Hiking at 4,000 m altitude - we cross the sacred Isla del Sol
New country, new impressions, welcome to Peru
The Colca Canyon, a paradise for the Andean condor
Rainbow Mountain – must-see or Insta-hype?
We're on the road again. After one week in Cochabamba we seem to have cured the parasites that we had picked up from food. Now we want to move on. The diesel situation has now eased somewhat. We can even spontaneously buy 50 liters on the black market.
We still decided that we would only stop at Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. We "skip" La Paz as we are not fans of big cities. It's enough for us to cross the neighboring district of El Alto with around 1 million inhabitants by car. Not for the faint of heart. Trucks, cars, motorcycles and pedestrians clog the streets, paths are suddenly closed or non-existent and it's a big honking concert. I'm exhausted after the 2 hour drive.
In Copacabana, the place we chose on Lake Titicaca, things are more relaxed. It gets its name from the panoramic view of the bay from above, reminiscent of Rio de Janeiro. We stay at a nice (really nice for Bolivian standards!) campsite. There are dogs, chickens and cats here and a large lawn - ideal for Diego. Apart from that, Diego discovers his passion for playing billiards :-)
Little by little, more overlanders settle in, so we make some travel mates. With the Swiss, Claudia and Armin, we make a trip to the Isla del Sol on the second day. The island was considered sacred to the Incas. It is about 1 km from the Copacabana Peninsula, for us about a 2 hour boat ride. We want to cross the island by foot from north to south to enjoy the most beautiful panoramic views. The trail is supposedly 8km long and can easily be completed in 3 hours, we are told. After our ship arrives an hour late, we still have 4 hours until the final return trip. Enough time to stop for a trout and a beer. With this anticipation I set off with my 12kg backpack named Diego. It quickly turns out that the trail is much longer than expected. We are also at around 4,000 m above sea level. Every step is a little more strenuous. We walk on the main ridge of the island, which is also about 250 m above the lake. The views are breathtaking. If you look down at the beaches, you could almost think you were by the sea. It is not without reason that Lake Titicaca is called the Bolivian Sea. The area is so huge that sometimes you can see nothing but deep blue water on the horizon. However, there isn't much time to enjoy. We can just take a short break to strengthen ourselves, then we have to move on. And we actually manage to get aboard the last boat with a bang - unfortunately without trout or beer in our stomachs. We'll do that the next day. Our muscles need some relaxation anyway. We're just out of shape!
After a few days we head off to Peru. So far we only have a rough route in mind. We haven't been able to invest a lot of time in detailed planning yet. However, the first stations are mapped out. And the very first to-dos after crossing the border are always the same – shopping, withdrawing money, getting SIM cards. Peru is at least a little more digital than Bolivia. In the larger supermarkets and restaurants you can usually pay by card. Otherwise, only cash is truth. Sometimes it's quite annoying, as you often only get the equivalent of €100 at a time from the ATM. Nevertheless, you can tell that Peru is much more geared towards tourism. There are many very good cafes, bakeries and souvenir shops in the big tourist hotspots. And of course the usual tourist naps. Portraits with llamas and traditionally dressed Peruvian women are offered on every corner for a few Soles. In return we offer a photo with a gringo baby :-) Joking aside, Diego is always a highlight here too. Luckily, everywhere we go there are babies or small children. Whether in a restaurant or at the campsite, Diego quickly finds playmates who generously share their toys with him.
First we want to visit the Colca Valley. The gorge is between 1,200 m and 3,269 m deep. The Grand Canyon, at 1,800 m deep, looks old (or shallow). The upper slopes have been terraced by humans for centuries and offer good conditions for agriculture. Mainly corn and potatoes are grown here. At the moment we largely avoid fruit and vegetables - our parasites still don't seem to have been cured. Micha is still struggling with nausea and I also felt really bad for two days. We go see a doctor again. How do you find a doctor in Peru (or Bolivia)? Definitely not via Google Maps. The best method is to ask locals. They always have an address. There are no appointments either. You go there and if you're lucky, you don't wait. So in our case. The medical center is so small that there is no laboratory. For this reason, the doctor makes a “blind diagnosis” and generously prescribes antibiotics and other remedies for parasites, diarrhea and nausea, which we should take for about a week. Hopefully things will get better soon.
We still don't want to miss the highlight in the Colca Valley, the Cruz del Condor. At this point in the valley, the Andean condors use the first weak morning thermals to circle calmly on the edge of the canyon. A true spectacle. Unfortunately, the Peruvian tourist industry has also recognized this and so we are standing at the view point with hundreds of people. After 10 am the condors climb higher and higher until they are no longer visible. And suddenly we have this beautiful place to ourselves. By the way, Andean condors are monogamous and form pairs that mate for life. They live up to around 70 years. At the end of their lives, once they can no longer fly well, they supposedly commit suicide. They fly as high as they can and end their lives, smashed against a mountain wall. Fortunately, the condors we see can still fly very well. Very impressive birds, with their almost 3 m wingspan, even if they are definitely not pretty birds.
Now we head towards Cusco, the center of the Inca culture. There are numerous ruins and archaeological sites in this area, most notably the world-famous Machu Picchu. On the way there is the so-called “Rainbow Mountain”, no less well-known and on the offer list of every tour provider. “On the way” is of course relative. The Vinicunca mountain is 5,200 m high. That means we drive up a dead end road - 30 km of gravel, about 1,200 meters in altitude. No problem for our Toyota, you just need patience as the power is very limited at this altitude. But ours too. We have to walk the last 300 meters from the parking lot, to be precise from 4,736 m to 5,036 m. Once again with my 12 kg backpack named Diego. These altitudes were definitely some of the hardest of my life. Once at the top we can admire the seven-colored mountain directly opposite. If you go up there just for that, you'll probably be a little disappointed (unless you value the typical Instagram signature picture with a color filter :-)). However, the landscape itself is really impressive. In the background we see the majestic Ausangate, with a height of 6,384 m the fifth highest mountain in Peru. You could almost think you have Denali in front of you. I am once again deeply impressed.
On the way back we make another detour to Red Valley. This “detour” is again a journey lasting several hours. What seems close here in Peru can be so far. You never know the road conditions and the exact coordinates. The country is definitely not geared towards individual tourism. And so, after an odyssey by car and on foot, in which we only see a beautiful, lush green valley but no red, we let the drone fly :-)
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