trial marriage of 7-12 months. After that there is no divorce and if a child is on the way during the trial, the marriage is fixed. If there is marital disharmony, the couple go to the “godfather” for counsel. If the discord goes beyond that, they are both beaten in front of the entire community.
On the way to La Paz, we took a primitive one car “ferry’ from the peninsula to the mainland. We were hoping that the 25hp outboard motor wouldn’t die and the rickety boat wouldn’t sink.
Just before La Paz, as the Altiplano drops into the La Paz valley, the main road had a turn off to an “Autopista” with no further signage. We stayed straight and ended up in downtown Los Altos rush hour – Yiikes! After 40 minutes to travel 8 blocks to get on the Autopista we entered the La Paz valley. It was rush hour but we had little difficulty finding our hotel. This was Justin’s trial by fire as a South America driver.
We have 2 lovely apartments on top of La Paz’s premier French restaurant. The food is terrific. The chef had spent 7 years in San Francisco so he was very happy to spend time with us. We were very tired at the end of the day so early to bed.
Correction: The hippies in Copacabana are from Argentina.
A private boat & guide took us to the Uro floating islands in Lake Titicaca. The one we visited floats 10 meters above the lake bottom. The 4 families that live on the reed island were cordial and showed us what their lives are like: From construction of the islands, providing for themselves and their daily life style outside and the inside of their houses. We had a chance to sit on a reed bed and the lady grinned when I said “que romantico”. They are tourist savvy and showed us a very good time - ending with farewell songs to us. Note: If the families fell out with each other, they would simply split the island and float one off. If they grew, they could make the island bigger. Our guide feels that their thousand-year lifestyle will disappear except as a tourist attraction within 30 years.
We then left Hotel Libertador in Puno, Peru to Copacabana, Bolivia – on a peninsula in Lake Titicaca. The border crossing was very smooth and took only ½ of an hour for both exiting Peru and entering Bolivia. The view of the lake is more attractive from the Bolivia side. Copacabana is full of Argentine hippies—prices are much lower in Bolivia. My guess is that they are mostly on small “pensions,’ a few selling trinkets, but no one asking for small change.
We are taking another private boat tour tomorrow to the Temple of the Sun, then on to La Paz. The day after, Carol & I will explore Tiwanaku. That will conclude the archaeological part of the entire Americas Adventure.
Today was a driving day. It started through the Urubamba valley, bypassing Cusco, then moved through the Altaplano (high plains between mountain ranges) and ended in Puno at the Libertador Hotel Lago Titicaca. We drove by several important sites that would have filled some gaps in our pre-Inca civilizations, but it was not to be. It was raining hard at the first site near Cusco and the second, near Puno, seemed to be closed. We just can’t do everything! (Very few pictures today.) The large towns we drove through seemed gritty and not tourist oriented. We even skipped lunch in favor of a beautiful dinner.
The view of the lake from should give us a spectacular sunrise over the lake tomorrow. We will be touring the lake sites tomorrow and then on to Bolivia.
Our guide Fernando met us at our hotel in Urubamaba for Ollantaytambo and then Pisac. Both are major archaeological sights and have a living town. Ollantayambo was the last Inca stand and its successor is a living Inca village. Imperial Incan stonework & system were stopped in midstream when the Spanish invaded. One can see how the stonework was done slightly roughly in the quarries on the other side of the river, and transported on ramps of stone and sand. The Imperial granaries, waterworks, and terracing practices were in evidence. The living town was built on the foundations of the original town and some of the original houses are still occupied. We went into one of these original houses. It seems that today’s family lives much like its ancestors. We enjoyed watching their kittens play with their cuyes (guinea pigs).
We stopped for some tasty Chicha at Fernando’s favorite stop and he knows his Chicha. His mom supported 6 kids over 50 years by making Chicha. We were shown the entire chicha making process (like beer) and had a couple of liters between us. I liked the sour and tangy original and Carol & Justin preferred the strawberry flavored type. We had lunch in Pisac. I had delicious lamb seco.
The Pisac archaeological site was mostly pre-Inca. The population voluntarily joined the Inca Empire in its early stages and enjoyed some of its benefits. We looked across a canyon to their graveyard. That was an opportunity to delve into their beliefs with Fernando providing living knowledge.
We will continue to investigate the pre-Inca civilization tomorrow as we go to Lake Titicaca.
The Hotel Monesterio in Cusco was fabulous – beautiful, historical & has a great restaurant! Our professional guide (David) was excellent. We saw Sacsaywaman with its monumental stones and stupendous workmanship; Tambomachay, a sacred fountain: Q’enqo, a mystery site set in natural stone clefts, the Cathedral and a delicately curated museum of pottery and other small items. It was a fulfilling day! We had a delicious lunch at a contemporary Peruvian restaurant on the main plaza.
The drive to the Sacred Valley, mostly through a river gorge was beautiful. I yearned for the Andean corn beer Chicha as we went by the red tipped or flagged poles – to no avail. Maybe tomorrow we will have our chance.
Justin used Slingshot to hook us up to his TV for the Super Bowl. Several Gringo hotel guests (part of a National Geographic tour) joined us. We had delicious new tastes for dinner: cuy leg; Paiche – Amazon river fish; tacu tacu; tree tomato ravioli; soup of black Quinoa; lechon – yummm!
Since the Sanctuary Hotel was right at the entrance to Machu Picchu, we had an early start and the site almost to ourselves. All the surrounding high mountains held back clouds so the light at Machu Picchu was perfect for viewing. Enjoy the photos! It was magic. The photos are unedited. The Incas took care of the framing.
The Hiram Bingham train ride back was fun. The band sang several Quechua songs at my request. An Italian lady was moved to dance. So it was lively. Dinner was tasty contemporary Peruvian cuisine. The whole outing was an Orient Express package. We got back to the hotel late, and tired & most satisfied.
Note: I am posting unedited Day 89 photos for the diehards.
The Hiram Bingham train is quite elegant and professional including the handling of the passengers, the musicians on board and the lunch service. We had to take a car for the first 1/3 of the trip due to a landslide. The coach up from the train station to Machu Picchu was on sheer switchbacks on a dirt road. One could easily suffer from acrophobia in a spectacular setting!
Machu Picchu is more stunning than advertised. What we could only imagine from the foundation left in Cusco, we saw complete here. Even though it was not the capital of the Inca empire, it showcased the height of imperial technology in architecture, spirituality and science. As a longtime aficionado of stonework, I was in heaven. I took 200 photos!
The Inca empire was short lived. It was primarily a trading empire encompassing the coast, mountain ranges and the jungle and it was somewhat socialist as a cooperative society. Trade from the all corners came to Cusco and back out. The Spanish destroyed the trade system so many of the thriving communities such as Machu Picchu could no longer sustain themselves independently and were abandoned. The Spanish went about destroying the cultural & spiritual identity of the indigenous people.
We have the entire day at the site tomorrow! I am not suffering as much from the elevation since we are at 8,500’ so I might try a 1,000’ climb to watch the sunset tomorrow.
The first half of the drive was going down a beautiful river gorge. The second part was climbing up the Andes, through various valleys, then Cusco. The road was very good all the way in. It is not at all as dangerous as reputed. The motorcycle navigation device that Justin rigged up worked very well and took us through a very nice residential section.
The Monesterio Hotel in Cusco is magnificent – even more elegant than the converted convent in Oaxaca. We are at something like 13,000 feet and can feel it. Tomorrow we go to Machu Picchu overnight, then back here.
I could not stop thinking of the tragedy of the Spanish conquest this evening when walking around the oldest parts of Cusco to see the Spanish building techniques and compare them to the magnificent stonework of the Inca and prior civilizations. We will tour Cusco after we return from Machu Pichu.
The desolate Peruvian coastal desert goes right into the Andes from Nasca toward Cusco. Even at 11.000’ the mountains facing the Pacific were drier than Death Valley and contained the world’s largest sand dune. The Andean landscape became more familiar from the next valley on.
The high pampas (plains) is mostly 12.500’ – 15.000’. We encountered herds of llamas, alpaca and vicuna at those elevations. Some were wild in a national reserve. We had the pleasure of fog, rain and sleet on an exquisitely sinuous road for 360KM. Justin & I split the 6-hour drive. Cattle were kept below 12,500’. 2 passes were at 14,980’ elevation. The river valleys with waterfalls everywhere, indigenous communities living their lives, grand snow capped mountains, so on made me not notice my little elevation headache.
The road has been excellent. Road crews were everywhere clearing up rock falls from the rain and fixing erosion in the asphalt. There were no delays. What a difference with the road out of Huarez. We reached our hotel at 4:15. Tomorrow we drive the Andes to Cusco. We are undertaking trip scheduling to Rio so that Anisa & Steve can make their plans. There are so many delicious options!
From Pasto at the beginning of the Andes culture through Justin’s segment ending in the salt deserts south of Lake Titicaca will have been high adventure! The part from Buenos Aires to Rio will have the treats we have been spoiled to. High adventure awaits us in the Atlantic coast of Brazil, particularly, the Amazon Delta through the Guyanas.
Our flight over the Nasca Lines was at 11AM. We saw a short program on the site and various associated theories. It was a photographic extravaganza. Enjoy mine! Carol will post hers later. Maybe Justin will add a few.
Carol & Justin drove to the Nasca desert graveyard with all its mummies. I stayed at the hotel and took a nap. They got the better deal. Keeping in mind their belief that the dead were in another world & communicate during trances. We skipped the large mud brick Pre-Inca city (ancient Nasca) 40KM down a dirt road.
Locally, the cactus farms for Napolito and cactus fruit impressed us. Our hotel is another faded beauty with absentee ownership.
The car was packed to the gills with the addition of Justin’s bags and a spare to take back our purchases. The departure from Lima was smooth. Outside the Lima metro area, we were back in the relentless coastal desert, occasionally broken by a river valley & irrigation therefrom. We had a delicious seafood lunch at El Piloto in Caneta.
We paid a visit to Don Jose’s family in Ica. Justin came with a new GPS system, prepared to limit getting lost – only once did we ask for directions. We had a pleasant visit with Martin, Jose’s brother, his mother and father and met one of his aunts. The pisco sours were great. We were running late due to the 3-hour flight delay in Justin’s flight so it was a bit hurried – only enough time for 2 pisco sours each.
We reached our hotel in Nasca an hour after dark and in light rain. Then on to a nice dinner.
