We don´t need to beat around the bush here, or hide behind false pretences.... we´re tourists ! So no reasons to travel cattle class all the time to save the budget. More good excuses, tourist buses stop for pictures! And this one came with a guide as well, and again, a good one, with plenty of info too. So far, Peru´s been pretty good and very informative to us. Again, continuing our road to Cuzco and Machu Piccu, the end of the Inca empire, and this again was a trip continuing the chronological order of events. More ruins, some churches, a [View Full Entry]

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[url='/Videos/3389.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3389.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'] The reed islands. So we did mention that we were happy with our entry into Peru? One of the main reasons maybe being that we had so many different comments and opinions about Puno that we didn´t know what to expect. So best to go in without expecting anything, and Bob´s your uncle (or Bin´s dad anyway)!! It´s one thing to get harrassed by street vendors, but another thing to get harrassed by street vendors with big smiles and a sense of humour! Pretty much sums up Calle De Lim [View Full Entry]

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elevation 3,820m but a world of difference from the frosty heights of Bolivia. only 3 hours in something like a tourist bus ... it had nice seats and a man that gave instructions on what to do at the border, took us to his mate to change money - the others are dodgy apparently - took on a guy in the middle of nowhere who was useful enough to provide details on his hotel etc etc .... that was Bolivia. now is Peru. people smile at us. wish us a good afternoon and are generally happy and pleasant. within moments [View Full Entry]

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Did a quick calc on the bus this morning, 72 days in Bolivia. Wow. That was the last place we´d expect to spend most of our time!! More than 7 weeks..... Very simple reasons though, we came in from the east (Santa Cruz) and we had to look really hard for tours. No hawkers trying to flog you any second rate tours! No sir, the ones we did, Chiquitos, Ambore, were pleasant and well organised. Samapiata was nice and relaxing, and Sucre a real treat. definately the best place for us to spend time and learn Spanish! But then, we got [View Full Entry]

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[url='/Videos/3290.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3290.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'] Our lovely room in Copacabana. So, after that fun flight from Rurre, and a last day (for us at least) in La Paz, we were actually picked up (?!?!) by the tourist bus to bring us to Copacabana. No, not the one Rio de Janeiro, but the other one in Bolivia, on Lake Titicaca. We were all looking forward to the lake and the islands, one reason being the Hotel Cupula, which had been recomended to us many times. In total, Bin and [View Full Entry]

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So after the luxury of pools and saunas, and the relaxation of a decent bed and good food, it was time again to head onwards for the next episode: Rurrenabaque. By now we know that this is spanish for "very far away". There were some choices with regards to getting there. By plane, which would mean heading back to La Paz first, and weather forcast was rain and more rain, so no guarantee the small aircraft would be able to land on the grass pitch they call airport at Rurre. Second option was an overnight bus ride. Problem one is that [View Full Entry]

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where to go and thaw the bones after a number of weeks at altitude ? coroico mis amigos, coroico. touted as the "bolivian eden" it was too good to resist and too good to be true. after swatting the remaining sand flies at the base of the mountain bike ride (world´s most dangerous road) and sheading the thermals, fleeces, scarves, alpacca hats, gloves and rain proofs, it was time to lug the bags up to our rooms and change into swim wear. yes, sweet swim wear. coroico is nestled high in the mountains under la paz and a peaceful little village [View Full Entry]

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After the Bolivian government decided that this road was way to dangerous to be used as a public thoroughfare they embarked on a scheme to construct a new beaute safer road. This only took them 12 years. What to do with the old, windy, twisty, dirt road winding its way down some 3,000m ?? well ... lets charge gringos to hire mountain bikes and let them hurl themselves down and see if they have more luck than the phenominal number of motorists who have met their fate on this road. uh huh. great plan. so, how did we end up biking [View Full Entry]

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One of the great things of Bolivia is that in general you do meet many travellers and sometimes travel agents who give you a lot of travel tips. One tip, regarding the excavations at Tiwanaku (=Quechua, Tihuanaku os Aymara language, but I might have them mixed up again). In short, the first Europeans who came here for very poorly executed excavations were looking for fame (not enough gold left for fortune), and described it as an Inca site. By now, everyone knows that it´s a pre-Inca culture, which lasted nearly 3,000 years (as opposed to the Incas, which didn´t last [View Full Entry]

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Where can we start this one? It had to be done, another extension of our visas, and as we'd head into the countryside, where no immigration offices would be available, we were prepared to do it earlier in La Paz. "Visa extensions without hassle", as the guide book said. But we were expecting the worst, just to make sure we weren't too optimistic. Also, we were preparing our spanish to explain why we were doing all of this almost 10 days earlier than required..... Day one.... surprisingly, all of this was accomplised in a single day, so no day 2 !! [View Full Entry]

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