Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Home again
So I'm home after four months travelling. The trip was quite satisfying and it was kinda fun writing a blog too. This is propably the last post, but who knows, maybe I'll take this blog up again if I decide to do another trip in the future. Thank you.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Welcome to the djungle
Rurrenabaque, after 19 hours in a cramped bus rolling over one of the most dangerous mountain roads in Bolivia. At least I sat on the right side, towards the mountain, and didn´t have to see the sometimes dizzying drop off the edge of the road. Once there I was met by the pleasant hot humidity of the Bolivian lowlands. Rurre is a dusty but homey small town with the river Beni flowing lazily past one of its sides. On the other side is another, even smaller town.
The norm is to do a three day tour of the pampas or the jungle. For that reason I had some trouble finding people willing to join me for a six day trip. After three days looking I had given up and decided to go alone, when the night before my trek a Israeli girl named Tslil found me and said she wanted to go for seven days. So off we went, with two guides and one chef, a regular imperial expedition it felt to me, since there were more staff than tourists.
First by riverboat to the agency´s camp by the river, where we stayed overnight. The next day we headed out in the riverboat again but only to unload our stuff an hour later and walk into the jungle. We saw some brown monkeys and smelly wild boars, along with lots of large trees of different species. The walking tree can move up to one meter a year, I was told, by means of sprouting new support branches/roots downwards towards where the sun shines. After half a days walking it was dark and we camped in the jungle. Our guides cut trees into long poles and put up the tarp and mosquito nets. We slept on the ground covered with another tarp. In the night it rained hard so Tslil and the guides got soaked, I was luckily a little higher up.
The next days went in the same fashion, we camped by the river and in the djungle, saw lots of wild boars, some yellow monkeys, a deer. Unfortunately we didn´t see the tapir but could hear it rummaging in the bushes. The rare jaguar we neither heard nor saw. Something we did have a lot of was bugs. One morning my backpack was covered in ants, the next day by the river we had hundreds of wasps buzzing around. The ever present mosquitoes and sand flies made our foreign legs look like we had the measels.
All in all the jungle was a great experience. We rarely walked any paths so it really felt like going through wilderness and not just a tourist route. The trees were huge and there was wines everywhere. Our chef cooking on the fire also made the trek feel more spontaneus. We had lots of fried stuff: Rice, cooking bananas, fish, cassava... Actually most of our food was deep fried, but I didn't mind. Tslil did complained a little about having greasy fried fish and rice for breakfast. The fish we ate our guide Alside had cought the night before using a hooked line with small bait fish. The fish was quite large and looked like a bottom feeder, but tasted surprisingly good, I'm guessing it was catfish.
The second last day the guides built a raft out of balsa wood and long slices of tree bark. On the very buoyant raft we lazily floated down the river back to our camp, taking dips now and then in the warm but dirty river water.
After coming back to Rurre I stayed a few days just to enjoy the calmness of the town, going to the pool some days and hanging out with Tslil and her friends in a beautiful Israeli hostel by the river. Tonight i went back to La Paz. It was raining in the night so I was worried about the condition of the road, but the trip went fine. Now I'm staying my last few days in La Paz, until my flight goes out of Bolivia and South America. I'm already missing it.
The norm is to do a three day tour of the pampas or the jungle. For that reason I had some trouble finding people willing to join me for a six day trip. After three days looking I had given up and decided to go alone, when the night before my trek a Israeli girl named Tslil found me and said she wanted to go for seven days. So off we went, with two guides and one chef, a regular imperial expedition it felt to me, since there were more staff than tourists.
First by riverboat to the agency´s camp by the river, where we stayed overnight. The next day we headed out in the riverboat again but only to unload our stuff an hour later and walk into the jungle. We saw some brown monkeys and smelly wild boars, along with lots of large trees of different species. The walking tree can move up to one meter a year, I was told, by means of sprouting new support branches/roots downwards towards where the sun shines. After half a days walking it was dark and we camped in the jungle. Our guides cut trees into long poles and put up the tarp and mosquito nets. We slept on the ground covered with another tarp. In the night it rained hard so Tslil and the guides got soaked, I was luckily a little higher up.
The next days went in the same fashion, we camped by the river and in the djungle, saw lots of wild boars, some yellow monkeys, a deer. Unfortunately we didn´t see the tapir but could hear it rummaging in the bushes. The rare jaguar we neither heard nor saw. Something we did have a lot of was bugs. One morning my backpack was covered in ants, the next day by the river we had hundreds of wasps buzzing around. The ever present mosquitoes and sand flies made our foreign legs look like we had the measels.
All in all the jungle was a great experience. We rarely walked any paths so it really felt like going through wilderness and not just a tourist route. The trees were huge and there was wines everywhere. Our chef cooking on the fire also made the trek feel more spontaneus. We had lots of fried stuff: Rice, cooking bananas, fish, cassava... Actually most of our food was deep fried, but I didn't mind. Tslil did complained a little about having greasy fried fish and rice for breakfast. The fish we ate our guide Alside had cought the night before using a hooked line with small bait fish. The fish was quite large and looked like a bottom feeder, but tasted surprisingly good, I'm guessing it was catfish.
The second last day the guides built a raft out of balsa wood and long slices of tree bark. On the very buoyant raft we lazily floated down the river back to our camp, taking dips now and then in the warm but dirty river water.
After coming back to Rurre I stayed a few days just to enjoy the calmness of the town, going to the pool some days and hanging out with Tslil and her friends in a beautiful Israeli hostel by the river. Tonight i went back to La Paz. It was raining in the night so I was worried about the condition of the road, but the trip went fine. Now I'm staying my last few days in La Paz, until my flight goes out of Bolivia and South America. I'm already missing it.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Algo mas
Three weeks ago I left Huaraz and went to see the Nasca lines. Impressive as the lines were, the experience went a bit sour cause the pilot of the small aircraft that took me up kept twisting and turning. Most of the passengers including me got airsick, it was worth it though. Originally I had intended to go to Pisco but the local bus I took dropped people off by the highway in the middle of the night, so not being a local who knows my way around I decided to go straight for Nasca.
Arequipa was the next stop. A colonial city famous for its shining white buildings made from volcanic rock, Arequipas maskot is the same volcano that provides its building material; Misti volcano, still smoking. Close by is the Colca canyon with its condors and 1000m drop, something I concretely understood during the two hour hike from the bottom up to the edge.
Machu Picchu: The legendary highpoint for any traveler in Peru. It has been so hyped I was worried I´d get dissapointed. To tell the truth the ruins themselves weren´t much more impressive than others I´ve seen, but the location makes it truly unique. Set in the middle of green-covered Andean mountains which are partly shrouded in clouds Machu Picchu is dreamlike, well worth the hike up starting at four in the morning.
Yesterday I returned from a two day visit to some islands in Lake Titicaca. On the second island, Amantida, we got some ponchos to wear from the family which housed us, very stylish indeed. Before in Puno I had met Benjamin, a Swiss guy, and he joined me on the tour. We both felt a pang of guilt when our host told us that the tour companies are exploiting them and don´t pay much. So to leaven this guilt we both bought an overpriced hat from Ilta, who is weaving them to sell to tourists. Todo bien.
Now, after a month in Peru, I´ve crossed the border to Bolivia. Today I will leave the craziness of La Paz for Rurrenabaca and the jungle in the north!
Arequipa was the next stop. A colonial city famous for its shining white buildings made from volcanic rock, Arequipas maskot is the same volcano that provides its building material; Misti volcano, still smoking. Close by is the Colca canyon with its condors and 1000m drop, something I concretely understood during the two hour hike from the bottom up to the edge.
Machu Picchu: The legendary highpoint for any traveler in Peru. It has been so hyped I was worried I´d get dissapointed. To tell the truth the ruins themselves weren´t much more impressive than others I´ve seen, but the location makes it truly unique. Set in the middle of green-covered Andean mountains which are partly shrouded in clouds Machu Picchu is dreamlike, well worth the hike up starting at four in the morning.
Yesterday I returned from a two day visit to some islands in Lake Titicaca. On the second island, Amantida, we got some ponchos to wear from the family which housed us, very stylish indeed. Before in Puno I had met Benjamin, a Swiss guy, and he joined me on the tour. We both felt a pang of guilt when our host told us that the tour companies are exploiting them and don´t pay much. So to leaven this guilt we both bought an overpriced hat from Ilta, who is weaving them to sell to tourists. Todo bien.
Now, after a month in Peru, I´ve crossed the border to Bolivia. Today I will leave the craziness of La Paz for Rurrenabaca and the jungle in the north!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Hiking Huahyash
The hike started without me knowing much about it really. I just met Lionel from France and Mark from Germany over breakfast, and we decided it was a good idea to do Huahyash, since we heard its very beautiful. Eight days didn´t sound so much sitting on the terrass in the sun sipping morning tea.
We headed out early, but did no hiking on the first day, instead we were supposed to acclimatize to the camping level of 4400m. The next morning we noticed layers of frost on our tents while crawling out to eat breakfast in the cooking tent. Our guide and chef Maruscha had prepared breakfast; bread with guacamole and tea. The night before she had made a delicious dinner consisting of chicken, fried vegetables, potatoes and rice.
The second day we started hiking and I got a shock right away. During the first hour we gained 500m in elevation. Remember when you were supposed to run as fast as you can for a short time at school to measure your condition? Your heart pounds furiously and you´re short of breath. That´s how I felt the whole hour! We had a break at the top of the pass, and the view to both sides was vast. The cows grazing down where our camp had been looked like little black dots now. When we climbed the second and lower pass of the day, I was lagging behind the group, sick from the altitude. Our second camp was down in a valley by a lake, walled in to the east by five huge peaks. The sunset there was incredible.
During the days of hiking we were talking with each other when going through easier parts. With Nir from Israel we discussed the situation in his country. He was pessimistic about Israels chanses to lower its readiness for war. Nir is backpacking, like most Israelis do after serving their 2-3 years in the army. Lionel from France, who have worked for years as an investor, explained some aspects of world economy to us. He came to the unexpected conclusion that bank-people are greedy. Erik from the States was the frisky guy, who arrived the first day with just a small backpack, and no rain clothes. Nicole from Switzerland was constantly sketching on his web project, and occasionally drawing other stuff too.
It took me until the sixth day before I finally had adapted enough to the altitude to really enjoy the surroundings. It hit me at our sixth camp how dreamlike and enourmous everything was. Except for a short snowstorm the next day the rest of the hike went fairly well with great weather but freezing nights.
We headed out early, but did no hiking on the first day, instead we were supposed to acclimatize to the camping level of 4400m. The next morning we noticed layers of frost on our tents while crawling out to eat breakfast in the cooking tent. Our guide and chef Maruscha had prepared breakfast; bread with guacamole and tea. The night before she had made a delicious dinner consisting of chicken, fried vegetables, potatoes and rice.
The second day we started hiking and I got a shock right away. During the first hour we gained 500m in elevation. Remember when you were supposed to run as fast as you can for a short time at school to measure your condition? Your heart pounds furiously and you´re short of breath. That´s how I felt the whole hour! We had a break at the top of the pass, and the view to both sides was vast. The cows grazing down where our camp had been looked like little black dots now. When we climbed the second and lower pass of the day, I was lagging behind the group, sick from the altitude. Our second camp was down in a valley by a lake, walled in to the east by five huge peaks. The sunset there was incredible.
During the days of hiking we were talking with each other when going through easier parts. With Nir from Israel we discussed the situation in his country. He was pessimistic about Israels chanses to lower its readiness for war. Nir is backpacking, like most Israelis do after serving their 2-3 years in the army. Lionel from France, who have worked for years as an investor, explained some aspects of world economy to us. He came to the unexpected conclusion that bank-people are greedy. Erik from the States was the frisky guy, who arrived the first day with just a small backpack, and no rain clothes. Nicole from Switzerland was constantly sketching on his web project, and occasionally drawing other stuff too.
It took me until the sixth day before I finally had adapted enough to the altitude to really enjoy the surroundings. It hit me at our sixth camp how dreamlike and enourmous everything was. Except for a short snowstorm the next day the rest of the hike went fairly well with great weather but freezing nights.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
A jump to the south
I just flew to Lima, Peru, and took the bus to a city called Huaraz. A great place for hiking. Since the city is 3000m over sealevel I need to take it easy and acclimatise. Haven't felt any illness yet except for a slight dizzyness when walking stairs. Me and some people from the hostel went around a bit today. The market was impressive with whole grilled pigs and live guinea pigs in large sacks for sale to eat.
We've been to two lakes in the mountains, just a daytrip, the water was remarkably blue, turqoise really. On both sides rised huge snowcapped mountains. One of them Peru's highest. Tomorrow I'll go to the different agencies in town to find a four day hike with some other travellers, it's less of a sport since they pack your stuff on mules here, but I' sure I'll get tired enough.
Added 19 July:
I've decided to go for an 8 day hike among the mountains in a guided group of 7 people, the hike is not a very strenuous one since the mules carry most of our things, but altitude sickness is a possibility. We are hiking up to almost 5000m. I'm gonna do my best not to end up on one of the horses for people who are too weak to walk, but if I do, I surely wont tell about it here.
We've been to two lakes in the mountains, just a daytrip, the water was remarkably blue, turqoise really. On both sides rised huge snowcapped mountains. One of them Peru's highest. Tomorrow I'll go to the different agencies in town to find a four day hike with some other travellers, it's less of a sport since they pack your stuff on mules here, but I' sure I'll get tired enough.
Added 19 July:
I've decided to go for an 8 day hike among the mountains in a guided group of 7 people, the hike is not a very strenuous one since the mules carry most of our things, but altitude sickness is a possibility. We are hiking up to almost 5000m. I'm gonna do my best not to end up on one of the horses for people who are too weak to walk, but if I do, I surely wont tell about it here.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Ocean smurfing
We left Leon early in the morning a week ago. I had got my salsacourse, even if it was only 1/2 hour long. Sometimes my plans just don´t work out. And so it was chickenbus time again. Chickenbuses are old american schoolbuses that have been pimped out by their owners, public transit is privatised around here. These buses used to carry chickens and other animals in them along with passengers, but I haven´t travelled with a goat in my lap so far, which is sort of a dissapointment.
So we sat down in one of these buses for the trip to Managua, and then in another to Rama, the closest one can get to Corn Islands by road. Nine hours with distorted reggaeton pounding out from strained speakers, and sweat running down my face. In Rama we get a boat to a coastal town called Bluefields where we´ll be able to catch the ferry to Corn Islands. It turns out its not a lazy longboat like at the border between Mexico and Guatemala. We were flying over the smooth river surface at over 40 knots in a speedboat. This is something wery uncharacteristic for Nicaragua, where nothing seems important enough to hurry for. The hasty trip remains a mystery to me.
The next day I met fellow Finns for the first time on my trip. Antti, Niko and Elina are doing practical training in Puerto, Nicaragua for the polytechnic in Mikkeli, but were taking a little vacation. When we all got to Little Corn island, I decided right away that this was the most idyllic place I´ve been too. White sandy beaches with palmtrees along the beach, and mango grooves a bit into the island. No cars, just footpath, and no people harassing you to buy crap. Three days of bliss, diving, snorkeling and one day going to pick mangoes off the trees. Since I obviously can´t plan very well for my trip, I had to leave two days ago with the nightferry and then various buses to San Jose in Costa Rica. In four hours I´ll board the plane to Lima, Peru. I wish I could stay and see Panama and Costa Rica but at least I´ll learn to plan better in the future.
So we sat down in one of these buses for the trip to Managua, and then in another to Rama, the closest one can get to Corn Islands by road. Nine hours with distorted reggaeton pounding out from strained speakers, and sweat running down my face. In Rama we get a boat to a coastal town called Bluefields where we´ll be able to catch the ferry to Corn Islands. It turns out its not a lazy longboat like at the border between Mexico and Guatemala. We were flying over the smooth river surface at over 40 knots in a speedboat. This is something wery uncharacteristic for Nicaragua, where nothing seems important enough to hurry for. The hasty trip remains a mystery to me.
The next day I met fellow Finns for the first time on my trip. Antti, Niko and Elina are doing practical training in Puerto, Nicaragua for the polytechnic in Mikkeli, but were taking a little vacation. When we all got to Little Corn island, I decided right away that this was the most idyllic place I´ve been too. White sandy beaches with palmtrees along the beach, and mango grooves a bit into the island. No cars, just footpath, and no people harassing you to buy crap. Three days of bliss, diving, snorkeling and one day going to pick mangoes off the trees. Since I obviously can´t plan very well for my trip, I had to leave two days ago with the nightferry and then various buses to San Jose in Costa Rica. In four hours I´ll board the plane to Lima, Peru. I wish I could stay and see Panama and Costa Rica but at least I´ll learn to plan better in the future.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Lazy days
We decided on Tuesday to forget about Honduras and all its trouble. So early the first of July me and Marko headed back to Guatemala, went east to El Salvador, and reached the city of Alegria by sundown. Visiting three countries in 12 hours cost us about five dollars in bustickets.
After spending the night in Alegria, and meeting Claudio from Mexico who was going the same way, we got a lift in a truck to the closest bus stop. In two hours we reached the west Hondurian border. We had read from the newspapers that there would be no roadblocks in this part of Honduras and this proved to be right. Once we got to the Hondurian-Nicaraguan border, we were overwhelmed by the amount of locals who wanted to exchange our money and take us across the border in their bicycle taxis. We had experienced this at other borders too but this was something else. Marko had just woken up after sleeping in the bus and looked quite lost in the middle of the swarming merchants. We made it alright though and found us a hostel once we got to Leon in Nicaragua.
Tonight I´m going for salsa lessons, but other than that there isn´t much I want to do here. Leon is a clean town with and old feeling about it and has lots of nice churches. Our hostel is cheap, the Nicaraguans who run it are friendly and I´m trying hard to communicate with them in my Spanglish. One of the guests is an middle age American who has told us a lot of stories about diving and other stuff. Yesterday evening was lively when he had a big argument with one of the locals. He was cursing in a smooth succession the way only a native English speaker can do, and there was even some shoving in the end.
Now that Honduras is out of the equation, we need to find a good spot to dive in Nicaragua, so far I´ve heard of the Corn Islands off the caribbean coast, and a large volcanic lake in the western part. If we´ll go to one of these remains to see. In the mean time Leon is a nice spot to relax.
After spending the night in Alegria, and meeting Claudio from Mexico who was going the same way, we got a lift in a truck to the closest bus stop. In two hours we reached the west Hondurian border. We had read from the newspapers that there would be no roadblocks in this part of Honduras and this proved to be right. Once we got to the Hondurian-Nicaraguan border, we were overwhelmed by the amount of locals who wanted to exchange our money and take us across the border in their bicycle taxis. We had experienced this at other borders too but this was something else. Marko had just woken up after sleeping in the bus and looked quite lost in the middle of the swarming merchants. We made it alright though and found us a hostel once we got to Leon in Nicaragua.
Tonight I´m going for salsa lessons, but other than that there isn´t much I want to do here. Leon is a clean town with and old feeling about it and has lots of nice churches. Our hostel is cheap, the Nicaraguans who run it are friendly and I´m trying hard to communicate with them in my Spanglish. One of the guests is an middle age American who has told us a lot of stories about diving and other stuff. Yesterday evening was lively when he had a big argument with one of the locals. He was cursing in a smooth succession the way only a native English speaker can do, and there was even some shoving in the end.
Now that Honduras is out of the equation, we need to find a good spot to dive in Nicaragua, so far I´ve heard of the Corn Islands off the caribbean coast, and a large volcanic lake in the western part. If we´ll go to one of these remains to see. In the mean time Leon is a nice spot to relax.
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