Nick Curry

I headed over from La Paz to Santa Cruz, Bolivia’s richest city, then straight over to the Jesuit Missions in the area – a set of missions constructed by Jesuits and indians in the 18th century, mostly designed by a single Swiss Jesuit father. The Jesuits established a series of settlements in the area under Spanish rule, promoting a set of topian values and protecting the local populations from slave-drivers. The missions showcase beautiful woodwork in remote settings, a curious yet beautiful testimony to the strength of faith.

I then headed over to Uyuni to see the salt flats, a 3-day tour of a series of surreal landscapes at over 3000m altitude. Following this I went to Sucre, where I was glad to feel some warmth at last after the rigours of the altiplano. Not for long though, as I headed back to La Paz to attempt a climb of the 6088m Huyana Potosi. This was another 3-day tour; the first, one learns how to use crampons and the ice-axe, the second day is the hike form base camp to high camp at 5200m, and the third day at 1am begins the 10-12 hour round-trip to the mountain peak, followed by return to base camp. This was a harrowing experience, a test of will, which I am proud to have accomplished but which I don’t feel the need to repeat in the near future. My toes are still recovering from frostbite…

Leaving bad luck behind, I finally did make it out to Potosi, which in the 17th century was the world’s largest city on account of the large amount of indigenous and african slaves working in the silver mines. As many as 8 million slaves died workin in the mines, the exploitation of which is, according to some historians, at the basis of early modern european economies and a springboard for the Industrial Revolution. I got to the see the mines, which are still mined for zinc and nickel – a truly striking experience. The miners’ working conditions are truly appalling, after 2 hours in the cramped spaces and breathing the dusty and gas-ladden air I was gasping for the surface. The miners do 6 hours straight a day on average, for around $20 – a far cry from the working conditions we have in Europe, and a bit of an eye-opener…

After dropping Ben off at the airport, I headed over to Sorata in Bolivia, which is famous for its hiking – unfortunately, I caught my second stomach bug in 2 weeks, this time from the first gringo restaurant I had eaten in so far (it was called “Pete’s Place”!), and was out for 4 days. I recovered an headed over to La Paz, only for my credit card to be swallowed by the ATM… When I finally got my card back after 4 more days, a snowstorm prevented my bus from leaving to Potosi…

We then took the slow route from Puno towards the Bolivian frontier, seeing the curious Temple of Fertility on the way. We stayed a night in Copacabana on the Bolivian side of Lake Titikaka, and then spent a day and a night on the Isla del Sol, which according to Inca mythology is where Manco Inca, the first Inca, appeared. The difference between the Bolivian and Peruvian sides was striking – the Isla del Sol was relaxing, and we could easily have stayed longer. Unfortunately, Ben was running out of holiday time, and had to head back to Los Angeles – it was really great travelling together, the farewell was an emotional moment.

Our last night in Cuzco involved camping on top of the Temple of the Moon, which miraculously we didn’t get kicked out until the next morning. We quickly saw our last set of Inca ruins at Pisac, and then headed over to Puno, on Lake Titikaka. We took a 2-day Titikaka tour to see the floating islands of Uros, which were mainly occupied by souvenir sellers, and then stayed overnight on the island of Amantani, which was a little strange – the islanders live mainly off of tourism (and day labour in the off-season), and this was a homestay, but because their island had become as close to Disneyland as is possible in Peru, it was hard to establish any kind of genuine contact with the locals.

The highlight of the stay in the Sacred Valley though was undoubtfully Macchu Pichu, which despite the incredible amount of tourists still manages to retain its magic. Sitting down on the terraces overlooking the city was one of those moments in which one truly feels privileged to be given the opportunity to see such sites.

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Upon arriving to Cuzco, a stomach bug I had dragged along since Bogota finally caught up with me, and I was out for a couple of days. Thankfully, I was soon able to check out the Moray, which due to the 10º difference in temperature between the top and bottom terraces, had been used by the Incas as an agricultural testing ground. Equally impressive were the Salineras, a salt mine also originating in Inca times still in active use today.

After finally reaching Peru, I stopped over briefly in Mancora ; and, Peru being the Land of Ruins, I headed down to Trujillo to see some impressive pre-Inca constructions, left over from the Moche and Chimu civilizations respectively. Following this, I met up with my friend Ben in Lima. We spent a couple of days in the city, and then decided to head straight over to Cuzco and the Sacred Valley, the birthplace and centre of Inca civilization.

! Last time I wrote, I was just about to leave my friend Zulma (don’t be so sad!) in Bogota. Following that, I flew from Bogota down to Guayaquil in Ecuador, on my way down the Peruvian northern coast to Lima. Unfortunately, due to a banana plantation workers’ strike, the journey took longer than expected – 3 times as long in fact, as there were road blocks every 15km for over 250km, which quickly turned a 4 hour journey into a 12 hour one. This was the first strike I witnessed in South America; and from what I saw banana plantation owners in Ecuador are to be definitely not to be messed with…