The highest city in the world So the day that we arrived in Potosi, the highest city in the world, we booked a tour to the famous Potosi silver mines. The next day, we started the tour by suiting up in special trousers, jacket, wellies, hard hat and head torch (complete with stylish belt). We went to the miner's market where we were able to buy as much explosive material as we wanted (as can the Bolivians for their fight against the destruction of the Coca fields by the Americans, in fact a miner can send his children to buy explosives!). [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Sucre (the constitutional capital) after a pretty good bus journey, comfy semi-cama seats (reclining with foot rests) and we bought travel cushions - aren´t we good to ourselves?? The road was pretty good if unpaved, and I woke up in time to see the sun rise. When we arrived we met a nice taxi driver who drove us around some places to stay (probably his drinking buddies) for no extra cost. We found a really nice place called Hostal Independencia and settled in there. We decided to spend the day walking around a couple of the museums as [View Full Entry]

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On Friday before leaving for Sucre we went to visit Tiwanaku(or Tiahuanaco). This is Bolivia´s most famous archaelogical site. It is believed to be the capital city of the pre-Incan Aymara civilisation who lived around Lake Titicaca. The city consists of temples, dwellings and a huge (and as yet to be fully excavated) pyramid. The pyramid is said to rival any of the others found in Mexico or elsewhere in South America and excavation is currently underway and due to complete in the next five years. It has seven different levels and no peak, so quite different to the Egyptian version. [View Full Entry]

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We got to Rurrenabaque on the 27th November after a fantastic flight in a Cessna Grand Caravan (for the flight enthusiasts, a 12-passenger single prop aircraft). The flight was 1 hour, early in the morning, and you can see some of the pictures we took - the views were spectacular as we headed for a gap in the mountain range, and then flew over the land as it dropped down, first through cloud forest all the way to jungle and pampas below - we landed over 3200 metres lower down than we took off. And it was hot, and very very [View Full Entry]

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Monday morning we met at the offices of 'Refugio Huayna Potosi' Climbing School at 9am, paid and went to the equipment store where we picked up our Ice Axes, waterproof pants, jackets, crampons, boots and gloves. It was a totally disorganised shambles but eventually we got our gear (not in the best condition) and ourselves up to the first refuge (4400m) in the company's old Toyota Land Cruiser. Training on the Glacier After lunch we trudged up to the glacier where we were to train in using the gear. Putting the stuff on in the refuge was tiring enough, but we [View Full Entry]

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Saturday - Arrival at La Paz So, we quickly found a taxi and crossed to the touristy bit of La Paz to find a hostal we'd been recommended - El Solario on Murillo and Santa Cruz. Basic, but with in-house internet (on which I am writing now) and only 50Bs - about 3pounds20 a night, we thought it was a good base. A very nice coincidence was to bump into two people we'd met along the way, Dominic and Catherine - two friends travelling together before getting jobs. Dominic wanted to book onto the trip up Huayna Potosi too so we [View Full Entry]

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Lake Titicaca situated between Peru and Bolivia in South America is the world’s highest navigable lake. It is 3811 m above sea level! We decided to visit the lake from Copacabana in Bolivia rather than Puno in Peru as Puno was, not to put to fine a point on it, a hole! We had an interesting border crossing between Peru and Bolivia involving buses, a taxi and a rickshaw. The rickshaw man insisted on cycling us and our backpacks up a hill to the border controls and even after one of his pedals broke and Pete was helping him push the [View Full Entry]

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The Trial of Colca began at 6am with a gruelling 6-hour bus journey with our guide to the town of Cabanaconde at the edge of the canyon. The journey went across the Altiplano (high plains) and peaked at about 4800m - the landscape is amazing, with hills and mountains and almost no vegetation higher than your knees. We had lunch and then began the descent of 1300m into the canyon itself. I was feeling a bit ill from something-or-other all the journey there and all the way down the canyon so didn't enjoy it as much as I could have done. [View Full Entry]

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So, tuesday 9th we got to Arequipa at 5am and found a hostal then went to sleep for 2 hours. If you're ever tempted to get a night bus from Cusco to Arequipa, go via Juliaca - the road between the Cusco and Arequipa is the Worst Road In The World (Guinness book of records page 262). So, we needed to sleep for a couple of hours so did so and then went for breakfast in the main square and had a bit of a look around. As you can see from the pictures, the main square is really beautiful - [View Full Entry]

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Day 1 - Getting going A 5.30 pickup took us by minibus with the group to KM82, the point on the railway where the 4-day Inca Trail started for us. We got aquainted with the group: Laura, 21. Cambridge girl, full of energy. Seems to have been everywhere. Dave, late twenties ;) Scotsman with a bit of Irish. Full of knowledge, a chatty world traveler. Author of "Poland under the Comunists". Seems to have been everywhere, literally. Stephanie, 26. Canadian, relaxed and well balanced holidaymaker. Obviously the more adventurous kind. Pete and Sarah, 25 and 26. English and Irish [View Full Entry]

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