Welcome to Paradise: Tahiti

En route to Mo'Rea



Don't you dare start to rain!!



Our whole lives in three bags



This is what the birds look like



And this is the average looking plant in your garden



This is what the buses look like - they are really trucks.



We managed to get a hotel on one of only two beaches on Mo'Rea. The rest sit straight onto lagoons.



Looks like rain again. It started spitting for a few seconds. I nearly started to cry. Then it stopped



This was taken with a cheap film camera. It has not been doctored and it does what we saw no justice. The sun sets were simply stunning.



Sleeping under the stars. Whatever. We had to spend the last night at the air port because the hotel cost £130 dollars a night and we simply could not afford to stay any longer. A lady who was making flower garlands to sell outside the airport gave one to Tim to give to me while I was asleep. I woke up feeling a little uncomfortable but surrounded by the most gorgeous smell. The whole of the island smells of flowers because the trees are full of them.



19th November 2005, Papette Airport, Tahiti.
Ok, nature isn't that cruel. Welcome to Paradise. It's extortionately expensive to visit Paradise. We had to cut our time down from 10 days to 4 days and spend two nights in the airport in order to afford to stay on Mo' Orea – an island 40 minutes by boat from Papette, but God let us in and what a place! If I ever go for hypnotism ever again and they ask me to visualise a beautiful place here's what it will be:

I am sitting by the edge of a lagoon. It is beautifully warm and a lush breeze is stopping me from getting too hot. To get here we have canoed from the next bay down to the coral reef and across some shallow rapids and then into another deep lagoon. There is hardly any need to snorkel. Pink, purple, red, bright blue, navy blue and green coral is clearly visible from the boat. After some of the best snorkelling I have ever done we arrive at the shore. Tim goes off to do more snorkelling. I sit at the waters edge watching a whole new world of fish that are swimming no more than a meter away from the shore. A huge ray glides over my feet and stops for a back tickle. This momentarily breaks my illusion as I realise that they are obviously well used to humans. I notice the shingle moving slightly and then realise it is a flat fish, perfectly camouflaged apart from two eyes on long stalks that are rotating in different directions. I lie back in the water and look forward to my huge coconut shell full of ‘poisson cru’ and good French wine that I am going to treat myself to when I get back to the hotel. Paradise indeed.

Regrets? Yes! Why the hell did we cut the time down so much? I want to stay at least 6 months hopping from one island to the next, really getting a feel for the culture and getting to know the people. Do you know they actually wear flowers in their hair for real? The left side means single and the right side means married. It feels like we’ve only just got here and now we are on a plane heading away already. Anybody reading this might think I’m being greedy. Many people will never get to see this most beautiful of places, but I can’t help feeling cheated. I wish, so much, that our trip was longer.

The only place that is so cool you are sad to be leaving for Tahiti.

Cool caves



The caves here are fantastic - like the type you would find in a prehistoric movie.



One of the three vocanoes.




The leaders would chose a boy to swim from the mainland through shark infested waters to this little island. The first man to find an egg and swim all the way back with the egg unbroken and themselves uneaten would win his chief the title of leader.




Bye bye dudes.


15th November 2005, Easter Island
All too soon, and we we’re off to Tahiti. I love this place and wish we could stay longer. It’s our last day and the bloody sun has come out in all its glory. We’ve been eating nothing but cheese empanadas because we spent all our budget on the jeep, but it’s been so amazing. As well as the Moai we’ve found some fantastic caves, seen some cool rock carvings, looked right into the mouth of a volcano and sat in the very spot the leaders would have done hundreds of years ago waiting for their sportsmen to swim out to a tiny islet about a km away and return with a birds egg.

The winner would decide who would rule the island. Now there’s democracy! We haven’t been eaten by anybody and we’re packed and reluctantly ready to go. How much of a treat is it when you are really sad to be leaving for Tahiti?? I’ve been waiting for the sunset over the Moai shot, but so far there’s been no sunsets, because it’s been too cloudy. I am right now looking at a fantastic sky and a gorgeous sunset, but I’m at the airport and nowhere near an ancient man with a hat. Damn. Time to go. We’ll at least we’re not going home. Tahiti here we come. Surely we are finally going to be free of rain?

Trees that grow out of caves and gay waiters dressed in Burkas, all in a typical day on Easter Island

This tree is amazing. We came across the roots and trunk way below the surface in a cave.




Big arn't they?



It was probably just as well it rained all the time. We never would have left the beaches otherwise.



How cool are these guys?



Laughing Moai

14th November 2004 - Easter Island

It's real name is Rapa Nui - just about the only research fact the Kevin Costner got right when he made that awful film of the same name. Costner you are crap. Give it up.

After paying $15 to watch the film we went to the only restaurant that remained open. There we had the worst meal we've had so far. It was so bad I can't even tell you what it was. It was indistinguishable and totally inedible. Whatever it was had some sort of super sweet BBQ sauce all over it. I should have known when I heard a massive crash and saw the chef walk out and slam the door. The next thing we saw was a gay waiter wearing a burka looking really flustered. Told you they were bloody wierd.

Sorry, Chile, but the people are Polynesian no matter how much you try to rewrite the history books to say that the first settlers arrived from South America. (Although after the fish incident I can't actually see why you to try to claim them as kin, they are all sparko). You don't need to be an expert to work it out, you just need to look at the people. They do not look remotely South American. And woe betide if you even mention them in the same sentence as Chile! They are fiercely nationalistic. Alcohol plays a very large part of life here and once the younger locals get a few down them, they become very bitter about their ‘parent nation’. There is even an office run by an independence movement where you can get a free Rapa Nui stamp in your passport.

Official tourist board literature proposes that the people who built the Moai originally came from Peru. This is because there is some similarity between Rapa Nui and Inca stonework. One of the sets of Moai close to the airport is set on a wall that looks exactly like the Inca walls in Cuzco. There have been other suggestions that the Island is what’s left of a lost continent or was even built by aliens. Was ET into fish brains? No, I’m sure he wasn’t. I guess it is possible that those locals were trying to re-create the ‘our forefathers have just arrived’ look by smearing blood all over themselves (….think about it). According to the locals it was discovered by the Polynesians in about 400AD. They built the Moai in the form of their leaders. They also formed the ‘Rongorongo’ - the only written language in Oceania.

It’s said that once the population peaked at about 10,000, resources became scarce, especially since all the trees on the island were being used to move the Moai from the quarry to the beaches, so a once peaceful society began to decline into civil war and, apparently, cannibalism – which I can only assume is the real reason those locals were smearing blood all over themselves. Reminiscing the times when visitors never knew they existed. I told you they were overly friendly didn’t I?!!?
Eventually, all of the Moai standing along the coast were torn down by the islanders. Many of them still remain face down in the ground. Those that are standing again have been put back up by archaeologists.

The fact that this island is more than 2,000 miles from any other population, (Tahiti and Chile being the closest), doesn’t help clarify the history books. It’s one of the most isolated places on Earth. The island itself is in the form of a triangle. It’s made of volcanic rock and has a volcano on each corner. Apparently the early settlers called it "Te Pito O Te Henua" – which means Navel of The World. There is a spot you can go to which is supposed to mark it. We, of course, had lots of fun sticking our fingers in the World’s belly button – and not even a whiff of fluff – I promise.


Despite the rain ..and more rain...oh, and look...more rain, we’ve managed to explore the whole island. They have some amazing caves to wonder into as well as the fabulous Moai. I can't quite put my finger on what it is about them that is so cool, they just are. The fact is, that no-one really knows why they were really built and why so many of them were knocked down again. All I know for sure is that I am writing this journal from one of the remotest, coolest places on this planet. I feel so privileged to be here. I just hope our hotel owner doesn’t try to cook us for tea – she seems to have taken a bit of a shine to Tim!

Easter Island - the remotest place on Earth

The first of many Moai you see when you reach the island.



Gis a snog



We are so far from anywhere, it's crazy



Cave drawings



14th November 2004, Easter Island, South Pacific.

The 10th November has already been and gone. I can hardly believe that our South American leg is over and that we have reached Easter Island. We took a domestic flight from San Diago because we are officially still in Chile, but Easter Island is a tiny blip in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 3500 km from anywhere, so I’m counting it more as Polynesia. 3,500km! No wonder the people here used to think they were the only race on Earth.

It's a weird place, boasting all the eccentricities that a tiny island with a population of 2400 warrants. You can't help but get a sense of Wicker Man when you talk to the locals. There is something just a little too friendly about them. Paddy and Rhiannan, a couple we met on the plane on the way over confirmed my thoughts. They were on the beach one day when a boat arrived with loads of fish. There was a group of about 20 locals waiting for it and when they were handed the fish they started pulling their heads off and scooping out and eating the brains. If that's not weird enough, they were smearing the blood from the fish onto themselves. Is that a group of people dancing round in a circle and chanting over there? No, sorry, just me becoming a little paranoid.

The island is beautiful. It’s only 24km from one end to the other. We’ve hired a jeep which is great fun on the dirt tracks. Even Tim has driven. There’s simply no-one around to crash into. (Don’t worry the Moai are well away on the beaches and the animals in the fields.) It has fantastic, deserted beaches with white sand and waves perfect for surfing. We’ve had to explore it in the rain...surprise, surprise. "This is soooo unusual!” Said the lady at our hotel. “It must be the full moon!" Yeah, whatever. This weather business is really starting to get to me now.

Everywhere you look there are horses with hundreds of foals, chickens with baby chicks and millions of little lambs. The only reason the island is called Easter Island is because it was discovered by the Europeans on Easter Day, (a chap called Admiral Roggeveen came upon the island on Easter Day in 1722) but all the baby animals that are around at the moment do feed the name.

Email: South America on a Shoestring

danapalamara@tiscali.co.uk
To:
Cc:
Subject: South America On A Shoestring
Send: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 20:57:27 +0100

Hello all

(Serap and Daniela, - I´ve lost your email address - can someone forward
please)
Well, we’ve finally come to the end of our little tour of South America.
We leave San Diago for Easter Island tomorrow. Easter Island is officially
still Chile, but it’s so far into the Pacific that I’m not counting it as
South America. Lots of big heads there apparently.

It’s only been nine weeks but we’ve managed to get a good taster of the
place. Here’s my notes so far.

TOILETS and SHOWERS:
Venezuela: Glastonbury skills definitely required in all areas. Especially
in Los Roques after Hurricane Ivan has just hit and the whole island is
knee deep in sewerage. Nice.

Peru. Legs getting stronger and balancing becoming easier. Altitude sickness
does not help my cause. Clean toilet paper does not exist but overflowing
basket-fulls of pooh covered paper seems to be a constant. Start to think
that Glastonbury isn’t so bad at all. Hot water?? What?? You want Agua Caliente?
Bloody Gringos. It’s only minus 15 degrees. No agua calienta here amigo.
We have tin-fulls of out of date evaporated milk for your coffee though...makes
you shit good no??

Bolivia. As well as having the highest valley, capital city, frozen lakes,
geysers etc in the world, Bolivia also has the highest toilets and showers
in the world. 4900 meters high. Either behind a rock or in a hole in an
open bathroom for unisex use with no shower curtain.

Toilets are really simple here. Just a pot. Not connected to anything. Or the restaurant’s back yard. Steady on now. That wind is bloody strong.

Agua caliente? Why si Senorita. It’s minus 22 degrees here we have hot water 24h hours a day! Never trust Bolivian hostel owners. There is not a drip of agua caliente
in the country. And even if there were. You would need to freeze, stark
bollock naked in front of 20 other back packers, the hotel staff, the rest
of the village, 15 llamas and a couple of vicunas. Stars and moon are really
bright at night though so you have great views while you try not to pooh
on your shoe.

Chile. Hurrah!!! Civilisation! Toilets that flush!!! Toilets that have loo
roll in them! Clean loo roll in them. And it’s soft too. Not that crunchy
stuff you got at school. Although it will cost you 1,000 pesos of course.
Ah come on Gringa. You can afford these extortionate prices. Why you’ve
just paid 2,500 pesos for a cup of coffee made of shite powdered Nescafe,
so surely you are happy to pay to sit on the loo! Agua caliente? Why si!
Of course. It’s hot and sunny here. What else would you expect?

There you go. My life through pooh.

Now for the real pooh:
Venezuela. Don’t want to go there. Guns going off. A villain out to get
you at every turn. No respect for human life they say. Peru?? Sorry, can’t
insure you there. Way too unstable madam. Bolivia?? Are you mad?? They are
all coke fuelled, gringo murdering nutcases. Now Chile, they’re fine there.
All law abiding citizens as honest as the day is long....

Beware of chirpy Chilean hotel owners. Definitely do not question why
they have decided to double the price of your room after a few hours. They
explode, tell you in no uncertain terms to fuck off and chase you off their
property with a huge plank of wood! You will need the good will of good
Chilean people to escort you back into the building to get your bags.

Do not carry a mobile phone in San Diago. Teenage girls will swipe it from
under your nose in a jiffy.

So, there you go. No photos attached this time I’m afraid. Some honest
as the day is long Chilean is looking through them in the Plaza De Armas
as we speak.

I have lost all your numbers and am now denied the pleasure of getting your
text messages.

We’ve loved Chile by the way. Just not so keen on mad hotel owners and
mobile phone thieves. The wine here is LUSH. As are most of the Chileans.
And the showers are bloody great.

Can’t believe that bastard Bush got back in.

John Peel. Bless you. You rock.

Until the next time. Love and hugs.

Dxxxxxx

Approaching Nov 10th. Beware the teenage girls in Chile!

Knife Grinder. San Pedro

It was election weekend in San Pedro. The voting was due to take place on the Sunday and as a result all alcohol was banned from 10pm on the Saturday night until the polls closed at 10pm the following night. Even to tourists. In what was supposed to be an act of defiance the local 20 - 30 something’s had organised an illegal party. This was exciting. At about 11pm we all gathered outside a pub and by midnight about 40people were being ushered out of town and asked to keep quiet. It reminded me of the illegal raves they used to have outside Peterborough back in the early 90’s where no-one knew where the location would be until they got there.

We walked in the freezing cold for ages until we eventually got to the venue - a tiny squat. Everyone squeezed in and a few people lit joints - including Tim who had managed to score. The room was no more than 15 feet long and 8 feet wide. Most people didn’t bother going in because there was no room. All the windows were closed and they would not keep the door open for fear of someone hearing them. There was no music for the first hour and when it finally arrived it was put on so low it was barely audible.

Why am I telling you all this? These poor people were petrified of the police. They weren't even drinking. Nobody had bought any. We left shortly afterwards. I'm still not sure whether it was just a shit party or whether these people are still terrorised with memories of the Pinochet era. It sent shivers down my spine. They were so worried at being caught the music could only be heard if you were sitting right next to the tiny speaker. We were so disappointed. Will we ever get to party again on this trip?

We said goodbye to Maz in San Pedro. He was a good guy. He always seemed to manage to get himself into some sort of scrape or other. He got himself beaten up in Cusco when some guys had tried to rob him and he fought back, then he really hurt his hand when he fell off his bike on Death Road. By the time we left him he looked so battered and bruised. Poor guy. I feel bad that he hasn’t seen the real me. I was still suffering really badly with my nose after La Paz - the irritation was driving me nuts and water kept on streaming from my nostril. To add to my misery I was pre-menstrual when I first met him and on by the time he left. Between night buses and my bloody nose I hadn't slept for days. I guess what I am trying to say is that for all the time he was with us I was pretty miserable - Dana at her worst so far. He must have secretly been so relieved to get away. He went to Argentina - lucky thing.

We went on to Bahia Ingles - a really lovely little bay which would have been lush if it wasn't grey and freezing cold. What made it worse was that this weather is apparently unusual for November in northern Chile. Tim managed to score again from a local guy who we ended up making friends with and sharing a lush seafood dinner on the beach.

The local fishermen gave him a huge bowl of some sort of fish, a little like squid for free. He’d dressed it with lemon juice and invited us along. We picked up a bottle of wine, some bread and some chocolate for desert. It was a really nice night, and the first time really that we had spent any quality time socializing with the local people since Venezuela.

The problem we are finding is the language barrier. Most people on the tourist trail speak some English but not enough to be able to sit down and have a proper conversation. My pseudo ‘Spitalian’ is coming along nicely and I get by, but Tim ends up staying silent. He’s started to get really frustrated by it. What will tend to happen is that they will try at the start to engage him in conversation then they just give up and carry on as if he wasn’t there.

Masol was amazing – I have never seen anyone so patient. I guess it really takes someone who really cares enough about talking to you to put the effort in. He wasn’t a loner – he had lots of friends in the Bahia – he was just really nice. I remember reading in the Lonely Planet before I left the UK that Spanish lessons were a must before travel. Green as I was back then I thought they were going a little over the top. No way. I would recommend lessons to anyone. They would improve the trip immeasurably.

San Diago was a bit of a dull one for us to be honest. The weather was cold and a bit rainy. Wherever we go we seem to be dogged by the rain and people insisting that the weather is not normal which makes it even more annoying.

We arranged to meet up with Ian, a friend of Sonia’s from back home which was nice. He’s been living in San Diago for 10 years. It was really nice to go round to his house. We hadn’t seen a ‘home’ for so long. We really enjoyed a night slumping into a sofa, watching TV and drinking English tea. We also went for a lush meal. It was a really nice night and I’m glad I plucked up the courage to email him. Thank you Ian.

We visited a fantastic church that overlooked the city and dodged the cable cars that I was certain were going to hit us or fall off onto our heads.

Our hotel was funny. Bloody fantastic shower - hurrah! But the owners were odd (what is it with Chilean hotel owners??). The woman was the sweetest lady ever, but she was wearing a massive wig that threatened to fall off her head all the time. The only other person there was a chap who I think was her son. He couldn't speak properly and one eye stared out in the wrong direction. Forgive me, but had any small children gone missing I would have sent the cops straight for him. Tim kept freaking me out saying that there were secret cameras in our room. The only time in ages I get a lush shower with unlimited hot water and he goes and spoils my experience.

Unfortunately, my strongest memory of San Diago was getting my phone stolen from my bag right underneath my nose by two teenage girls. The actually took it out of my bag while it was on my shoulder!

We were not there long enough to explore properly and most of our time was spent looking for the police station to sort the phone out.

I was really nervous about dealing with the police, but they were so incredibly nice and helpful. The people here are really nice. There was one woman who after having waited ages to make a claim offered to come in and sit with me during my interview so that she could translate to the police for me. What a sweetie. Thank you nice lady.

At the station they told me that gang masters give the kids food and lodging in return for the things they steal, Oliver Twist style. I was annoyed when I first realized it was gone, but it’s only a phone. Daniela is coming out to meet us in Thailand for Christmas so she’ll be able to bring me another out if I organise it with the insurance company in time.

I’m upset more than anything because Tim kept forgetting to buy film, so most of our Chile photos were taken on the phone. Now they are lost for good and I am absolutely gutted about that. Why, why, why did we not buy a new digital camera at Heathrow?

I mean it when I say though, that I really hope those kids got a decent bed for the night and a good meal. I’d much rather they steal my phone than have to prostitute themselves or worse.

Our first taste of Chile was sour - psychotic hotel owners and no room at the inn

The Chilean side of the Altacama desert





This is Planet Earth


We finally reached San Pedro De Altacama in Chile. After clearing the most ridiculous customs system ever where Tim had his honey taken away from him and we had to put our shoes in wet soapy sponges. It's a completely open land boarder in the middle of the desert that you have to walk across. The only reason you know you have arrived is because there is a hut that you have to go into to get your bags checked, so how the hell they think they are going to stop insects and microbes getting in from Bolivia I'll never know. We finally arrived in the town and started looking for accommodation.

It’s a great looking place. All tiny little houses and bars covered in red dust and sand. Since we too were covered top to toe in a fine film of red we fitted in quite nicely. It’s quite quaint and touristy here, but it’s nice all the same. The prices are ridiculously expensive, especially coming straight from Bolivia. The cheapest room we found was 25,000 pesos - about 40 US dollars. We stayed there one night and decided to look for a cheaper place the next day.

As I packed, Tim went out to find somewhere. He was having real trouble. Everywhere was either full or too pricey. Eventually he took me to see a place just across the road where the man had agreed to give us a room for 15,000 and Maz a room for 7,000. Still way beyond our budget but better than $40 so we moved our stuff over and went for breakfast. When we got back we found a note from Maz saying that the room price was wrong. The man was now saying it was 25,000 pesos.

This was the kind of shit we expected - but never got - in Venezuela and Bolivia, not Chile. Tim was furious. He insisted that the guy had said 15,000. He'd been back three times before he'd accepted the room and he said he'd confirmed the price each time. When he questioned it the guy just blew up and started really shouting. Tim made matters worse by shouting back at him. I can't remember exactly what the man said but I definitely understood that he was swearing and saying that if we didn't like it we could leave. So I dragged Tim away and we packed our bags.

On the way out Tim started shouting at the man again calling him a dishonest fuck. The man started screaming at him and picked up a huge plank of wood and started to come forward. Tim went nuts. I have never seen him like that before. He started screaming 'come on then' like some drunken football thug. I was in the middle of them trying to drag Tim away. In the end I literally pushed him out of the door. We ran to the safety of the place where we had spent the night before.

It turns out the guy drinks and there have been lots of complaints about the way he treats travellers. The owner of the other hostel went back with Tim to fetch Maz's bags which had been left behind in the panic. By this time there was no room left where we were before so we had to find another place. The third in 24hrs.

Third time lucky - we found somewhere for 18,000 - still really over budget, but it was fine. If you ever travel South America it is likely you will do the Bolivian salt flats and be dropped off in San Pedro – it’s part of the Gringo Trail. Whatever you do, do NOT stay at Chez Raul’s. The guy is a complete nutter!

We're in a Doors video. Bolivia

After hours and hours of nothing but sand and mountains we arrived at a military check point. Now this really did look like something straight out of a film set. The barracks were small white circular houses set far back from the main check point. Have you ever seen Star Wars where Luke Skywalker goes home to find his parents have been killed? That’s EXACTLY what it looks like. As far as I know the Star Wars films were shot in Turkey, but I really am starting to wonder whether Lucas visited Bolivia before hand, because the resemblance is uncanny.

Three soldiers were at the check point, all with huge machine guns and looking really mean. We were all a bit nervous because Tim and Maz had hash on them. Soon enough though they had offered them cigarettes and the mood changed instantly. Once these guys started smiling you realized that they were delighted to try to chat to us. They were a lot younger than they looked too. Small wonder. It’s a stunning place to see as a visitor, but those poor sods must be bored shitless! They checked us through and we continued the last lap of the desert.

Our driver stopped and ushered us out of the jeep. “Pericolo, caliente, caliente” was all he said. Suddenly you couldn’t find anyone anymore for steam. Huge pools of bubbling mud plopped away belching out stinking sulphur from about 10 huge geysers. The Lonely Planet had warned not to get to close because the earth could crumble. Of course Tim ignored this and was trying to get in for a close up of the mud. It was like standing by a fire on a freezing cold night. I bet none of them come out.

As we drove further the rock formations started to get bigger and weirder. Battered by gale force winds for thousands of years there were loads of huge rocks jutting up from the earth that had formed into crazy shapes. There was one that looked like a house, another, a church and another a face.

We saw another of those strange rabbit creatures. I’m told it’s a type of rodent. Scary bloody rodent. Looks more like a killer Basil Brush. We stopped briefly at a hot spring where our driver made us breakfast. Unfortunately the springs were too hot to swim in, although there was an area where we could safely dip our toes. The first sight of water my skin had seen in 5 days.

Scary rabbit rats, star wars houses and soldiers. Bolivia

We actually spent the night in the barracks with the mates of the bloke below.

Day 2 of the best trip ever ...the lakes

That night we stayed in dorms in a tiny town in the desert. There were a few houses, two shops and a massive clearing which had a small lake on it and was full of llamas and vicunas that were grazing. We were still at 3900m altitude. This makes for very cold nights - minus 15 on average - which isn't fun at the best of times, but not least when the showers are unisex, communal, outside and have no hot water or shower curtain! Even though I spent last night on a bus there is absolutely no way I’m braving that. Time to smell for a while then.

However if you look up into the sky it will not take long for you to forget the cold. Because it is so high up the night sky is amazing. The stars are so bright and so close it really does feel like you can reach up and touch them. Every single constellation is crystal clear. That night it was a full moon. It was so bright that it did not seem like night time outside. Our timing was impeccable. At about 9.30pm came the start of a full lunar eclipse. It took about two hours to completely cover. It really was amazing to see. We watched it through the binoculars which was just stunning. All agreed we could not have possibly been in a better place for it.

The next day took in more salt flats, mad bubbling geysers and the lakes. More weirdness. One was bright blue. The other was bright green. And the third was bright red. All three of them looked as if they were completely frozen. The fact that they were surrounded by white made the scene even more bizarre. I can't remember which chemicals makes them the colours that they are, but lets just say a swim in any of them would not be recommended.

The rest of the trip was driving through the desert. There are small sand dunes everywhere and mountains that look like they have been chopped in half - each of them revealing layer after layer of different coloured strata - beige, red, brown, cappuccino. There is virtually no green at all except for the odd tiny withered clump of straw in the earth every now and again. The only animals to be seen are the odd vicuna, but that's rare too. I am left with an image of a chocolate, coffee, mocha mountain overlooking a huge plain of red earth. In the middle of it is a vicuna trying to get what it can from the three stalks of yellow that are protruding from the ground. I wonder how on earth they survive with so little to eat. No wonder they are so thin.




The blue lake, Bolivia


Lunar landscape


Laguna Colorada






Flamingoes. So fish actually live in there! Arn't they toxic??


Tripping out


Another alpaca. I'm in love!


The local square.


Moonrise


Finally - a bit of green for the vicunas

Still tripping....


The highlight of that day had to be Fish island though. You really need to see it to appreciate how amazing and just how bizarre it is. As far as the eye can see all around it is white. It looks like the sea has completely frozen over - only there's no sea. The 'island' is only a few kms long, so you can see the whole thing from a distance, and it is covered in 15 foot high cacti. All of it. The cacti don't just sit on the top of the island - they jut out at all sides too. It looks like a giant porcupine sleeping in the snow.

From the top you can actually see what looks like a beach and then a pure white flat ocean. Some of the cacti are more than 1200 years old. Of all the things I've seen so far this has to be one of the best - certainly the weirdest. Do not even think about missing out Bolivia if you travel South America.




Some of the cacti have been here more than 1200 years.


No puns please


Fish Island 'beach'


Soldiers guarding the coast line. Its mad how the salt looks like waves hitting the beach