Bum ticks: La Pampas

This little guy is from our hostel in Rurrenabaque but he is a tucan from La Pampas

We woke early on our last day in the jungle and were taken back to Rurrenabaque to be driven about three hours to La Pampas, a wetland. On the way Brandon spotted a tick on my arm and Avar picked it off when we got to land. we were in a group with a Brittish couple, who were very nice and made the whole trip a lot of fun.

Jungle medicine: Madidi National Park (Via Rurrenabaque)

Red howler monkey

On Sunday we met up with Mas and Suzanne and flew to Rurrenabaque. The airport is not really an airport. There is a landing strip and mini buses wait beside it to take you to the airport building (pretty much just a shed) and on to town for 10BOB unless a tour operator is collecting you from the airport. We decided to stay at a hostel reccommended to us by the Qiwis from the bike tour because it had a pool and a pet tucan and macaw (Ambibo or something like that). The Macaw turned out to be a little sadistic, not surprising when I saw how the tourists (mainly the male tourists) tormented the poor thing.

Death Road: La Paz

On thursday we bussed it from Puno to La Paz. After the boarder crossing, where you get out and walk across after having your passport stamped, we had a lunch stop in Copacabana. This is the more popular place to see lake Titicaca from. For some reason everyone says Puno is this horrid place. There's not that much to do there but it's not that different from any other small city that isn't built for tourists.

One slow boat: Lake Titikaka

Celebrate! A photo is added - Uros Islands

Yesterday morning we rocked up at the dock just before 7:30 to see if we could sort out a home stay on Amantani Island. This turned out to be extremely easy. There is a window for each island (Uros floating islands included) where you go and ask about the boat trip and the overnight stay. We didn´t really need to be there that early the boat didn´t leave until 8 or something.

Why the bad reputation: Puno

So of course I woke up early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so I started looking for another hotel or hostel immediately. After a sad breakfast of rolls and jam with jugo de naranga (oranhee as our host helpfully explained in Spanglish - that is orange juice), we checked out and walked a couple of blocks from the centre of town. It turns out even though the internet said there were rooms they had none, so they took us to another hotel they also ran. It is much, much more pleasant and even costs less. Fingers crossed for a good nights sleep.

Canyon country: Arequipa and Colca Canyon

Arequipa

Originally I wrote this post sometime after midnight and I was in a very bad mood due to some very loud and very awful music. At the time I was feeling pretty disgruntled towards Peru. It started with an overpriced taxi ride, continued with a slightly horrid day at Machu Pichu and ended with an expensive (time and money) side trip that didn't seem worth it.

Landing safely in Nasca

Our little plane

On tuesday night we took our first overnight bus from Cusco to Nasca. We went with Cruz del Sur and it was pretty much like an international flight except the toilet was a bit grosser and the chairs reclined a lot more (although mine kept unreclining). We had spent the day just wasting time; doing washing, going on a fruitless search for a good ceviche place, going to a historical museum because it was included in the tourist ticket.

Machu Pichu and Wayna Pichu

This photo is our favourite of Machu Pichu: The llama that wanted my banana

On Monday it was another early start to go to Machu Pichu. It should be known as a day of standing in lines. You stand in line to get on the bus to go up, then to get in, then to get into Wayna Pichu, then again to get on a bus to leave. The bus ride up was spectacular, you can't get the height and steepness of the mountains into perspective until you are actually there. When we did get into the site, it was already daylight and we got to watch the rays of sun peep over the horizon and hit the ruins.

The Lares Trek

On top of the pass looking to where we were headed

Last Thursday was the last day before our trek started with Llama Path. We had a relax day and bought anything we might need. We had a pre-trek meeting that night and we were off at 5am the next morning on a bus.

Salt & ruins: Moray & salinas

Brandon had a stroke of genius yesterday afternoon. The reason we couldn't get money out from the bank was because we got money out at an atm on monday at the airport and it was still the same day in Australia, and so we couldn't get out money because it was adding to more than the thousand dollar a day limit. So after going to the bank last night we now have money, horay!

Getting ripped off in Cusco

View of Cuzco

Well we had a quick lunch stop in Lima on our way to Cusco yesterday. Where we literally had to walk out of the airport and then back in again to check our bags in. We also discovered the most you can get out at an atm here is 1500 soles which is not much money. No one tells you that side of things. If we had known, we would have got out a lot of US dollars before leaving Ecuador and just exchanged it here.

The shower tried to kill me: A quick post from Quito

Quito

Last night we got back to the same hostel we stayed in before we left, but in a room with a private bathroom because the shared bathroom rooms were booked out. There's nothing better than a nice hot shower after a long hard day. Except when that shower super heats and starts spurting practically boiling water at you. That's when you yell for your husband. It was like that scene from final destination where the girl dies in the shower because she gets stuck in there and it's really hot. I feel like it would take longer than 5 mins to die of boiling water spraying on you. Maybe if you were submerged in it it would take less time. Anyway, it seems the showers in the private rooms are not worth the extra because it tried to kill me again tonight...

At the base of a very active volcano: Banos

So we got to Banos (on doritos and ice creams, and coke of course) in the early afternoon, 3pm I think. We first went to a lookout over the small town. The guidebook basically describes it as a horrid place. "The town itself, with drab architecture, garish tours and over crowded backpacker-ghetto feel". But we liked it and didn't get a backpacker-ghetto feeling from it at all. Yes it has a lot of tour outlets but there's also a lot of lolly shops with people making candy by throwing it over the hook on the doorstep.

The early bird does not get to ride a donkey back out of the volcanic crater: Cotopaxi and Quilotoa

Volcan Cotopaxi

On Thursday morning we got up early (not really) to drive in luxury to Cotopaxi National Park, about an hour south of Quito. Volcan Cotopaxi is 5897m high with a refugio at 4800m that is currently undergoing extensive remodelling. Before we entered the park, Diego our driver enlisted Thomas to drive us to the volcano. On the way in we saw a baby white tailed dear, which is apparently pretty rare.