JudeBurke

There are many things that can be said about the Spanish legacy in Peru, but one thing's for sure - they left behind some beautiful buildings. Arequipa is another one of those old colonial cities, full of gorgeous old Spanish architecture. As my first taste of Peru, it immediately seemed very different from Bolivia...a lot wealthier, at least on the surface. And very touristy...after a month in Bolivia where there were few tourists other than backpackers, it was a bit strange to be surrounded by normal Western tourists. My main reason for being in Arequipa was to visit the Colca Canyon, almost the world's deepest canyon. The nearby Cotahuasi Canyon is actually ever so slightly deeper, but I can't remember exactly how deep. Very deep. As well as being the base for some fantastic trekking, it's ... read more

When I tried and failed to go swimming with dolphins in New Zealand, I never realised that I would actually get to do it in Bolivia, of all places. I didn't even know there were dolphins anywhere near the country - after all, it is landlocked. But there are pink dolphins in two rivers in Bolivia, one of them being the river Yacuma, where I spent three days in the pampas near Rurrenabaque. Before I could even think about swimming with dolphins, I had to get to Rurrenabaque. The sensible thing to have done was fly there. But, having made it as far as Coroico, I didn't want to backtrack to La Paz so I decided to get the bus. It can't be that bad, surely? Yes it was. It easily rates as the worst - ... read more

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting La Paz to be like - but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. It's basically a modern city, very noisy and dirty, which is a shame because it ought to be beautiful. Its setting, in the middle of a canyon, in sight of the snow covered Cordillera Real, is gorgeous - when you can see it. Mostly the view is obscured by the 1960s and 70s tower blocks on the main street, with newer houses literally clinging to the sides of the canyon. Very few buildings from the colonial era remain, which just a few streets and buildings, such as the Iglesia San Francisco and the cathedral, left. So from an aesthetic point of view, La Paz is a bit of a disappointment. But it makes up ... read more

I appreciate that I may have said this before, but I mean it this time (honest!)...the landscape on the trip from Chile to Uyuni in Bolivia is the most amazing I've ever seen. The trip was also one of the most uncomfortable I've ever been on, too, but some things are worth putting up with. We started out bright and early in San Pedro de Atacama, before heading to the Bolivian border for breakfast and passport formalities. There we swapped from minibuses into 4WD jeeps. There were six of us in the jeep, plus the driver, which made it pretty crowded. The common language in our group was Spanish, as we had two native Spanish speakers (Gregorio from Spain, David from Chile), two people who couldn't really speak English (Tiffany from France, Tiago from Brasil) and ... read more

After nearly six weeks in Argentina, it was time to move on. For my final few days in the country, I headed to Tilcara, a small village in the Quebrada de Humahuaca north of Jujuy. It was absolutely beautiful....you know how sometimes you get off the bus somewhere, and you just know you've made the right decision going there? Tilcara was like that. It's an interesting combination of modern and traditional - touristy without being in-your-face touristy. Upmarket tourist hotels and restaurants nestled side by side with traditional buildings made of adobe, in streets that trailed off into the mountains beyond. It's an incredibly arid area, as it hardly rains at all (although it did rain while I was there) and the main attraction - apart from the mountains - is the Pukará, a pre-Inca fortress ... read more