Time for a week 2 update! After Arequipa it was time for an (organized) 2days/1night excursion to the Colca Canyon (deepest canyon in the world, 4160m at its deepest point!). If the scenery on the way there already deserves to be called scenic, then there is no word to fittingly describe the Colca valley. The slopes of the valley all consist of man-made terraces for agriculture, dating back from pre-Inca and Inca times. This on a much larger scale than the rice terraces in South East Asia. On the way there we set a new altitude record, at 4910m. If you draw a line parallel to ground level at this altitude, you'd go right over Europe, clearing the tip of the Mont Blanc by 100m. Up there, we could see a volcano in the distance having a bit of a fit with a minor eruption. This is also the point where we picked up a new travel companion. Everybody, meet Fons. Fons is made of real alpaca wool, is supersoft and is already starting to smell, but we love him either way. His full name is Carlos Ricardo Fonseca del Puente, Fons for the amigos.

We stayed in Pinchollo, where they were just celebrating their Anniversario with drunken dancing and bullfighting. We got up early on the second day to see the condors rise up out of the valley. They started slowly, but just as we were about to go they decided to put on a show. None of them (I'd say there were about 8 in total) flapped their wings once while soaring majestically below, next to, in front of and above us. We thought it was just hype when people said they come within meters of you, but it's all true.

Sad to leave this place behind, we had a long drive to Puno at Lake Titicaca, but only to go to La Paz the next day. Bye Peru! We'll see you again soon. We took a taxi instead of a (public transport) combi to the border because we were a bit paranoid after reading too many recent reports of deadly accidents, and sure enough, we passed an accident with 2 combis on the way. Walked across the border, got our stamps and traded our Peruvian immigration paper for a Bolivian one. One shared taxi ride later (5 passengers and a driver, the trunk is a valid 'seat'), we arrived in a brand new, small hostel! Driving in La Paz is just as crazy as in Lima, with steep, winding, narrow streets that are needed to bridge the 400m altitude difference between El Alto and La Paz. Didn't want to explore just yet, so took TripAdvisor's recommendation and went to the #2 restaurant. We apparently weren't the only ones thinking this, since we ended up eating with 3 others from the hostel.

Next day it was time to descend the death road, by mountainbike. Did so with Barracuda biking. It starts at 4700m and goes down 3600m to finish in the jungle at 1100m. Ready to go after a small offer of 96% pure alcohol to Pachamama (mother earth) and to increase everyones confidence (alcohol at 9am, could be a another personal record?). First 20km on asfalt, to get to know the bike. Next 32 on the actual death road. Our first warning came after 5km or so, when we passed a Dutch girl on the road that had appeared to have broken her wrist, and had a lot of cuts and superficial wounds. The landscape changes as you go down, which we sometimes did at irresponsible speeds. It's unreal that this road was still in full use up to 10 years ago. Water cascades down on the road making it slippery (it's not even the rainy season!) , which happened to coincide with the narrowest part of the road. No surprise this is also the location where the deadliest accident happened when a bus with more than 100 people fell into the ravine in 1983.

After a 'chill' 50m domestic flight to Sucre, we arrived at the Kultur Berlin hostel on a Saturday, when it transforms into the #1 club of Sucre for locals and gringos alike. The party was great, and I was very happy to have been able to find earplugs (two supermarkets and three farmacies failed me, some shop at the airport eventually had them). The hostel is a beautiful big complex, built around several courtyards.

Sucre has now taken the #1 spot of nicest cities we've done so far. Sorry Arequipa. The municipal laws dictate that you have to ensure your house facade is white, and this makes for a beautiful town center. The main Plaza may even be better than that of Arequipa. Three days of not really doing anything, and we discovered during the city walking tour that crazy cat ladies are a universal phenomenon.

It's only been two weeks, but the sand dunes of Huacachina already seem to be in the distant past. This has been a long update, but we've just done so much in the past 7 days.

In next week's edition, we'll count how many layers of clothing are needed to stay warm at night in the Uyuni desert and discover just why the silver mines around Potosi have claimed up to 8 million lives (!) in the 500 years that they have been open.

Geschreven door BigTrip