AKA Tourist Trap Central. Everything here is expensive (particularly after Bolivia where you struggle spending $30 a day). People everywhere are hounding you to buy something, want you to pay to take a picture, sell you some sort of artistic thing, or eat at their place. Its a bit exhausting.
Historically, this is the longest continually inhabited city. It was the capital for the Incas from the 1200s until the Spanish conquistidors conqured the Incas in 1532. The Spanish built right ontop of it and you see stone walls everywhere that have been in place for centuries.
We awoke this morning, took quick showers, and packed our bags to leave the crap place we were staying. We found a really nice place and decided to splurge. We have cable TV, toliet paper (a rarity in Bolivia and Peru), our own bathroom, got a breakfast buffet, towels, etc.
We then decided to go to Pisca for this big sunday market. We opted for a taxi because the lady at the desk recommended it. We negoiated a price of 20 sol (Perus currency) or roughly $6 USD for both of us. Willie was very nice on the drive there and tried to be chatty with his basic English and we tried the best with our basic Spanish. When we arrived, the price suddenly changed and he told us he would wait for us. Instead, he took our 50 sol and disappeared. We expected it, but were put into a sour mood. We attempted to try and report him to the tourist police (Mike snapped a picture of his plate), to no avail. Deflated, we took the local bus. It was very inexpensive and we were annoyed we didnt take it initially. Oh well.
Mike has been to Peru before and all the places we are visiting, so hes handy for knowing where to go and what to do. On our way back from the market are some Incan ruins. I managed to buy a student ticket to the ruins with my ISIC for 70 sol. We started out at Tambomachay. It was a special spirital bath for the Incas. (Probably along the lines of a baptism?). It still has running water coming down the path. It was sort of interesting, but onward. We crossed the street and saw Pukapukara. It has a really nice lookout for the valley and they are not exactly sure what it was used for. They think it was either a hunting camp and/or a place for pilgrams passing through. We then walked 4 KM to Qènqo. It was a hilly but enjoyable walk. This was a place where the Incas made ritual sacrafices. Then a short walk from there is Saqsayhuaman. This was the highlight of the day. Its a massive walled complex. The stones are intercrately put together and they say they cant even fit a piece of paper throught the cracks. The Incans used this area to launch an attack on the conquistadors. Much of the stones were looted by the Spanish to build new strucutres, but what remains is still great to see. From here, you can take a staircase back down into Cuzco which ended our afternoon walk.
TOMORROW: Machu Picchu!!!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Copacabana
Copacabana is a famous beach in Brazil and also a small, lakeside town in Bolivia. It is nestled on the bank of Lake Titicaca. This small town has been a place for pilgrams for centuries. Initially, it was a sacred place to the Incas.
We arrived and went into the first cheap place we saw... you get what you paid for. It was a room with a tv (only 3 spanish channels) and two beds. It was nothing to write home about, but it worked out ok. We spent very little time in the room anyway.
Our first morning there, we awoke early to ensure we could catch the boat to the Isla del Sol (Isle of the Sun). The boat ride took over an hour, which was an impossibly long time to me since I had an uneasy stomach. The entire gentle ride is through the vast and blue Lake Titicaca. When you arrive to the small island, you learn quickly there are no paved roads or cars. There is a path that takes you from one side of the island to the other. It took us roughly 3 hours to do it and along the way we saw several different Incan ruins. The Incans believed that the world originated on these islands. Incans would make a pilgramage to the island in order to ask for good luck and favors.
At times the path was easy, but towards the end it got pretty steep upwards. We had the pleasure of cruising down very quickly in an attempt to catch our boat. We missed it, but another driver accepted our ticket anyway.
When we got back to Copacabana, we had to sort out our depature to Peru. We soon learned that there was no ATM in town and we were almost out of Bolivianos. As luck has it, American dollars are accepted everywhere so we cashed in some USD to buy our ticket to Cuzsco. We then found a place to exchange another 20 USD in order to pay the hostel and have enough money for dinner. It was a hectic hour getting it all sorted out, but we managed. Thanks to the leftover American bills we had.
Our second morning in Copacabana, we visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana. This cathedral was not only large, but very ornate. It is home to the Virgin of Copacabana, a small carved figured by an indgenious Bolivian as welll as the patron saint of Bolivia. The cathedral and Virigin are interwoven with the local tradition of the Earth Mother, Pachamama. Bolivians continue to come pay homage and ask the Virgin for special things. They even bless the cars here.
After snagging an apple and some bread for breakfast, we headed to the bus office to wait for our bus. Yippie. We waited for about 20 minutes and then were annoyed and worried we had done something wrong. After 35 minutes, the lady that sold us the ticket showed up and told us 5 more minutes. After an hour, a different lady escorted us to a taxi. Thus began our sort of curious crossing to Peru. We took a short taxi ride to the border while the new gal was on the phone back in forth working to get us a ride to Cuzsco that evening. Somehow, the bus that was supposed to take us to the border forgot us, through no fault of our own. We went to get our exit stamps and then she gestured us to another guy. Jesus came up to us and said hed take care of us, no problem. We walked across the bridge to the Peru side. The immigration office was empty except for us and one employee. After we filled out the forms, the guy went to stamp and his stamp was set to Feburary. He made me fill out a new form and changed the date. It was so wierd, we clearly were not the first people to pass through that day. Then we took another taxi to Puno. SWEET! This taxi ride was like an hour. It was actually almost lucky we missed our first bus, we never would have gotten two direct taxis otherwise. Jesus arranged for our bus from Puno to Cuzsco and then arranged for a place for us to stay in Cuzsco. When we finally arrived in Cuzsco (after 9 pm) we had been traveling for about 11 hours and were exhausted. Our hostel turned out to be pretty shady, so we ate dinner and stayed on the internet until we were tired for bed.
We arrived and went into the first cheap place we saw... you get what you paid for. It was a room with a tv (only 3 spanish channels) and two beds. It was nothing to write home about, but it worked out ok. We spent very little time in the room anyway.
Our first morning there, we awoke early to ensure we could catch the boat to the Isla del Sol (Isle of the Sun). The boat ride took over an hour, which was an impossibly long time to me since I had an uneasy stomach. The entire gentle ride is through the vast and blue Lake Titicaca. When you arrive to the small island, you learn quickly there are no paved roads or cars. There is a path that takes you from one side of the island to the other. It took us roughly 3 hours to do it and along the way we saw several different Incan ruins. The Incans believed that the world originated on these islands. Incans would make a pilgramage to the island in order to ask for good luck and favors.
At times the path was easy, but towards the end it got pretty steep upwards. We had the pleasure of cruising down very quickly in an attempt to catch our boat. We missed it, but another driver accepted our ticket anyway.
When we got back to Copacabana, we had to sort out our depature to Peru. We soon learned that there was no ATM in town and we were almost out of Bolivianos. As luck has it, American dollars are accepted everywhere so we cashed in some USD to buy our ticket to Cuzsco. We then found a place to exchange another 20 USD in order to pay the hostel and have enough money for dinner. It was a hectic hour getting it all sorted out, but we managed. Thanks to the leftover American bills we had.
Our second morning in Copacabana, we visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana. This cathedral was not only large, but very ornate. It is home to the Virgin of Copacabana, a small carved figured by an indgenious Bolivian as welll as the patron saint of Bolivia. The cathedral and Virigin are interwoven with the local tradition of the Earth Mother, Pachamama. Bolivians continue to come pay homage and ask the Virgin for special things. They even bless the cars here.
After snagging an apple and some bread for breakfast, we headed to the bus office to wait for our bus. Yippie. We waited for about 20 minutes and then were annoyed and worried we had done something wrong. After 35 minutes, the lady that sold us the ticket showed up and told us 5 more minutes. After an hour, a different lady escorted us to a taxi. Thus began our sort of curious crossing to Peru. We took a short taxi ride to the border while the new gal was on the phone back in forth working to get us a ride to Cuzsco that evening. Somehow, the bus that was supposed to take us to the border forgot us, through no fault of our own. We went to get our exit stamps and then she gestured us to another guy. Jesus came up to us and said hed take care of us, no problem. We walked across the bridge to the Peru side. The immigration office was empty except for us and one employee. After we filled out the forms, the guy went to stamp and his stamp was set to Feburary. He made me fill out a new form and changed the date. It was so wierd, we clearly were not the first people to pass through that day. Then we took another taxi to Puno. SWEET! This taxi ride was like an hour. It was actually almost lucky we missed our first bus, we never would have gotten two direct taxis otherwise. Jesus arranged for our bus from Puno to Cuzsco and then arranged for a place for us to stay in Cuzsco. When we finally arrived in Cuzsco (after 9 pm) we had been traveling for about 11 hours and were exhausted. Our hostel turned out to be pretty shady, so we ate dinner and stayed on the internet until we were tired for bed.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Tiwanaku
Never heard of Tiwanaku? Not too surprising. It was the major culture that dominated western South America before the Incas. It was in the area of Bolivia and Peru. A large majority of the site has not been completly excavated, however large parts have been `stolen`and are in musuems around the world. Initially, they took away pieces of Tiwanaku and incorrectly called them Incan artifacts.
On our hour and a half drive from La Paz, our exteremly knowledgable guide pointed out lots of things along the way. He spoke very good English. (Everyone in Bolivia speaks decent English, we were quite surprised.) He pointed out the fields and explained about the small towns we passed.
In Tiwanaku, they are developing a museum but its a little bare. They are also excavating and restoring. The whole town seemed to be busy digging through the dirt, sorting things into piles, and so on. I think in about 10 years, this will be an awesome place to visit with all the work that is currently underway. For us, it was just sort of okay.
They did have a gate they call the sun gate. Our guide explained the symbols and showed us how it was set up exactly the same way as the current Greogrian calender and predates it by hundreds of years. There were also large stones sort of resembling people that were looked upon as some sort of religious object/Gods. They had lots of intercate carvings and details. All of the details were mathmatically equivelent and related, which was neat.
We managed to make it back to La Paz in order to catch a shuttle to Copacabana, Bolivia. It was a bit hectic getting there and racing through the city in a cab. The shuttle was a mini bus packed full (as is typical of all transportation down here). At one point, we had to take a ferry. The passengers and the minibus took seperate ferries which was sort of funny.
On our hour and a half drive from La Paz, our exteremly knowledgable guide pointed out lots of things along the way. He spoke very good English. (Everyone in Bolivia speaks decent English, we were quite surprised.) He pointed out the fields and explained about the small towns we passed.
In Tiwanaku, they are developing a museum but its a little bare. They are also excavating and restoring. The whole town seemed to be busy digging through the dirt, sorting things into piles, and so on. I think in about 10 years, this will be an awesome place to visit with all the work that is currently underway. For us, it was just sort of okay.
They did have a gate they call the sun gate. Our guide explained the symbols and showed us how it was set up exactly the same way as the current Greogrian calender and predates it by hundreds of years. There were also large stones sort of resembling people that were looked upon as some sort of religious object/Gods. They had lots of intercate carvings and details. All of the details were mathmatically equivelent and related, which was neat.
We managed to make it back to La Paz in order to catch a shuttle to Copacabana, Bolivia. It was a bit hectic getting there and racing through the city in a cab. The shuttle was a mini bus packed full (as is typical of all transportation down here). At one point, we had to take a ferry. The passengers and the minibus took seperate ferries which was sort of funny.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
La Paz
La Paz is not technically the capital of Bolivia, Sucre is the official capital of Bolivia. All of the muncipal buildings and parliment and the presidents office, however, are located in La Paz. We took an overnight bus from Potosi to La Paz and arrived at 7 am. Yippie! We checked into our the Wild Rover Hostel, which is a large but fun hostel. Its very clean, despite the fact that it is so large. Usually, the big hostels are a bit dingy. It also has an Irish bar, as its owners are Irish. It claims to be the highest elivated Irish pub in the world, however, it does not serve Guinness. Boo. I will just have to wait until I return. One of the items offered on the ´hungover backpacker breakfast menu` is a full Irish breakfast (eggs, sausage, beans, grilled tomato, & toast).
We have been in several different churches here in La Paz, including the Cathedral. The most interesting church we have been to so far is the San Fransisco Church. The museum right next to the church is filled with, surprisingly, I know, religious artwork. We got an excellent guided tour and saw artifacts that belonged to the Fransican Friars in the 16 & 1700s. We then were treated to a walk upon the roof and to the bell tower (but not allowed to ring the bell) to see the view of La Paz. It was great. There was a mass being held, so we had to come back in the afternoon to see the crypts. However, this was really neat as well. The crypt holds not only Fransican Friars, but famous revolutionaries and other important people from Bolivian history.
La Paz is a giant market. Everything is for sale on every street corner. We visited an infamous witches market, which was not that intersting. Lonely Planet makes it out to be really cool and mystical, but it just looked like a tourist trap to us.
We also stopped into the Coca Musuem. It is a musuem dedicated to the coca plant. It is chock full of informaiton about the coca plant. It does strongly explain that it feels cocaine, a derivitative of the coca plant, is exteremly bad for you and that it causes a severe additction. It also has lots of medicial information, history, etc.
Our second day in La Paz, Mike took the plunge and went on a bike ride down the worlds most dangerous road with Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking. 3 tourists died on this bike ride last year. I opted for a `safer` day shopping. I had fun in the spralling market streets of La Paz and wondered away from the tourist section to get some better deals. It began to rain in early afternoon and a took a nice dive down the steep streets and cut my knee and hand up. Boo. Then, managed to misplace my ATM card. I was able to cancel the card and request a new one without any unsual transactions. I am, however, without a bank card to complete this trip. My bank also just sent me an email telling me they cancelled my AmEx as a precaution, too (not that this is a huge deal, they hardly accept credit cards down here). I am completly reliant on Mike for the last week of our trip, we will just call him sugar daddy from now on..... Thankfully, he was okay with floating me some money for the last bit.
We have been in several different churches here in La Paz, including the Cathedral. The most interesting church we have been to so far is the San Fransisco Church. The museum right next to the church is filled with, surprisingly, I know, religious artwork. We got an excellent guided tour and saw artifacts that belonged to the Fransican Friars in the 16 & 1700s. We then were treated to a walk upon the roof and to the bell tower (but not allowed to ring the bell) to see the view of La Paz. It was great. There was a mass being held, so we had to come back in the afternoon to see the crypts. However, this was really neat as well. The crypt holds not only Fransican Friars, but famous revolutionaries and other important people from Bolivian history.
La Paz is a giant market. Everything is for sale on every street corner. We visited an infamous witches market, which was not that intersting. Lonely Planet makes it out to be really cool and mystical, but it just looked like a tourist trap to us.
We also stopped into the Coca Musuem. It is a musuem dedicated to the coca plant. It is chock full of informaiton about the coca plant. It does strongly explain that it feels cocaine, a derivitative of the coca plant, is exteremly bad for you and that it causes a severe additction. It also has lots of medicial information, history, etc.
Our second day in La Paz, Mike took the plunge and went on a bike ride down the worlds most dangerous road with Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking. 3 tourists died on this bike ride last year. I opted for a `safer` day shopping. I had fun in the spralling market streets of La Paz and wondered away from the tourist section to get some better deals. It began to rain in early afternoon and a took a nice dive down the steep streets and cut my knee and hand up. Boo. Then, managed to misplace my ATM card. I was able to cancel the card and request a new one without any unsual transactions. I am, however, without a bank card to complete this trip. My bank also just sent me an email telling me they cancelled my AmEx as a precaution, too (not that this is a huge deal, they hardly accept credit cards down here). I am completly reliant on Mike for the last week of our trip, we will just call him sugar daddy from now on..... Thankfully, he was okay with floating me some money for the last bit.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Bolivia SLIDESHOW
Starts with the amazing salt flat tour and continues to some snapshots of Sucre. More to come!
Potosi
Potosi is a town you may never have heard of, but should have. It is located near the largest mine of silver ever found, called Cerro Ricco. The Spanish mined it for centuries and now, there is no silver, but the locals still mine it for other minerals. At its peak, the population was larger than Paris and about equal to London.
We took a taxi from the bus station to the hostel we had picked out ... only to discover that it was closed. The sign on the door said closed for rennovations. We then went to La Casona Hostal Potosi, a short walk away. We are paying 80 bolivianos for a clean room with 2 twin beds and we get breakfast. The hostel was really pretty and interesting architechture.
After arriving, we went to the Koala Cafe and had a set meal for less than $5. We started with a crepe, then I had quinoa soup. Our entree was lemon pepper llama and mashed potatoes. Yummy! For dessert we had banana cake. Delicious. We then went across the street to the Casa Nacional de Moneda. It is the former royal mint and now houses one of the better museums we have visited. We once again recieved a guided tour with our admission price of 20 bolivianos. It took about an hour or so to take it all in. The museum has a collection of religous art, contempary art, and artifacts from it's time as mint.
Sundays in South America are remind me of the fall in the US. Its all about football!! Of course, football here is what we call soccer at home. A friendly local told us that it was a super classico game this Sunday, April 19th. Super classico is a big match between rivals. It was Potosi Real vs. Potosi Naçional. The match was fun, only cost us 30 bolivianos ($4.20), and ended in a 1-1 tie.
We then had the opportunity to enjoy lomitos for dinner--little sandwiches with some beef, tomato, and papas fritas (of course!) on a bun. Its quite tasty and uber cheap, only 5 bolivianos.
Monday we went to Cerro Ricco (the silver mine). The first stop on the tour is to get all of the gear you need: jackets, pants, helmet, boots, headlamp & battery, and bandana. They dont tell you to bring a scarf or bandana, but are ready to sell it to you. After you get your gear, you are treated to a visit to the miners market. You are able to buy drinks, dynomite, coca leaves, 96% alcohol, or other goodies for the miners. Its not required to buy anything but its encouraged by our guide, Ronaldo. Ronaldo worked in the mines from when he was 16 until about 19/20. He was very lucky to get out of the mines. (The conditions and the money are crap.) We then went to the refinery. After the minerals are drawn out of the mine, they are brought to one of the many refineries for processing. Next, the bus climbed up the mountain and we went into the mine. The first part shows Tio, the devil, that the miners leave offerings to in order to ensure their protection and hope bestowes them with the good luck of finding valuable minearls. The mine shaft gets smaller and smaller the further you clamber in. Shortly after the light fades behind you, the dust starts to penetrate your lungs. It burns and continues to burn the rest of your `visit.´ The first miner we met was a 13 year old boy. He works in the mine because his family is poor. His father is the head miner in one part of the mine. It was very heartbreaking watching this poor child work so hard. He said he did want to go to school but that he couldnt afford it. When we finally climbed out of the mine, I was short of breath and my lungs burned. I have never been so excited for fresh, clean air. I coughed the rest of the day and we were only in the mine for 2 hours or less. Needless to say, the miners do not live long lives.
When we got back to town, we got lunch and had the opportunity to see an amazing church. Our tour of the chuch included some information about the church AND we got to climb up to the roof for a great view of the city. Then we got to go all the way down into the crypts of the church. It was quite the all-inclusive tour.
After we finished the church tour, we quickly headed out of town to the Eye of the Inca. It took us about an hour to get there -- we took two buses and climbed up a hill -- but it was totally worth it. It was a hot lake that overlooked the mountains. As we approached, the sun was setting so we did not get as long of a swim as we would have liked. We climbed down the hill with two Argentinians and split the cab back to town. The whole trip cost us only 13 bolivianos and was worth every centovos.
We took a taxi from the bus station to the hostel we had picked out ... only to discover that it was closed. The sign on the door said closed for rennovations. We then went to La Casona Hostal Potosi, a short walk away. We are paying 80 bolivianos for a clean room with 2 twin beds and we get breakfast. The hostel was really pretty and interesting architechture.
After arriving, we went to the Koala Cafe and had a set meal for less than $5. We started with a crepe, then I had quinoa soup. Our entree was lemon pepper llama and mashed potatoes. Yummy! For dessert we had banana cake. Delicious. We then went across the street to the Casa Nacional de Moneda. It is the former royal mint and now houses one of the better museums we have visited. We once again recieved a guided tour with our admission price of 20 bolivianos. It took about an hour or so to take it all in. The museum has a collection of religous art, contempary art, and artifacts from it's time as mint.
Sundays in South America are remind me of the fall in the US. Its all about football!! Of course, football here is what we call soccer at home. A friendly local told us that it was a super classico game this Sunday, April 19th. Super classico is a big match between rivals. It was Potosi Real vs. Potosi Naçional. The match was fun, only cost us 30 bolivianos ($4.20), and ended in a 1-1 tie.
We then had the opportunity to enjoy lomitos for dinner--little sandwiches with some beef, tomato, and papas fritas (of course!) on a bun. Its quite tasty and uber cheap, only 5 bolivianos.
Monday we went to Cerro Ricco (the silver mine). The first stop on the tour is to get all of the gear you need: jackets, pants, helmet, boots, headlamp & battery, and bandana. They dont tell you to bring a scarf or bandana, but are ready to sell it to you. After you get your gear, you are treated to a visit to the miners market. You are able to buy drinks, dynomite, coca leaves, 96% alcohol, or other goodies for the miners. Its not required to buy anything but its encouraged by our guide, Ronaldo. Ronaldo worked in the mines from when he was 16 until about 19/20. He was very lucky to get out of the mines. (The conditions and the money are crap.) We then went to the refinery. After the minerals are drawn out of the mine, they are brought to one of the many refineries for processing. Next, the bus climbed up the mountain and we went into the mine. The first part shows Tio, the devil, that the miners leave offerings to in order to ensure their protection and hope bestowes them with the good luck of finding valuable minearls. The mine shaft gets smaller and smaller the further you clamber in. Shortly after the light fades behind you, the dust starts to penetrate your lungs. It burns and continues to burn the rest of your `visit.´ The first miner we met was a 13 year old boy. He works in the mine because his family is poor. His father is the head miner in one part of the mine. It was very heartbreaking watching this poor child work so hard. He said he did want to go to school but that he couldnt afford it. When we finally climbed out of the mine, I was short of breath and my lungs burned. I have never been so excited for fresh, clean air. I coughed the rest of the day and we were only in the mine for 2 hours or less. Needless to say, the miners do not live long lives.
When we got back to town, we got lunch and had the opportunity to see an amazing church. Our tour of the chuch included some information about the church AND we got to climb up to the roof for a great view of the city. Then we got to go all the way down into the crypts of the church. It was quite the all-inclusive tour.
After we finished the church tour, we quickly headed out of town to the Eye of the Inca. It took us about an hour to get there -- we took two buses and climbed up a hill -- but it was totally worth it. It was a hot lake that overlooked the mountains. As we approached, the sun was setting so we did not get as long of a swim as we would have liked. We climbed down the hill with two Argentinians and split the cab back to town. The whole trip cost us only 13 bolivianos and was worth every centovos.
Sucre
We departed Uyuni for Sucre, Bolivia. Sucre means sugar and the city is delicious! The city used to be the capital of Bolivia and all the buildings are white on the exterior. They all have pretty terracotta tiled roofs, too. We stayed at Residencia Bolivia, which had a large courtyard filled with plants and a fountain that was off. They were very engaged in repainting and repairs, so I imagine it will be even nicer in a few months. Did I mention Bolivia is very cheap?? For 90 boliviaos (around 12 usd) we got our own room and breakfast. Breakfast is just bread through most of South America, so its generally not too exciting. Mike and I travel with peanut butter and I aquired some nutella, although thats about to run out.
Mike and I began touring around Sucre and managed to somehow fit it all in. We climbed up the hill to gaze out over the city at Calle Grau. There was also a pretty church called the Recoleta. It was a great lookout. Then we visited the Museo Textil Etnografico ASUR a museum for textiles created by the local peoples. The organization ASUR helps the locals earn a fair price for their dedicated work, supports programs to teach it to the children, and runs the musuem. It was an incredible museum with old tapastries and items as well as displaying the newest work and having an excellent shop.
We grabbed a quick lunch in the square and headed on to see an amazing castle way outside of the center of the city. The public bus cost about 14 US cents to ride one way. Ha! Castillo la Glorieta (not listed in the lonely planet AKA the backpackers bible) was incredible. It was built in the late 1800s by a very wealthy couple, who became the only native South Americans to recieve the title of Prince and Princess. They were bestowed this title first by the Pope, then by the King and Queen of Spain. They had no children and maintained a orphanage on their vast property. Sometime after they died, the Bolvian military aquired the property and turned it into a military base. The house has recently been painted to restore its original colors but has original flooring, tiles, etc. It was really cool and only cost 10 bolivianos to get in ($1.41 US). We lucked out and started our tour with a gal that spoke English so we were able to learn about the amazing building we were drifting through. She had to cut it short and her replacement only spoke spanish. Oh well.
After we got back to the center, we took the Sauro Tour truck to see dinosaur tracks at Cal Orkco. This collection of dinosaur tracks is the largest that has ever been uncovered. Too bad its not that exciting to see them. We had to pay 45 bolivianos (over $6) to get into the park. We got a tour, but you are very far away from the tracks. Its very overratted and not very exciting. They did have a few cool scale models of the dinosaurs found in South America (they differ from the North American ones).
We returned to town with enough time to see San Phillpe monestary & church. It was very old and beautiful. The coolest bit was that we got to go all the way up on the roof and look around the city. While it used to be run by monks, it now hosts a covenant and an all girls school for ages 5-18. Our guide was excellent and spoke English.
They have a large market near our hostel, so we drifted in there and got a delicious dinner of chiken and fries. This is one of the most common dishes in Bolivia. It was tasty and cheap - only 10 bolivianos.
We left Sucre to go to Potosi. We managed to get from our hostel to the bus terminal and on a bus that was just departing in less than 20 minutes for only 20 bolivianos. Sweet!
Mike and I began touring around Sucre and managed to somehow fit it all in. We climbed up the hill to gaze out over the city at Calle Grau. There was also a pretty church called the Recoleta. It was a great lookout. Then we visited the Museo Textil Etnografico ASUR a museum for textiles created by the local peoples. The organization ASUR helps the locals earn a fair price for their dedicated work, supports programs to teach it to the children, and runs the musuem. It was an incredible museum with old tapastries and items as well as displaying the newest work and having an excellent shop.
We grabbed a quick lunch in the square and headed on to see an amazing castle way outside of the center of the city. The public bus cost about 14 US cents to ride one way. Ha! Castillo la Glorieta (not listed in the lonely planet AKA the backpackers bible) was incredible. It was built in the late 1800s by a very wealthy couple, who became the only native South Americans to recieve the title of Prince and Princess. They were bestowed this title first by the Pope, then by the King and Queen of Spain. They had no children and maintained a orphanage on their vast property. Sometime after they died, the Bolvian military aquired the property and turned it into a military base. The house has recently been painted to restore its original colors but has original flooring, tiles, etc. It was really cool and only cost 10 bolivianos to get in ($1.41 US). We lucked out and started our tour with a gal that spoke English so we were able to learn about the amazing building we were drifting through. She had to cut it short and her replacement only spoke spanish. Oh well.
After we got back to the center, we took the Sauro Tour truck to see dinosaur tracks at Cal Orkco. This collection of dinosaur tracks is the largest that has ever been uncovered. Too bad its not that exciting to see them. We had to pay 45 bolivianos (over $6) to get into the park. We got a tour, but you are very far away from the tracks. Its very overratted and not very exciting. They did have a few cool scale models of the dinosaurs found in South America (they differ from the North American ones).
We returned to town with enough time to see San Phillpe monestary & church. It was very old and beautiful. The coolest bit was that we got to go all the way up on the roof and look around the city. While it used to be run by monks, it now hosts a covenant and an all girls school for ages 5-18. Our guide was excellent and spoke English.
They have a large market near our hostel, so we drifted in there and got a delicious dinner of chiken and fries. This is one of the most common dishes in Bolivia. It was tasty and cheap - only 10 bolivianos.
We left Sucre to go to Potosi. We managed to get from our hostel to the bus terminal and on a bus that was just departing in less than 20 minutes for only 20 bolivianos. Sweet!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Bolivian Visa
Americans have only been required to get Bolivian tourist visas for less than 2 years. Its all politics between the former US president and Morales, the Bolivian president. Yippie!
At the small border control in Bolivia, Mike and I appeared to be the only tourists out of maybe 100 that were American and singled out. We both knew about the visa so I flashed my passport right away, knowing we would go through different protocol than everyone else. The military guard spotted my nice blue passport with an eagle on it and pulled me to the side. He nicely asked if I had already applied for a visa? No. How long would I be staying in Bolivia? 14 days (always ask for more than you need) Was traveling alone? No. (I signaled Mike to come over, too). They took both of our passports and said something about 2-3 days. While all the Europeans, Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, even South Americans all were getting stamps and then returned their passports. The guard made it clear we were not to get our passports back yet. I felt really excellent about entering a third world country and leaving my passport behind.
Lucky for us, we had a translator in our car who was able to explain to us that we would get our passports back in Uyuni. When we arrived to Uyuni at 12:30, I immedetly asked about our passports. The guy explained the office was closed and we had to come back after 4 pm. At 4, he walked us over and handed our passports to the customs official. We gave them our paperwork (yellow feaver vaccine, passport photo, and a form). Then another gentleman came over to collect the $135 USD requir
ed for the visa. I have never seen anyone so cautiously inspect money before. Even though Mike and I have been carrying this cash all the way around SA and brought it from the US, he rejected 2 of the twenties we had. See the photos at the side and let me know if you can see the `rip`that was supposedly the reason he rejected them. I had an extra one that he accepted. We were still a $20 short so we had to go to a money exchange place and get a crappy exchange rate to purchase another $20. So rediculous!
Thankfully, when we returned he accepted our recently purchased bills and gave us our passports, with visas and stamps. Whew!!
At the small border control in Bolivia, Mike and I appeared to be the only tourists out of maybe 100 that were American and singled out. We both knew about the visa so I flashed my passport right away, knowing we would go through different protocol than everyone else. The military guard spotted my nice blue passport with an eagle on it and pulled me to the side. He nicely asked if I had already applied for a visa? No. How long would I be staying in Bolivia? 14 days (always ask for more than you need) Was traveling alone? No. (I signaled Mike to come over, too). They took both of our passports and said something about 2-3 days. While all the Europeans, Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, even South Americans all were getting stamps and then returned their passports. The guard made it clear we were not to get our passports back yet. I felt really excellent about entering a third world country and leaving my passport behind.
Lucky for us, we had a translator in our car who was able to explain to us that we would get our passports back in Uyuni. When we arrived to Uyuni at 12:30, I immedetly asked about our passports. The guy explained the office was closed and we had to come back after 4 pm. At 4, he walked us over and handed our passports to the customs official. We gave them our paperwork (yellow feaver vaccine, passport photo, and a form). Then another gentleman came over to collect the $135 USD requir
ed for the visa. I have never seen anyone so cautiously inspect money before. Even though Mike and I have been carrying this cash all the way around SA and brought it from the US, he rejected 2 of the twenties we had. See the photos at the side and let me know if you can see the `rip`that was supposedly the reason he rejected them. I had an extra one that he accepted. We were still a $20 short so we had to go to a money exchange place and get a crappy exchange rate to purchase another $20. So rediculous!Thankfully, when we returned he accepted our recently purchased bills and gave us our passports, with visas and stamps. Whew!!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Salt Flat Tour into Bolivia
We left San Pedro, Chile excitedly looking forward to Bolivia. We booked a tour for 69,000 pesos with Expediciones Estrella del Sur (star of the south). For an all inclusive 3 day tour (transportation, lodging, food, & drinks) we paid roughly $112 usd.
We started our tour at 8 am and hopped on a shuttle to the Chilian border. There was some unknown problem and we got our exit stamps and then waited for an extra hour or so at the border. Then we drove for awhile and arrived at the Bolivian border. As Americans, we are lucky enough to have to pay for a tourist visa. (We are the only ones in the entire group that have to do this, everyone else gets to come to Bolivia for free.) This singled Mike & I out immediately. We had to surrender our passports to the customs official at this tiny little border control station in the middle of nowhere. Its always a fantastic feeling when you are in a third world country to give up your passport... but more on the fun of the visa later.
We were served a filling if unexciting breakfast at the border and divided into groups of 6. Our driver, Alberto, was relatively young (mid 20s maybe) and fabulous. All of the cars are Toyota Land Cruisers and we had to load our big packs on the top of the car. Also on the top of the car, is our gas supply for the next 3 days and some rations. Our group of six was loads of fun. Along with Mike and I, we quickly became friends with Max & Stephanie a couple from the UK, and Imkea (from Germany) and her friend Phillipe (Chile). We were wonderfully lucky that Imkea was not only fluent in English and German, but Spanish, too. Alberto didnt speak any English that Im aware of but was able to provide lots of information about the scenery.
Day 1: We saw the white lagoon, green lagoon, dali rock desert, and got to stop at Polques Hot Springs. The water was toasty and loads of fun. Then we headed on to the Morning Sun Geyser Basin. It was full of bubbly mud. Steph pointed out that it was similar to the bog of eternal stench from the movie Labyrinth. I couldnt agree more. Due to our late start, we arrived at the place we were sleeping around 4 and got lunch. We skipped the last stop of the day, but Alberto promised that we would be going there first thing in the morning. The sun was not in the right place to enjoy it. For lunch we were served hot dogs, delicious mash potatoes, and salad. We got bananas for dessert. Our primative dwelling for the night had simple beds and a flushing toilet! yippie. No heat or hot showers, but we did have electricity for a few hours in the evening. After settling in, we had a tea break with cookies. We all were just chatting away and then were shortly served dinner since we had been behind all day. We were given a bottle of wine, soup, and a traditional Bolivian dish. It was french fries on the bottom, onions, peppers, some type of sauce, cut up hot dogs all on a large platter. It was filling and it was okay.
Day 2: Alberto told us we were leaving at 7 am, but we didnt end up leaving until 8. Boo. We went to the red lagoon and saw flamingos in the wild. Its the red lagoon because the alge turn it to that color. Then we went to see the stone tree, which was a very interesting rock. On to the highland lagoons: lagoon honda, chearcota, hediona, & cañapa. We ate a tasty lunch at Cañapa which was a potato cassrole type thing with onions, eggs, and peppers. We got apples for dessert, too. Then we drove onward to the lookout of the Ollague Volcano and through teh Chiguana salt flat. We arrived to Villa Martin, where we stayed for the night. We had a great dinner and chatted with friends. We even were able to buy a hot shower for 5 bolivanos (70 us cents).
Day 3: Rise and shine! Up at 4:50 am to catch the sun rise at Uyuni Salt Flat. It was freezing as we loaded our gear on top of the toyota. Then, to our fantastic luck, we got a flat tire. Alberto then had to explain that his spare tire was already flat. We attempted to flag down other toyotas passing us buy to no luck. Alberto ran off telling Imeka, not to worry he was going to the baño. Ha. He came rolling back down the way with a tire and we all cheered as he put it on. Unfortunetly, we did more damage than just one flat tire. We had two and some sort of problem with the front end. The drivers for these tours appaerently have to be everything -- including auto mechanic. Alberto stopped to do some more fiddling and then slowly drove us out onto the salt flat. Uyuni salt flat is over 12,000 square km. wowser! It goes on and on and on. Weerily, we got out of the toyota and started snapping and snapping away. We tried to think up as many ideas as we could, and I hope that you will agree that we did a good job. As it was freezing, we finally had to return to the truck. As we warmed up, we approached Fishermans Island. It was full of cactus and awesome to behold. We were able to climb up the hill for a 360 degree view. Stunning to behold, we soaked in as much as we could and then went down for breakfast. I got almost my favorite breakfast -- pancakes! They werent hot and there was no syrup, but I managed to enjoy them with nutella that I bought back in Valpariso. After the island, we again drove off on the salt flat until it was deserted. This time, we stopped with one other toyota and again went crazy taking pictures and thinking up new ideas. When we finally had our fill, we went to the salt ´museum´which is really a salt hotel. To get in, you have to buy something from their store. I bought a milky way (moms fav candy bar) and Mike bought a twix. We snapped a few pics and then headed towards where they mine the salt. After even more pictures, we headed to a tourist trap of a village on the edge of the Uyuni salt flat. We arrived to Uyuni around 12:30. Alberto surprised us by giving us lunch, which was tasty as usual. We then parted ways with Phillipe and Imeka, as they were returning to San Pedro.
Northern Chile
We left Valpariso for La Serena. In La Serena, we stayed in a fabulous hostel. Hostal El Punto had great breakfast, very nice and clean rooms, a large patio area, and very friendly staff. We booked immediately onto the evening tour for Mamauka Observatory. It was quite a drive to get there, but the stars were worth it. We saw the southern cross and got to look very closely at the moon. Our tour concluded with a little Pisco Sour, a local cocktail in Chile and Peru. The next day in La Serena, we saw several churches, a market, and just chilled out. We were suffering from a travel hangover from Easter Island. As we are now almost done with our trip, we had begun to drag through the motions a bit and not care all that much about what we were seeing. (Spoiled, I know.)
After La Serena, we went all the way up to Iquique, Chile. We stayed at Iquique Hostel which has the perfect location. It overlooks the beach and is just a short walk away. We wanted to paraglide over the sand dunes in Iquique, but the weather was against us. We just layed on the beach all day and I finished One Thousand Splendid Suns and then The Gatekeeper.
Our bus from Iquique to San Pedro was quite early in the morning. We were supposed to take two buses for the 9 hour trip, but got lucky. Until now, our trip has been free of a major transportation breakdown. We were lucky enough to break down in the middle of nowhere right before noon in a spot with zero shade. We exited the bus to learn, no its not a flat tire (a problem than can quickly be solved), but engine trouble. As luck would have it, our friendly Nathalie studied abroad in Rochester, NY. Fluent in English, she explained to us that there was a town not very far away. Most of the passengers on the bus began hitchhiking. Nathalie learned that it would be at least 2 hours, if not more, until another bus was coming along to take us to the next city. She hitched a ride and told us she would look for us in town. We were thumbing it, but luckily another bus from the same company came by and picked up the few of us left and our luggage. They dropped us in the town that was roughly 15-20 minutes away. When we got off and headed to the bus office, our friend Nathlie explained that our bus was to leave around 3:15 to continue to the trip and its law in Chile for the company to feed us due to the delay. We waited while she argued with the Tur Bus and her mother called the central office. Finally, the aggervated lady at the desk gave in and showed us next door. We got crappy sandwiches and a drink compliments of Tur Bus. Our bus didnt leave until after 4 pm and we had to exchange our 2nd bus ticket for a later time. We got onto the 2nd bus and arrived in San Pedro de Atacama around 9 pm.
Unfortunetly, We were unable to book a hostel in advance. Mike and I got the `no room at the inn` for the first three hostels and then got lucky with numbero quatro. It wasnt anything special and the sign was odd so I am not exactly sure what the name was. We had the joy of hot outdoor showers and then walking back to our room nice and wet. There was no heat in the room either, but really warm blankets. San Pedro is the most overrated place we have been. We booked three different tours and only enjoyed one of them. We were not sorry to be on our way to Bolivia for an amazing three day salt flat tour.
After La Serena, we went all the way up to Iquique, Chile. We stayed at Iquique Hostel which has the perfect location. It overlooks the beach and is just a short walk away. We wanted to paraglide over the sand dunes in Iquique, but the weather was against us. We just layed on the beach all day and I finished One Thousand Splendid Suns and then The Gatekeeper.
Our bus from Iquique to San Pedro was quite early in the morning. We were supposed to take two buses for the 9 hour trip, but got lucky. Until now, our trip has been free of a major transportation breakdown. We were lucky enough to break down in the middle of nowhere right before noon in a spot with zero shade. We exited the bus to learn, no its not a flat tire (a problem than can quickly be solved), but engine trouble. As luck would have it, our friendly Nathalie studied abroad in Rochester, NY. Fluent in English, she explained to us that there was a town not very far away. Most of the passengers on the bus began hitchhiking. Nathalie learned that it would be at least 2 hours, if not more, until another bus was coming along to take us to the next city. She hitched a ride and told us she would look for us in town. We were thumbing it, but luckily another bus from the same company came by and picked up the few of us left and our luggage. They dropped us in the town that was roughly 15-20 minutes away. When we got off and headed to the bus office, our friend Nathlie explained that our bus was to leave around 3:15 to continue to the trip and its law in Chile for the company to feed us due to the delay. We waited while she argued with the Tur Bus and her mother called the central office. Finally, the aggervated lady at the desk gave in and showed us next door. We got crappy sandwiches and a drink compliments of Tur Bus. Our bus didnt leave until after 4 pm and we had to exchange our 2nd bus ticket for a later time. We got onto the 2nd bus and arrived in San Pedro de Atacama around 9 pm.
Unfortunetly, We were unable to book a hostel in advance. Mike and I got the `no room at the inn` for the first three hostels and then got lucky with numbero quatro. It wasnt anything special and the sign was odd so I am not exactly sure what the name was. We had the joy of hot outdoor showers and then walking back to our room nice and wet. There was no heat in the room either, but really warm blankets. San Pedro is the most overrated place we have been. We booked three different tours and only enjoyed one of them. We were not sorry to be on our way to Bolivia for an amazing three day salt flat tour.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Valpariso
No, not the school. Its a town to the north of Santiago. We are staying at Licanantay Hostel, which from all indications is a total party hostel.... we shall see if we are able to get any sleep. There are good reviews for breakfast, but we are booked on a bus to leave first thing in the morning so I am unsure if we will be able to get any breakfast.
The main attraction in this town is the numerous Churches that abound everwhere. Since today is Palm Sunday, everywhere in the streets people are carrying the most interesting looking palms I have ever seen. They are woven into baskets in a variety of forms. After the basket is woven, they tuck in a cross made of palms, and additional greenery. Some are woven in interesting cone shapes which are quite cool. Valpo is built on a hill and sort of looks like a favella from Rio, thankfully we dont feel as its too dangerous.
We spent the afternoon shopping in the sunday market, picking up all sorts of goodies and some things we need: mike got socks and I got new headphones. I made the mistake of forgetting my iPod headphones (i still had the original pair 4 years later!) at our hostel last night. Oh well. Tomorrow we are headed to La Serena, Chile further north. It is supposed to have more beautiful beach (I can never get enough!!) and I hope the weather is warm enough to enjoy a swim. It is now fall here in South America and the tempetures are cooling but we continue to head north to hopefully offset some of the cold weather. We plan to catch an overnight bus (20 hours or so?) towards the Atacama Desert.
The main attraction in this town is the numerous Churches that abound everwhere. Since today is Palm Sunday, everywhere in the streets people are carrying the most interesting looking palms I have ever seen. They are woven into baskets in a variety of forms. After the basket is woven, they tuck in a cross made of palms, and additional greenery. Some are woven in interesting cone shapes which are quite cool. Valpo is built on a hill and sort of looks like a favella from Rio, thankfully we dont feel as its too dangerous.
We spent the afternoon shopping in the sunday market, picking up all sorts of goodies and some things we need: mike got socks and I got new headphones. I made the mistake of forgetting my iPod headphones (i still had the original pair 4 years later!) at our hostel last night. Oh well. Tomorrow we are headed to La Serena, Chile further north. It is supposed to have more beautiful beach (I can never get enough!!) and I hope the weather is warm enough to enjoy a swim. It is now fall here in South America and the tempetures are cooling but we continue to head north to hopefully offset some of the cold weather. We plan to catch an overnight bus (20 hours or so?) towards the Atacama Desert.
Magical Easter Island
We had the most spectactular time on Easter Island. It was simply magical. Easter Island is so remote that only one airline flies there, once a day. Our Lan Airlines flight was actually really good and quite reasonable. It only cost us $450 USD and the trick is not booking it through the US website because they jack up the prices. We booked it when we got to Santiago about 2 weeks ahead of time. There was a mix up in seating and I got the window seat (YIPPIE!!) even though I was supposed to have the isle.
We landed to the tropical and beautiful Easter Island with large smiles and lots of expectations. We stayed at Kona Tau Hostel and the owner was there to greet us at the airport and shuttle us back to the hostel. He gave us leis made of fresh flowers and showed us to the van. We instantally met Marissa and a lovely Irish gal (I cant spell her name, but Mike has it written down somewhere) who had the exact itinerary as us, so we hung out the entire time. The owner gave us a tour of town (which is so tiny you will figure it out in about a day anyway) and then got us checked in. The hostel was okay, nothing too flash or exciting but our most expensive hostel that we have stayed in - location, location, location!
Our first day on the island we ran down to the shore to catch glimpses at the moai, or large stone statues, that were close to town. Moai are placed on large Ahu or platforms. It is disrespectful to walk on the Ahu or touch the Moai. There have been over 800 moai found on the island. The Rapa Nui people (also another name for the island) are clouded with mystery. They are not certain where the Rapa Nui people came from, but it is likely they came from somewhere in Polynesia. Most of their culture is unknown as they became practically extinct before 1800. They believe the moai were created out of respect for ones ancestors and were believed by the Rapa Nui to be powerful. For reasons that no one is quite sure of, around 1600 the moai were all toppled from their Ahu.
After we snapped a few shots of the moai closest to town, we went to the Museo Antropologico P. Sebastian Engelrt. It was inexpensive but unexciting. All of the displays are in Spanish but they give you a book that is translated. Since they dont know too much about Rapa Nui, the Moai, and so on, its all the theories they have consolidated in one place.
We then decided to scope out the options for day 2. We decided to book the less expensive tour with Aku Aku Turismo. The more expensive tours are smaller groups, but we were fine with the larger group. Our guide was really friendly and claimed to be descended from the 111 Rapa Nui that were left on the island in the 1800s when Europeans came to settle it. He knew lots of information and was continually pointing out different things to us all day long. We learned a lot and were able to see all of the major stuff in one day. We started the day with seeing fallen moai and our guide explaining that they believe the Rapa Nui toppled them in a civil war. We then went to another Ahu and he explained to us about the platforms. Next, we got to go to the Moai Quarry of Rano Raraku. All of the moai (with the exception of one) were carved out of this volcanic hill. A majority of the moai are still here, as they were not all transported to their Ahu platform before work ceased. From one of the points on Rano Raraku we could see the Ahu Tongariki. At Tongariki, they have the most restored moai in one place. The Japanese helped to restored this area and its exteremly impressive. From here, we traveled on to see the navel of the world, as they call it. It is a magnetic rock that they have found on Rapa Nui. There is only one and it does not match any of the other rocks on the island. They do not know how to explain it as the island was so isolated it did not engage in regular trade with anyone during its peak. Our tour then took us to Anakena beach. The beach is filled with fine sand and is wonderful. You can see a few moai from the beach. There is only one Ahu that faces the water, the rest of the Ahu have their backs to the see and look over or protect the village. We were dropped off back at our hostel and consulted for a place to catch sunset. We were told that Tahai was the place to be and lucky for us it was a very short walk from town. At the summer solstice, the sun rises directly behind the moai. As its fall, it was a bit off centered but still wonderful. On our stroll back to town, we decided to have some delicious empanadas for dinner.
We awoke on day 3 to more lovely sunshine and had hoped to rent motorscooters. We were disappointed to find out that you must have a motorcycle license to rent a motorscooter. Apparently, there have been some accidents with tourists. It was very auspicious that all four of us went to get the bikes together, as we were able to hire a 4WD car for less money than we would spend on the motoscooters. As we all agreed to split the costs, the only question left was who to drive? It was a manual transmission so Mike was out. As it so happened, traveling with an Aussie and an Irish gal, they were not used to driving on the right side of the road and neither had driven in a considerable amount of time. I wound up being the driver, which was quite unexpected and loads of fun. We started out towards the Rano Kau volcano. Easter Island was formed out of 3 volcanos and this is one of them. We were delighted to discover the most magnificant lake in the crater of Rano Kau. We arrived in time for the mid day sun, which lights the whole crater up and creates the most magical view. Sure, we took pictures but none of them will capture what we saw with our eyes. We continued up the road to the Orongo ceremonial village. We had to pay a measely sum of like $8.50 US dollars or so. Considering this is the only time you are directly asked to support the national park on the island (which is basically the entire island), it is just a pittance and we were happy to do it. In the Orongo ceremonial village, we were able to see some of the housing of the later inhabitants that, of course, have an oceanview. We also saw petroglyphs that were carved representing birds, which was important to the Rapa Nui later on. We returned to town and made ourselves lunch (treating ourselves to salami and cheese sammies!) before heading to the other side of the island. This road was extremely bumpy and we were all very thankful to have opted for our 4WD vehicle instead of the bikes. The road is not well marked or well traveled, but we found more moai to snap pictures at as well as discovering some interesting caves. We were able to find Ahu Akivi which is the only moai that face towards the water. We also found Puna Pao quarry, where the moai topknots were carved from. Not all of the moai have topknots and most of the topknots cannot be restored to the top of the moai´s head due to the fact that the heads are too fragile to support them. Mike and Marissa spent extra time exploring some of the caves while I just relaxed with our other friend. We then headed back to town for a few and to determine where to catch sunset. As the ladies were shopping for postcards, one of the locals recommended returning to Orongo ceremonial village. We scuttled back up the way to discover the actual park part of Orongo was closed, but settled into see another amazing sunset. It was very lucky to see a sunset completly free of any obstruction-- no boats, no buildings, no islands, nothing but water, clouds, and sun. We were in awe of magestic sun as it sunk below the horizon. At times the sun appeared very angelic as the rays darted from beneath the clouds. It was another peaceful end to a wonderful day. We were lucky to have our sunset spot almost exclusively to ourselves. There was a tour but they packed up and left for town before the sunset was complete for some odd reason.
Our fourth day on the island started early at 6 am. The one lucky part about being on Easter Island in fall is that the sunrise is not as early as it would be in the summer. And since we had a car, it was a quick 25 minute drive to get back to Tongariki for sunrise. We enjoyed the sunrise and then as we were begining to leave, realized that 20 minutes after sunrise are quite splendid as the sun climbs high into the sky. We drove back to the hostel for breakfast (pancakes with dulce de leche!! yum!!) and then got ourselves ready for our last full day on the island. We returned the car and got four wheelers just for fun. We were able to back to our favorite spots from the day tour to soak up again the moai in the quarry at Rano Raraku and Tongariki at midday with full sun and no other tourists in our snapshots. We then happend to luck out and find a seculded beach. It was paradise as we ate our lunches and went for a swim. As we layed underneath the cliff rock, the sun suddenly covered all of the sand and we decided to spend the last of the rays back at Anakena beach. Yet another lovely and magical day on Easter Island and we headed back to town.
The island is so isolated that you easily slip into its pace of life. The moai are everywhere to look at and discover in this wonderful place, but it is so remote that it is not trampled with tourists everywhere you turn. Thanks for taking the time to read through the whole blog... now here are the pictures to attempt to see some of the magic that I experienced.
We landed to the tropical and beautiful Easter Island with large smiles and lots of expectations. We stayed at Kona Tau Hostel and the owner was there to greet us at the airport and shuttle us back to the hostel. He gave us leis made of fresh flowers and showed us to the van. We instantally met Marissa and a lovely Irish gal (I cant spell her name, but Mike has it written down somewhere) who had the exact itinerary as us, so we hung out the entire time. The owner gave us a tour of town (which is so tiny you will figure it out in about a day anyway) and then got us checked in. The hostel was okay, nothing too flash or exciting but our most expensive hostel that we have stayed in - location, location, location!
Our first day on the island we ran down to the shore to catch glimpses at the moai, or large stone statues, that were close to town. Moai are placed on large Ahu or platforms. It is disrespectful to walk on the Ahu or touch the Moai. There have been over 800 moai found on the island. The Rapa Nui people (also another name for the island) are clouded with mystery. They are not certain where the Rapa Nui people came from, but it is likely they came from somewhere in Polynesia. Most of their culture is unknown as they became practically extinct before 1800. They believe the moai were created out of respect for ones ancestors and were believed by the Rapa Nui to be powerful. For reasons that no one is quite sure of, around 1600 the moai were all toppled from their Ahu.
After we snapped a few shots of the moai closest to town, we went to the Museo Antropologico P. Sebastian Engelrt. It was inexpensive but unexciting. All of the displays are in Spanish but they give you a book that is translated. Since they dont know too much about Rapa Nui, the Moai, and so on, its all the theories they have consolidated in one place.
We then decided to scope out the options for day 2. We decided to book the less expensive tour with Aku Aku Turismo. The more expensive tours are smaller groups, but we were fine with the larger group. Our guide was really friendly and claimed to be descended from the 111 Rapa Nui that were left on the island in the 1800s when Europeans came to settle it. He knew lots of information and was continually pointing out different things to us all day long. We learned a lot and were able to see all of the major stuff in one day. We started the day with seeing fallen moai and our guide explaining that they believe the Rapa Nui toppled them in a civil war. We then went to another Ahu and he explained to us about the platforms. Next, we got to go to the Moai Quarry of Rano Raraku. All of the moai (with the exception of one) were carved out of this volcanic hill. A majority of the moai are still here, as they were not all transported to their Ahu platform before work ceased. From one of the points on Rano Raraku we could see the Ahu Tongariki. At Tongariki, they have the most restored moai in one place. The Japanese helped to restored this area and its exteremly impressive. From here, we traveled on to see the navel of the world, as they call it. It is a magnetic rock that they have found on Rapa Nui. There is only one and it does not match any of the other rocks on the island. They do not know how to explain it as the island was so isolated it did not engage in regular trade with anyone during its peak. Our tour then took us to Anakena beach. The beach is filled with fine sand and is wonderful. You can see a few moai from the beach. There is only one Ahu that faces the water, the rest of the Ahu have their backs to the see and look over or protect the village. We were dropped off back at our hostel and consulted for a place to catch sunset. We were told that Tahai was the place to be and lucky for us it was a very short walk from town. At the summer solstice, the sun rises directly behind the moai. As its fall, it was a bit off centered but still wonderful. On our stroll back to town, we decided to have some delicious empanadas for dinner.
We awoke on day 3 to more lovely sunshine and had hoped to rent motorscooters. We were disappointed to find out that you must have a motorcycle license to rent a motorscooter. Apparently, there have been some accidents with tourists. It was very auspicious that all four of us went to get the bikes together, as we were able to hire a 4WD car for less money than we would spend on the motoscooters. As we all agreed to split the costs, the only question left was who to drive? It was a manual transmission so Mike was out. As it so happened, traveling with an Aussie and an Irish gal, they were not used to driving on the right side of the road and neither had driven in a considerable amount of time. I wound up being the driver, which was quite unexpected and loads of fun. We started out towards the Rano Kau volcano. Easter Island was formed out of 3 volcanos and this is one of them. We were delighted to discover the most magnificant lake in the crater of Rano Kau. We arrived in time for the mid day sun, which lights the whole crater up and creates the most magical view. Sure, we took pictures but none of them will capture what we saw with our eyes. We continued up the road to the Orongo ceremonial village. We had to pay a measely sum of like $8.50 US dollars or so. Considering this is the only time you are directly asked to support the national park on the island (which is basically the entire island), it is just a pittance and we were happy to do it. In the Orongo ceremonial village, we were able to see some of the housing of the later inhabitants that, of course, have an oceanview. We also saw petroglyphs that were carved representing birds, which was important to the Rapa Nui later on. We returned to town and made ourselves lunch (treating ourselves to salami and cheese sammies!) before heading to the other side of the island. This road was extremely bumpy and we were all very thankful to have opted for our 4WD vehicle instead of the bikes. The road is not well marked or well traveled, but we found more moai to snap pictures at as well as discovering some interesting caves. We were able to find Ahu Akivi which is the only moai that face towards the water. We also found Puna Pao quarry, where the moai topknots were carved from. Not all of the moai have topknots and most of the topknots cannot be restored to the top of the moai´s head due to the fact that the heads are too fragile to support them. Mike and Marissa spent extra time exploring some of the caves while I just relaxed with our other friend. We then headed back to town for a few and to determine where to catch sunset. As the ladies were shopping for postcards, one of the locals recommended returning to Orongo ceremonial village. We scuttled back up the way to discover the actual park part of Orongo was closed, but settled into see another amazing sunset. It was very lucky to see a sunset completly free of any obstruction-- no boats, no buildings, no islands, nothing but water, clouds, and sun. We were in awe of magestic sun as it sunk below the horizon. At times the sun appeared very angelic as the rays darted from beneath the clouds. It was another peaceful end to a wonderful day. We were lucky to have our sunset spot almost exclusively to ourselves. There was a tour but they packed up and left for town before the sunset was complete for some odd reason.
Our fourth day on the island started early at 6 am. The one lucky part about being on Easter Island in fall is that the sunrise is not as early as it would be in the summer. And since we had a car, it was a quick 25 minute drive to get back to Tongariki for sunrise. We enjoyed the sunrise and then as we were begining to leave, realized that 20 minutes after sunrise are quite splendid as the sun climbs high into the sky. We drove back to the hostel for breakfast (pancakes with dulce de leche!! yum!!) and then got ourselves ready for our last full day on the island. We returned the car and got four wheelers just for fun. We were able to back to our favorite spots from the day tour to soak up again the moai in the quarry at Rano Raraku and Tongariki at midday with full sun and no other tourists in our snapshots. We then happend to luck out and find a seculded beach. It was paradise as we ate our lunches and went for a swim. As we layed underneath the cliff rock, the sun suddenly covered all of the sand and we decided to spend the last of the rays back at Anakena beach. Yet another lovely and magical day on Easter Island and we headed back to town.
The island is so isolated that you easily slip into its pace of life. The moai are everywhere to look at and discover in this wonderful place, but it is so remote that it is not trampled with tourists everywhere you turn. Thanks for taking the time to read through the whole blog... now here are the pictures to attempt to see some of the magic that I experienced.
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