Hi

My trip to Bolivia and Peru is gettting closer In the end of September we are flying to La Paz and I guess we will relax there for a few days to get used to the altitude It is about 4000 meters above sea level so it can cause a bit of problems for the body.

We will probably take some day trips..probably to lake Titicaca, to Aymara ruins Tiahuanacu, Chacaltaya (which is 5395 meters above sea level).

We will also go to Macchu Picchu and Cusco in Peru but I’m afriad that we won’t get to take the inca trail walk

We also plan to go to Salar de Uyuni (a salt lake in Bolivia), to Toro Toro and the Amazonas.

I look forward to the trip...it will be my first time in South America so it will be a new experience for me. We are visting the brother of a friend of mine and he is doing most of the planning for us and I think it will be good to have someone with local knowledge there.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Hi Gard - we were in Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca in January of this year - it was wonderful....here's a link to our blog for itinerary suggestions

South American blog

Have a great time!

Don't forget to check the South American photos on Slow Photos. Also check out Rar's notes on getting to Machu Picchu and the blog of his trip to South America in his blog archive for 2005.

Have a great trip. Are you going to blog again?

Hi

Thanks for the links. Many great pictures Liz...I guess I should bring enough memory for the camera and lots of batteries :-) I might have a chance to blog again as long as we are in La Paz at least

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Hi

I'm off to Bolivia and Peru tomorrow. It looks like we will have access to the internet as we go along and I will try to keep my blog on http://gardkarlsen.spaces.live.com updated so that you can take part in the trip :-) I will of course make a more detailed trip report later on and post it on my homepage

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

I'll be traveling along with you via your blog! Have a great time!

have a great trip Gard;drinks lots of liquids in La Paz and walk slowly until at least 24 hrs to get use to the altitude. locals drink mate a herb refreshement and also hot as like a tea.
do try to visit at least Cuzco and its church layered in gold: just awesome.

I don't envy you flying into La Paz. Drink more water than you think even an elephant would need. The long flight will dehydrate you and La Paz's elevation will dehydrate you even more. This leads to the evil headaches and general horrible feeling.

La Paz has some good restaurants. Try Wagamama for sushi. Oliver's Travels pub is a good stop for pub food and beer on tap (which you very rarely find in Bolivia). You might wonder why you'd want sushi or pub food in Bolivia but after a few weeks of eating chicken and rice and chicken you'll see.

That being said, I really liked La Paz (12 days there) and loved Bolivia (1 month total) as a whole.

quote:

Originally posted by gardkarlsen:
Hi

My trip to Bolivia and Peru is gettting closer In the end of September we are flying to La Paz and I guess we will relax there for a few days to get used to the altitude It is about 4000 meters above sea level so it can cause a bit of problems for the body.

Most definitely. We relaxed in Cusco for a couple of days before tackling Colca Canyon.

quote:

We will probably take some day trips..probably to lake Titicaca, to Aymara ruins Tiahuanacu, Chacaltaya (which is 5395 meters above sea level).

Lake Titicaca was a really special trip. We took one of the group boats (22 max) to Taquile island, and it was 4 hours on it with no bathroom facilities. Luckily we did not bring any drinks with us and had a light breakfast. There was a rush to the few primitive toilets when we landed.

You'll have 500 steps to climb before you can get some food afterward, but I saw that some guides cheat and take even younger crowds up the back way (no steps and an easier approach).

I have organized some pics of Machu Picchu and Peru Highlands at
http://www.pbase.com/andrys and those are the mildly larger ones.

But you might be interested in the original photodiary since we spent some time on the Uros Islands on Lake Titicaca as well and I have a truly wonderful article about the Uros, by Miranda France that I think you'd enjoy reading before you see that.

This was in 1997 so the diary part is very low-tech. And that's at http://www.andrys.com/indox.html
Miranda France's excellent article about the Uros is at
http://www.andrys.com/mfrance.html
I wish I had read it before going. I was overaware of the tourist aspect of the Uros. This went a lot deeper.
The posting of the article started out as an email to friends, so there is bracketed commentary by me also.

quote:

We will also go to Macchu Picchu and Cusco in Peru but I’m afriad that we won’t get to take the inca trail walk

Well, your body might thank you for that.

I just saw a news article (google news) with some very nice watercolors
of that locale, at http://www.gringoes.com/articles.asp?ID_Noticia=1435

It's called "Spending the Night in the Lost City of the Incas - Machu Picchu"

Hope you enjoy the links.

You will have a fantastic time on this trip !

- Andrys

hope to see you photos, Gard. I have just posted mine from south america including bolivia and peru
have a great trip!!!

Hi

I'm back from Bolivia and Peru and it was a great trip. In some ways Bolivia reminds me of Norway....the scenery is breathtaking...and the food is not really that exciting We had lots of memorable experiences from seeing Machu Picchu at sun set, trying to land on a small airfield occupied by a cow at Torotoro, visiting small villages outside La Paz, landing on Salar de Uyuni with the plane etc. I will let you guys know when the trip report is ready :-)

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Gard - welcome home!!! I really enjoyed your blog and look forward to your trip report!

LizS