As promised, here I am at Iguacu Falls, Brazil. The rest of the original group flew out to Rio this morning, while the two Italian members Luca & Massimo, aka Valentino Rossi & Max Biaggi, flew to Buenos Aires yesterday. A bit sad to see everyone go, because everyone got along famously, & after sharing 3 weeks of adventure & adrenaline, I think there were genuine bonds of friendship & respect, as well as a hell of a lot of laughs. There was always something going on that called for laugh. So now its just me & the Compass Crew, Wicki & Lisbet, & 10 very dirty GS 650s. These need to be cleaned & serviced, & a lot need new tyres. I have a chance to catch up with things (like blogging). I have no doubts that the new group which flies in shortly will undergo the same process. Bike riders share something that other people dont. (Gravel rash?). You know what I mean.
Based on first impressions of the town of Iguacu, Brazil is certainly different from the other countries we have visited. For a start, the weather is hot & humid, the place is cleaner & a lot greener, the traffic is faster & more furious, & things are generally more expensive. Oh, & Portuguese is not Spanish. I can´t understand a bloody thing anyone says. But the Falls are certainly spectacular. I have seen, heard & felt the power! I wont go back & see them again with the new group, but I will certainly front up for the helicopter flight again, that was just fantastic. A large plume of mist hanging in the air above the raging torrent is visible well before you can see anything else but a vast expanse of rain forest, so you are in no doubt as to where they are. But the suspense builds as you get closer, & the first glimpse is a spine tingling shock & awe moment, & quite unforgettable.
OK, so what happened between here & Salta? Well, in 3 days we covered about 1500 km. Not a problem in Oz, but its a bit trickier over here. Some of the more sports bike oriented people (Luca & Max especially) had sore butts & were bored out of their brains after the first few hours, but I was in my element. The first day we covered about 600km, through open, flattish farm country. It didnt look all that prosperous, it appeared that the land may have been cleared, then taken over by weeds, but we were down to almost sea level, & it was cooler. It threatened to rain, but didnt. The landscape gradually changed to more of what you might expect of good cropping & cattle country, with a lot more stock visible, particularly beef cattle, & some very large feedlots. The Argies know a lot about beef, dont worry about that. We finished the days work at a very forgettable town, & stayed in a very forgettable hotel. I would give you more information, but I am trying to suppress the memories. Basically it was a hole. Along the way, I noticed several roadside signs indicating that ¨Las Malvinas son Argentino¨, ie that the Falklands belong to Argentina. Oh really? I thought that had been decided, & that the final score was Britain 1, Argentina nil.
Next morning we awoke to a thunderstorm, & the streets were partly flooded. As we had a 500 km ride that day, it didnt look good. It rained heavily all morning, & out on the roads, it was very dangerous. Visibility was very restricted, & there was a lot of oncoming traffic, particularly trucks, on the single lane road. The roadside was waterlogged, & there was one dropped bike & a few nearlys as people pulled over to clean their visors. We saw one car which had slid off the road, & at one stage, there was a dead horse next to the road. Gulp! The rain eased after a few hours, but everyone had some wet clothes or gloves.
As we entered the city of Corrientes, we crossed a very large cable stayed bridge over the mighty Parana River. It was easily the biggest river I have ever seen, it was massive, & up until that point, Id never heard of it. The Amazon must really be something! Shortly afterwards, we wee pulled over by a traffic cop on a little trail bike. Wiki had committed the mortal sin of cutting onto a service road at an intersection, & naturally all nine other bikes followed. The cop swaggered up the line of parked bikes asking each of us in turn if we spoke Spanish. Of course, anyone that could immediately forgot whatever Spanish they knew. This seemed to infuriate the guy, until eventually he reached Wiki, who also played dumb. By this stage, the cop was extremely angry, but had realised the bikes were foreign registered, & he smacked his ticket book against his thigh furiously. I thought he was about to burst into flames, then it slowly dawned on him that if he issued a ticket, he would also be comdemning himself to about a year of paperwork. So off we went. The irony of the situation was not lost on anyone. After the mayhem we had witnessed out on the roads for the last 2 weeks, all this idiot could do was stop someone for a minor infringement which had not hurt anyone. Thats South America. Mind you in the interest of survival, we had been routinely ignoring speed limits & most other traffic control measures since we left Cusco, but that is not the point, is it? (is it?). Later that day we stopped for lunch at a roadhouse, which would best be described as a smorgasbord of pestilence. We had to stop because the fridge in the truck had packed up, & for the second time, our potential lunch had to be thrown out. Anyway, I took one look at this joint & decided I wouldnt eat anything, except an ice cream with a wrapper on it. Rarely have I seen so many flies in one place, & the kitchen & toilets were filthy. Next day, some of the guys had stomach problems. Up here for thinking! That night we stayed at Puerto Valle, in an old country estate that had been converted into a luxury hotel, & boy was it luxurious. It was a tropical wonderland on the banks of the Parana, & we were treated to a fantastic BBQ & mucho vino y cerveza, then toddled off & slept like the dead. It was a great end to a tough days riding.
The following day, we followed Ruta 12 up along a narrow strip of Argentina which runs between the borders of Paraguay on one side & Brazil on the other, not that you would know by looking at it. The scenery had changed to green & tropical, & the temperature & hunidity had increased accordingly. Another 400 km or so saw us at the border between Argentina & Brazil. This time it took us a while to clear the Brazilian side, & it got dark while we were looking for the hotel, & the group became split up. This was not the first time, but it looked like it might be the biggest stuff up yet, but it got sorted.
Next day the biggest laugh of the trip happened. While in an ATM centre, with a money exchange next door, Brian Gilbert (aka Barney) managed to get himself stuck in a revolving door between the two. Dead set, it was properly stuck & so was he. Did I mention it was a Saturday? Did I mention I had tears of laughter running down my cheeks? Did anyone help? First things first. Like true mates, after everyone else had filmed this predicament from every angle, & had run out of wisecracks, (ie about half an hour later) we managed to bend the glass door just enough for a slightly bewildered Barney to squeeze out. Luckily he was the smallest guy on the tour, anyone else would still be in there. Of couse this did not stop the relentless payouts, which will continue for weeks, if not longer. This will shortly be uploaded to Youtube, & I will put the link on this blogsite. And as ever, there is the pepetual promise of photos to be posted soon, but this looks like it might now be straightforward.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
CHILE, JUST FOR A MINUTE, THEN ARGENTINA
Having crossed into Chile from Bolivia at Ollague, we finally emerged into relative civilisation. A servo with food and an ATM. I pressed the wrong button & now have enough Chilean currency to buy a Ferrari. But I intend to spend 90% of it on beer, wine & spirits, and the rest I´ll probably just waste! We spent the night at San Pedro de Atacama, a pleasant enough place, but as none of the roads are paved, it is fairly dusty. Got the chance to wash the bikes, which were filthy, & do some laundry, as we were filthy as well.
This was just a flying visit to Chile, just long enough to see a small portion of the Atacama Desert, with some very intersesting land forms on offer. We left yesterday morning, completing the Chilean border crossing formalities in SP de Atacama. Then we headed off into the east to the Argentinian border 160 km away! This was a spectacular ride, with no signs of life other than a few llamas, great sweeping vistas of vast plains, salt lakes & snow capped volcanic peaks. We climbed from about 2000m up thru the Paso Jama at 5000m, the highest altitude we have been sofar. On the way, we were delayed by a semi trailer which had jacknifed & blocked the road. No apparent casualties, but a big mess, & it was bloody freezing! Eventually we arrived at the Argentine border post, down to 2000m again & the formalities here went on for ever. They had computer problems & there were several tourist buses already stopped. At least they didnt inspect our baggage, but they did confiscate our lunch from the truck. We speculate probably to feed the drug detecting sniffer dogs, or maybe the border guards themselves. Given that Chile has the strictest plant/food quarantine regulations in South America, I reckon this was just one upmanship, especially when they refused to allow us to eat it on the spot.
Heading for our overnight stop at Parmamarca, we rode one of the scariest roads I have been on, a steep descent consisting of mainly tight switchbacks, but with a lot of loose gravel on the corners. Worse was to come between here & Salta, when we followed a very twisty narrow road, only wide enough for about one car but carrying traffic in both directions, with several horses & cows on the road in places. I didnt enjoy this section as much as some of our group (thrillseekers with a death wish, I say) but it seemed an unneccessary risk to me, & I was tired & cranky. Since when have I beena boring old fart? Maybe I should be home pruning the roses. Anyhow, we are now in Salta, which is a large city, but it seems reasonably ok. After a liesurely lunch of empanadas, the closest thing I have seen to a pasty since Sydney Airport, here I am. We have some big mileage days ahead now (5-600km a day is a lot here, given the roads & traffic conditions) as we head east to Iguacu. The altitude is down to 1200m, the roads are sealed, & it is warm again, & we have to grind it out a bit--thats my kind of riding! See you at the Falls.
This was just a flying visit to Chile, just long enough to see a small portion of the Atacama Desert, with some very intersesting land forms on offer. We left yesterday morning, completing the Chilean border crossing formalities in SP de Atacama. Then we headed off into the east to the Argentinian border 160 km away! This was a spectacular ride, with no signs of life other than a few llamas, great sweeping vistas of vast plains, salt lakes & snow capped volcanic peaks. We climbed from about 2000m up thru the Paso Jama at 5000m, the highest altitude we have been sofar. On the way, we were delayed by a semi trailer which had jacknifed & blocked the road. No apparent casualties, but a big mess, & it was bloody freezing! Eventually we arrived at the Argentine border post, down to 2000m again & the formalities here went on for ever. They had computer problems & there were several tourist buses already stopped. At least they didnt inspect our baggage, but they did confiscate our lunch from the truck. We speculate probably to feed the drug detecting sniffer dogs, or maybe the border guards themselves. Given that Chile has the strictest plant/food quarantine regulations in South America, I reckon this was just one upmanship, especially when they refused to allow us to eat it on the spot.
Heading for our overnight stop at Parmamarca, we rode one of the scariest roads I have been on, a steep descent consisting of mainly tight switchbacks, but with a lot of loose gravel on the corners. Worse was to come between here & Salta, when we followed a very twisty narrow road, only wide enough for about one car but carrying traffic in both directions, with several horses & cows on the road in places. I didnt enjoy this section as much as some of our group (thrillseekers with a death wish, I say) but it seemed an unneccessary risk to me, & I was tired & cranky. Since when have I beena boring old fart? Maybe I should be home pruning the roses. Anyhow, we are now in Salta, which is a large city, but it seems reasonably ok. After a liesurely lunch of empanadas, the closest thing I have seen to a pasty since Sydney Airport, here I am. We have some big mileage days ahead now (5-600km a day is a lot here, given the roads & traffic conditions) as we head east to Iguacu. The altitude is down to 1200m, the roads are sealed, & it is warm again, & we have to grind it out a bit--thats my kind of riding! See you at the Falls.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
POTOSI
Hi Readers, I am very frustrated about not being able to load photos, it is a combination of my inexpertise & old equipment. Some guys on the tour have iphones, & are never off the things. However, let the carrier pigeons continue. I have enjoyed Bolivia, especially riding across the AltiPlano (high plains), the country is very spectacular & largely unspoilt, part central Australia, part wild west, & part moon. We have been above 3000m for 2 weeks, & I will be glad to get a bit lower. I am sick of the dry throat & chapped lips, & the sun doesnt half burn up here.
We did a tour of a mine in Potosi, & I was totally shocked. I think it is the worst palce I have ever been. I just cannot believe that people have to work in such conditions- for about 450 years people have been tunnelling into this huge mountain to remove silver, lead, zinc & sundry other metal bearing ores. One day the whole thing will just collapse on itself, mark my words. Fortunately for me, it was not while I was inside the thing. There is no science involved. The miners keep going on a combination of superstition, religion, luck, alcohol & coca leaves. First stop was a shop to buy gifts for the miners. Coca leaves, dynamite, det cord & detonators, & biscuits. I´m not kiddding! These guys have to provide this stuff for themselves. Plenty of them start at the age of 12 or younger, & dozens die every year. The work is backbreaking manual labour, buckets, ropes, wheelbarrows, then pushing ore carts out into the sunlight, where they load trucks by wheelbarrow, to take the ore out of the country for processing. So someone else makes the money on the back of these poor bastards, it made me sick, & it made me realise what people will do to each other, & to reconsider the achievements of the labour movements in other countries. This is just wrong, but what can I do about it? Apparently it is a big improvement on how the Spanish treated the Indians when it all started, they just locked them in the mine & worked them to death. We also visited the old Mint, which produced coins for all of the Spanish colonies at one time. The machinery, which was basic but effective, was powered by mules, & they suffered the same fate as the Indians. I kind of struggle with the Spanish legacy. They were brutal conquerors who left their religion & their language, while plundering everything else, & only departed when they got kicked out by force of arms by local leaders who were not much better.
On a brighter note, the ride down to Uyuni was eventful (more later), all dirt but again, very spectacular. The 2 pretty cool Italian guys who are normally the front runners, sitting right behind the Ride Leader, dropped back in the field a bit, but eventually got the hang of it. These guys could wear Rodney Dangerfield´s golf outfit & make it look stylish, & are great fun to be with. Uyuni itself is a depressing place, none of the streets are paved, so there is dust everywhere, & it looks pretty run down. Out on the Salar (salt lake) at least it is cleaner. This was quite bizzare, & hard on the eyes without the sunnies. We visited a hotel out on the lake which is built out of salt blocks....interesting, but it isnt going to catch on. We spent nearly a full day out there. Next day we continued on the dirt to the most remote part of our tour, the Chilean border town of Ollague, under the shadow of Mt Ollague, an active volcano. It was a long hard day, with lots of corrugations, sand, potholes, even mud when we detoured around some roadworks. So they are actually working on the road, but it was a shocker! We met a German couple who had driven their car from the US, & like everyone else they met, we were invited to sign their car! I guess it will need a respray anyhow.
The border crossing took quite a while, first, the Bolivian side was closed for siesta, then the Chilean side insisted on searching all the luggage, so that meant unpacking the trailer, then dragging it all into the customs shed, & finally repacking it all. We stayed the night in a pretty basic hotel, but hey, thats part of the fun. When we left this am, it was minus 3 degrees & we headed into another 200km of serious dirt road, the main feature of which was more potholes & a lot of loose sand. But the scenery was majestic. So even though it is hard work, one gets the feeling that the effort brings reward. We arrived in San Pedro de Atacama on the fringes of the Atacama Desert at about 2pm today, & have a chance to regroup for 2 nights. Thats the end of the dirt roads, as far as we have been advised, & hopefully the weather might warm up a bit.
We did a tour of a mine in Potosi, & I was totally shocked. I think it is the worst palce I have ever been. I just cannot believe that people have to work in such conditions- for about 450 years people have been tunnelling into this huge mountain to remove silver, lead, zinc & sundry other metal bearing ores. One day the whole thing will just collapse on itself, mark my words. Fortunately for me, it was not while I was inside the thing. There is no science involved. The miners keep going on a combination of superstition, religion, luck, alcohol & coca leaves. First stop was a shop to buy gifts for the miners. Coca leaves, dynamite, det cord & detonators, & biscuits. I´m not kiddding! These guys have to provide this stuff for themselves. Plenty of them start at the age of 12 or younger, & dozens die every year. The work is backbreaking manual labour, buckets, ropes, wheelbarrows, then pushing ore carts out into the sunlight, where they load trucks by wheelbarrow, to take the ore out of the country for processing. So someone else makes the money on the back of these poor bastards, it made me sick, & it made me realise what people will do to each other, & to reconsider the achievements of the labour movements in other countries. This is just wrong, but what can I do about it? Apparently it is a big improvement on how the Spanish treated the Indians when it all started, they just locked them in the mine & worked them to death. We also visited the old Mint, which produced coins for all of the Spanish colonies at one time. The machinery, which was basic but effective, was powered by mules, & they suffered the same fate as the Indians. I kind of struggle with the Spanish legacy. They were brutal conquerors who left their religion & their language, while plundering everything else, & only departed when they got kicked out by force of arms by local leaders who were not much better.
On a brighter note, the ride down to Uyuni was eventful (more later), all dirt but again, very spectacular. The 2 pretty cool Italian guys who are normally the front runners, sitting right behind the Ride Leader, dropped back in the field a bit, but eventually got the hang of it. These guys could wear Rodney Dangerfield´s golf outfit & make it look stylish, & are great fun to be with. Uyuni itself is a depressing place, none of the streets are paved, so there is dust everywhere, & it looks pretty run down. Out on the Salar (salt lake) at least it is cleaner. This was quite bizzare, & hard on the eyes without the sunnies. We visited a hotel out on the lake which is built out of salt blocks....interesting, but it isnt going to catch on. We spent nearly a full day out there. Next day we continued on the dirt to the most remote part of our tour, the Chilean border town of Ollague, under the shadow of Mt Ollague, an active volcano. It was a long hard day, with lots of corrugations, sand, potholes, even mud when we detoured around some roadworks. So they are actually working on the road, but it was a shocker! We met a German couple who had driven their car from the US, & like everyone else they met, we were invited to sign their car! I guess it will need a respray anyhow.
The border crossing took quite a while, first, the Bolivian side was closed for siesta, then the Chilean side insisted on searching all the luggage, so that meant unpacking the trailer, then dragging it all into the customs shed, & finally repacking it all. We stayed the night in a pretty basic hotel, but hey, thats part of the fun. When we left this am, it was minus 3 degrees & we headed into another 200km of serious dirt road, the main feature of which was more potholes & a lot of loose sand. But the scenery was majestic. So even though it is hard work, one gets the feeling that the effort brings reward. We arrived in San Pedro de Atacama on the fringes of the Atacama Desert at about 2pm today, & have a chance to regroup for 2 nights. Thats the end of the dirt roads, as far as we have been advised, & hopefully the weather might warm up a bit.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
BOLIVIA
Ahem, I may have been a little hasty in my last posting. While I stand by what I said about Lake Titicaca in the vicinity of Puno, where most of the tourists go, namely that it is a septic lagoon, yesterday I discovered how big the thing really is. We left Puno & headed to the Bolivian border post of Copacobana (not the one in Rio) then on to the capital of La Paz. We covered about 300km, and most of that was in view of the Lake. It is massive, about 8000 sq km. And I have to say that it looked pretty good, & clean. However, there is no doubt that it is used as a giant drain, & so it is not infinite. There, I stand corrected.
The border crossing was a smooth albeit lengthy process, & a few km further on we hit the small town of Copacobana, still on the shores of the Lake. Here we came to a sudden stop. There was a fiesta & street parade in full swing. This weekend is Bolivian Independence Day (apparently). The streets were blocked off, & in true South American style, there was nothing like a simple detour in place, traffic just stopped. This gave us an opportunity to see something special, & take numerous photos. The cosumes were terrific, very colourful & intricate, & there was music, fireworks , the whole shebang, it was just great. We lost a great deal of time on what was already a long day, but nobody was sorry about it. Speaking of photos, it might just be easier to come over to my place & see them when I get back. If I find one more computer that wont upload the bastards in under a week, Ill kick it into the lake, but I digress.
We eventually got through &, surprise surprise, immediately hit one of the best bike roads I have ever been on. This was in fact the concensus of the whole group. This is why we ride, it was about 40km of everything we like, uphill, downhill, fast corners, slow corners, fantastic alpine scenery reminiscent of the south island of NZ, whenever you could sneak a peek, it was as smooth as silk & with hardly any traffic, seeing as how eveybody else was in town at the fiesta. The bikes got a real good workout. This brought us to a point in the Lake where there is a narrow constriction, & where we had to cross by ferry. This was no ordinary ferry, these are old wooden barges powered by small outboards. How they remain afloat defies all know theories related to bouyancy. We rode in head first over uneven, twisted planks with large gaps between, then had to back out on the other side. The water looked reasonably smooth but the barges pitched & tossed like mad. Even trucks & buses were carried across in the same way. I suspect that eventually one will be able to drive across on the bodies of the sunken vehicles & barges, & these guys will be out of a job.
Once safely across, the group continued through farming country, the number of villages & amount of traffic steadily increasing. The houses looked pretty rough, mostly made of mudbricks. Bolivia is clearly poorer than Peru, which is mildly disturbing, and the crime rate is higher while the roads are said to be worse, notwithstanding the great ride we had shortly after entering the country. So who do you believe? Anyway, by this stage we were nearing the outskirts of LaPaz, & it was getting dark. We pushed it a bit, probably more than I would have liked, but nobody wanted to get left behind. Shortly we hit the outer burbs, & the real bunfight commenced. This area was absolutely horrible, the place looked like Iraq, half finished buildings & junk everywhere. By this stage, the 4WD & trailer had arrived, with Compass´s local fixer on board. The plan was to head into Los Altos on the city fringe, park the bikes securely, then go to our hotel in the CBD by bus. The 4WD led the way like a battering ram through the traffic, all we had to do was follow it, easier said than done in this type of traffic. We have already become adept at riding in a tight bunch, the second there is a gap , someone else will just barge in. Again, the consequences of becoming separated were too awful to contemplate, so we stuck like glue. It was aggressive & fierce, with no quarter asked or given, but generally within the rules, not like the mayhem of Indian traffic where people constantly find new ways to scare the crap out of you.
Anyway, it was tough, but we got there on adrenaline. After transferring to the bus, we proceededinto town This joint really is quite different & very dramatic. The cityof some 2 million citizens sits in what is best described as a bowl, surrounded by hills. The difference in height between the hills & the bottom of the bowl is about 1000m & the whole thing is covered in buildings. It was now dark, & as we reached the rim, the sight of zillions of twinkling lights was more than spectacular, it was surreal. Our downtown hotel is excellent, we are in suites rather than rooms. I can just about get lost in mine. But there were no party animals last night, eveyone just crashed after a long & tiring day. There was a city tour this morning, which covered The Valley of the Moon, the main city squares, Government buildings & the main Cathederal, the wealthy part of town & bizzarely, the notorious main jail which is right in the CBD !! This is a place of legend, where the prisoners ran tours of the jail for paying customers, & also the biggest cocaine factory in Bolivia. Tourists were once allowed to stay in the jail overnight for a fee, but that sounds too heavy for me. Who do you complain to if they dont let you out? Is it covered by travel insurance?
After the tour, we had some free time to check things out individually, places like the Witches Market, where there are all kinds of stuff available. Never know when you are going to need a dried llama foetus or two (personally I like to keep a couple in the pantry in case of unexpected guests) . And the coca leaves go without saying! You can even make coca tea in the lobby of our hotel! Gotta say LaPaz didnt look as good as it did last night, but nevertheless, it is still quite spectacular & unlike any place I have been hitherto. We head off into the more remote parts of the country tomorrow, with a big ride of over 500km. Hasta Luego, amigos.
PS: This is weird, but the people of Peru & Bolivia, particularly those with indigenous genes, are really short. The group concensus is that this is Darwinian, as short limbs are more efficient in steep mountainous terrain & at high altitude. I will be glad to get down to more normal altitudes. I have had a headache for a week, & just cant drink enough water.
The border crossing was a smooth albeit lengthy process, & a few km further on we hit the small town of Copacobana, still on the shores of the Lake. Here we came to a sudden stop. There was a fiesta & street parade in full swing. This weekend is Bolivian Independence Day (apparently). The streets were blocked off, & in true South American style, there was nothing like a simple detour in place, traffic just stopped. This gave us an opportunity to see something special, & take numerous photos. The cosumes were terrific, very colourful & intricate, & there was music, fireworks , the whole shebang, it was just great. We lost a great deal of time on what was already a long day, but nobody was sorry about it. Speaking of photos, it might just be easier to come over to my place & see them when I get back. If I find one more computer that wont upload the bastards in under a week, Ill kick it into the lake, but I digress.
We eventually got through &, surprise surprise, immediately hit one of the best bike roads I have ever been on. This was in fact the concensus of the whole group. This is why we ride, it was about 40km of everything we like, uphill, downhill, fast corners, slow corners, fantastic alpine scenery reminiscent of the south island of NZ, whenever you could sneak a peek, it was as smooth as silk & with hardly any traffic, seeing as how eveybody else was in town at the fiesta. The bikes got a real good workout. This brought us to a point in the Lake where there is a narrow constriction, & where we had to cross by ferry. This was no ordinary ferry, these are old wooden barges powered by small outboards. How they remain afloat defies all know theories related to bouyancy. We rode in head first over uneven, twisted planks with large gaps between, then had to back out on the other side. The water looked reasonably smooth but the barges pitched & tossed like mad. Even trucks & buses were carried across in the same way. I suspect that eventually one will be able to drive across on the bodies of the sunken vehicles & barges, & these guys will be out of a job.
Once safely across, the group continued through farming country, the number of villages & amount of traffic steadily increasing. The houses looked pretty rough, mostly made of mudbricks. Bolivia is clearly poorer than Peru, which is mildly disturbing, and the crime rate is higher while the roads are said to be worse, notwithstanding the great ride we had shortly after entering the country. So who do you believe? Anyway, by this stage we were nearing the outskirts of LaPaz, & it was getting dark. We pushed it a bit, probably more than I would have liked, but nobody wanted to get left behind. Shortly we hit the outer burbs, & the real bunfight commenced. This area was absolutely horrible, the place looked like Iraq, half finished buildings & junk everywhere. By this stage, the 4WD & trailer had arrived, with Compass´s local fixer on board. The plan was to head into Los Altos on the city fringe, park the bikes securely, then go to our hotel in the CBD by bus. The 4WD led the way like a battering ram through the traffic, all we had to do was follow it, easier said than done in this type of traffic. We have already become adept at riding in a tight bunch, the second there is a gap , someone else will just barge in. Again, the consequences of becoming separated were too awful to contemplate, so we stuck like glue. It was aggressive & fierce, with no quarter asked or given, but generally within the rules, not like the mayhem of Indian traffic where people constantly find new ways to scare the crap out of you.
Anyway, it was tough, but we got there on adrenaline. After transferring to the bus, we proceededinto town This joint really is quite different & very dramatic. The cityof some 2 million citizens sits in what is best described as a bowl, surrounded by hills. The difference in height between the hills & the bottom of the bowl is about 1000m & the whole thing is covered in buildings. It was now dark, & as we reached the rim, the sight of zillions of twinkling lights was more than spectacular, it was surreal. Our downtown hotel is excellent, we are in suites rather than rooms. I can just about get lost in mine. But there were no party animals last night, eveyone just crashed after a long & tiring day. There was a city tour this morning, which covered The Valley of the Moon, the main city squares, Government buildings & the main Cathederal, the wealthy part of town & bizzarely, the notorious main jail which is right in the CBD !! This is a place of legend, where the prisoners ran tours of the jail for paying customers, & also the biggest cocaine factory in Bolivia. Tourists were once allowed to stay in the jail overnight for a fee, but that sounds too heavy for me. Who do you complain to if they dont let you out? Is it covered by travel insurance?
After the tour, we had some free time to check things out individually, places like the Witches Market, where there are all kinds of stuff available. Never know when you are going to need a dried llama foetus or two (personally I like to keep a couple in the pantry in case of unexpected guests) . And the coca leaves go without saying! You can even make coca tea in the lobby of our hotel! Gotta say LaPaz didnt look as good as it did last night, but nevertheless, it is still quite spectacular & unlike any place I have been hitherto. We head off into the more remote parts of the country tomorrow, with a big ride of over 500km. Hasta Luego, amigos.
PS: This is weird, but the people of Peru & Bolivia, particularly those with indigenous genes, are really short. The group concensus is that this is Darwinian, as short limbs are more efficient in steep mountainous terrain & at high altitude. I will be glad to get down to more normal altitudes. I have had a headache for a week, & just cant drink enough water.
Friday, April 29, 2011
LAKE TITICACA
Our group has moved on from Cusco, & we are now in Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca. We had a good ride of about 400 km yesterday. The roads leaving Cusco were very ordinary. Nobody official gives a rats about potholes (or anything else as far as I can make out), but my favourite hazard is the missing manhole cover. Some of these are big enough to trap a front wheel, & they can appear at any moment. And if you are in a roundabout, & think this entitles you to some sort of priority.......wrong!! I am truly staggered at the number of dogs roaming the streets of Peru. Mange, distemper, hydatid worms, rabies etc are all alive & well , & in no danger of going the way of smallpox. But back to the riding. We crossed a mountain pass on the way here, at about 4300m. It was hailing just as we got to the top, but it blew over quickly, & we moved on over generally good roads, but with a few bad sections, through quite spectacular looking countryside, wide sweeping vistas with snowy peaks in the background. Lots of rural folk, mostly women in the traditional dress of skirt, long socks, cardigan & brightly cloured shoulder bags topped off by a bowler or top hat, walking along the roads herding sheep, llamas or alpacas. The hats apparently vary from town to town, region to region. Farmhouses are mostly made of mudbrick. Its quaint, but you wouldnt reckon anyone is making any money.
When we arrived in Juliaca, I thought I was back in India, complete with roadside junk & diabolical traffic. The ride leader took a wrong turn up a narrow one way street in the middle of the chaos (hey, it happens) & we ended up having to turn around. Ten bikes doing 3 point turns in street did not help, but I thought it was pretty funny all the same. Anyhow, we got here, & I continued my startling run of punctures by picking up another nail just as we arrived. Oh, another thing , the 650GS has a seat like a park bench, good thing I brought the Airhawk seat cushion.
This morning we went out on the lake to visit the floating islands made of reeds, which was the purpose of our visit to Puno. This is really quite remarkable, as there are whole communities living out there in houses made of reeds, & it feels weird to walk around with a slight moving sensation as the surface gives underfoot, sort of like walking on a matress. They also make boats out of reeds as well, which was neat to see. These days though, the buoyancy is provided principally by two tubes filled with empty plastic bottles. Such is progress. The bad news is that this place has been developed into a total tourist trap, the objective being to extract as much dough from everybody as possible, but this is no surprise, is it¿ (that was a spanish question mark by the way). So after the obligatory photos of women in Peruvian outfits, & a wander into some of the houses for a look, out comes the hard sell for local handicrafts (read: crap that nobody needs or wants, least of all me). Pretty much what we expected. As for the Lake itself, it is impressive in that it is so large, over 160 km long, & is located in the mountains at such a high altitude. But sadly the reality is that it is a fetid swamp, the worlds largest sewage treatment lagoon, a giant stinking cesspit constantly topped up by the shit running from the streets & drains of Puno & other towns. Fortunately, the stench is somewhat modified by the clouds of exhaust fumes, & even in the back of this particular internet cafe there is no escape.
I just dont know how so much of the world lives in conditions like these, much less how it can ever be improved. If people dont care about it, then they deserve to live in crap. And being poor doesnt give you a licence to throw your rubbish into the street. I cant see that Puno serves any other purpose than to pollute Lake Titicaca, and that the concepts of urban planning & building control, public health management & basic hygeine are virtually non existent. As for Occ Health & Safety.........dont make me laugh! Anyway, we leave for Bolivia tomorrow, which is just across the other side of the Lake, & have our first border crossing. I dont expect there will be much improvement. Photos asap, I promise.
But amid all of the above angst, today I had one of those moments you just cant buy. I was walking along the street just as a primary school was finishing for the day. A little girl of about 5 or 6 stopped on the footpath & looked me up & down with a very studious expression on her face, and then with that wonderful innocence that only children have, said " Greengo".
When we arrived in Juliaca, I thought I was back in India, complete with roadside junk & diabolical traffic. The ride leader took a wrong turn up a narrow one way street in the middle of the chaos (hey, it happens) & we ended up having to turn around. Ten bikes doing 3 point turns in street did not help, but I thought it was pretty funny all the same. Anyhow, we got here, & I continued my startling run of punctures by picking up another nail just as we arrived. Oh, another thing , the 650GS has a seat like a park bench, good thing I brought the Airhawk seat cushion.
This morning we went out on the lake to visit the floating islands made of reeds, which was the purpose of our visit to Puno. This is really quite remarkable, as there are whole communities living out there in houses made of reeds, & it feels weird to walk around with a slight moving sensation as the surface gives underfoot, sort of like walking on a matress. They also make boats out of reeds as well, which was neat to see. These days though, the buoyancy is provided principally by two tubes filled with empty plastic bottles. Such is progress. The bad news is that this place has been developed into a total tourist trap, the objective being to extract as much dough from everybody as possible, but this is no surprise, is it¿ (that was a spanish question mark by the way). So after the obligatory photos of women in Peruvian outfits, & a wander into some of the houses for a look, out comes the hard sell for local handicrafts (read: crap that nobody needs or wants, least of all me). Pretty much what we expected. As for the Lake itself, it is impressive in that it is so large, over 160 km long, & is located in the mountains at such a high altitude. But sadly the reality is that it is a fetid swamp, the worlds largest sewage treatment lagoon, a giant stinking cesspit constantly topped up by the shit running from the streets & drains of Puno & other towns. Fortunately, the stench is somewhat modified by the clouds of exhaust fumes, & even in the back of this particular internet cafe there is no escape.
I just dont know how so much of the world lives in conditions like these, much less how it can ever be improved. If people dont care about it, then they deserve to live in crap. And being poor doesnt give you a licence to throw your rubbish into the street. I cant see that Puno serves any other purpose than to pollute Lake Titicaca, and that the concepts of urban planning & building control, public health management & basic hygeine are virtually non existent. As for Occ Health & Safety.........dont make me laugh! Anyway, we leave for Bolivia tomorrow, which is just across the other side of the Lake, & have our first border crossing. I dont expect there will be much improvement. Photos asap, I promise.
But amid all of the above angst, today I had one of those moments you just cant buy. I was walking along the street just as a primary school was finishing for the day. A little girl of about 5 or 6 stopped on the footpath & looked me up & down with a very studious expression on her face, and then with that wonderful innocence that only children have, said " Greengo".
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
CUSCO
After arriving in Cusco, I met the rest of the group. We have 9 riders & 2 pillions altogether, all Aussies, (apart from 2 Italian speed freaks, but they have been living in Sydney for a few years, so that is good enough) & have spent a bit of time getting to know one another and our Compass crew, Wiki & Lisbet, a young Belgian couple. We had a familiarisation ride out into the hills surrounding Cusco, & the traffic conditions & general mayhem out on the roads surprised a few of the group, but sofar there have been no major dramas about riding on the right, & being ignored by everyone else on the road.
The compound where the bikes are kept is a real sight. You have to ride down a sidestreet which is more like a motocross track to get there, & its behind some huge steel gates, & has a resident caretaker who lives in a pile of rubbish at one end. South America can certainly be confronting at times, & Cusco does not appear to be a wealthy town. But it is the tourism hub of Peru, & the centre of town is interesting notwithstanding the obligatory beggars, touts, shops full of tat, etc. There is some good stuff to buy, & some good restaurants, & food & grog is reasonably cheap. How does less than $2 a stubby sound? (Pause for a sip.) Some of the group are suffering already with altitude sickness (3300m), & stomach bugs, so far I have been spared anything serious.
I am currently back in Cusco, after having been up to see Machu Pichu. Quite a complicated process, as the train from here to there is still out of action due to last years floods. We rode part of the way, then took a 90 min train ride to Aguas Calientes, where we stayed overnight. Early next am, we took a mildly nerve wracking bus ride up to the site. It certainly must have been remote when it was built. Nobody was disappointed, it is quite a fascinating place. We then reversed the process, & took a different ride route back here. Great scenery, but the roads are not great, & you just never know what will come at you from around the next bend. There are heaps of speed humps which you usually dont see until the last moment, & all sorts of animals wandering around the place.
Tomorrow we finally get going up to Puno & Lake Titicaca. I am having trouble loading photos & will catch up when I can find a faster computer.
The compound where the bikes are kept is a real sight. You have to ride down a sidestreet which is more like a motocross track to get there, & its behind some huge steel gates, & has a resident caretaker who lives in a pile of rubbish at one end. South America can certainly be confronting at times, & Cusco does not appear to be a wealthy town. But it is the tourism hub of Peru, & the centre of town is interesting notwithstanding the obligatory beggars, touts, shops full of tat, etc. There is some good stuff to buy, & some good restaurants, & food & grog is reasonably cheap. How does less than $2 a stubby sound? (Pause for a sip.) Some of the group are suffering already with altitude sickness (3300m), & stomach bugs, so far I have been spared anything serious.
I am currently back in Cusco, after having been up to see Machu Pichu. Quite a complicated process, as the train from here to there is still out of action due to last years floods. We rode part of the way, then took a 90 min train ride to Aguas Calientes, where we stayed overnight. Early next am, we took a mildly nerve wracking bus ride up to the site. It certainly must have been remote when it was built. Nobody was disappointed, it is quite a fascinating place. We then reversed the process, & took a different ride route back here. Great scenery, but the roads are not great, & you just never know what will come at you from around the next bend. There are heaps of speed humps which you usually dont see until the last moment, & all sorts of animals wandering around the place.
Tomorrow we finally get going up to Puno & Lake Titicaca. I am having trouble loading photos & will catch up when I can find a faster computer.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
GOODBYE ARGENTINA---HELLO PERU
With my last day in Buenos Aires, I decided to visit a few of the places I missed out on last time I was here, so I headed up to the Cemetario de la Recoletta. This is an old cemetery where the coffins are kept in above ground mausoleums. It is notable for being the final resting place of Eva Peron, & it didnt take too long before I located same. Well, whacko, it was nothing flash. I was more interested in the fact that the place was so old. I saw several tombs holding people born in the 1700s. I also observed most of the tombs are a lot more presentable than many of the houses visible on the way into town from the airport. It is a bizzare place, & I kept thinking of that scene in Easy Rider where they had an acid trip in a similar cemetery in New Orleans. All that was missing was the acid, a couple of hookers, a pile driving rig &, oh yes, Denis Hopper. OK so there was a lot missing. Anyway, I then went & had a look at the big obelisk in the middle of the main drag. This commemorates the anniversary of the founding of the city, circa 1580 odd, well before Australia was even discovered. I think they wasted the head start.
Recoletta Cemetery
The Obelisk
A traffic cops vehicle. Intimidating or what? Dont laugh or they shoot.
Buggered if I know, its an ad for Pepsi.
After a 5 am start the next day, & a 5 hour flight from Buenos Aires, during which my allocated seat was wedged between one of the toilets & a woman holding a baby who screamed in my ear the entire time, I arrived in Lima. The place was barely visible due to a low fog, even though it was the middle of the day. This is apparently quite common. Yet when I walked out the door, it was hot & humid. Go figure. My first impression was that it looked a lot less prosperous than Buenos Aires or Santiago, the only other capitals I have seen in South America. But airports are usually located in crap areas, right? This outlook didnt improve as the taxi headed through some pretty run down areas & emerged on the coast. The Pacific was a dirty brown colour, & the beaches were made of grey shingles. I wouldnt swim in it at gunpoint. And the coastline was fronted by very high cliffs , making it hard to get to. Anyway, the Hotel Antigua Miraflores is nice enough. However, none of the rooms have flyscreens, & there is a sign in the bog instructing that putting toilet paper down the bog is not on. One dumps it in the waste bin, apparently. I have heard of this, but as yet not experienced it. I daresay its a hard habit to get into. God help the cleaners.
The courtyard of my hotel
Anyway, this am I went out for a walk & finished up walking along the coast. Nice waves coming in, but as noted above, one would really have to be keen. I ended up at a new shopping mall - fun complex, the type of place I would usually avoid, but there wasnt much else on offer. Its too far & too hot to go into the city. The place was crawling with security guards, & all the buildings here have heavy grilles & screens on the windows & doors, so it looks like crime is rampant. Heavy stuff. I fly to Cusco tomorrow. Let the riding commence .....please!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)