Hello again
I am in Salta, Argentina. The itinerary has changed around a bit since I last wrote so I´ve been through Peru to Bolivia, quickly out to Chile and am now in Argentina.
Christmas in Cusco was a great time. In the morning Princess prepared a massive brunch with treats of all kind, my favourite being teh banana bonofie pies and rum balls. We then opened our Christmas stockings also prepared by Princess and exchanged secret santa gifts. Claire opened hers to reveal a little purse of mine that I had lost on the truck a few weeks before! We spent the rest of the day relaxing, getting massages, before heading off for a traditional roast at The Real McCoys, the local English pub. Not nearly as good as if I were feasting at home but still it was a nice reminder and a great atmosphere.
We then moved on to La Paz in Bolivia where we spent New Years and biked the most dangerous road in the world. That has to be one of the most frightening experiences I have ever had. Through me out of a plane or off a bridge anytime but put me on a mountain bike going up to 60km/hr with a plunging cliff on one side and a rockface on the other and I am losing my marbles. I made it down the paved road portion of the ride, at the back of course, with my trusty partner Claire, who was equally about to lose it. Then we hit the gravel winding road, where the death road actually begins and I focused all my energy on staying sane, Claire was clever enough to stop and ride on the minibus down instead. About section 3 I skidded on a rock, lost control, slid way to close to the shear drop edge and cried for the next 15 minutes before promptly assuming my rightful position beside Claire on the bus. We skipped the next 3 sections and then jumped back on the bikes for the last 3 which were flatter and wider. Still I have the t-shirt and I can say that completed the most dangerous road in the world so I´m quite proud. At the bottom we ziplined across the mountain top which was back to my element again. I loved it and Charlie and I went tandem on the last line to gather up extra speed. The 3 hour drive back up the road was equally, if not more frightening, than biking down as the mist fell and you couldn´t see 5 feet in front of you. I was sitting front row for the excruciating couple hours back up as our guide pointed out the many crosses and various points where people had plunged to their death, the worst being a bus load of over 100 people. We saw a taxi being hauled back up from a crash a few days before where luckily no one got badly hurt. We then returned to our apartments at the Hotel Continental. Yes, I said apartments. It was amazing, full kitchen, living rooms, big bedrooms and multiple bathrooms to ourselves. Charlie, Rusty and I shared one and each had our own room with 2 beds inside. Princess and Benny had the top apartment which included a massive balcony overlooking the street where we spent most the time chilling out and enjoying the city view. Cade was with us for 2 nights there which was a great surprise but left on New Years Eve. The rest of us bought our sparkly hats and various liquors from alcohol alley before celebrating on the balcony and then heading off for another English pub. There was fancy dress and a few shots and we celebrated the New Year as a group in good form. A few left early as 2 girls had been locked in the prison earlier in the day and had to be smuggled out by the prisoners pretending to be related to a local child. They were a bit shaken up and tired but they have an incredible story to tell. We were supposed to continue in Bolivia for a few more days but they are currently protesting against the raised fuel prices and creating a lot of roadblocks using burning tires so Princess decided to leave as soon as possible. There was a riot in the city when we were biking and the few people who stayed behind said that the protesters were setting cars on fire and throwing stones at the police who were retaliating with teargas. There was another protest organised for the day following New Years and so we left early that morning and entered into Chile, first to Arica, then Iquique, followed by San Pedro. We passed through a ghost town and stayed in a town that felt on the verge of becoming one. In San Pedro, we visited the Atacama Salt Flats, the 3rd largest in the world which was interesting. The salt lakes were rocky and where there was small areas of water you found 3 varieties of flamengos. It wasn´t as impressive as we were all lead to believe and not quite worth the $60. Nonetheless we saw some stunning scenery and had a good local lunch. In the evening however, we went stargazing and it was spectacular. The guide explained the constellations and pointed out all the main stars with an incredible laser light that looked as if it were touching the star itself. The beam made the sky look like a painting or a poster that you could touch. We looked through massive telescopes and saw Jupiter, another galaxy, the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, as well as a double star in Aries, a part of Orion, and clusters of stars up to 11 million light years away. The night was topped off with the best hot chocolate ever. I saw 3 shooting stars, a record for myself and have made a promise to look up more especially when I´m at the cottage and the sky is clearer.
We have now moved on to Argentina and have enjoyed the bustling campsite with the largest pool in South America. It is more like a lake and takes 6 weeks to fill from one tap. I like Argentina so far. The weather is nice and hot for a change and the people are the friendliest yet. Like every city it follows the same city square formula with a beautiful park center surrounded by a church, a government building and other ornamental architecture. The shopping is amazing and we haven´t even reached Buenos Aires yet. It feels very familiar at times with modern shops and a very western vibe. I have yet to see any traditional garb yet, everyone dresses in very tight but western clothing. We went for a 600gram steak dinner, all the other girls shared but I braved a full one to myself and only got halfway. It was the best steak I have ever had in my life. So tender it was like cutting through butter and topped off with a local sauce called, chimichurri. Its a mixture of herbs and spices that create a party in your mouth. Its not hot and I recommend it to everyone. It was delicious. Even cold the next day it was the best steak I had ever tasted.
For now we stay in Argentina a little longer but then we´ll be returning to Chile and crossing the border about 4 times. We´re almost at the halfway point of this trip and it´s quite scary to think I´m almost 3/4 of the way through my travels, so I´m squeezing out as much as humanly possible from the trip and enjoying every second of it!
