Buses, Bolivia and Salt Flats

I left Arequipa at 8:30 pm last Saturday night after a lazy day in the sun and boarded the now familiar 6 hour bus to Puno. This time however, I had the misfortune to be sitting next to the fattest man on the bus, this meant that my hopes of sleeping most of the way were dashed. We arrived to an empty bus station at 2 am and I realised that there was no bus to La Paz, Bolivia until 7:30. So I sat...and sat...and sat. It was chucking it down with rain outside and yet all the doors appeared to be open. It was freezing. Eventually however the time came and I boarded the rather plush tourist bus. I believe the route between Puno and Copacabana (where we had to stop to change buses) was supposed to be very pretty, unfortunately I was so tired by this point that I slept or at the very least snoozed the whole way! I got across the border without any hassle and then had to wait around for an hour or so in Copacabana to pick up the connecting bus. It was then a tedious 5 hour journey to La Paz, interrupted only by the excitement of having to disembark in order for the bus to be loaded on to a raft to cross a lake (we got into a small, alarmingly low to the water boat). Anyway, on this journey I met an Australian couple, Scott and Felicity, who, I discovered, were aiming to do the exact same thing as me: get to La Paz and immediately go on to the Salt Flats. We (or maybe just I) decided that it would be a good idea to travel together. So as soon as we arrived in La Paz we went round to all the ticket booths earnestly trying to procure three tickets to Uyuni. To no avail. Everywhere was booked up so the only option for us was to stay a night (and a day) in La Paz. We found a fairly gross hostel to stay in right in the centre of town and after a hefty steak dinner, we returned to bed.
The next day we split up, they wanted to go to look for warmer clothes for the Salt Flats and I wanted to explore the markets. I spent a happy few hours clambering up and down the cobbled streets in search of the best bargains. La Paz is an extremely cool city. It´s basically built in a huge valley which means that when you are in the centre you can look around on all sides and all you can see is red brick buildings staggered up the hills. The centre of the city is also extremely pretty, there are loads of delapitated colonial buildings and grand cathedrals.
We all met back up and headed off to the bus station for our 7:45 pm departure. It was to be a 12 hour journey and had cost us 80 Bolivianos each (that´s less than 10 pounds) we weren´t expecting it to be great. The journey got off to a brilliant start as in true South American style we were delayed by 45 minutes. But eventually we set off, only to stop off every 2 hours or so in order for the drivers to get out and clank about with something in the engine (or that´s what we guessed anyway!). At 7 am in the morning, however, we stopped for longer than usual. Tired of hanging around, we got off the bus to be met with an impressive sight. We were in a queue of about 5 or 6 buses and in front of these to the right hand side there was a bus stuck firmly in the mud and on the left hand side it was the same story, and between the two buses, where the road should have been, was a steep muddy bank. Rain had washed the road away and we were stuck. All the buses were apparently equipped with pick axes in shovels, and all the Bolivians were getting their hands dirty trying to dig out the buses or trying to rebuild the bank into something resembling a road that the buses wouldn´t sink into. After about 15 minutes one cocky bus driver in a big red bus decided that he would be able to get through, he built up his speed and headed for the other side, only to sink at an alarming angle up to his axles in deep mud!
Eventually, after about an hour of waiting the first bus made it through victoriously and the rest followed on in quick succession. We boarded the bus triumphantly...only to have to desembark again 15 minutes down the road in order to wade across a shallow river while the buses struggled up and down the banks. Then there was another river, this time, on a bank in the middle one bus was busy trying to tow another bus out of the sticky mud while other drivers tried to work out a better route to get across. Eventually, however, we did it! And then it was plain (if a little bumpy) sailing to get to Uyuni (the jump-off town for the Salt Flats).
We met another Australian couple, Rob and Lauren, and managed to persuade a tour company to let us start our 3 day tour that day. We bundled into a jeep, I as the only Spanish speaker sat with the driver/guide and acted as interpreter, bought some beers (I had a Fanta!!) and set off.
After an encounter with a giant llama made of salt, and lunch in a builiding built of the same substance we drove out onto the Flats. It was amazing. A vast whiteness went on forever, and because it was the rainy season the water covered surface reflected the sky beautifully. This, coupled with islands that appeared to be floating on air, made it feel like you were on a different planet.
After this we drove to 2 hours or so to a small hostel for the night (stopping off once to visit a train graveyard!)
The next morning we set off at the reasonable time of 8 am for a grand tour of the tens of lakes that are scattered on the barren plains between Bolivia and Chile. At times we were driving through the middle of red desert with soaring volcanos and mountains on either side of us and only vicuñas (cousins of the noble llama) to keep us company. It was awe-inspiring. We got to see stinking sulphuric lakes, and I got pretty close to some flamingoes too. We also saw a red lake (also with flamingoes) and had frequent stops for 'natural pipi'!
It would be safe to say that the Australians I was travelling with enjoyed an occasional alcoholic beverage, so our second night ended up being slightly more raucous than the first. We were staying in very basic accomodation again, but this time there were loads of other tour groups with us as well. Then it was discovered that it was the birthday of a Turkish man so, of course, we had to celebrate. Despite the fact that we were having to get up at 5am the next morning, the celebrations continued well into the night.
When the knock on the door came the next morning however, a few in the party were less than pleased! It was pitch black and there was no electricity, I was the only one who'd thought to bring a torch so we took it in turns to pack our stuff up and check if we were missing anything.
We left and drove in pitch darkness to the geysers. Noisy, smelly plumes of smoke shooting directly out of the earth. It was bizarre more than anything, and pretty impressive at the same time. From here we drove to a thermal bath to take breakfast. Unfortunately it was far too cold outside for any of us to consider stripping off and jumping in but all the same we enjoyed our breakfast of pancakes and yogurts. An hour later we set off once more for our final stop: an impressive green lake towered over by a gorgeous red volcano and surrounded by barren red and orange desert. After a quick stop for photos I was then transported to the Chilean border and dropped off. While my Australian buddies were to drive 7 hours back to Uyuni and then onto La Paz, I'd decided to not risk the bus journey again and to go back to Peru via Chile. I am glad of this choice, as I later learnt that it took 25 hours in a bus to get back to La Paz as they got bogged into the mud for 6 hours or so!
So I waited at the border for my bus to take me into Chile...

Wet, wet, wet!!

For three days in a row over the weekend I did not escape getting soaked.
Day 1. Friday
Today we were expecting to get wet. We were going to celebrate Carnival at school, and were duly greeted with mini fistfuls of paint powder to the face! I got it right in my mouth! We calmed the kids down, promised a major water fight during recreo and managed to hustle them all into the classroom to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the new one) on the laptop of one of the volunteers. We also handed out cones of popcorn and disgustingly sweet liquorish flavoured bonbons. While the film was going on we took it in turns to sneak outside to the taps and surreptitiously fill up water balloons. Recreo came and, after handing out the fruit, we ran to the bathroom where the bag of balloons had been hidden and began the carnage. No one escaped unscathed! Half an hour later we were soaking wet, covered in foam with pink, purple and blue faces from the paint powder. We went down to the playground to help dry everyone out before returning to the classroom for fruit salad and cake. It was a really fun day...little did we know that the fun had only just started!!
When we returned to the Casa (our HQ hostel) that afternoon more water awaited us. One of the cleaning maids ambushed us and a full on war started. The Casa is possible the best place ever for a water fight too because there are about four different levels from which you can throw water. Then we had to try and ambush the people who weren´t wet yet. Eventually it fizzled to a stop when we all got too cold to keep getting drenched. I went home to get showered and warmed up. You would not believe the amount of pink that flowed from my hair! (Two or three buckets of bright pink water got thrown over me!!)
Thankfully the barbecue that night passed without incident though!
Day 2. Saturday
Today 9 of us went white water rafting in the morning. Having been told to wear ´light clothing´and to ´expect to get wet´ we were a little surprised when we reached the river (about a 20 minute ride out of Arequipa) and were told to strip down to our swimsuits and to put on wetsuits. These were followed by comically large red waterproof style tops and bottoms, lifevests, wetshoes and helmets. We were all a little bit concerned about what we were in for!
We entered the water and realised that it was pretty cold, nevertheless as we started paddling we began to warm up and came to welcome the splashing that passing rival boats brought. I was at the front of the raft with one of the other volunteers, Yussef, and as we went over a rapids both leaning to the same side of the boat a particularly large bump knocked us both out into the water. After a second of confusion my head broke the surface and I grabbed onto the oar of the instructor and was hauled back into the raft. The rest of the trip passed without incident, thankfully, but we still all arrived back soaking wet.
Day 3. Sunday
Today was the last day of Carnival in Arequipa. This means that there is a free for all water fight on the streets of the city. No one is safe! Three of us decided to become part of the fun and went out on the streets armed with water balloons and buckets. We reached the Plaza de Armas and spotted a huge group of Peruvian adolescents, black and white paint all over them. We started to throw balloons at them until they put their arms up in defeat and beckoned us to join them. We all received some fetching black warpaint, and then moved on to prowl the streets.
It was like something from a film. We would reach the end of a street and look down it, only to see a bigger gang at the other end. After 30 seconds of sizing each other up and debating exactly how much water we had left in our buckets one or other of the groups would then pelt it down the street, the other gang in hot pursuit. Normally there would also be cowards on rooftops armed with water balloons and/or buckets of water who you also had to try and dodge. It was really really good fun. Eventually we grew tired though and went for lunch to dry out a little. On our way back home however, we were approached by a young man, I held up my hands screeching "¡no tenemos agua! ¡no tenemos agua!" ("we don´t have any water!") and he showed his hands were empty so we walked on thinking nothing of it. 2 minutes later and a stream of freezing cold water was poured down my back! That´s Carnival for you!!! And gringos are particularly susceptible!
So that was the third day in a row that I returned home freezing cold and soaking wet!
Thankfully, Carnival is now over (although there were some definate signs of water sight at the Casa today!) and that hopefully means that I won´t see another water balloon for a very long time!
X

Carnival, Puno and Lake Titicaca

After eating way too much at the barbecue on Friday night and after having just a few hours sleep 10 of us met up at Terminal Terrestre at 3.30 am on Saturday morning to catch bus to Puno, right in the East of Peru. 6 hours later, after passing through the rain damaged town of Juliaca we arrived. We took taxis to our very nice (but freezing cold) hotel and after turning down the crazily expensive tour that the hotel lady tried to sell us we made our way down to the dock. We had to barter a good price for the boat to take us out to see the Islas Uros which are famous floating islands that are built on reed beds. It was really interesting. There are about 50 of these islands and originally the inhabitants would sustain themselves by trading fish for other goods on the land. Now, however, they are super touristy and everything seems to revolve around providing for the tourists. This meant that I ended up with slightly mixed feelings about the whole thing. On the one hand I was fascinated by the culture etc but on the other hand I felt really guilty about the exploitation of the local population. Nevertheless I´m really glad to have seen it.

On our return we all flocked back to the hotel to sleep for a couple of hours (after stopping off to buy some amazing hats) and then at 7pm we all met up again to go out to enjoy carnival. It was the Festival de la virgen del Candelaria and in Puno it is particularly well celebrated (which is why we decided to go this weekend!) We could hear the music as we walked down the street to the Plaza de Armas and when we arrived there it was amazing. There were loads of brass bands that led processions of different groups of girls, boys, women, men who were all dancing and shaking wooden instrument things. All the colours and the clothes that they were wearing were amazing. I can´t even describe how cool it was! After an hour or so of watching these processions we made our way to a restaurant which some of us decided was far too expensive so four of us then upped and left again for some authentic street food. We had alpaca kebabs and cake and candyfloss (I was worried about the state of my stomach but it was all okay!). We then basically stayed out for much of the night soaking up the atmosphere and attracting attention with our strange western dancing! Two of us also ended up being accosted and had to dance in this huge circle of drunken guys for longer than was truly comfortable. Although that wasn´t as bad as the extremely drunk man in the gorilla costume who enjoyed having his photo taken with Olly a little too much! The processions seemed to go on all night and when we went out the next morning there were still more groups. We spent the whole morning wondering around, it seemed that whatever street we went down there were always processions coming up it. It was amazing and so Peruvian!!!
Finally we got a bus home at 3pm. It hadn´t rained at all in Puno (although we were told that without a doubt it would), in fact it had been bright sunshine and 32C!! Three hours into the bus ride however and it was snowing hard, 30 minutes later we had crazily can´t-see-five-metres-in-front-of-you fog (that was scary!) and then the rain hit us! The first proper rain in Arequipa since I´ve been here! It was great. I arrived home super tired but super happy. I can honestly say it was my best weekend yet in Peru!
PS. I would have uploaded more videos but it takes too long!

Salidos and Water Fights

Last Friday we did ´Birthdays´at school. This means that anyone whose birthday is in January gets to sit at the front while people sing happy birthday. Then the cake comes out and you get it in your face. Hilarious! Although I did get it everywhere, including up my nose which made breathing a little difficult for a while. It was all good honest fun though!
Then last weekend after the famous friday night barbecue I went out for the first time in the city. It was super fun. We went to a discoteca which had this balcony from which you could survey the floor below and work out the dynamics of the dancing couples! (Great for people-watchers like me!!) In Peru everyone appears to dance in lines with a partner so there ends up being about 8 lines in the club...we decided to shake things up a bit and dance the way we do at home...in a circle! This confused the poor Peruvians. Who were also found Olly´s (one of the volunteers) dancing skills fascinating! They were taking pictures of him as if he was a celebrity! Then us girls all got persuaded into dancing in the Peruvian way...which was weird but not terrible!!
We went out again on Saturday night (I feel that my brother would be proud of me!), which basically meant that my hopes for a quiet, sleep-filled weekend were dashed seeing as we didn´t get in until 3 in the morning both days!
Carnival also started last week. Here it´s basically a month long celebration in which people throw water balloons and pain at you in the street. I got hit on Friday and then today in school we decided that it was so hot that a big carnival water fight was in order. So, during recreo, Meghan (one of the volunteers) and I decided to fill balloons up with water and begin the carnage. We got soaked. There were 20 kids versus us 2. I ended up falling over and splitting my jeans (and my knee) open, but, like a trooper, I carried on. Soon there was no part of me that was dry, especially when some of the older kids climbed onto the second floor ledge and started pouring bottles full of water on our heads, oh, and the buckets came out too! It is now 6 hours later and my jeans still feel a little wet! It was so fun though. And tomorrow Meghan and have got some major strategies in place to ensure that A. no one gets away without being soaked and B. that we have a fighting chance of winning! I´m also going to avoid wearing jeans as these are the worst possible outfit choice for a water fight! It should be good!
Then Saturday I´m getting up at the crack of dawn to travel 6 hours Eastwards to Puno and Lake Titicaca where carnival is apparently extremely impressive. :)
I have also been having an extra week of Spanish lessons this week to try and grasp control of the subjunctive (possibly the most difficult part of the language!) and I feel that I might be getting somewhere!
The teaching in school has been somewhat erratic this week as well with two teacher for four kids most days in my class. But they should all apparently now know what an adjective is! Tomorrow we´ve decided that it´s going to be Fun Friday so other than the water fight, we´re also planning on making cookies in a solar powered oven. I know that this is unlikely to work, but we can try...and the great thing about cookies is that even if the don´t bake we can always just eat the dough! :)