....us, home at last! After our massive stint of travelling (just a few days shy of a year), we flew over 17 hours from Buenos Aires to Cairns, sneaking home and knocking on the door at 10:30pm on Christmas Eve. We're happy to say that we managed to pull the surprise off! Sorry to everybody for the false trail we left on Facebook and in emails and phone conversations - we never made it to Ecuador and had no intention of going to Columbia either - but the deception was all part of the grand plan...
There's a bit more to tell about our run home (escaping from Peru into Chile, Argentina take #2 and some VERY long haul bus rides), but we'll write more about that in a few days when the jetlag has worn off :-)
Merry Christmas everyone - it's great to be back on Aussie soil!!!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Peruvian hospitality... or lack thereof
You may have guessed that this isn't going to be a positive post, and you'd be right. But in an attempt to take something positive from an overwhelmingly crappy experience, we've put in some nice pics (so you can stop reading if you want to skip the bad stuff).
Before we came to Peru, we had big expectations. We were excited and optimistic. The south of the country is a world famous tourist destination - everyone knows Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas - and you'd think that as a result, visiting such places would be straightforward, well-organised and smooth sailing. After arriving into Cusco, we arranged to head to Machu Picchu on a 4 day mountain biking and hiking tour with a company named Peruvian Trips (or Chaska), booked through our hostel (as recommended by several travel guides).
The problems started immediately on the first day - after being told we would be met at our hostel at 7:30am, over an hour later we found ourselves asking the staff if they could call up and find out where our guide was. Eventually someone was located, and we met up with a busload of waiting people who probably assumed we'd slept in.
While we couldn't fault the beauty of the scenery we biked and hiked through, there wasn't much else about the tour that you say was great, or even satisfactory. With most meals, no drinks were provided - not even water, which seems insane on a trek - or the meals were too slow (waiting over an hour and a half for one lunch), or were ridiculously small (like a tiny roll with a piece of cheese). Most of our accommodations were at the worst dives in each town, up in the dirty back streets, which again is pretty stingy given just how cheap accommodation is - for an extra AUD$5 we could have stayed somewhere really nice. Our guide was around only when absolutely necessary, otherwise was nowhere to be seen. The deluxe options we'd paid extra for (including additional walking up another mountain and then a train ride) never eventuated - our guide dismissed that this had ever been organised (when we'd made sure to confirm this, and were told it was all going ahead).
On the final day, we returned from Machu Picchu early in the afternoon, and were told that we (just us, not the rest of the group) were now on an early train to Ollantaytambo. After rushing over to catch this train, we discovered that the tickets were actually for the following day. We just managed to find our guide (again, who had just given us the tickets and then disappeared), and he got them changed for the original train time for that day. It was still a mystery to us what would have happened had we not returned from Machu Picchu early - we would have found ourselves with tickets for the following day, no accommodation organised, no guide and no way to contact the guide, and no connecting bus from Ollantaytambo to Cusco. After meeting up with the others once again, our group endured the joys of Peruvian hospitality - mystery 20% 'taxes' tacked onto an already exorbitant bill, general rudeness from staff, and being kicked out of another cafe for not ordering enough.
If this wasn't already enough to deal with, when our train finally pulled into Ollantaytambo, we found ourselves in a crush of people, searching for our names on one of the signs held up by the various bus operators meeting the train. While the rest of our group found their names with a couple of different buses, 3 of us found ourselves nameless, busless, and again, without a guide (who had conveniently returned on a much earlier train). We then underwent a heated argument with the bus lady (thankfully one of the girls in our group translated for us as this was all in spanish), who would not let us on the bus with the rest of our group. By this stage anger and frustration had given way to tears and despair. Eventually after several phonecalls were made, another bus lady wandered over and told us that our names had just been added to another list with another bus. After sitting in the carpark for another hour (waiting for passengers from another train), we eventually got back to Cusco around 11pm, where we were unceremoniously dumped onto the street, several blocks from the city centre. By this stage the stress, cold and fatigue had taken its toll, and I collapsed vomiting in the main square - a fitting end to a fantastically crappy tour that we'd paid good money for.
In all of this, Cusco, Machu Picchu, the Inca Trail, and Aguas Calientes were overwhelmingly overshadowed by the amount of shit that we had to put up with in getting there. Cusco is a lovely city, but every 5m you get confronted by yet another Peruvian wanting you to buy their crafts, eat at their restaurant, have a massage, book a tour, go to a club, or get in a taxi - all of which gets annoying fast, especially when some people don't understand 'No' and get angry at you! Machu Picchu is an amazing archaeological site, and the landscape is spectacular - it's just such a shame it's in Peru instead of some other country that deserves it. It has probably the most expensive entry price of any archaeological site in the world, yet they have the nerve to charge you to use the toilet. The Bolivians are said to despise the Peruvians, saying that they're all liars, cheats and thieves, and in our opinion this is totally correct. Of course there have to be some Peruvians out there who don't lie, cheat and steal - but as a tourist, you're unlikely to encounter them unless you get lucky or you've forked out a ridiculous amount of money first. In Asia, when you catch someone trying to rip you off and you eventually get the fair and going rate the people are generally like, 'ok, haha, you got me there!', however in Peru, people get angry at you for wanting a fair price. It seems that being rude and ripping off tourists off is simply ingrained in their nature. And our bad experiences (of which we've only just scratched the surface) are definitely not isolated incidents - most of the people on our tour had also been frustrated or scammed in Peru, and you only have to look on the online travel forums to read about thousands upon thousands of similar stories.
So what's our end opinion? Well, we despise this most visited part of Peru, and cannot wait to get out of this country of rude, lying, scamming thieves. Yes, there are some wonderful things to see here, but it's just not worth it if you want to be treated fairly and honestly. As an independent or seasoned traveller who knows better, you're in for a stressful experience where you cannot let down your guard for a second. Hopefully all the tourists eventually figure this out, and opt not to visit Cusco or Machu Picchu, as we see this as the only way Peru will ever see fit to rectify any of these problems. We'll leave you with a quote from Cusco's regional president Hugo Gonzalez, who has suggested a substantial increase to Machu Picchu's entry price (which is already significantly more than any other archaological site):
'Foreigners are already spending at least $1000 on their flights and accommodation, so they can afford to pay more for the main reason they came here.'
I'd say that sums up the Peruvian mentality perfectly.
Before we came to Peru, we had big expectations. We were excited and optimistic. The south of the country is a world famous tourist destination - everyone knows Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas - and you'd think that as a result, visiting such places would be straightforward, well-organised and smooth sailing. After arriving into Cusco, we arranged to head to Machu Picchu on a 4 day mountain biking and hiking tour with a company named Peruvian Trips (or Chaska), booked through our hostel (as recommended by several travel guides).
The problems started immediately on the first day - after being told we would be met at our hostel at 7:30am, over an hour later we found ourselves asking the staff if they could call up and find out where our guide was. Eventually someone was located, and we met up with a busload of waiting people who probably assumed we'd slept in.
While we couldn't fault the beauty of the scenery we biked and hiked through, there wasn't much else about the tour that you say was great, or even satisfactory. With most meals, no drinks were provided - not even water, which seems insane on a trek - or the meals were too slow (waiting over an hour and a half for one lunch), or were ridiculously small (like a tiny roll with a piece of cheese). Most of our accommodations were at the worst dives in each town, up in the dirty back streets, which again is pretty stingy given just how cheap accommodation is - for an extra AUD$5 we could have stayed somewhere really nice. Our guide was around only when absolutely necessary, otherwise was nowhere to be seen. The deluxe options we'd paid extra for (including additional walking up another mountain and then a train ride) never eventuated - our guide dismissed that this had ever been organised (when we'd made sure to confirm this, and were told it was all going ahead).
On the final day, we returned from Machu Picchu early in the afternoon, and were told that we (just us, not the rest of the group) were now on an early train to Ollantaytambo. After rushing over to catch this train, we discovered that the tickets were actually for the following day. We just managed to find our guide (again, who had just given us the tickets and then disappeared), and he got them changed for the original train time for that day. It was still a mystery to us what would have happened had we not returned from Machu Picchu early - we would have found ourselves with tickets for the following day, no accommodation organised, no guide and no way to contact the guide, and no connecting bus from Ollantaytambo to Cusco. After meeting up with the others once again, our group endured the joys of Peruvian hospitality - mystery 20% 'taxes' tacked onto an already exorbitant bill, general rudeness from staff, and being kicked out of another cafe for not ordering enough.
If this wasn't already enough to deal with, when our train finally pulled into Ollantaytambo, we found ourselves in a crush of people, searching for our names on one of the signs held up by the various bus operators meeting the train. While the rest of our group found their names with a couple of different buses, 3 of us found ourselves nameless, busless, and again, without a guide (who had conveniently returned on a much earlier train). We then underwent a heated argument with the bus lady (thankfully one of the girls in our group translated for us as this was all in spanish), who would not let us on the bus with the rest of our group. By this stage anger and frustration had given way to tears and despair. Eventually after several phonecalls were made, another bus lady wandered over and told us that our names had just been added to another list with another bus. After sitting in the carpark for another hour (waiting for passengers from another train), we eventually got back to Cusco around 11pm, where we were unceremoniously dumped onto the street, several blocks from the city centre. By this stage the stress, cold and fatigue had taken its toll, and I collapsed vomiting in the main square - a fitting end to a fantastically crappy tour that we'd paid good money for.
In all of this, Cusco, Machu Picchu, the Inca Trail, and Aguas Calientes were overwhelmingly overshadowed by the amount of shit that we had to put up with in getting there. Cusco is a lovely city, but every 5m you get confronted by yet another Peruvian wanting you to buy their crafts, eat at their restaurant, have a massage, book a tour, go to a club, or get in a taxi - all of which gets annoying fast, especially when some people don't understand 'No' and get angry at you! Machu Picchu is an amazing archaeological site, and the landscape is spectacular - it's just such a shame it's in Peru instead of some other country that deserves it. It has probably the most expensive entry price of any archaeological site in the world, yet they have the nerve to charge you to use the toilet. The Bolivians are said to despise the Peruvians, saying that they're all liars, cheats and thieves, and in our opinion this is totally correct. Of course there have to be some Peruvians out there who don't lie, cheat and steal - but as a tourist, you're unlikely to encounter them unless you get lucky or you've forked out a ridiculous amount of money first. In Asia, when you catch someone trying to rip you off and you eventually get the fair and going rate the people are generally like, 'ok, haha, you got me there!', however in Peru, people get angry at you for wanting a fair price. It seems that being rude and ripping off tourists off is simply ingrained in their nature. And our bad experiences (of which we've only just scratched the surface) are definitely not isolated incidents - most of the people on our tour had also been frustrated or scammed in Peru, and you only have to look on the online travel forums to read about thousands upon thousands of similar stories.
So what's our end opinion? Well, we despise this most visited part of Peru, and cannot wait to get out of this country of rude, lying, scamming thieves. Yes, there are some wonderful things to see here, but it's just not worth it if you want to be treated fairly and honestly. As an independent or seasoned traveller who knows better, you're in for a stressful experience where you cannot let down your guard for a second. Hopefully all the tourists eventually figure this out, and opt not to visit Cusco or Machu Picchu, as we see this as the only way Peru will ever see fit to rectify any of these problems. We'll leave you with a quote from Cusco's regional president Hugo Gonzalez, who has suggested a substantial increase to Machu Picchu's entry price (which is already significantly more than any other archaological site):
'Foreigners are already spending at least $1000 on their flights and accommodation, so they can afford to pay more for the main reason they came here.'
I'd say that sums up the Peruvian mentality perfectly.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Witches markets and floating islands
After a bumpy overnight journey to La Paz that had us on the verge of throwing up multiple times (even on our luxury bus, no amount of cushioning could overcome the road conditions), we were dying for a decent place to crash out for a couple of days. To our surprise, La Paz turned out to be an attractive, engaging and interesting city that we didn't mind spending a few days exploring. All around our hotel we found countless streets of market stalls crammed with busy locals selling everything - clothes, bananas, half-plucked chickens, roast chickens, lacy lingerie, building materials, school books and bags, you name it - plus lanes of tourist stalls selling typical Andean souvenirs, and a creepy section known as the 'Witches' Market', where you could buy alien-like mummified llama foetuses to ward off evil spirits!
Even with all the semi-chaos of the markets, the place didn't feel especially dangerous or over-touristy, and we found it very enjoyable just wandering around not getting harassed or pressured to buy or do anything. Plus the presence of so many stout old women in their typical dress (which included their much-prized but seemingly pointless little bowl hats) trotting around with bright pink baby-toting slings on their backs gave the city a totally authentic Bolivian feel.
After a couple of enjoyable days lounging in La Paz, we headed off for Copacabana, a little town on the Bolivian shores of Lake Titicaca - the largest lake in South America and at 3821m, one of the highest in the world.
Apart from loading up on Andean souvenirs (the cheapest we've come across) and sampling the delicious local trout at every opportunity, we also headed out to Isla del Sol (island of the sun) on a day trip. Inca legend says that Viracocha, the bearded god who created the universe, emerged from the waters of Lake Titicaca and created the sun here.
While the island obviously has some interesting history and the views are pretty nice, its appeal gradually waned as the day went on, as the archeological highlights didn't seem very ancient or authentic (they looked suspiciously like much of the local construction), you had to walk a long way uphill to see anything, and also our mode of transport was the slowest boat in nautical history (we were actually overtaken by ducks).
Next stop on the lake was a visit to the Peruvian side and the Uros islands, a collection of floating islands made of a 3m layer of reeds, and home to the Uros (pre-Incan peoples). Supposedly the islands were constructed for defensive purposes - if a threat arose they could just move away - but we found it ironic that being made of highly flammable reeds, anyone could just set their islands on fire anyway.
Our visit included a stop on Chumi island where we got an interesting introduction and overview from the island president, a ride on one of their reed boats, and then a visit to the main island, complete with restaurant, minimarket, and post office. While the people on the islands still maintain some traditional customs like fishing, bird hunting and bartering for food, a lot have moved to the mainland, and many of the islands are fitted out with solar power, radio, tv and even internet, which was an odd contrast.
Once in Peru we found ourselves well and truly on the gringo stomping path, and our next stop of Cusco is clearly the Peruvian (if not South American) capital for all things touristic - some interesting tales on that to come...
Even with all the semi-chaos of the markets, the place didn't feel especially dangerous or over-touristy, and we found it very enjoyable just wandering around not getting harassed or pressured to buy or do anything. Plus the presence of so many stout old women in their typical dress (which included their much-prized but seemingly pointless little bowl hats) trotting around with bright pink baby-toting slings on their backs gave the city a totally authentic Bolivian feel.
After a couple of enjoyable days lounging in La Paz, we headed off for Copacabana, a little town on the Bolivian shores of Lake Titicaca - the largest lake in South America and at 3821m, one of the highest in the world.
Apart from loading up on Andean souvenirs (the cheapest we've come across) and sampling the delicious local trout at every opportunity, we also headed out to Isla del Sol (island of the sun) on a day trip. Inca legend says that Viracocha, the bearded god who created the universe, emerged from the waters of Lake Titicaca and created the sun here.
While the island obviously has some interesting history and the views are pretty nice, its appeal gradually waned as the day went on, as the archeological highlights didn't seem very ancient or authentic (they looked suspiciously like much of the local construction), you had to walk a long way uphill to see anything, and also our mode of transport was the slowest boat in nautical history (we were actually overtaken by ducks).
Next stop on the lake was a visit to the Peruvian side and the Uros islands, a collection of floating islands made of a 3m layer of reeds, and home to the Uros (pre-Incan peoples). Supposedly the islands were constructed for defensive purposes - if a threat arose they could just move away - but we found it ironic that being made of highly flammable reeds, anyone could just set their islands on fire anyway.
Our visit included a stop on Chumi island where we got an interesting introduction and overview from the island president, a ride on one of their reed boats, and then a visit to the main island, complete with restaurant, minimarket, and post office. While the people on the islands still maintain some traditional customs like fishing, bird hunting and bartering for food, a lot have moved to the mainland, and many of the islands are fitted out with solar power, radio, tv and even internet, which was an odd contrast.
Once in Peru we found ourselves well and truly on the gringo stomping path, and our next stop of Cusco is clearly the Peruvian (if not South American) capital for all things touristic - some interesting tales on that to come...Saturday, December 5, 2009
Salar de Uyuni
We set off from Tupiza bright and early in our flash Landcruiser, and after about 5 minutes of paved town streets we hit the dirt roads, which would continue for the next 4 days. The first day took in some hairy driving on the very edge of steep cliffs (where it was best to look at the floor and think of a happy place) - and a collision between the other car in our tour group and a crazy oncoming 4WD that nearly wiped us out on the flat minutes earlier.
After a delicious lunch stop amongst herds of llamas and a pair of politely scabbing donkeys, we continued on up (and up..) through tiny scattered desert towns before reaching our first nights' accommodation at 4200m. Here we successfully attempted to exhaust ourselves with a walk up the hill behind the town, and then a game of soccer.
The next morning we set off not-so-bright and early at 4:30am, visiting a ghost town (where the Spaniards were wiped out by leprosy), some wicked Salvador Dali-esque rock formations, the ridiculously cold and windy Laguna Verde (green lagoon), past the first of many volcanoes and flamingo-filled salt and mineral lakes, stopped to look at bubbling geysers, before finishing off the day with a dip in the Aguas Calientes (hot springs). This was a particularly tough day for the rest of our tour group in the other 4WD, as they were unlucky enough to have no less than 4 flat tyres - all before lunchtime!
After a well earned sleep-in and breakfast of pancakes, we headed off on the 3rd day directly to the Laguna Colorada - a spectacular red lagoon in the shadow of yet another volcano and home to thousands of bright pink flamingoes.
This lake visit was then followed by drive-bys and visits to a further 5 picturesque lagoons, with pit-stops at some much photographed volcanic rock formations in the middle of the desert, and also at a pre-Incan necropolis full of well-preserved tombs.
That night we got to stay in a hotel made entirely of salt - including floors of loose salt, walls of salt bricks and mortar, and tables, chairs and beds all made from salt blocks - and also have our first shower of the tour.
We rose early again on our 4th and final day and headed straight out onto the Salar de Uyuni - the immense salt flats in the southwest of Bolivia - taking in the sunset against the seemingly never-ending expanse of white nothing, and ironically suffering the first flat tyre of the tour.
After repairing the tyre we continued on to the Isla del Pescado (Fish Island), an isolated hump of rocks, gigantic cacti and coral formations entirely surrounded by salt. Back again onto the endless white of the salt flats, we paused to hunt for salt crystals under the surface, and to pose in some wicked perspective photos. After a final lunch in another little nothing town, we finished up at Uyuni with some welcome cold beers.
After hearing a bit about the tours starting from Uyuni, we were very happy to have gone via Tupiza instead, as most of the Uyuni tours missed many of the best highlights, and also involved some tiring back-tracking at the end. We were also very satisfied with our choice of tour group La Torre Tours (we'd heard some horror stories about dodgy tours run by anyone with a 4WD, and so had picked a more expensive company with lots of good reviews) - obviously it helped to have a really good group of people, but everything about the tour was excellent - the cars, the organisation and itinerary, the delicious hot meals and ample snacks (how our chef managed this for 4 days in the middle of nowhere is a miracle!), and of course Raoul our English-speaking guide and our drivers.
While the rest of our group opted for a night in Uyuni to freshen up before moving on, we decided to skip the in-between towns and hopped on Bolivia's most luxury bus service direct overnight to La Paz - more on that in our next post..
After a delicious lunch stop amongst herds of llamas and a pair of politely scabbing donkeys, we continued on up (and up..) through tiny scattered desert towns before reaching our first nights' accommodation at 4200m. Here we successfully attempted to exhaust ourselves with a walk up the hill behind the town, and then a game of soccer.
The next morning we set off not-so-bright and early at 4:30am, visiting a ghost town (where the Spaniards were wiped out by leprosy), some wicked Salvador Dali-esque rock formations, the ridiculously cold and windy Laguna Verde (green lagoon), past the first of many volcanoes and flamingo-filled salt and mineral lakes, stopped to look at bubbling geysers, before finishing off the day with a dip in the Aguas Calientes (hot springs). This was a particularly tough day for the rest of our tour group in the other 4WD, as they were unlucky enough to have no less than 4 flat tyres - all before lunchtime!
After a well earned sleep-in and breakfast of pancakes, we headed off on the 3rd day directly to the Laguna Colorada - a spectacular red lagoon in the shadow of yet another volcano and home to thousands of bright pink flamingoes.
This lake visit was then followed by drive-bys and visits to a further 5 picturesque lagoons, with pit-stops at some much photographed volcanic rock formations in the middle of the desert, and also at a pre-Incan necropolis full of well-preserved tombs.
That night we got to stay in a hotel made entirely of salt - including floors of loose salt, walls of salt bricks and mortar, and tables, chairs and beds all made from salt blocks - and also have our first shower of the tour.
We rose early again on our 4th and final day and headed straight out onto the Salar de Uyuni - the immense salt flats in the southwest of Bolivia - taking in the sunset against the seemingly never-ending expanse of white nothing, and ironically suffering the first flat tyre of the tour.
After repairing the tyre we continued on to the Isla del Pescado (Fish Island), an isolated hump of rocks, gigantic cacti and coral formations entirely surrounded by salt. Back again onto the endless white of the salt flats, we paused to hunt for salt crystals under the surface, and to pose in some wicked perspective photos. After a final lunch in another little nothing town, we finished up at Uyuni with some welcome cold beers.
After hearing a bit about the tours starting from Uyuni, we were very happy to have gone via Tupiza instead, as most of the Uyuni tours missed many of the best highlights, and also involved some tiring back-tracking at the end. We were also very satisfied with our choice of tour group La Torre Tours (we'd heard some horror stories about dodgy tours run by anyone with a 4WD, and so had picked a more expensive company with lots of good reviews) - obviously it helped to have a really good group of people, but everything about the tour was excellent - the cars, the organisation and itinerary, the delicious hot meals and ample snacks (how our chef managed this for 4 days in the middle of nowhere is a miracle!), and of course Raoul our English-speaking guide and our drivers.
While the rest of our group opted for a night in Uyuni to freshen up before moving on, we decided to skip the in-between towns and hopped on Bolivia's most luxury bus service direct overnight to La Paz - more on that in our next post..
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Bumping across the border to Bolivia
Next stop was the town of Tilcara, approximately 4 hours north of Salta, and not too far from the Bolivian border. Although our last stop was also in the desert, it felt more like a small desert town when we arrived in Tilcara. This town was so small that the supermarket didn't have 1.65 pesos change and I instead received a note saying that I had credit there! Although the town was nice at times, the dust and our concerns about the quality of the food meant that we didnt hang around for more than a couple of slow days.
While there though we also managed to squeeze in a day-trip to Purmamarca, which is known for its hills of seven colours, as well as for the numerous artisan shops and stalls.
The further north we head the more concerned we have become about the quality of the food and its storage. It seems people are more prepared to refrigerate drinks than meat. Seeing a dozen luke-warm chickens being sold on the front counter is less than confidence instilling.
The 15 Boliviano ($2.50) 3 hour bus trip from Villazon to Tupiza was an interesting experience. After enduring the (very bad) singing busker on our bus we had our first experience of Bolivian roads, or the lack thereof. At one point we were actually driving up a river bed, and shortly after, up the river itself. At that point it made perfect sense why many Bolivian buses have incredibly high suspension.
One we set down in Tupiza we experienced our latest evening desert storm, which is the 3rd desert town in a row. I think we must be a rain charm for the locals, and we have quite enjoyed watching the storms roll in as it feels similar to being home this time of the year.
The next day we set out on a 5 hour horseride through the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" territory. Although our guide was less than enthusiasic and at one point I managed to come off the horse at full gallop, the ride itself was fantastic - up and down dusty red hills, along dry riverbeds past towering cacti and amongst strange rock formations.
Our next adventure is to set off on a 4-day tour of south-western Bolivia, which will include a tour of the massive salt flats west of Uyuni.
While there though we also managed to squeeze in a day-trip to Purmamarca, which is known for its hills of seven colours, as well as for the numerous artisan shops and stalls.
The further north we head the more concerned we have become about the quality of the food and its storage. It seems people are more prepared to refrigerate drinks than meat. Seeing a dozen luke-warm chickens being sold on the front counter is less than confidence instilling.
The 15 Boliviano ($2.50) 3 hour bus trip from Villazon to Tupiza was an interesting experience. After enduring the (very bad) singing busker on our bus we had our first experience of Bolivian roads, or the lack thereof. At one point we were actually driving up a river bed, and shortly after, up the river itself. At that point it made perfect sense why many Bolivian buses have incredibly high suspension.
One we set down in Tupiza we experienced our latest evening desert storm, which is the 3rd desert town in a row. I think we must be a rain charm for the locals, and we have quite enjoyed watching the storms roll in as it feels similar to being home this time of the year.
The next day we set out on a 5 hour horseride through the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" territory. Although our guide was less than enthusiasic and at one point I managed to come off the horse at full gallop, the ride itself was fantastic - up and down dusty red hills, along dry riverbeds past towering cacti and amongst strange rock formations.
Our next adventure is to set off on a 4-day tour of south-western Bolivia, which will include a tour of the massive salt flats west of Uyuni.
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