Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador slideshow

Here is a slideshow of around sixty photos of our recent trip to South America covering everything except Galapagos.  Included here are some shots from Lima (not the prettiest city in the world), Cusco, the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu (which was everything it is cracked up to be), the trip to Lake Titicaca and across into Bolivia, La Paz and Quito.   In summary, lots of Inca remains, mountain and lake scenery and colonial and modern city shots, which we hope you enjoy.  A great trip all round!

A Day in La Paz

We travelled all day by bus and catamaran across Lake Titicaca to reach Bolivia, another new country for us.  This time, unlike crossing the Argentina-Brazil or Chile-Argentina borders, getting through was surprisingly efficient.  Having driven alongside the Lake on the Peruvian side we stopped 200m short of the border, changed some money then went into a small office to exit Peru where there was no queue.  We then walked into Bolivia where again, in seconds, we had a passport stamp.  My only problem was when the woman money changer challenged me as I tried to use her toilets (which are for customers only).  Surprising as she had served me about two minutes earlier and I look nothing like anyone else around here. There was more security on her facilities than at the border itself - the guides just wandered across the border without showing anything.  The other moment of note was when the Colombians who were with us went up to the desk and the policeman got up and ran off shouting "Colombianos!" to get his boss.  Dealing with them was obviously over his pay grade.

On the two hour journey from the Lake to La Paz, it quickly became apparent how much poorer is Bolivia compared to Peru.  Their red, yellow and green flag looks African and their are lots of similarities with the "dark continent".  We passed indigenous people working in the fields with their animals (the various native groups make up 75% of the population) before we reached the outskirts of El Alto, the suburb above La Paz.

A view of La Paz

La Paz itself is built in a canyon and is surrounded on all sides by 4000m highlands on which the almost completely indigenous suburb of El Alto stands.  Founded only in 1985, El Alto now has more than a million inhabitants and when the natives aren`t happy they block off access to La Paz and the more wealthy population is stuck.  In the past fortnight there have been blockades across the city in response to the doubling of fuel prices and the place has been brought to a standstill.  Even the government of Evo Morales, the first indigenous president (originally a farmer growing coca mainly for dubious uses), is in trouble as the fuel price rises have led to higher food prices too.  More than one president has met a sticky end here in this volatile place.  Having said that the city does not seem at all dangerous and everyone looked pretty relaxed.  It is a pretty downmarket place generally and even the tourists look shabby.  It is the cheapest place we`ve been to in a long time and it is probably a good place for backpackers on a tight budget to hole up for a while.

Morales is allied to Venezuela president Hugo Chavez and his anti-western stance has led to the drying up of foreign investment.  His threats to seize foreign owned assets have therefore back-fired and an already poor country is struggling.  History has not been kind to Bolivia, which through a combination of wars and treaties has lost around half of its original territory, including a vital 200km of coast to Chile.  These reverses, and the instability of a country that lurches between socialist governments and right-wing dicatators who take power via military coups, have taken their toll.  The native groups remain poor and industry is underdeveloped despite lots of natural resources.  We saw rich parts of the city however and the stats say that Bolivia is one of the most unequal countries in the world in terms of wealth distribution.  In many ways its poverty and volatility give it an African feel and, like Africa, the natives are now in charge.  They may not be doing a brilliant job but it is better than being ruled by someone else.

We had a fascinating city tour with a guide who is from New York but went to live with her Bolivian mother five years ago.  She told us a lot about the current political and economic turmoil to add to the history lesson we had the day before on the bus on the way here.  From a vantage point above the old town we saw how the main city sits in a bowl surrounded by poor areas, or Villas (shanty towns) stretching up to El Alto on the top.  The poor people really do have the rich surrounded as there are only a couple of ways out of La Paz.  As well as seeing the stunning views of the city, we also visited the Witches Market, where all sorts of charms are on sale.  Much of it is harmless stuff such as sweets and herbs which are burned in offerings to Pachamama - Mother Earth.  However, there is a more sinister side with dried llama foetuses at various stages of development being on sale to make the offering more powerful.  Our guide said that these are required as offerings to keep Pachamama happy when a house is erected (on her land). She also said that for bigger buildings, human sacrifices are needed and that for a small fee, local homeless alcoholics can be rounded up and buried alive under the new building, having been induced by the prospect of free booze.  All pretty unpleasant if true - who knows if it really is.  But being familiar with the magic of Cameroon, I wouldn`t entirely rule it out.  When they christened the city "La Paz" (peace) it wasn`t the best choice of name.

Lake Titicaca

We've spent most of the last two days out on the huge lake shared between Peru and Bolivia.  In beautiful sunshine the sky and water are both deep blue and the only clouds to be seen are over the distant Andes mountains which stand well over 6000 metres high, snow-capped year round.

The lake is still sacred to the Aymara and Quechua Indians that inhabit it's shores because the existence of a body of water 100 miles long and 60 wide absorbs enough of the sun's heat to create a micro-climate warm and humid enough to grow a few crops even at 3810m above sea level. It also provides a supply of fish and of course water.

When the Spanish brought Catholicism they replaced the Sun with Jesus and Mother Earth with a Virgin Mary the colour of local women.  They built the most important church in Bolivia at Copacabana on the lake shore near Island of the Sun, the Mecca of the Andean religion. We saw today a local shaman perform a traditional ritual which ended with us receiving a rather catholic blessing - the two religions are interwoven here as the easiest way to force people to convert to a religion they didn't understand was to make it look like the one they already had. Killing people who wouldn't convert was also persuasive.

Here on the lake we have seen two communities who continue to live in peace in their traditional manner despite everything. On the island of Taquile around 4000 people live without roads or vehicles with only a seasonal supply of rain water and some solar panels for energy. Traditional dress dating back to the early colonial period is compulsory. The men wear red and white woolly hats if they are single, red and blue if they are married, while married women wear dark skirts and singles wear bright colours. The men are always knitting and make their own hats while the women do the weaving.  Outsiders can't buy property and anyone marrying into the community has to follow its strict rules.  The only jobs are farming and fishing but these days they supplement their income by selling some of the wool and woven goods that they produce. Taquile is remarkably tranquil and has beautiful views of the Lake.

On Taquile

Still more remarkable in this modern world are the people of the floating Uros Islands. They have lived for a 1000 years on their man-made islands made of the reeds that grow in the shallow part of the lake. We visited a small island no longer than 50 metres in length where four families live in their traditional manner - again supplementing their income by selling to tourists as they now need cash to pay for the kids to go to school and other novelties. They showed us how they make and maintain the islands and build their houses and boats also out of reeds.

Women of Uros floating islands

As we cross the sacred lake by catamaran from Peru to Bolivia from Peru, it continues to provide for the various communities who live here at nearly 4000m above sea level. Despite the hardships of life and the history of violent repression, the indigenous people are starting to reassert themselves and find a place in the modern world which enables them to maintain their way of life. The Incas may have gone but their descendants maintain their memory, identity and values.