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Off into the Potosi mines

January 6, 2010 Leave a comment

We’ve bought our dynamite, detonators, fuses, bags of coca leaves, and soft drinks as gifts for the miners. Now it’s off for two hours in the pit of hell!

Categories: South America

First impressions of Potosi

January 5, 2010 Leave a comment

I am interested in the process by which first impressions are made. It is difficult to judge South American towns and cities accurately until you've had some time to get used to them. The experience of arriving at every new South American town or city inevitably involves a journey through the poverty-stricken slums on the outskirts, usually ending at a chaotic bus terminal in only slightly more salubrious surroundings, and the net result of this process is that the visitor has to struggle not to immediately declare: "What a shithole." In some cases that judgement turns out to be accurate. 

Not, I am glad to say, in the case of Potosi. Though it is certainly faded from its silver-mining colonial boomtown days of the 16th and 17th centuries, there is still a mountain of character and charm in its layout, architecture, and pace of life. The pace of life has to be slow, at this altitude nothing happens at speed. 

I bumped into Peter Hahndorf again, my old friend from the Saltmine days, and we're potentially going to be doing a mine tour in the Cerro Rico mountain which looms over this town later today, if we are feeling up to it. I am a little out of sorts, though whether due to the altitude or the llama burger I ate last night is up for debate. 

My netbook hard drive is making funny noises again, certainly glad I have a backup. I am already at 32GB of photos and only halfway through my trip, with several photographic big hitters left in my itinerary (Uyuni salt flats, coloured lakes, Macchu Picchu to name a few). Hope the netbook does the distance!
Categories: Photography, South America, Travel Photography Tags: , , , ,

Sucre’s Mercado Central

January 4, 2010 1 comment

I had a visit to the Mercado Central this morning to grab a saltena (a kind of an empanada with meat or chicken, gravy and potatoes inside) and to see the market on a working day. I had been there on Saturday but it was a sad affair then, with the odd Quechua farmer selling a handful of raggedy beets. Today was a much more lively affair, as a lot of folks from the outskirts come into town on a Monday to get shopping, bank business etc done, and the market was in full swing. Still can't quite get over the heaps of unrefrigerated beef and chicken being sold, but I guess that's what you get when you're ordering beef at $3 a kilo (!).  

I am off to Potosi shortly, which amongst other things is the highest city of its size in the world at an average of 4000m or 13100ft. The Irazoque family kindly furnished me with some altitude pills, and I think my mate de coca consumption rate will skyrocket there. In Potosi it will definitely be a case of slow and steady wins the race. 
Categories: Photography, South America, Travel Photography Tags: , , , ,

Back from Tarabuco with photos

January 3, 2010 Leave a comment

We headed out to the Sunday handicrafts market in Tarabuco this morning, driven the 60-odd km in a Quechua taxi. Once there, John, who had fine memories of a visit three years ago, immediately remarked that it seemed far less busy than he remembered. We wandered the market, which was meant to have some fine textiles on offer, with an increasing sense of disappointment as we realised that the market has shrunk significantly in size and now all the vendors seemed to have the same mass-produced, uninspiring crap on offer. Not to mention the number of persistent, repetitive, and downright goddamned annoying street hawkers and beggars. 

Our only bright spot of the morning was sitting down for a mate de coca at a no-name cafe on the square run by a very friendly young woman who had her two kids running around underfoot. As I sat down it became apparent that I was sitting in the "road" the young boy, Ruben-Martin, was using for his toy truck. So I ended up passing the truck back and forth with him to the point of exhaustion, until he decided my camera was a better toy. He was over the moon to see himself on the camera screen. Soon enough I was taking pictures of the whole family. 

Afterwards we decamped back to Sucre and had the taxi driver drop us off at a posh restaurant, El Huerto, that was meant to be good for Sunday lunch. As we entered we passed the Bishop of Sucre (apparently) and once inside the very swish garden setting, complete with picnic tables and umbrellas, it was clear we were among the Great and the Good of Sucre. A jug of Pimm's would not have looked out of place. Lots of big sunglasses and air kissing. But the food was ace, and still cheap (under 200 Bs, or 20 quid, for the three of us). Siesta after but I am out now for a final dinner with John and Lisa.
Categories: Photography, South America, Travel Photography Tags: , , ,

Feeling macho, off to the markets

January 3, 2010 Leave a comment

First of all yesterday’s post should have been titled “First photos from Sucre“, not “Potosi”. I guess I was already thinking ahead to the next place on my itinerary.

Yesterday afternoon while up on the hill in Recoleto enjoying the view, I bumped into a pair of interesting Brits, John and Lisa. John lives over here and is a junior doctor doing volunteer work. He used to be in the air force which is where he met Lisa, who’s over for a visit before she ships back over to the UK and eventually Afghanistan to help with community development work. We met for dinner last night and due to the dearth of open restaurants (everyone in Bolivia is having dinner with their folks over New Years weekend) we ended up on Gringo Alley. Not too bad though as the restaurant we found (La Bodega Veija) was a mixed local/gringo affair. I finally got to sample one of the Bolivian national dishes, pique macho, which is basically multiple types of meat intermixed with lots of grilled onions, bell peppers, chillies, and french fries, all soaking in a picante sauce. Topped with a boiled egg. Heart attack on a plate. I must admit it defeated me. And the chocolate fondue which followed was not my idea.

To recover we are doing a mini trip today of about 60km over to the town of Tarabuco which is famed for its Sunday market, showcasing indigenous handicrafts from this region. The textiles are supposed to be very well crafted and it is just possible I may actually start buying stuff to bring back with me. Space is tight in my pack though so it will have to be good. Plus I have yet to buy any ethnic tat so this would be a big step for me. 

Categories: South America Tags: , , ,

First photos from Sucre

January 3, 2010 Leave a comment

These are just from this afternoon. More to come tomorrow. What a charming little city. 

Side note: even wi-fi in the hotel is utterly useless, like 128K. No chance of uploading any of the copious video I have taken. Didn’t realise how rubbish the internet would be here.

Categories: Photography, South America, Travel Photography Tags: , , ,

First casualty of the trip

January 2, 2010 Leave a comment

Somehow in my packing this morning I managed to leave behind my Lee graduated filters for my camera. I guess they are in the Irazoques’ house in La Paz. These are not cheap items and would definitely have come in handy on the salt flats of Uyuni. Damnit. Careless.

Categories: South America Tags: , ,

Leaving La Paz for a new adventure

January 2, 2010 Leave a comment

Today I am finally departing La Paz, which has been my base for almost 2 weeks now, to head off on my own for the final 4(ish) weeks of my South American adventure. I can't thank Shane and Eiza enough for inviting me to come stay, and of course Eiza's family for hosting us with such a warm welcome. I ate well, and had as good a Christmas away from my own family as could have been wished. So I have a mix of emotions: happiness that I am finally setting off on my own (the way I travel best) and a touch of sadness that the "friends" portion of the trip has come to a close. Ah well, I never have too much trouble making new friends on the road.

Looking back, I haven't done much "tourism" in La Paz at all but I have no doubt I have had a more meaningful, fulfilling time here than many of the backpackers who never leave the gringo quarter in the centre. There are still one or two things I would have liked to have done and seen (ergo the Valley of the Moon and the bike ride down the Death Road) but there's always next time. I am not sure whether or not I will pass back through here on the way to Peru. Time will tell. 

So I am shortly to board a flight to Sucre, which is heralded as a beautiful colonial city with oodles of charm. In that spirit, and anticipating the rigours of the near future in my mooted tour of the salt flats of Uyuni, I have decided to treat myself a bit and spring for the Hotel Independencia in Sucre, which has a great reputation as a real class act with bags of character. Why not, eh?

I realise also that I have been remiss in keeping my map up to date. Here's the updated version. I love how Google Maps has 3 different cities called La Paz visible in its map. Ooops. 

Categories: South America Tags: , , ,

Apparently, free whiskey can be a bad thing.

January 1, 2010 Leave a comment

Great party last night. Shame I slept through most of it.

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Report and photos from the Bolivian Amazon

December 31, 2009 Leave a comment

As you may know from previous postings, I decided to take advantage of the the downtime between Christmas and New Years by taking a quick 4-day trip up to Rurrenabaque in Northern Bolivia, a jumping-off point for tours to the Bolivian Amazon basin. After much wrangling and dithering I finally secured a flight for first thing Sunday morning via Amaszonas, a tiny regional carrier. So I found myself at at La Paz airport at 05:15 on Sunday, bleary eyed and unprepared for the 2-hour wait which ensued. Patience was tested but eventually we found ourselves on the tiny 20-seater plane (apologies for quality, this is a camera phone picture): 

The cockpit was open to us, and provided much in-flight entertainment and occasional anxiety as beeping alarms punctured the din from the twin propellers. Needless to say we were all very happy when we finally landed on the grass strip at Rurrenabaque. Heat, humidity, and thick air all hit us as we spilled out onto the grass. First impressions were of a one-building airport, and a comically simple baggage claim. It was when I went out the front door – to the separate toilet building – that I came across a scene straight out of Central Casting for podunk, third-world airports. Next to the toilet blocks were old, decaying airline equipment including a row of airplane seats and a set of boarding steps for a larger airliner from a presumably more successful past. What made the scene though were the herd of cows grazing around all of this. 

All the plane’s passengers boarded the shuttle bus into town and were dropped off at various tour agencies as we went. I befriended another solo traveller, Leftie (short for Leftira, as he was a London-born Greek) and together we headed for Bala Tours, which had been recommended both in the various guidebooks and by other agencies as one of the “good guys” – i.e. they practice responsible tourism and don’t run circus shows for tourists. This was up our alley, and we decided on the pampas (grasslands) tour as conventional wisdom has it that you see far more animals that way. We were told that we were the only visitors that day, so we would have their dedicated eco-lodge to ourselves. 

While the kind folks at Bala got their act together, we had a bit of time to hit the Sunday market and explore the town of Rurrenabaque a bit. I got a strong vibe of a Southeast Asian beach town off the place. It had the right combination of easy-going street life, heat, and the kind of bars, restaurants, and cafes that tell the visitor that they will be spending a lot of time outside – even when they are inside. 

Time came to hit the road. We met our guide for the 3 days, a mestizo named Alexander, and also Hilda the cook. I would tell you the name of our driver but he was a surly bastard who barely uttered a word. What followed was a jouncing 3.5 hour punishment of a drive in a failing Land Cruiser which had clearly had a Hawaiian longboard surfer as a previous owner. What I know is that on the eternal, sun-blasted dirt track through tropical lowlands, we had one total tire blowout (irreparable) and a following slow leak in the spare tire that required a couple of pumping stops. 

Finally we arrived at a boat ramp on the Yacuma river, out past Santa Rosa. We loaded up a long boat with a 15hp outboard and made a short 5 minute trip down the river to Bala’s camp, an idyllic setting called the Caracoles Lodge. Pretty basic accommodation really (dorm beds and mosquito nets) and all electricity provided by solar and batteries. But it had hammocks. By the river. We have a winner. 

What followed was three-ish full days, mostly on the long boats, and two very peaceful and restful nights (well once you got used to the jungle sounds all around you, that is). Some highlights included:
  • Seeing more wildlife in three days than I had in three months previously – pink river dolphins, caiman, alligator, egrets, herons, turtles, hawks, huatzin (prehistoric chicken-sized birds) and many more
  • Taking the controls of the boat for a bit  – my canal barge experience from the UK stood me in good stead – and now I can say I have have piloted a boat in the Amazon (get me)
  • Spending a pleasant afternoon fishing – mostly for catfish, which were delicious fried up later – and every so often having to fight off piranhas from stealing our bait
  • Going for a swim with pink river dolphins nearby – in the same caimain and piranha infested river 
  • Going for a shower back at the camp – and having both a toad and a tree frog for company
  • Burning through 16GB of memory cards on my SLR. And then deleting most of it, as there are only so many pictures of panicked birds’ arses that one needs in life. 

Speaking of pictures, of course I have a few to hand:

All in all, well worth the experience, a magical few days to be sure. 

Yesterday afternoon it was then back along the bumpy road to Rurre and a somewhat anxious evening as I only had 200 bolivianos (under $30) on me and that had to cover food, lodging, and transport to the airport in the morning for my flight back to La Paz. But a look at the trusty Footprint guidebook pointed me at my first proper budget accommodation of the trip, a 20-boliviano hostal. That’s less than the price of a cup of coffee. That sorted, we had a few beers and dinner at the “famous” Moskitto Bar, which was struggling a bit with a lack of tourist trade and looked slightly sad and empty. I don’t think the bar owner took too kindly to our request to change music from the inescapable-on-the-gringo-trail Bob Marley mix to something slightly less cliched. Ah well. 

So back in La Paz now, and out for the last night of the 4 Europeans tonight (Shane, Eiza, Sibylle and myself) with some accomplices. Sibylle leaves tomorrow for New Years Eve in Buenos Aires, and Shane, Eiza and myself stay on in La Paz for what promises to be a big night here….
Categories: Photography, South America, Travel Photography Tags: , ,