Buses in Bolivia

Buses in Bolivia are kind of like getting a kinder egg, there is always a surprise waiting for you. We took a bus from Puno in Peru to the border with Bolivia and from there another bus to La Paz. This was my first Bolivian bus experience, not the most comfortable bus in the world but still it was a bus and it didn't break down. The surprise on this trip was the stop to take a boat across the river. One boat for the bus and a small passenger bus for us. No one had mentioned this to us or anyone else on the bus.

Boats for Buses

Bus on a boat

Later in the bus journey everyone was required to pay a mysterious 1 bolivian tax. We even got a receipt for it but there was no indication as to what it was for even when questioned.


The next bus was a night bus from La Paz to Potosi. I think this may be the worst bus that I've ever taken. My experience of night buses throughout latin america is that they are generally cold so extra warm clothing is a must. When we were buying our ticket a girl queueing in front asked if it would be cold on the bus, she was assured that it would be warm and that she'd have a blanket too. We still took our warm clothes as I didn't trust them. The bus was freezing even with a fleece, a jacket, a scarf, a hat and a blanket. We took a cama bus, meaning a bus with a bed but the definition of cama, semi cama and regular bus seem to be used interchangeably in Boliva. The bus driver also let some locals on who sat or slept in the isle of the bus. To me this looked like a pretty painful way to travel. At the time I did not know that I'd be sitting in the isle of a bus a few days later.


Next was a 5 hour bus from Potosi to Uyuni. This was a day bus but it was still freezing, the windows didn't close and that combined with me not having a seat and having to sit in the isle made for a pleasant journey. The bus was full including the isle with people sitting and standing yet at every opportunity to stop the bus driver picked up more passengers and squashed them in. It could have been worse, at least it was only 5 hours and not a night bus.


After these bus experiences we did some more research for our night bus from Uyuni to La Paz. There were no 'cama' buses only 'semi cama' but we were assured that the bus had heating. The temperature in Uyuni was about -10 so heating would be essential. Surprisingly the bus didn't have any heat but at this stage we knew not to trust what they tell you so we were prepared. Hats, scarfs, gloves, extra socks, t-shirts and jumpers what we had not anticipated was the lack of road between Uyuni and La Paz. Around 3 am the road disappeared and the bus continued at full speed along an off-road track for at least an hour. The shaking and the pain was relentless and intense. I did forget to mention that we were sitting in the back seat which didn't recline at all, so much for 'semi cama'.


My last bus journey in Bolivia was an 18 hour semi cama night bus from La Paz to Villazon. I knew this was going to be a long painful trip so I did my research at the bus station, checked out the buses and went with what appeared to be the best - relatively new buses, semi cama, dvd's and a toilet. All of which were confirmed, I even saw photos and was able to choose my seat. As requested I arrived a half hour before my bus was due to depart, at which point my ticket was changed for another ticket. Turns out I'd be traveling with Panamericana, one of the bus companies that I was avoiding. From what I could see all of the other bus companies were just reselling tickets for Panamericana. So much for the photos. 18 hours on a cramped bus with no leg room, no heating, no toilet and broken windows so there is a constant draft coming in! At about 1 am we had a toilet stop, there weren't actually any toilets, we just stopped in the middle of no where.

Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni is the worlds largest salt flat, approximately 4,086 square miles. It also contains approximately 70% of the worlds lithium reserves. The main reason most people visit the town of Uyuni is to do a trip to the salt flats. Like most bus journeys in Boliva 5 hour ride from Potosi to Uyuni was painful, this wasn't helped by the fact that I was sitting on the floor on the isle of the bus, the windows didn't close and for long stretches of the journey the road disappeared. It was -8 when we got to Uyuni, something I wasn't prepared for. It was a strange desolate town which in some ways reminded me of some of the remote towns I visited on the trans-siberian railway.

Uyuni, Boliva

We had hoped to hire motorbikes or quad bikes or even a 4x4 to do our own trip to the salt flats but we soon realised this wasn't going to be possible. No body was willing to rent bikes or quads or 4x4s. We had somehow managed to lose the business card of the company we'd hired quad bikes from in La Paz. These guys had said to call when we got there and they'd sort some bikes for us. We couldn't find them and no one we spoke to knew of them or knew of anyone who'd hire bikes. They all said it was too dangerous. So like everyone else we signed up for a day tour to the salt flats.


First stop on the tour was at the train cemetery. This is quite an odd tourist attraction but it serves as a tourist attraction all the same. In the 1940s when the mining industry collapsed, partially due to mineral depletion many of the trains were abandoned thus producing the train cemetery.

Train Cemetery near Uyuni

Once we got to the salt flats we realised why they didn't allow you to go there yourself without a guided tour. There aren't exactly roads, signs, petrol stations or visible landmarks to guide you and 4,086 square miles is quite a large land mass.

Limited landmarks

No sign posts!

We stopped for lunch at Incahuasi Island (also known as Isla de Pescado) explored it, took some photos and then had time for the customary Salt flats photos.

Isla de Pescado

Rolling a giant crystal ball

They have big Pringles in Uyuni

Roadkill

Shortly after getting to Cusco the idea of hiring motorbikes was raised by Anna and Dave. I have to admit I was slightly apprehensive about this idea. After participating in the un-organized chaos that is the Peruvian road transport system on numerous occasions - in taxis, death buses and by foot - the thoughts of entering this death-dance on something as un-protected as a motorbike were disconcerting to say the least. Based on these observations, and some not so wild extrapolation, motorcyclists appeared to stand in the pecking order of road users slightly above road kill and just below potholes in the list of road objects for motorists to avoid running over. 
In the interests of excitement and mindless disregard for safety I decided I would go along with the other two and participate in the case study “Does your holiday insurance cover the repatriation of your disfigured remains to Ireland?”. So we went to some fly-by-night bike rental shop. Went in, sat down and answered the questions: Do you have experience with motorbikes? Do you have motorbike licenses? Do you know how to use motorbikes with gears? When was the last time you were on a motorbike? Needless to say we lied to all and any questions. She cautioned us at one stage that in every group that comes in looking for bikes there is always one or two that lie about having experience. We were exceptional in this regard as all of us were lying about our experience. 
Sometimes it was hard to keep up with all the lies that were slithering out between our lips. Anything just to get to the part where you sign away your life and get the keys to the bikes. After all the lies and the signing we asked if we could get some lessons before heading off. Even the bike rental lady had to laugh at that – she was a really nice lady I have to say, and genuinely concerned for a our safety; her concern for it was only equaled by our reckless disregard for same. So we arrived the next morning and got set up with our bikes (brand new 250cc Honda dirt bikes) and received our complementary training. 5 minutes later we hit off, the three of us making lines up the road like a drunk trying to walk straight. Sure what’s the worst that could happen?

Ready to go!

We had a map of a tourist route that seemed to lead us along the main roads stopping off at various ruins along the way. However at the first major junction that we came on we took the wrong turn and didn’t realize it until a few miles later.

This is a genuine photo we weren't actually posing for it!

This turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to us as we noticed that there were some mountain biking routes suggested on the map near to where we got lost. So we hit off up some gravel road not quite sure where it was going to lead us. Shortly along this route Anna and Dave noticed a random dirt track. It was little more than a track up a mountain. At this point we had no map to guide us so hitting off up a dirt road into the middle of nowhere seemed like a bad idea. So we took this dirt track route. Dave and I hit off up the mountain ahead of Anna. A few minutes later we noticed that Anna was no longer with us. So we stopped and waited. And waited. Still no sign of Anna. So at this point we thought she was done for and that there wasn’t much point going back to look for her as she was most likely kidnapped. However we thought if we were able to salvage her bike we would be able to get our deposits back at least. So we went back down the track and found the bike just after a muddy section of the road on a corner. Anna was there too, albeit looking slightly disheveled and muddy. It turned out that as Anna was navigating the corner, the road just came up and hit her, destroying her brand new jeans in mud and bending the front brake lever into a hoop. Eternally optimistic, Anna considered this a result given the circumstances.

Broken brake lever

I'm sure they're here somewhere!

The road also stole her expensive sunglasses as well. Figuring that this was our spot of bad luck over for the day we hit off again up the mountain with a renewed sense of vigor. Adventure was waiting and we would not stand her up. Not this day.

We spent the next few hours riding through fields and through dusty, seemingly abandoned villages. We stopped frequently to take photos and to get directions from farmers. The people up here were not used to seeing tourists so they were very eager to talk to us and laugh at us when we showed them our map and intended destination. 

Friendly local farmers

The scenery up there in the foothills of the Andes was nothing short of breathtaking. Literally every 10 minutes we had to stop just to take it all in. Rolling hills met with fluorescent-blue lakes which lapped at the sides of snowcapped peaks.

Snowcapped peaks

I became tired of taking photos as some points as it didn’t have the capacity to capture the beauty of the place. There are beautiful places in Ireland and it is often referred to as an incredibly scenic place. But the sheer vastness and loneliness of this place could not be matched by anywhere in Ireland. I felt a sense of freedom up here that I’ve haven’t had probably since I was kid where it was always easy to think you were on an adventure even when just a mile from home up the fields. 

Scenic landscapes

Eventually the adventure had to come to an end and we had to start figuring out how we were going to fix Anna’s bike. We had called into a few mechanics while touring the countryside but none of them had a part to replace the brake handle with. Eventually one of them told us to try the main Honda dealers in Cusco when we got back. They also confirmed, as we suspected, that the bike rental company would shaft us for the damage when we got back even though it was just a 20 dollar replacement part. So we set off in search of the Honda dealer. Of course we left it til the last minute which meant we were riding around Cusco at night trying to find this place with very little idea of where it was. I ended up losing Dave and Anna and had no way to contact them so I had to try and make it back to the bike rental place by myself. By pure fluke I found it and was met at the door by the lady who rented us the bikes – we were over an hour late at this stage and she thought we had been killed. She enquired as to the whereabouts of my riding companions. I told them that there were lost but that they would be here in a few minutes – how I knew this given that they were supposedly lost did not seem to occur to her. I couldn’t tell her that they were riding around looking for a garage to buy parts to fix her bike. So a half hour later Dave and Anna arrived back with two perfect bikes and we got our deposit back. Turns out they found the Honda garage but it had just closed. But they seen the guy locking up and told them the story about the bike and he opened up and got them the part for the brake handle. He even fitted it for them. Fitting end to a good day.

Visiting the Mines in Potosi Bolivia

I had heard lots about the mines in Potosi from other travelers that I met so I was curious to see them for myself. Most people were shocked at the conditions but yet most people enjoyed the visit. Here are some quotes from the lonely planet guidebook:

"A visit to the cooperative mines is demanding, shocking and memorable but potentially dangerous"

"The cooperative mines are not museums, but working mines and fairly nightmarish places."

"Working practices are medieval, safety provisions nearly non-existent and most shafts are unventilated"

After a hellish night bus from La Paz we arrived in Potosi around 6am, luckily the hostel has spare beds and let us checkin immediately. The night bus was freezing and so was Potosi.

Potosi

Almost everyone in Potosi seemed to be a tour operator so we checked out a few to see what they were offering. Tour prices ranged from 60 to 100 bolivianos for what appeared to be the same tour. We questioned most operators about how much money from the tour actually went to the mine cooperative and also about their use of dynamite. Most people lied about how much money went to the cooperative although one company we came across was honest about it. I can't remember the figures but it was an extremely small amount less than 5%.
The issue of dynamite blasts was also interesting, we weren't interested in dynamite blasts (due to environmental reasons and also that they are banned for the health and safety of the miners) so were looking for a tour company that wasn't offering it. Dynamite is actively used in the mines but only when it is required not as a show for tourists. That said some companies that we asked assumed we wanted dynamite blasts so they went to get lengths to explain how great their dynamite blasts would be.

Eventually we settled on 'The Real Deal' as our tour guides. These guys were all ex-miners, well most tour companies claimed to be ex-miners but these guys actually were and had photos, references and family members to prove it. 

The tour started with a trip to the miners market were we could buy gifts for the miners. Potential gifts included alcohol, cigarettes, soft drinks, juices, coca leaves and sticks of dynamite. After this we had a guided tour of a refinery and next we entered the mine. There are over 400 mines Cerro de Potosí. We visited the Rosario B mine which is run by the unificada cooperative.

Rosario B mine at Potosi

I'm not sure what my expectations were, possibly they were slightly skewed by the lonely planets description of the mines but I definitely didn't find it to be a nightmarish place. It was what I expected working a mine to be - lots of small dark passage ways. Our guided pointed out a line past which the their god becomes the tio i.e. the devil. Part of the tradition of the mine is that the miners worship tio and pay him respect by leaving him gifts such as coca leaves and alcohol.

Our guide sharing a drink with Tio

We met some miners during our tour and had the opportunity to speak with them. The most interesting was a young guy we met who was chiseling out a space to insert a stick of dynamite. Under Bolivian law you must be at least 18 years old to work in the mine but it was obvious he was much younger. We asked his age and he said he was 14 but it was pretty obvious that he was there by choice. He appeared to enjoying what he was doing.

Preparing for dynamite

Miners exiting the mine

The tour continued we met more miners, crawled through some tunnels and finally up some ladders. I think this was the only point during the mine visit that I actually felt somewhat unsafe. We went up 3 flights of ladders and they were pretty unstable due to the dodgy rusted nails that were holding them in place.

Unstable ladders!

In conclusion I wouldn't describe the mines as a 'nightmarish place'. There were what I expected a working mine to be like. Obviously there are lots of heath risks for the miners who work there but from what I could see anyone working there was there by choice, appeared to enjoy their work and was aware of the risks. In terms of the tours, they bring tourists to Potosi which drives businesses and they do provide an alternative healthier and safer way for locals to make money from the mines.

Paragliding and Quadbiking in Bolivia

After recovering from death road we decided to go paragliding in the morning and quad biking in the afternoon. I was paragliding earlier on this trip in Mendoza so I knew what to expect but the setup in La Paz wasn't near as good as Mendoza. It took us about an hour to get to the jump site, the later half was on very steep gravel paths up the side of a mountain. This would be fine if you only had to do it once.

View from the jump site

Niall was first to run off the cliff for his 15-20 minute flight. They were tandem flights and there was only one instructor so we all had to wait for Niall to land and the instructor to drive back up. When I went in Mendoza we all went at the same time which meant we could fly close together and take photos of each other, plus there was no waiting around. All of that said it was worth the wait the flight and the scenery was amazing.

Me paragliding!

Nice view

Next was the quad biking, they wouldn't let us hire them by ourselves we needed to take a guide with us. Initially it was a bit strange driving on the road passing out cars on a quad bike but you soon get into it. After about 10 minutes on the road we went offroad going up the mountain and stopping at various viewing points. Our guide was getting frustrated with us at times as he wanted us in single file and didn't want us passing out, speeding, skidding, having fun or doing anything that wasn't driving in a straight line. He said it was too dangerous. This I thought was a bit odd as I felt his driving through traffic, passing out cars, taxis and busses blindly was more dangerous. He'd catch us passing out, he'd tell us to stop then he'd catch us again and this cycle was repeated.
We stopped at another "view point" which was a gravelly ledge with a seriously steep drop on either side, its the sort of thing that would be cornered off and you wouldn't be allowed anywhere near if it existed in Ireland or anywhere outside Bolivia. Our guide encouraged us to walk out on it, take photos and at the end he even drove one of the quads to the edge and suggested we pose for some photos.

The view from the ledge

Posing for photos on the quad bike by the edge!

Don't look down

After this he explained how the next section was dangerous and that we must go slow in single file with no passing out. Meanwhile Anna had just discovered that she could spin the wheels when taking off so she was was practicing this and as soon as we left she ran into the back of our guide. Luckily neither were going too fast so there was no damage.

No fun allowed

We were well behaved for the next few minutes until Niall decided he had enough of being in last place and that he wanted to be at the front. He shot past me on the outside as we were approaching a u-turn, Anna realised this and went as fast as possible on the inside, at which point I decided I wasn't going to be left behind so I picked up speed and got back into the race. At this point our guide looked back and saw the 3 of us side by side coming straight for him as we were entering the u-turn. He started shouting. Niall turned off to the right and hit the brakes. Anna sped up and decided she was going to win, thus passing out the guide. As soon as Anna passed out the guide he braked hard as did I but obviously not hard enough as I went crashing into the back of his quad. Second crash of the day, just after he told us to take it slow. He wasn't happy and all we could do was laugh. Luckily there was no damage to the bikes and he mellowed out after we bought him a bottle of coke. I get the feeling that we were possible more well behaved compared to some of the groups they must get.

Group photo after the crash

Freezing on Death Road in Bolivia

After our biking difficult enroute to Machu Picchu we decided that we'd ensure we got good bikes for Death Road. Also we decided we'd book a hostel in advance so we wouldn't be forced to change rooms everyday. Good decisions except we didn't actually do any of that. We arrived in La Paz with no hostel booking, ended up having to stay in separate dorms and we booked death road for 8am the next morning with the hostel tour company. They showed us photos of their bikes and they looked decent.


Death road, also known as el camino de la muerte is a 43 mile stretch of road leading from La Paz to Coroico in the Yungas region of Bolivia. It is estimated that between 200 and 300 travelers have been killed on the road and as a result it was has been become known as death road. The danger is due to the extreme drop-offs of around 600 meters, the single lane road (no wider than 3.2 meters), the lack of guard rails and the varying weather conditions that hinder visibility. According to wikipedia at least  18 cyclists have died on the road since tours started operation in 1998.


Our tour didn't get off to the best of starts, the bus broke down on our way to the start point. We had an hour wait for a new bus, luckily the weather was good and we had a nice view of the city.

Waiting for a replacement bus

Eventually another bus arrived and we got moving. We arrived to our starting point. The weather was pretty good. No wind, no rain, only a few clouds and some sunshine. All the signs for a good day.

Death Road Tour Group

Soon we were biking down death road. The weather got progressively worse as we descended. Rain, mist, mud and freezing temperatures. Visibility was deteriorated and we got colder, wetter and muddier.

Low visibility

The bikes weren't so bad, good tyres and decent suspension. The brakes were the problem and its a critical problem on death road. They kept failing, we constantly had to stop to have them repaired. We had two spare bikes but pretty soon they were replacing bikes that had brakes which could no longer be fixed.

Bike repairs enroute

It was a great ride down although we couldn't really push the bikes hard due to the lack of brakes. By the end my brakes were beyond repair and the gears were busted too. My bike was replaced with one of the bikes that had already been replaced but at least I had working gears i.e. the chain didn't keep falling off and I had a back brake! It was a pity the weather was so bad as the views are supposed to be great. Athough the mist did provide the opportunity for some good photographs.

Zero visibility

We all survived, no deaths just 5 very cold, wet and muddy people. No one told us to bring a change of clothes so we had a 3 hour bus journey back to La Paz in cold, wet and muddy clothes!

Death Road Survivors

A famous boat, two models and a music video

After Machu Picchu and Cusco we made our way to Puno, a small town on the shore of the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. It sits at 3,811 m above sea level on the border of Peru and Bolivia. Lake Titicaca is the highest commercially navigatable lake in the world.

Sunset on Lake Titicaca

Anna had some work on a boat where it had been agreed that we could stay. We arrived late so we decided to check into a hostel and find the boat the next day. In the morning we took a taxi to the boat. We didn't know much about the boat other than we were welcome to stay. We didn't know if it was a sail boat, a passenger boat, a cargo ship, if we'd have beds, hammocks of if we'd sleep on the floor. Turns out the boat, Yavari, is quite famous, not only is it mentioned in the guidebooks but it is also one of the main attractions that people come to see on the lake in Puno.

Yavari on Lake Titicaca

Yavari is the oldest iron hulled ship in the world. Its history is quite interesting. Yavari was built as a gunship in the UK in 1862 at the request of the Peruvian government. The ship was built in kit form with no piece weighing more than 3 ½ cwts, the maximum carrying capacity of a mule. The parts were then shipped to the port of Arica, a Peruvian port bofore the war of the Pacific. After this they were transported 40 miles by railway to Tacna and from here mules carried the parts the remaining 220 miles to Puno over the Andes. This journey was expected to take 6 months but actually took 6 years. Yavari went through various transformations over the coming years until in 1987 the Yavari Project was formed in an attempt to restore the boat. A full history of Yavari and details of the Yavari Project can be found on their website. Yavari is now open to the public daily from 8am to 5pm and also operates as a Bed and Breakfast on Lake Titicaca. Yavari does not sail at present but fund raising is underway to raise the required money to get Yavari sailing again. Fund raising details are available here.


Part of Annas work was photographing some of the Yavari merchandise that is available to purchase on the boat. This was going to be much easier to do if there was someone to model the clothes and hats. Luckily Niall and I were volunteered to act as models.

Yavari clothing models

The second day on the boat the Captain took us to lunch in a local restaurant so we could try Cuy a local Peruvian dish. Cuy is a deep fried guinea pig. We arrived a little late and all but one of the guinea pigs were sold so Niall and I shared a dish.

Cuy - deep fried Guinea Pig

After lunch Niall and I decided to wander down by the railway line by the lake. After walking for about 20 minutes we accidently stumbled upon a Peruvian band filming a music video. We kept our distance as we didn't want to disturb them. As soon as they spotted us they called us over and started chatting. First we were speaking with the singer and the guitarist but soon the director of the video joined in. The Spanish was fast and the accents strong but my general understanding was that they wanted us to join them in the music video. We agreed and at the end I gave them my camera so we'd have a photo of the occasion.

Niall and I with the band

The band performing without us!

A pilgrimage to Machu Picchu

For most people the trip to Machu Picchu is a pilgrimage, generally on the original Inca Trail. The Inca Trail needs to be booked in advance, about 3 months in advance, something we didn't do. As a result our options were to do the Salkantay Trek or else the Inca Jungle Trek. We opted for the Inca Jungle Trek which is more fun and less effort than the other treks. The trek is a 4 day trip but you stay in hostels, eat in restaurants and do a mixture of hiking, mountain biking, white water rafting and zip lining. More appealing that 4 days hiking and getting wet sleeping in tents.


So our pilgrimage to Machu Picchu started with a 1 and a half hour delay. We waited at the hostel for them to collect us but they didn't arrive. It being Latin America we weren't too concerned as they are always fairly relaxed with time. After an hour we decided to call, they said they'd be there soon and to stay at our hostel and not to move to another why. Strange, why would we move! Everyone else was on the bus when it arrived, they'd be driving around for an hour looking for our hostel as they had the wrong address. Interestingly we found out later from the others that they were all told that the delay was our fault as we had changed hostel.


Our driver was crazy, it must have been his first time driving ever. A few close calls on the road as we made our way to the summit to start the downhill mountain biking. As we approached the summit we encountered lots of snow and ice on the road but our driver appeared to be coping well with it. Then it happened, another car approached us on the road and he freaked out, veered to the right and hit an ice block. There were rumors that his mother was killed or injured by an ice block and he intentionally hit the ice block but the rumors are unconfirmed. Anyhow he decided to ignore the incident and continue driving until everyone started shouting at him. At which point he stopped and realised that he'd burst the tyre. So we started our downhill mountain biking from there as the bus wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Burst tyre

Once the bikes were ready to go our guide pointed out that our bikes (us 3 and another random guy) were over to the left. There was a noticeable difference in our bikes and those used by the rest of the group. We'd all paid the same amount of money but booked through different tour companies. Obviously our company didn't care to provide decent bikes, oh they got gloves and safety vests too but we didn't get anything. So began my downhill biking on a bike that didn't have functioning brakes, gears that didn't work and a chain that kept falling off.

Luckily someone gave me a spare pair of gloves. Niall is freezing!

Bored waiting for a bike repair

The views were amazing and the 5 hour cycle downhill was great despite the unusual start. Most of it was on regular roads so the low quality, badly maintained bikes weren't so bad. For the last two hours we were on a gravel path which was actually fun although we were constantly interrupted by road works.

Road works ahead

As a result of the road works we arrived too late to go white water rafting. They offered us the option of going at 6am the next morning. We decided against it as this would be before our 8 hour hike and we would just get changed at the side of the road and start the hike carrying our wet clothes and towels.


The hike itself was great, a little challenging in parts but we were stopping regularly for drinks and rest so it wasn't quite a pilgrimage. The scenery was great, some stunning views and some of the paths were very steep, narrow and challenging.

Some parts of the trek were quite steep

Single file only

nice view

Shaky unstable bridge especially when you jump on it!

Thankfully I'd hired out some hiking boots in Cusco as I don't think my converse would have survived. It was obviously a well traveled route, there were locals waiting along route to sell us drinks and food.

A family selling drinks and snacks at the end of the bridge

When we booked the tour we were told about the route we'd take, what we'd do, where we'd stay and what we'd eat. One of the details was that we'd take a cable car across a river near the end of the hike. The cable car wasn't quite what we were expecting although it did get us across the river safely.

Peruvian cable car!

After the day of hiking we spend an hour at some hot springs. A nice way to relax after a long day of walking, followed by dinner drinks and another night in a hostel. Next morning was a late start and zip lining. There were 6 lines in total, some longer and faster than others. It was my first time to do zip lining and its a nice way to see the country side flying above the trees but its not really an adrenaline rush as its all very safe and secure.

zip lining above the trees!

More hiking, a short train journey and we reached Agua Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu. We had to get up at 4am to catch a bus to Machu Picchu, the other option was to walk but we decided against it. Later when we met the others from our group we were glad of this decision, no one of them enjoyed the walk. We got one of the first busses so we avoided the worst of the queues to enter Machu Picchu.

Morning Queue to get into Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is as impressive as all of the photos I've seen. We had a guide who took us around, explaining what was what. Unfortunately we were unable to climb Wannu Picchu. The rules had changed since we booked our tour instead of queuing for a free ticket you now have to buy your ticket. We'd not paid for a ticket as it wasn't possible when we booked and the tour agency didn't pay the extra for a ticket for us.

Machu Picchu

My attempt at the classic Machu Picchu Llama shot