Rurrenabaque, Bolivia (Amazon)

A very inspired update this time - I'm writing on a dugout canoe along the Beni River as we return to Rurrenabaque having just completed our tour of the Amazon basin.

Our tour consisted of two parts, both of which left from Rurrenabaque, the major town (if you want to call it that) on the periphery of the Bolivian Amazon. First was a tour of the Pampas wetlands, followed by a tour of the jungle area that comprises the Madidi National Park - a total of 5 days.

In hindsight, the Pampas was no greater than a glorified zoo. Although we did see more wildlife in the wetlands (caimans, monkeys, pink river dolphins etc) it consantly felt as though we were walking through fenced off farmland at the back of a paddock. Furthermore, many of the animals seem so decensitised to tourists that at times if felt like a circus. We heard that there had been cases of dead anacondas being found due to poisoning from Deet - not exactly sustainable tourism by any stretch of the imagination. The jungle tour on the other hand was very much a rainforest trek - spiders, butterflies, massive trees, monkeys in a more natural setting, hoards of wild pigs and even a couple of tucans. If I had the chance again I would definitely opt for the jungle tour.

Rurrenabaque:
Calling Rurrenabaque is a massive stretch. It consists of primarily two or three streets, and it's airport resembles a house with a dirt runway/paddock. That said, it is really cool and has a very 'tropical island' vibe despite not being an island. One tip I can give is to definitely fly! We didn't hear one good thing about the 20 hour bus from anyone (breakdowns, unpaved roads etc).

Our hostel for the interim nights (El Lobo Hostel) was also located on the Beni River and had no walls - very 'Amazon' and very cheap! BS25 p/n

Amazon:
The two tours were ran by Indigina Tours which from what we can gather are amongst the more responsible of the operators. Transport to the Pampas was via a 3 hour jeep ride to Santa Rosa followed by a 2.5 hour boat ride to the eco-lodge. The jungle tour went the opposite way by boat along the Beni River. It was 1.5 hours to the entrance to the park, and a further 2.5 hours to the eco-lodge. The Madidi National Park is alot more sensitive and as such is guarded by the military. The Pampas is protected by a local with a rope that lowers it from the comfort of their house when a jeep approaches. Quite peculiar.

La Paz, Bolivia (part 1)

Blogger is being a pain in the ass and lost this post as well so I'll have to be brief on the re-write (we were only here for 2 days anyway).

We arrived foolishly early (5.30am) and managed to find our hostel (Adventure Brew for those playing along at home, complete with it's own microbrewery) with relative ease.

These two days were primarily admin so as to make our 5 days post-Amazon as laidback as possible.

First off we booked a mountain bike tour down the 'death road' with Vertigo Tours for the following day. They are one of the two flagship companies for the tour (along with Gravity) and we managed to get them down to BS560 per person. It was well worth it - amazing scenery, a feeling of accomlishment at the end, a few quiet beers at the end and a swim - a great day.

Our other admin task in La Paz was to book flights and tours for the Amazon Basin. On the recommendation of many we booked flights with Amaszonas and both a tour of the Pampas wetlands and more traditional jungle. Photos and results to follow - watch this space!!

Potosi, Bolivia

We pretty much left Uyuni as soon as we arrived (after a short stop at Minute Man Pizza - highly recommended!), and caught a 7 hour bus to Potosi. The Bolivian bus timetables lack common sense and we were forced to arrive at 1.30am and attempt to find our hostel. Thankfully it all went smoothly.

In a few sentences, Potosi used to be one of the wealthiest cities in the Americas some hundreds of years ago due to a mining boom of, among other things, silver. Long story short, the Spanish rolled through, pilfered the resources and eradicated a few million slaves in the process. Now the mining has crashed and the locals are left looking for trace elements of silver (roughly 3%). Even walking around the city there are a number of hints as to the cities affluent history. It was this mining history that drew us to Potosi for a few days.

The morning after arriving we booked in for a half day mine tour (total cost BS100) The first part of the tour involves going to the miners market to buy gifts for the miners (soft drink, coca leaves and dynamite). We then had a quick tour of the refinery plant before heading up to the mines. The mines were very tedious at times and breathing was difficult. During the 1.5-2 hours we learnt about the history of the mines and engaged with the few miners that were working on the Saturday. The final part of our tour involved blowing up the surplus dynamite. The dynamite is rigged with a 1-minute fuse allowing adequate time for photos, the guides playing football with the dynamite, and disposing of it in the vacant land before it exploded.

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Our next day was spent doing administrative tasks (laundry etc) before we set off for the Bolivian capital - La Paz.

Tapiza, Bolivia/Uyuni, Bolivia

Unfortunately the original post got deleted when I tried to upload so this is a watered-down version. The above towns in their own right were reasonably boring. The only reason we even attended them was for the very popular tour of the Bolivian desert and salt flats. A must-see on any gringo adventure.

On the advice of those that went before us, we searched for a 3 day/2 night tour, however with no luck. We ended up securing a 4 day/3 night tour for AU151 - cheaper than what Sam and Emma got their shorter tour for just 2 months earlier.

The tour was split into 4 reasonably even sections, ending with Salar de Uyuni on the final day. Enroute we encounted vast landscapes, lagoons, hot springs and plenty of Llama's. On reflection it is definitely up there with the best activities/tours we've done on the continent.

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La Quiaca, Argentina/Villazon, Bolivia

We departed Salta at 10.00pm for a 7 hour overnight bus north to the small town of La Quiaca. With a 5.30am arrival up our sleeves we were sure we'd avoid the 3+ hour wait Sam and Emma had experienced, as well as getting out of Villazon up to Tupiza as quickly as possible on the Bolivian side.

It was still dark when we arrived and we were sure the border crossing would be quiet, however we didn't count on the border opening until 7am, which meant a short wait before we set off on the 1km trek (tailed by a stray dog that eventually followed us into Bolivia). To make matters worse, the Bolivian border also didn't open until 7am, but is subject to a 1 hour time difference. Ultimately after we had left Argentina we had to sit and queue on the bridge until we could enter Bolivia. Despite the wait, all went smoothly an we were the first tourists to enter Bolivia from Argentina that morning. With no hesitation, we jet off to the bus station (struggling with the altitude) to get the first bus to Tupiza. Only minutes after arrival, and BL10 later we were off to Tupiza.

Too easy!

Salta, Argentina

Yet another overnight bus saw us in our final Argentinian destination before Nick and I head north to Bolivia, and Sam head back to Buenos Aires to fly to the UK.

After some difficulties orientating ourselves, we checked into our hostel and got proactive on organising activites for the coming days. First up we would do a half-day horse riding tour from a ranch approximately 2 hours from Salta. For the next day we take advantage of a promotion offered by Salta Rafting for a half-day rafting/half-day ziplining (only AR230). Both activites were complemented with an 'asado' BBQ.

With this now locked in, we set off to explore the city, starting with the cable car, and then a walk through the centro area.

After some early jitters my stuborn horse eventually kicked into action, while Nick's horse seemed determined to ride against the fences of the road reserve. We then went down smaller tracks which provided views back to Salta. After the 2ish hour ride, we returned to the ranch to get into some well earnt 'asado'. Although not an all-you-can-eat per se, there was certainly no shortage of meat.

The next morning we again took a 2 hour journey (opposite direction) from Salta to Lago Embalse Cabre Corral. The first half of the day would be white water rafting through grade 3 rapids, which we had been told would be with approximately 40 staff from a local bank branch. After a quick safety course with our guide for the day, we set off into the rapids. There was 8 in our boat as well as a 'first aid dog' packed with supplies in the event of emergency. The 2 hour course consisted of a number of rapid sections with areas of placid water beween to break it up. Although it was alot of fun, having no prior rafting experience I expected the rapids to bit a bit more chaotic and unpredictable.

After another hefty 'asado' BBQ for lunch, we put our wet shoes back on to prepare for ziplining. As part of the promotion, we would do 4 zip lines across the valley, starting approximately 140m above the Salta Rafting office, working our way down at speeds up to 30km/h. Very cool! Very fun! After the initial fear of putting your life into the hands of a steel cable, the speed, height and views of the valley were well worth te effort.

Argentina: Tick!

Next move for Nick and I is north into Bolivia, while Sam's South America adventure draws to a close back in Buenos Aires (via Uruguay). Looking back it's amazing to think how much we crammed into a month, and the diversity of the country - from the glaciers of Patagonia, to the colonial mecca of Buenos Aires, over to the wine regions of Mendoza, and everything between.

Cordoba, Argentina

Another overnight bus landed us in Cordoba, the second most populous city of Argentina, university central and hailed by many (including the Lonely Planet bible) as the adventure sport capital of Latin America.

We saw none of this as we arrived to a ghost town on the morning of Easter Sunday. With not much else to do with ourselves, we decided to walk around the centro area in relative calm and see what was on offer, including Plaza San Martin and Parque Sarmiento.

The following day we got down to business working out what adventure activities were on offer. We had heard previously that Cordoba offered the cheapest skydiving in South America. While it was cheap, it was still more expensive than what was tabled in Mendoza, and we struggled to find justification for the AR700 price tag. After further deliberation we found that many of activites on offer could be done cheaper in Salta (our next destination). As a result we selected to book into a full day rock climbing tour (not available in Salta?).

Our destination the next morning was beyond Carlos Paz, approximately 2 hours west of Cordoba. We travelled by car with 3 local experts who would show us the ropes (pun intended) for the day, after a quick maté session, and some banter about anomolies in English/Spanish translations, we set off for a short 1.5 hour hike to our climbing spot for the day. As we arrived our guide Matius set up the gear (including a first aid kit consisting of empanadas), and explained the routes to us - one more difficult than the other. We managed to squeeze in three climbs each, conquering both routes (from memory a 5B and 6?). Following this we left the gear behind and trekked quickly up to vantage point overlooking the valley with condors flying overhead, providing spectacular views back towards Cordoba. We quickly collected the climbing ear and hurried back to the car where the remainder of our party had completed their trek around the mountains. An excellent day, with great company - well worth the price of admission.

Following some advice from Matius and the Atomic Ant, the next day we went searching for an indoor gokarting centre, approximately 10 blocks from our hostel. Unfortunately the centre was closed (or had gone into liquidation?). As a result we settled for the less adventurous activity of ten-pin bowling. Nicks superior ball skills made him the eventual and clear winner.

We headed off to Salta that evening to hopefully complete our adventure sports fix on a more backpacker friendly budget - horse riding, white water rafting and zip lining!

Mendoza, Argentina

After the change to our itinerary for logistical reasons, we arrived in Argentina's wine region, Mendoza, with little/no plan of what was on offer (besides drinking wine) or how to go about it. Thankfully our hostel was opposite the bus terminal and could check us in promptly.

After some deliberation we disregarded the tours offered by the hostel in preference of treading our own path through the Maipu area on push bikes. We decided to go with Mr Hugo's bikes (one of a number inthe area) which turned out to be a good choice for only AR35. As a sweetener, Mr Hugo himself invites all his clients back to his place at the end of the day to enjoy some wine (more on this below). With transport at our disposal we were able to visit as many or little wineries as we wished. Our first stop was a small vineyard for a quick tour enroute to the wine museum which included a free tasting. Next up was a small boutique which manufactured a range of chocolates, spreads and liquors, including bonafide absinthe. We then headed over to a very random and remote beer garden down a gravel road in the fields of Maipu to sample some cold tap beer. To finish off our tour we visited the Tempus Alba and another adjacent winery, complete with their picturesque scenery.

On returning the bikes to our good friend Mr Hugo we were treated to some of the free wine. Said wine was stored in plastic drums down the blindside of his house, which was transferred into 'cleanskin' bottles for consumption. Mr Hugo seemed to find the situation hilarious. As seedy as it was we concluded that the plastic drum wine was probably from the wineries we visited in return for Mr Hugo putting them on his tour map. How did we conclude this? The Mendoza bike winery tour industry is fierce, even to the point that local bus drivers get kickbacks from operators for dropping tourists off at their office. Given this, there is no reason why the lucritive operation wouldn't extend to the wineries as well. Returning with no sunburn or injuries rendered this a generally trouble-free day. Thanks Mr Hugo!

With the Easter weekend in full swing we set about extending our accomodation so we could take a trip out to the neaby hot springs, some 1 hour from the Mendoza centro area. Our search didn't go so well and we quickly found out that every hostel in Mendoza was booked out. Tossing up with the idea of getting the inadvertent boot from town, we tried some budget hotels and were able to find a three person room for cheaper than what a hostel dorm would have cost us.

With this all in place, we set off to the Parque de Agua hot springs for the day. Although being essentially a public swimming/water park, the hot springs are nestled within a valley at the base of the Andes Ranges which provides a stunning, yet somewhat over the top back-drop for a swimming pool. Entry set us back AR25 due to the Good Friday holiday (usually AR20) and there are a number of pools on offer ranging from a chilly 18 degrees up to 36 degrees that pretty much sends you to sleep.

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Our final day in Mendoza saw Nick head off again to the base of the Andes for a trek, only to return 2 hours later due to safety concerns about the trail and pending down pour, while Sam and I ventured around the Centro area to explore the many plaza's on offer, namely Plaza Independencia and Plaza Espana all of which are conveninetly located within the compact centro area.