http://picasaweb.google.com/marc.buergi/Cusco_LagoTiticaca?feat=directlink
Photos Bolivia – Salar de Uyuni:
http://picasaweb.google.com/marc.buergi/Bolivia_LaPaz_Cochabamba_SalarDeUyuni?feat=directlink
Where are you right now?
Marc: Surrounded by mountains, lakes, rivers, glaciers and boulders – in El Chalten, the Trekking’s Mekka in the Argentinian Patagonia.
From Cusco you travelled to Lake Titicaca. What did you experience there?
Esther: From the Peruvian side we visited the floating islands which are made from reed and fixed on the ground with spiles. It was bad to see that the whole wastewater from Puno with its over 100’000 inhabitants is lead unfiltered into the lake and that some of the families on the islands drink that water untreated. However, further away from the dirty lagoon the water is very nice and blue coloured. From Copacabana on the Bolivian side we visited Isla del Sol which is said to be the cradle of the Incas. The hike over the island was wonderful but also a bit annoying because each village asked for money to walk their rocky roads. Guards of two old men used to stand in the middle of the road and only let us pass after paying the toll.
Your trip took you further to Potosi via La Paz. Was there something special?
Marc: Through the Altiplano we reached El Alto, above La Paz, at an altitude of 4'000 meters above sea level. From there we had an impressive view over the city of La Paz which is built into the steep hills. The city was one big street market where you could buy everything at small street stalls. Impressive and at the same time frightening were the many demonstrations on the streets which we witnessed from very close. After visiting the economically well doing Cochabamba with its mild climate we travelled to Potosi. This city at about 4'000 meters was once the richest silver-mining city in the world. In its mines died over 8 million people (mainly indigenous and african slaves) for which it is called the American Holocaust and still today people are working the mines under very harsh conditions.
How did you spend Christmas?
Esther: We were in Sucre which is the offical capital of Bolivia. However, only the highest court is situated here, the president and the parliament are in La Paz. We spent the rainy days (for it was rainy season in Boliva) playing Backgammon, drinking fine red wine and chocolate truffles with spirit and we sang some Christmas songs in our hostel room. Furthermore we took walkes through the city with its white buildings and visited the theaters twice.
How are the theaters in Bolivia?
Marc: It was very unusual for us to learn from the notices that a movie was not played due to delivery problems - glad that it was not the movie of our joice. After the last sentence the visitors got off their seats and the movie was stopped abruptly, the end titles were not showed at all. Irritating was furthermore that the visitors took their little children (who of course got agitated after 30 minutes) into a 3 hours movie and that they picked up their cellphones during the performance.
Esther: Briefly said the visitors did everything to avoid being involed into the movie emotionally and bothered everyone else who wanted to enjoy the movie - maybe that was just the two of us. We have the theory that through the permanent consumption of (mostly bad and violent) movies in public buses and the ability to get every movie on the street for only 1 - 2 Dollars the people are oversaturated and not able or willing to involve themselves into a story.
How was the Jeep-Tour you did from Uyuni?
Esther: The tour was really a highlight of our trip. It took us over the huge salt lake of Uyuni passing amazing and changing landscapes to San Pedro de Atacama in the North of Chile where we celebrated New Year's Eve.
Marc: With a driver, a female cook and 4 other tourists we were on the road for 3 days. We slept in a salt hotel (where everything was built from salt), visited caves with fossil algies which were hanging from the ceiling, and with hiden graves, passed countless deserts (with rocks, with grass, with cactuses, from salt, lava, corals, white, light brown, dark brown, green, black, grey, with rain, without rain, in cold weather, in warm weather), visited white, green, red and blue lagoons, saw dead and active volcanos, hot springs and geysires, Vicunias (wild Lamas), Flamingos, desert foxes and wild ostriches.
Which where the culinary highlights of your trip?
Esther: Uncountable dishes. However, I especially miss the various soups and fruit juices which we particularly had in Ecuador and Peru and as well in Bolivia. Here in Patagonia it's summer time (although you wouldn't notice most of the time) and therefore the locals told us that it's not soup time. On the Jeep-Tour we had Lama Steaks and a Lama-Lasagne which was very delicious! In Valparaiso/Chile our meals were not very various because Marc turned himself into a Chilenan and ate at least one Completo (HotDog with tomatoes, guacamole and a loooot of mayonaise) each day. The single sided menu of the HotDog places didn't give me much of a choice either.
Marc: Therefor we compensated the missing nutrients in Bariloche/Argentina with Parilladas which are big pieces of meet from the grill acompained by salad and mashed potatos and with chocolate deserts in the tea houses. Furthermore the fresh Patagonian raspberrys and cherries tasted great and helped our health. And from Chile on we got decent bean coffee and therefore we don't greave for the old filter-scum we had to drink all the time before.
How do the plans for your last month on your trip look like?
Esther: Tomorrow we drive south to the famous glacier Perito Moreno which is one of the few that is stable or even growing. Then we go to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego which is the most Southern city in the world and starting point for the Antarctic expeditions. There we go looking for penguins (if they are not on an other mission to Madagaskar...). On 25th January we'll fly to Buenos Aires and besides a visit to the famous Iguazu Falls we'll spend the last days of our trip with Tango and sightseeing.
[Interview done by Esther & Marc]
Marc: Surrounded by mountains, lakes, rivers, glaciers and boulders – in El Chalten, the Trekking’s Mekka in the Argentinian Patagonia.
From Cusco you travelled to Lake Titicaca. What did you experience there?
Esther: From the Peruvian side we visited the floating islands which are made from reed and fixed on the ground with spiles. It was bad to see that the whole wastewater from Puno with its over 100’000 inhabitants is lead unfiltered into the lake and that some of the families on the islands drink that water untreated. However, further away from the dirty lagoon the water is very nice and blue coloured. From Copacabana on the Bolivian side we visited Isla del Sol which is said to be the cradle of the Incas. The hike over the island was wonderful but also a bit annoying because each village asked for money to walk their rocky roads. Guards of two old men used to stand in the middle of the road and only let us pass after paying the toll.
Your trip took you further to Potosi via La Paz. Was there something special?
Marc: Through the Altiplano we reached El Alto, above La Paz, at an altitude of 4'000 meters above sea level. From there we had an impressive view over the city of La Paz which is built into the steep hills. The city was one big street market where you could buy everything at small street stalls. Impressive and at the same time frightening were the many demonstrations on the streets which we witnessed from very close. After visiting the economically well doing Cochabamba with its mild climate we travelled to Potosi. This city at about 4'000 meters was once the richest silver-mining city in the world. In its mines died over 8 million people (mainly indigenous and african slaves) for which it is called the American Holocaust and still today people are working the mines under very harsh conditions.
How did you spend Christmas?
Esther: We were in Sucre which is the offical capital of Bolivia. However, only the highest court is situated here, the president and the parliament are in La Paz. We spent the rainy days (for it was rainy season in Boliva) playing Backgammon, drinking fine red wine and chocolate truffles with spirit and we sang some Christmas songs in our hostel room. Furthermore we took walkes through the city with its white buildings and visited the theaters twice.
How are the theaters in Bolivia?
Marc: It was very unusual for us to learn from the notices that a movie was not played due to delivery problems - glad that it was not the movie of our joice. After the last sentence the visitors got off their seats and the movie was stopped abruptly, the end titles were not showed at all. Irritating was furthermore that the visitors took their little children (who of course got agitated after 30 minutes) into a 3 hours movie and that they picked up their cellphones during the performance.
Esther: Briefly said the visitors did everything to avoid being involed into the movie emotionally and bothered everyone else who wanted to enjoy the movie - maybe that was just the two of us. We have the theory that through the permanent consumption of (mostly bad and violent) movies in public buses and the ability to get every movie on the street for only 1 - 2 Dollars the people are oversaturated and not able or willing to involve themselves into a story.
How was the Jeep-Tour you did from Uyuni?
Esther: The tour was really a highlight of our trip. It took us over the huge salt lake of Uyuni passing amazing and changing landscapes to San Pedro de Atacama in the North of Chile where we celebrated New Year's Eve.
Marc: With a driver, a female cook and 4 other tourists we were on the road for 3 days. We slept in a salt hotel (where everything was built from salt), visited caves with fossil algies which were hanging from the ceiling, and with hiden graves, passed countless deserts (with rocks, with grass, with cactuses, from salt, lava, corals, white, light brown, dark brown, green, black, grey, with rain, without rain, in cold weather, in warm weather), visited white, green, red and blue lagoons, saw dead and active volcanos, hot springs and geysires, Vicunias (wild Lamas), Flamingos, desert foxes and wild ostriches.
Which where the culinary highlights of your trip?
Esther: Uncountable dishes. However, I especially miss the various soups and fruit juices which we particularly had in Ecuador and Peru and as well in Bolivia. Here in Patagonia it's summer time (although you wouldn't notice most of the time) and therefore the locals told us that it's not soup time. On the Jeep-Tour we had Lama Steaks and a Lama-Lasagne which was very delicious! In Valparaiso/Chile our meals were not very various because Marc turned himself into a Chilenan and ate at least one Completo (HotDog with tomatoes, guacamole and a loooot of mayonaise) each day. The single sided menu of the HotDog places didn't give me much of a choice either.
Marc: Therefor we compensated the missing nutrients in Bariloche/Argentina with Parilladas which are big pieces of meet from the grill acompained by salad and mashed potatos and with chocolate deserts in the tea houses. Furthermore the fresh Patagonian raspberrys and cherries tasted great and helped our health. And from Chile on we got decent bean coffee and therefore we don't greave for the old filter-scum we had to drink all the time before.
How do the plans for your last month on your trip look like?
Esther: Tomorrow we drive south to the famous glacier Perito Moreno which is one of the few that is stable or even growing. Then we go to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego which is the most Southern city in the world and starting point for the Antarctic expeditions. There we go looking for penguins (if they are not on an other mission to Madagaskar...). On 25th January we'll fly to Buenos Aires and besides a visit to the famous Iguazu Falls we'll spend the last days of our trip with Tango and sightseeing.
[Interview done by Esther & Marc]
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