My planned route only considerer Peru, Bolivia and
Ecuador (by this order) and, by choice or because of time and budget
limitations I have visited only a few of the ‘Highlights’ enumerated before. My
basic goals were Machu Picchu (near Cusco, Peru), the Titikaka lake
(Peru-Bolivia), and three volcanoes in Ecuador (Chimborazo, Cotopaxi and
Cayambe – by then I didn’t know the Cotopaxi would be inaccessible, because it
started erupting in August). Any of the other possibilities (the jungle; the
Atacama desert, in Chile; the hot springs; the coast…) would be just a happy
plus. Besides, I had one important ‘time of the year’ restriction: October is
the last good month to visit Machu Picchu (after this starts the rainy season),
and December is the starting season to climb volcanoes in Ecuador (the other
good season is May-August and in between is no good). So, I tried to go to
Machu Picchu at the end of October and start on the volcanoes at the beginning
of December, having one month (November) to wander around.
This was my own real route:
Lima (Peru) – Cusco –
Salkantay trail to Machu Picchu – Puno – Copacabana (Bolivia) – La Paz – Sajama
– Uyuni – S. P. Atacama (Chile) – Arequipa (Peru) – Ica – Lima – Huaraz –
Guayaquil/Riobamba (Ecuador) – Baños de Agua Santa – Quito – Cayambe – Otavalo
– Papallacta – Quito.
And this is what happened…
My story:
If you book a hostel in Lima they will give the
opportunity to have a taxi waiting for you (at the airport) and drive you straight
to their door. This is a good option because there are many stories about taxi
drivers robbing tourists. I was advice by many traveller reports that suffering
a thievery act in Peru is, at least, to be expected – that is ‘mark of the
house’. Fortunately, I was spared to that inconvenience and got through with no
problems in Peru but, I was surprised in Ecuador…
From Lima (staying at the central ‘1900 Backpackers Hostel’),
I bought a bus ticket (several private bus lines were located close by)
straight to Cusco (driving along the night). Connections are good but slow;
there are many options and daily departures (the trip takes over 24 hours). Always
choose the upper floor (the ground floor is usually very noisy) of a full/half
bed bus (the higher prices compensate). On the following morning (after one
night at Cusco) I was picked up to join the group heading to the starting point
of the Salkantay trail to Machu Picchu. It happened that my alarm clock did not
ring (at 7 a.m.) or I didn’t hear it (was too tired?), and the man came
shouting through the corridors but
I also did not here that. Woke up 30 minutes later and rushed to… I don’t know
where! Luckily, the man came to the hostel once again, later on, and everything
got back on track.
Salkantay is a sort of Inca Trail (organized some 20
years ago because the real Inca trail was getting too crowded), that starts at
a small mountain village and leads you to Aguas Calientes, after 4 days of trekking
(the Inca trail takes 2 or 3 days to arrive at the same spot; distances are
shorter and does not go so high up on the mountains). It offers much better
views than the Inca trail (you lose a few ruins on the way, though) at a very affordable
price. It is worthwhile!
This was my impression of Machu Picchu if you do not
count on with those 30 minutes going up (should I say running up) from Aguas
Calientes (the bridge pass opens at 8 am) to the entrance of the Machu Picchu
ruins (opens at 9 am) – you can also take a minibus later on and arrive at
about 9 o’clock (but me and 2 traveler partners were the first on the entrance,
just for the fun of it) – and the noisy American tourists: If you find a calm
spot and relax for half an hour, in front of that magnificent scenery,
absorbing the whole atmosphere, you’ll find this ‘once in a life time
experience’ much more interesting than to just hassle and running around trying
to take a picture of every single corner. On the other hand, consider this
basic conclusion: “Machu Picchu comes rapped in a pack that offers only
two alternatives: either rain or mosquitoes!” (quotation marks represent my posts on facebook).
From Aguas Calientes (also full of mosquitoes), on
that same evening, we took a train to another village (2 hours away), where a
minibus drove us back to Cusco. On the following morning I took a bus to Puno
(on the way to Bolivia) and stopped over for the night so I could take a boat
(the next morning) to visit some of the totora floating islands in the middle
of the Titikaka Lake. I had planned 2
nights in Puno, but I got this strange feeling... people were not nice... so
I´ve decided to leave as soon as possible. Colours at the Uros islands are
awesome, and the way they live... and the water temperature was not so low for
a dive, on that sunny day at 3.800 meters above sea level (the highest navigable lake in the world), so that is what I
did! The Uro people looked for refuge on the Titicaca Lake when they were
persecuted by the Incas and that is how they have established there definitely.
This tour took around 3 hours (better to buy a ticket there, directly, and pay
around 7 dollars, rather than accepting offers that agencies will through at
you at Lima, or Cusco, or other cities – you may contact Rober at titikakaurosadventure@gmail.com or go directly to their
office at Av. Titicaca, 461, near the harbor). That same day another bus took
me to Copacabana (142 km away, through a nice scenery overseeing the lake), the
first little town you will find when crossing the border to Bolivia. Here I
found a beautiful sunset on the beach; a very active market in the evening;
local gastronomy (be careful on that), and a different feeling... (plenty if
hostels there). The people you saw in big city streets dressing in a
traditional fashion, the peasants, here at Copacabana they are the business
owners, so they are everywhere, and it is funny to be attended by them at any
shop. There are a few tours to do (like crossing the ‘isla del sol’ on foot,
starting on the ‘sacred rock’), but I decided to keep on going. From Copacabana
to La Paz it takes a few hours (150 km on bad roads that are being repaired),
counting with a water crossing on a raft (each raft take one bus or several
cars).
What about “La Paz, the city of bricks? Asphyxiating chaos or
strategic point of departure (20 years ago the city did not have asphalted
roads and now, since 2013, it benefits from 3 cable-cars, and another 4 are
planned – the best way to move yourself inside such a tight city)?” La Paz was a surprise: first, because you think you
got there, but you still keep driving for a long time inside the city (which
is, in fact, El Alto); until you reach a spot where you can watch, down there,
the real La Paz, la hoya (the
pan), because it lays on a hole, the color of bricks, immense, surrounded by
rocky and snowy mountains, and that feels suffocating; last, because one
actually learns to move around (the city center), and you get to know the offers
for tours that are not so far from the city, and that does not feel so
suffocating anymore.
I got to the city centre on a holyday, everything
being closed and crowds filling the streets, especially near the cemetery (bus
left us there because it could not go through). Had to walk a bit to find my
hostel (Pirwa: very well located) and had to wait for the next day to get good
information and start planning the next tours. That was when I found out about the many mountains, the jungle, the salted desert, the
death road downhill on mountain bike, among others (to mention only the ones
that caught deeper my attention). Unexpectedly, I found a cheap opportunity to
climb Pico Austria (on my own), Chakaltaya (couldn’t miss it because it
represented the center of a study about glacier melting in South America: http://glacierwatch.blogspot.com), Wayna Potosi (wonderful
final climb), and so I did it (I´ve used mostly the services of Juan Carlos, www.climbingbolivia.com)!
On the other hand my time limitations started ticking – this was in the beginning of
November and I had to be in Ecuador before the end of the month to make sure I
had time to climb three volcanoes; but I still had to accomplish my other
options: the Sajama volcano (quite expensive to organize because it laid a bit
out of hand; and the unmissable ‘salar de Uyuni’
(3 days tour on a jeep, through a salted desert, and the Dali desert, that costs
around 700 BOB, less than 100 USD).
Uyuni was impressive! A revelation for photographers (despite
the driver and that the conditions of comfort were not the best – make sure
that you visit the trains museum and that you do not use the agency Sandra
Travels but, instead, one that owns their own jeeps): the lakes, the flamingos,
the conical volcanoes, the ice-capped peaks, the sand extensions, the geysers, the hot springs, the rock formations...
The Uyuny salted desert is located on the south-west of Bolivia (at 3.700 m. of
altitude), bordering Chile. It has a surface of around 12.000 km², and is the biggest in the
world. The tour crosses the salar,
stopping on an island of cactus (Incahuasi Island, or the ‘house of the Inca’)
and other deserts (like Dali and Silaba deserts); it reaches an altitude of
4.700 meters; and includes two national parks.
Photos: geysers & ‘rock tree’
Bolivia has a huge potential for tourism. The landscapes and the possibilities for active tours are
countless! The structural investment
is missing, in order to offer a service with a minimum quality desired. In Bolivia, keep religiously safe the National Park entrance
tickets (together with your money and passport): park rangers will ask for it
when leaving the parks and, because they are so ‘square’, it won’t be enough to
them that you indicate that you have entered on Monday at 11:40, as stated on
the manual registration you have filled when you got in. The entrances are
expensive (between 100 and 150 BOB, bolivianos,
approximately 15 to 22 US dollars). In Ecuador, on the other hand, it is common
that you register and pay nothing. The curious thing being that, when leaving
the park, you may not find any rangers watching, which makes the entrance
registration to lose its sense, or demonstrates that the registration will turn
into a mere statistic and not into a form of safety control of your life.
Before finishing the tour back in Uyuni, we had the
option of leaving the jeep at the border with Chile (still in the Eduardo
Avaroa National Reserve of Andean Fauna), to keep on going (there are bus
connections) to San Pedro de Atacama. I asked to be left at Laguna Verde, and
so I’ve climbed the Licancabur volcano (before heading to the border on the
next morning)... Then, came Atacama, a nice village that offers a special
atmosphere and plenty of activities for 2 or 3 days. But the Chilean peso got
quite expensive and I decided to skip the Atacama desert and lagoons (not
without regretting) and went for a half day tour to the hot springs, closer by.
Photo: Atacama hot springs
“A recent pic on FB stated: "I don't need
therapy. I just need to go to the mountains...". Well, Wayna Picchu
(2.682m), Chakaltaya (5.421m), Pico Austria (5.328m), Huayna Potosi (6.088m),
Sajama (6.542m), Licancabur (5.916m), in 14 days... What a heck, I must be a
quite a balanced guy!!!”
On that same afternoon I took a bus, via Arica, back to
Peru (Tacna), and then another one to Arequipa (a long and unpleasant trip,
during the night and half the next day). At Arequipa, under the sights of the appealing
volcano El Misti (which I’ve skipped because I needed to rest and do some
laundry), I’ve stayed 2 nights at the new and highly recommendable hostel at
calle Puente Grau (plenty of offers around that area).
"Todo es posible. Nada es seguro" (bolivian saying). Nothing is safe,
particularly if related with computers: my memory card with thousands of photos
got infected in one of them (Arequipa). At La Paz, because many things are
‘unsafe’, I was hit by some stomach virus that left its trace through the next
many days. On the mountains though, one finds improbable friendships.”
Then, I kept going north, stopping at Ica for the
sandboarding and buggy tour (if you stop there, do not miss the town museum
which holds a collection of strange stones with ancient inscriptions that are
suppose to reveal the existence of on old civilization). And back to Lima to reorganize and restore myself.
On the way to Ecuador I found time only to stop at Huaraz, the starting point
of many trekking and mountain tours, including the highest and famous Huascarán
- but it was not the season anymore. The city is too busy and I only climbed up
to the disappointing Wilcacocha lake (excellent views, though) before deciding
to leave. From here I had to go to Chimbote and from there I could not find a
direct connection to Ecuador, so, once again, more buses...
“Hi & bye to Salar de Uyuni (world's biggest
salted desert - Bolivia), highlight of this tour which allows amazing pics; bye
to Atacama (Chile); bye to Arequipa, and El Misti volcano (which I did not
climb); hi again to Lima and to stomach trouble; bye to Huaraz & hi to
Riobamba (Ecuador), and Chimborazo volcano, after more than 30 hours on 4 buses
with remote comfort...”. When arriving at
Guaiaquil (which, according to the news is quite a violent city) bus terminal I
heard a man shouting “Riobamba”, so I took that other bus without resting.
Riobamba was the starting point to climb Chimborazo, the highest in Ecuador.
“Yesterday my hostel room shacked... It was an
earthquake! Not as strong as the one in south Peru but here at Riobamba we have
an active volcano right next door: the Tungurahua (5.029m) is active for 17
years (people aren't allowed to approach). The iconic Cotopaxi turned active in
August 2015 (who knows for how long!) and climbing it is not allowed any more
(it was on my list). Let's try Cayambe (5.800m), the only volcano at the 0º
latitude... But before that, next stop is Baños (hot springs)!”
Baños de Aguas Santas was not on my ‘list’. I just
heard of it along the way. It was a nice surprise, a small town the way I like
it (stayed 3 nights there, sharing room with 2 American rafting guides from
Colorado whom I met on Chimborazo). Several options for restoring hot springs,
magnificent waterfalls under the shade of Turungaua volcano, and more, were available. Don’t miss it!
It was December, and I keep going north, to Quito. This
city would be the center of my next tours, to the mountains and hot springs
(and perhaps to the jungle).
“I’ve installed myself at the Cayambe hostel, on
the Cayambe (Equador) town, at the base of the Cayambe volcano, in the National
Park Cayambe-Coca! The volcano is in the pocket and was dedicated to my
dear friend Nuno Marques on the eve of his birthday.” After the Cayambe I’ve returned to Quito and from
there I did only 3 other tours, all of them very worthwhile: to the hot springs
of Papallacta (3 nights); to Otavalo market and Cuicocha lagoon (1 night); to
the Pichincha peak (day tour next to Quito).
Photos: 3x Chimborazo; 3x Quito
“It was supposed to be a soft hike of 2 to 3 hours
to the Pichincha summit (4.696m), but mountains reserve you this sort of
surprises, and the typical Ecuadorian misinformation even more. ─ «Have you
descent the 'paso de la muerte'?!», asked an American woman, fully roped, in a
surprised tone. «I don’t know! I’ve unclimbed the East crest…», said I. «Yes,
that is the 'paso de la muerte'!".
No wonder people die in that exposed route (for
those who do rock climbing it turns rather stimulating), but the information
about the difficulty is inexistent (another negative point to Ecuador).”
My impressions:
If the ‘mark of the house’ in Peru is that one gets
robbed (like several travellers testimony), in Ecuador the ‘mark of the house’
is the misinformation: Ecuadorians deceive on purpose (with bad intentions) or negligence,
or disinterest, or by pride (to hide that they don’t know). The fact is they
lie a lot! They lie through every skin
pore (I’m not exaggerating, unfortunately the examples are abundant): they can
be miserable when they sell you a pepperoni pizza without the pepperoni; when
they ‘forget’ to give you back the change; when they sell you an entrance to
visit natural water pools without telling you those are empty; or when they don’t
make any signs along the trails that lead you to the popular Pichincha, to
inform you that the path you are about to take can be deadly! However, it was
in Ecuador (arriving at Quito) that I’ve experienced a theft situation,
followed by a scene frequent on an action movie: while inside the bus I took
notice that my jacket was no longer on the shelf; in a few seconds I’ve checked
around and ran to the driver who pointed me the only people (two young men) that
had left on the bus stop. I have no idea if it was my prompt intervention – 50 meter
sprint into the void, jumping over street vendors, followed by a police woman
with her hand on the gun (who was telling me she had to call for backup) – or the
eventually menacing looks on the approach to the vehicle I supposed he was
entering, the fact is the little thief abandoned my jacket over a taxi trunk. Untouched! Inside the
pocket, still the mini video camera with more than 300 short videos...
The Bolivian also lies, perhaps not so much by negligence
or habit (like an Ecuadorian) but more by economic interest, that is to say, to
obtain an advantage over something he/she does not possess: he/she can offer
you a business in which the product/service offered does not correspond exactly
to the reality… I’ve heard British people stating that sarcasm is the ultimate
form of humor. In Bolivia they lie purportedly by need but, in Ecuador it seems
they pretend to elevate misinformation to some sort of art form.
Photos: La Paz (1st); 2x Puno
Peruvians are so lazy that, when it is raining, they
don’t even turn on the wipers of their vehicles, until you can no longer see a
thing (maybe thinking they are saving energy that way). Also, in that country you
can hardly get a cold drink: inside the freezers (disconnected) they keep other
things… However, quite often, their hands fall heavily over the horn button of
their vehicles. They honk for any apparent reason, in an automatic, and not rational,
gesture. In these aspects one notes the differences between them and
Ecuadorians, considered a little bit more ‘developed’. In Ecuador, only taxi
drivers abuse of the horn, to call the attentions for potential clients – only
that everybody is potential, even if improbable.
“Ecuadorians might lie through every pore of
their skin but what they say about the beauty of the Cuicocha lagoon (photo), is
pure truth!”
Photo: Cuicocha lagoon
“La Paz, has the color of house bricks over a rocky
mountains bottom. Quito is colorful, over a green back of the hills that encircle
it. Lima is flat and the horizon is at a few meters distance. Fog is common,
and adding to it, there is a strong atmospheric and acoustic pollution (honking
is uninterrupted).”
My message to Rafael Correa, the President of
Ecuador:
Do you want to upscale your country to an exponent of Sustainable
Tourism (like he stated on one speech)? The efforts taken by the Ministry that
holds National Parks, can be seen. But intentions are not enough, it takes
education! The first step to take should be to renovate the bus fleet operating
in Quito, the main source of visible (and felt) pollution at the capital city. Along
the way, you should provide better training to your drivers because most of
them drive like crazy, with contempt for the other users (pedestrians and
drivers), and an incomprehensible voraciousness. By the way, I´ve burst out
laughing when I saw the sign, well at the city centre, “Cuide su vida, utilice el paso cebra”: nobody ever respects that
sign, and even less the bus and taxi drivers, meaning your biggest problem, at
the moment, Mr. President, is to educate your population! Achieve it, and you
will get you sustainable tourism!
Buses & agencies & hostels:
Bus: CIVA and Cruz del Sur, both work in an automatic
way by keeping you entertained with video films non-stop and loud and
low-quality music (this is why the duct
tape) but both of them connect Peru and Ecuador. For night trips choose semi-cama seats (160º), the full bed
seats always located on the ground floor are too noisy (other buses could be
even less comfortable). Just for the record: one CIVA bus had a deadly accident
on the high roads of Peru (April 2016), 5 months after I had used that line.
Agencies: Titikaka Uros Adventure (Puno) works
Titikaka and Puno tours.
Climbing Bolivia (La Paz): expensive but accomplisher.
Julio Verne (Riobamba): the Dutch girl at the store reception
is not very friendly but she’s more serious than others.
Hostels I’ve stayed at (and to which I would return
to, exception made to Pirwa in Puno) with the condition that in some cases one
should not expect much from the information given by the staff:
Hostels in Lima: 1900 Backpackers Hostel
Hostels in La Paz: Pirwa hostel;
Hostels in Quito: Casa
Kanela; Hostel Galapagos:
No way:
Iberia (flights) – better pay more and use other
company that takes better care of your luggage and has an effective
costumer-relations department (like KLM or Lan Chile);
Sandra Travels (Uyuni) – it is not guaranteed that
other company will accomplish the service promised but this one sure won’t.
Video:
As a result of this great trip of 45 days, I’ve managed to prepare an abbreviated video of less than 13 minutes (with traditional Andean music). It will also give you an idea…
This is part 1 (2'50):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pVscWVrENw&feature=youtu.be
This is part 2 (4'42)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkzseDtp-Yw&feature=youtu.be
This is part 3 (4'37):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roba6A_y41I&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkzseDtp-Yw&feature=youtu.be
This is part 3 (4'37):
ENJOY & HAVE FUN!
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