Huaraz, Huayhuash trek

After flight from Cusco we had a day in Lima before night bus to Huaraz and we spend that time on Internet, walking through the city, and of course having dinner in one of local pizzerias.
In Huaraz we found some accomodation and booked next trip. 9 days around Cordilera Huayhuash [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordillera_Huayhuash]- sleeping mostly above 4.000m, every day at least one high pass ... sounds good. But there are no groups so if we want to make one just by us two it will cost us arm and leg ... or wait a moment ... we can hire local guy and 2 donkeys and go on our own. Agreed, this is the way to go. At least we use our tent, stove and sleeping matrecess we carry the whole time.
We bought some food and petrol for cooking, and got onto the buses to Llamac next day. From Llamac our trek started and there also finished. I have to say it was excellent trip, and walking without guide (but with a good map) we have made 3 alternative days and enjoyed the mountains in our own rythm, just wanderfull. If your're good in orienteering in map and you like to plan your our tramps and treks, don't worry and just go for the same. It is worth.
In fact we had one small problem. To make sure all will go smoothly we decided instead of cooking for donkey man (they call him ´donkey driver´ in local English), we just paid for his food. But unfortunatelly he didn´t get enough for all 9 days, in fact he had food just for about 3 days, so we had to share some food with him and cook for him as well. But finally at least the agency apologized and offered us a partial refund for the food, so all was ok and we can recommend the ´Huascaran´ agency ;)

The area is somehow safe (as it was not some years ago) but for crossing village land you normally pay around 15./S per person, sometimes more than once a day. The most expensive city (probably because you need to go through there) is Huayllapa where you pay 35./S to some american society, so the question is how much goes to the village itself. It seemed to us a bit as bribe, but if it keeps the area safe, ok. All together we have spend around 150./S per person on those ´fees´


Our trek was as follows:
day 1: Llamac to Quartelhuain
mostly on road
day 2: Quartelhuain to Laguna Mitucocha
alternative way after Chacananpunta pass as shown in map
day 3: Laguna Mitucocha to Laguna Carhuacocha
alternative way around Laguna Alcaycocha - not shown in the map, some cairns can be found but ask lokals at the laguna for a way once they will come for the turistic ´fee´ or go on the normal way
day 4: Laguna Carhuacocha to Huayhuash
alternative way for whole day, as in map, very nice
day 5: Huayhuash to Aqua termales
short day
day 6: Aqua termales to Huancpatay
with side trip to the San Antonio pass (5.020m) with wonderfull views
day 7: Huancpatay to Incahuain
day 8: Incahuain to Laguna Jahuacocha
day 9: Laguna Jahuacocha to Llamac

On all days in the morning agree with donkey ´driver´ on camping place for evening as donkeys go always on the normal way and normally a bit quicker ;)

Map used: 0/3c Alpenvereinskarte - Cordillera Huayhuash (Peru) - Trekking 1:50000
bought for 70./S in Huaraz

Orientation costs:
- donkey $5 per day (x2)
- donkey ´driver´ $10 per day
- renting tent for the donkey ´driver´ $3 per day
- food for 2 ~ 200./S
- petrol for cooking ~ 4 l x 5./S
- bus there and back (both ways) 44./S per person
- turistic tickets ~ 150./S per person

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Po letu z Cusco jsme meli den v Limepred nocnim autobusem do Huarazu a ten jsme stravili prevazne na Internetu, prochazkou po meste a samozdrejme i veceri v mistni pizzerii.
V Huarazu jsme nasli bydleni a zamluvili dalsi vylet. 9 dni okolo kopcu Cordilera Huayhuash [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordillera_Huayhuash] - noclehy nad 4.000m, kazdy den aspon nejake vyssi sedlo ... to zni dobre. Ale nikde nemaji zadne skupiny a abychom jednu vytvorili sami dva to se nedoplatime ... anebo - moment ... muzeme si pronajmout lokalniho muzika a 2 osliky a vyrazit jen tak. Dohodnuto, tak to udelame. Aspon pouzijeme, stan, varic a karimatky, co uz s sebou peknou dobu vlacime.
Koupili jsme nejake jidlo, benzin do varice a dalsi den nasedli na bus do Llamac. Z Llamac nas trek zacina a tam take konci. Musim rict ze to byl vyborny zajezd a kdyz jsme sli cely vylet sami bez vudce (ale s dobrou mapou), udelali jsme si 3 alternativni dny a uzili jsme si hory vlastnim tempem, proste parada. Pokud se vyznate v mape a nemate problem si naplanovat vlastni zajezd, nic se nebojte a klidne bezte do toho sameho, stoji to zato.
Ve skutecnosti jsme meli jeden mensi problem. Protoze jsme nechteli nejaka nedorozumneni a popravde jsme ani netusili co pro nej varit, namisto abychom varili pro muzika s osly (oni ho tu do anglictiny prekladaji jako 'ridic oslu'), zaplatili jsme za jeho jidlo zvlast. Ale on bohuzel toho jidla nedostal ani zdaleka dost na celyxch 9 dni, spis tak na 3, a tak jsme nakonec museli delit jidlo a varit i pro nej. Nakonec se ale agentura omluvila a nabidli i castecne vraceni penez za jidlo, takze vsechno ok a muzeme agenturu ´Huascaran´ vrele doporucit ;)

Oblast je to vicemene bezpecna (jakoze pred par lety nejspis nebyla) ale za pruchody osad nebo jejich oblasti se plati normalne okolo 15./S za osobu, nekdy i vickrat denne. Nejdrazsi vesnice (pravdepodobne protoze nejde minout) je Huayllapa kde zaplatite 35./S jakesi americke spolecnosti, takze je jenom otazkou kolik z toho jde vubec vesbici. Zdalo se nam to trochu jako organizovana kradez, ale pokud to udrzi oblast bezpecnou tak budiz. Nakonec za vsechny tyto vstupy jsme nechali asi 150./S na osobu.


Harmonogram naseho treku:
den 1: Llamac -> Quartelhuain
vetsinou po ceste
den 2: Quartelhuain -> Laguna Mitucocha
alternativni cesta za sedlem Chacananpunta jak to je v mape
den 3: Laguna Mitucocha -> Laguna Carhuacocha
alternativni cesta okolo Laguny Alcaycocha - neni v mape, jsou tam nejaci muzici, ale radeji se zeptejte mistnich as ze zastavi u laguny pro poplatky anebo bezte po hlavni ceste
den 4: Laguna Carhuacocha to Huayhuash
alternativni cesta podle mapy, velice hezky den
day 5: Huayhuash -> Aqua termales
kratky den
day 6: Aqua termales -> Huancpatay
s vychazkou na sedlo San Antonio (5.020m) s vyhledem
day 7: Huancpatay -> Incahuain
day 8: Incahuain -> Laguna Jahuacocha
day 9: Laguna Jahuacocha -> Llamac

Kazdy den rano se domluvte s ´ridicem´ oslu na miste pro dalsi nocleh, protoze oslici jdou vzdy po hlavni ceste a taky vetsinou o neco rychleji nez vy ;)

Mapa: 0/3c Alpenvereinskarte - Cordillera Huayhuash (Peru) - Trekking 1:50000
koupena za 70./S v Huarazu

Orientacni ceny:
- osel $5 za den (x2)
- ´ridic´ oslu $10 za den
- pujceni stanu pro ´ridice´ oslu $3 za den
- jidlo pro 2 ~ 200./S
- benzin na vareni ~ 4 l x 5./S
- autobus tam a zpet 44./S na osobu
- turisticke ´vstupy´ ~ cca 150./S na osobu

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Laguna Mitucocha
Laguna Carhuacocha
Laguna Mitucocha back from the pass|Laguna Mitucocha ze sedla
Laguna Quesillocha & Laguna Siula
Evening in Huayhuash|Vecer v Huayhuash
San Antonio
Laguna Susucocha

Macchu Piccu

Ok so the Inca trail we have done was not part of the ¨commercial Inca Trail¨, but part of the historical Inca trail. The whole Inca Jungle Trail was not bad, but 1st day on bike was on dusty road on creepy bikes, 2nd day was quite nice walk (partially on Inca trail) with thermal pools at the end, and 3rd day was firstly in taxi (we have turned down the option to walk for 4 hours on dusty road and negotiated the price for taxi to 10/.S instead of 20 they´ve asked for) and then 3 hrs or so on the train rails to get to the village Aqua Calientes.

After we arrived there we have found out how ¨clever¨ are locals in getting more and more money of turists. Whatever you buy in the village (from food or meals, to the hotel stay), you have to pay 10% extra tax to the village (or city), if you want to take bus in the morning to the Maccu Piccu (15min ride or 1.5hr walk) you should pay US$7 one way. So we have walked up the Potukusi hill with the view of the Machu Piccu. Nice walk.

Following day we woke up at 4am and about half past we started walking up to the Machu Piccu. It was going quite well and just a moment after 5:30 we were up next to the gate, around 20th in the row. At about 6am the gate was opened, we got in, booked the trip up to the Waynapiccu hill for 11am and started the tour. We spend on Machu Piccu the whole day, and we left around 4pm to get down to the willage just in time to buy some food and souvenirs and get the overpriced train and then bus back to Cusco, where we have arrived in late nigth.

In Cusco we have left some money to the lady in the hostel agency to organize flight tickets for us to fly next morning to Lima, so we were hoping to find them there. Yes we have found tickets there and also the bill. With the provision to the lady we got around $6 cash back ?!? Oh yes this is Cusco. But anyway early next morning we left Cusco on the plane to Lima.

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Takze ten Inka trail co jsme sli nebyla cast ¨comercne chozeneho Inka Trailu¨, ale cast historickeho inka trailu. Obecne cely Inka Jungle Trail nebyl vylozene spatny, ale prvni den byl po prasne ceste na kolech v katastrofalnim stavu, druhy den docela hazka cesta (castecne po Inka trailu) ukoncena termalnim koupalistem, no a treti den (pote co jsme odmitli slapat 4 hodiny po prasne ceste a usmlouvali taxi na 10/.S na osobu namisto 20 ktere chteli) a pak cca 3hodiny po kolejich az do vesnice Aqua Calientes.

Jakmile jsme tam dosli, zjistili jsme jak ¨vynalezavi¨ jsou mistni v metodach jak dostat z turistu vice penez. Cokoliv si ve vesnici koupite, od jidla pres ubytovani az po suvenyry, musite zaplatit navic 10% dan vesnici (nebo mestu), pokud chcete jet na Machu Piccu autobusem, zaplatite US$7 za jednu cestu. Takze jsme se rozhodli se rano nahoru projit a jeste pred vecerem jsme si vysli na kopec Potukusi na vyhlidku na Machu Piccu. Hezka vychazka.

Dalsi den jsme vstavali ve 4 rano a pul hodiny nato uz jsme byli na ceste nahoru na Machu Piccu. Slo to kupodivu docela dobre a chvili po 5:30 jsme uz byli nahore u vstupu, priblizne 20ti v rade. V 6 rano se vstup otevrel, my jsme se dostali dovnitr, zamluvili si turu na kopec Waynapiccu na 11am a zacali turu. Na Machu Piccu jsme stravili cely dena dolu jsme sli az ve 4 odpoledne, prave tak si koupit neco na jidlo a nejake suvenyry pred odjezdem predrazeneho vlaku a busu do Cusca, kam jsme dojeli az pozde v noci.

V Cuscu jsme nechali nejake penize pani v hostelove agenture, aby nam zaridila letenky do Limy na dalsi rano, tak jsme doufali ze je tam najdeme. Listky tam byly a ucet taky. Celkem vcetne provize pro agenturu jsme dostali zpatky asi $6 ?!? No to je proste Cusco. Kazdopadne, druhy den rano jsme odleteli do Limy.

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Start|Na startu
Second day - stop in ´Monkey House´|Druhy den - zastavka v ´opicim dome´
On the left side on the hill is the Inca Trail|Nalevo v kopci je Inka trail
Thermals|Termaly
Hours on the rails|Hodiny na kolejich

Aqua Calientes
View from Potukusi|Vyhlidka z Potukusi
Machu Piccu
City gate|Mestska brana

Cusco

So we are in Cusco area now. We have arrived 2 days ago early in the morning. After organizing accomodation we got onto afternoon round-the-city trip and bought Sacred Valley [http://www.cusco.net/maps/sacredv.htm] trip for next day, all together of course together with "Boleto Turistico" (the turistic ticket of the Cusco for s/130) that covers entry to most of the the attractions around the city.

For following 4 days we have booked Jungle tour to Machu Piccu, that we have started just today. After a bit late start (each part of the group was said different excuse) and 3.5hrs in the car we have started cycling day and have descended something between 2.500-3.000m (altitude information vary in maps) on bikes on the dusty local road. Tomorrow we are supposed to walk for most of the day on the commercial Inca Trail with stop in thermal pools, and next day another walk to village Aqua Caliente, just below the Machu Piccu. On Friday morning we will start really early the way to the entrance to Machu Piccu ... but more in the next post.

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Tak uz jsme v oblasti Cusco. Prijeli jsme brzo rano predevcirem. Po zarizeni ubytovani jsme odpoledne vyrazili na turu po mestskych pamatkach a na dalsi den jsme si koupili turu do Sacred Valley [http://www.cusco.net/maps/sacredv.htm](Posvaten udoli), samozdrejme s potrebnym "Boleto Turistico" (turisticky listek mesta Cusco za s/130) ktery plani na vstup do vetsiny pamatek v okoli mesta.

Na nasledujici 4 dny jsme si koupili turu pres Dzungli na Machu Piccu, a tu jsme zacali dnes rano. Po opozdenem startu (kazda cast skupiny slysela jinou vymluvu) a 3.5h v aute jsme zacali cyklisticky den a sjeli jsme po mistni prasne silnici o nejakych 2.500-3.000m dolu (vyskove informace jsou se v mistnich mapach lisi). Zitra bychom meli jit vetsinu dne po casti komercniho Inka Trailu se zastavkou v termalnich bazenech, a den na to uz bychom meli dojit do vesnice Aqua Caliente, prave pod Machu Piccu. V patek brzo rano vyjdeme ke vstupu na Machu Piccu ... ale o tom se doctete az v dalsim zapisu.

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City tour evening|Vecer na primestske ture
Inka´s temple and terraces in Pisac|Incky chram a terasy u vesnice Pisac

Arequipa and Colca Canyon | Arequipa a Kanon Colca

From the lake Titicaca we went deeper to Peru, to Arequipa, 2nd largest Peruvian city. We have spend day relaxing, walking around and getting informations about Colca canyon, believed to be 2nd deepest canyon worldwide. Because it was Tuesday, there was evening tour in the Arequipa Santa Catarina Convent [http://www.perutravels.net/peru-travel-guide/arequipa-santa-catalina-convent.htm] which was really nice experience.

Following day we took bus from Arequipa to Cobanaconde and from there we started 3 days treking in the Colca Canyon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colca_Canyon]. First day we took first morning bus a to the Cruz de Condor wievpoint, where we watched Condors until late morning and from there we have taken unmarked route (30 minutes on the road, then following the water channel around the hill and finally some path down) to San Chuan de Chuccho and then another 1/2hr up to Cosnirhua. Second day over the hills to the Llahuar lodge. This day we also choosed (this time by mistake) less used path, too much to the left, and I must admint that balancing on snady ramps through slips maybe hundred metres above the ground was on several places not very pleasant. But finally in the lodge we went to termal pools just next to the river and after more than 3hrs in the water and good dinner was the day considered good and nice. Last day we had to wake up early and walk quickly up around 1.500 meetres of altitude difference to get on the bus from Cobanaconde at 2pm. Having Jana almost running up, the mission was accomplished and we even made the earlier bus at 12pm. Which means that we got to Arequipa on time for the night bus to Cusco.

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Od jezera Titicaca jsme jeli hloubeji do Peru, do druheho nejvetsiho mesta Peru - Arequipa. Prvni den jsme stravili relaxovanim, prochazkam mestem a zjistovanim informaci o moznostech trekingu v Colka kanonu, udajne 2. nejhlubsiho na svete. A protoze bylo prave utery Santa Catarina Konvent v Arequipe [http://www.perutravels.net/peru-travel-guide/arequipa-santa-catalina-convent.htm] poradal vecerni prohlidku, cehoz jsme vyuzili a opravdu to stalo to zato.

Dalsi den jsme prejeli autobusem do Cobanaconde a odtamtud jsme uz zacinali 3-denni treking v Colca Kanonu [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colca_Canyon]. Prvni den jsme nasedli nma prvni ranni autobus a nechali se dovezt na vyhlidku Cruz de Condor, odkud jsme az do pozdniho dopoledne sledovali a fotili kondory krouzici pod nami ale i kolem nas. Odtamtud jsme se po neznacene ceste (30 minut po silnici, pak podel vodniho kanalu okolo kopce a nakonce dolu pesinou) dosli do San Chuan de Chuccho a po dalsi pulhodine nahoru do vesnice Cosnirhua. Druhy den jsme sli pres kopce do lodge Llahuar. Ten den jsme si take vybrali (tentokrat omylem) neznacenou cestu, sli jsme prilis nalevo, a musim priznat ze balancovani pres odtrzene svahy po uzkych a pranych rampach mozna sto metru nad rovnou zemi bylo na nekterych mistech velice neprijemne. Nakonec ale po vice nez 3 hodinach v termalnich bazenech dole u reky a dobre veceri, byl den prohlasen za povedeny. Posledni den jsme stavali brzo abychom stihli vyslapnout vyskovych 1.500 metru vcas a abychom stihli ve 14:00 autobus z Cobanaconde. Jana pelasila nahoru jako motorova mys, takze jsme nakonec ukol splnili a dokonce stihli uz drivejsi bus ve 12. Coz znamenalo, ze jsme se dostali do Arequipy vcas nato abychom chytli nocni autobus do Cusca.

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Santa Catarina Convent in Arequipa|Santa Catarina Konvent v Arequipe
Santa Catarina Convent in Arequipa for 2nd time|Santa Catarina Konvent v Arequipe podruhe
Condor 1|Kondor 1
Condor 2|Kondor 2
In the canyon|V kanonu
Sunset in termal pools|Zapad slunce v termalnim bazenu

Puno

After Isla del Sol we left Bolivia and on the way to Arequipa (Peru) we stopped in Puno to change buses and during the 4 hour stop we´ve visited floating islands, islands that are made by people living on them.

Short stop = short text :)

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Po navsteve slunecniho ostrova (Isla del Sol) jsme opustili Bolivivi a po ceste do Arequipy (Peru) jsme zmenili autobus a v ramci 4-hodinove zastavky jsme navstivili plovouci ostrovy, ostrovy ktere jsou postaveny lidmi kteri na nich ziji.

Kratka zastavka = kratky prispevek :)

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Local boat on islands|Mistni lod na osrovech
One paddle was abndoned, so Jana helped|Jedno padlo bylo volne tak Janca pomohla
Houses on islands|Domky na ostrovech

Copacabana and Isla del Sol | Copacabana a Slunecni Ostrov

The final trip in Bolivia was to Isla del Sol. According to mythology that is the place where the sun was born. It´s a beautiful little island with pre-inca ruins where tourists go for a day trip or some of them opt to stay overnight as we did. From the last city on Bolivian side of the Lake Titicaca, called Copacabana, the island is about two and half hours by little slow ferry.
First afternoon we just walked around and watched stunning sunset from the restaurant on the ridge. I have to say there was great food too - trout - and the wine was even better! I think we ate trout problably five times in two days there, always prepared in different ways - yummy!

Second day we watched sunrise from our bed and seeing how sun was rising up behind the mountains was almost as good as the sunset. Have a look at some photos and decide...

The whole island is not big, you can cross it probably in four hours from South to North or via versa. There were two routes, one along the coast (can you call it coast if it´s a lake?) and second on the top. You can guess which one we took... The ruins on the north were impressive, especially as it was our first real encounter with pre-inca architecture. I still wonder how they could build such impresive buildings, so complex and remote.

Otherwise there is no running water in the island and terrain is very hilly so locals have to carry water all way up (most of them live towards the top of the island) and due to lively tourism it seems each house has either lodge, restaurant of both. Unfortunately most of those are empty and having visitors from time to time only. Bolivia is not as touristy as their neighbour, Peru. Bolivia was great and we truly love it.

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Posledni vylet v Bolivii byl na Isla del Sol, neboli Ostrov, kde se narodilo slunce.
Je to nadherny ostrov s predinkovskyma ruinama, kam turiste jezdi bud na celodenni vylet nebo zustanou pres noc, stejne jako jsme to udelali i my. Ostrov je vzdaleny priblizne 2,5 hodiny velmi pomalou lodi z Copacabany, coz je posledni mesto na bolivijske strane jezera Titicaca.

Prvni odpoledne jsme jen tak trajdali po ostrove a nakonce pozorovali fantasticky zapad z restaurace na hrebeni. Musim dodat ze ne jen zapad slunce byl bajecny, ale ani jidlo nemelo chybu. A k tomu jeste vynikajici vino. Za ty dva dny jsme meli pstruha tak 5x - a vzdycky pripraveneho jinym zpusobem.

Druhy den jsme pozorovali vychod slunce z postele a jak zacalo vykukovat zpoza hor, nevim co bylo lepsi, jestli vychod nebo zapad. Kouknete na fotky a rozhodnete sami.

Ostrov sam o sobe neni velky, da se prejit behem ctyr hodin - bud se chodi z jihu na sever (to jsme sli my) anebo obracene, coz delaji nekteri turisti (vysadi se lodi rano na severu a odpoledne naskoci do lodi na jihu). Vedou tam dve pesiny, jedna hned okolo brehu, druha po hrebanu. Asi uhadnete, kterou jsme sli my... Ruiny byly obdivuhodne, asi hlavne proto, ze to bylo nase prvni skutecne setkani s predinkovskou architekturou. Porad mi nejde do hlavy, jak to dokazali v te dobe vubec postavit a ze to jeste vsechno drzi pohromade. Vzdyt to pochazi nekdy z 15. stoleti...

Jinak na ostrove neni tekouci voda a cely ostrov je hodne clenity. Mistni musi tahat vodu do kopce a reknu vam, jenom tam slapat, clovek se celkem zadycha - je to pres 3.600 metru nad morem. Taky se zda, ze kazda domacnost ma bud restauraci, ubytovani nebo oboji. Bohuzel vetsina z nich zeje prazdnotou a ma navstevniky jednou za cas.
Bolivie neni tak turisticka jako jeji soused Peru. V Bolivii se nam moc libilo a nechtelo se nam ji opoustet.

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Cathedral in Copacabana|Katedrala v Copacabane
On the island ridge|Na ostove na hrebeni
Sunset on the island|Zapad slunce na ostrove
Inca ruins Chincana|Incke ruiny Chincana

Rurrenabarque - Pampa and Jungle | Rurrenabarque - Pampa a Dzungle

Trip to Rurrenabarque was a highlight of our trip so far and we have enjoy every (almost) minute of it. We wished to try to get to Rurre by bus which takes 18 hours. We thought that would be an adventure. Who would go for a boring 45 minutes flight? I was wrong, flight with local aerolines doesn´t have to be boring at all, but that comes at the end. Let´s start at the beginning.

After they have tried a well-known trick at the bus stop - 'sir, could you please help me....' one guy was asking Michal and in the meantime the other guy went straight for our bags - but we caught the sight of other guy and saved our bags (they didn´t know what was inside so they would most likely steal the bag with all food for our 18hours journey) - we have finally left La Paz with 2 hours delay. We thought we had a good seats - second row on the right side of the bus (they use something like double-deckers here, usually you sit quite high and have a good view). At the moment when asphalt road finished and dusty unsealed road started, driver changed the side and started to drive on the left side of the road ?!? We didn´t understand why, because on the left side was just a very deep gorge ... tens and sometimes hundreds of meterers under the road. Why he was voluntarily driving on left, closer to the ´void´? The answer is very simple - because the driver sits on the left side, he can see how many (centi)metres he has to the edge. and we in the front part of the bus, have seen our part of the bus over the edge. To make it less boring, there were also cars, trucks and buses from the other direction and the road was seldomlu wide enough for both, so you can often see drivers negotiation on the road, which vehicle will have to reverese to the closest part wide enough for both directions. As they are stuck there are more cars coming and excesising their horns and then all those cars are manoeuvreing and try to pass. Michal said he would allowed bikers on this road, but not cars and buses. Sometimes he has tried to hold by diferent parts of the bus, maybe hoping to help balancing the bus. Fortunatelly it got dark after some time and assuming we got off this road, we have slept until the next morning.

And then the real adventure started - trip to Pampa and Jungle. Firstly we had some rain - good for change. But because there is no asphalt on the roads there, the 3hr drive to the river became really interesting. We wer in jeep but the deep muddy tracks were making it jumping from left to right, but when we have got to one bus across the road, we had to wait until locals with showel, picks and some other simple tools have helped it out back to the road. And it took them less then half-an-hour! And then we got there. We knew we would see aligators, kaymans, river dolphins, anaconda and different birds, but the reality was much better than our expectation, they were every couple of meters, sometimes less then meter of our boat. We learned to distingusish aligators from black kaymans, that are sometimes really scary - biggest maybe over 4 meters long. All around different birds and monkeys, together with aligators and kaymans co-existing Capybaras. Andf between them river dolphins - we have even swimmed in the river with them. Dolphins protect their teritory so although some aligators were less than 20m away, we trusted our guide Negro that it is safe. Negro itself is a legend, guiding in Pampa for last 18 years. Also we have seen two anacondas and fished piranhas, but they were quite small with not too much meat. And all of that on one narrow river. And on the way back we have seen tapeer, quite rare to be seen next to the river.

After 3 days in Pampa we went to the Jungle. It was also fine, but not as excellent as Pampa. This time we have guide just for us two and he was describing to us almost every plant and tree, all diferent ants and termits, monkeys, some spiders - at night we went to see tarantulas, but we have found only small ones. First night we slept in the hut next to the river, the second night on the ground in the deep forest in some kind of camp, just under the mosquito net, with all the sound of the jungle around us. Also we have seen wild pigs every day, sometimes bunch of them as close as 20m. On the way back to the river we have seen heaps of parrots in one of the cliffs - Red-Green Macaws, allegedly the biggest existing parrots. They live mostly in one pair for their whole life.

The last think of this trip to be mentioned is the return flight from Rurrenabaque to La Paz. Firstly we didn´t want to spend another 18hrs in bus, secondly we hoped we would see Huyana Potosi (that we have climbed on the beggining of the trip) from the close distance from the plane. But the weather was not with us, visibility was quite poor and the flight was a bit wild - the plane was just for 18 passengers so you can imagine how small it was) and all 25 minutes of the 45ti minutes fligh I was thinking if I would need to use the sick bag or i I am brave enough to ´keep it in´. Although completely green, I have made it without incident. Much worse than noat on whale-watching trip or any landing in Wellington!

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Vylet do Rurrenabaque a mistni dzungle a hlavne pampy byl uzasnou teckou za pobytem v Bolivii. Touha vyzkouset si 18ti hodinovou cestu autobusem byla silnejsi nez nudny (oh jak jsme se mylila - let vubec nemusi byt nudny!) 45ti minutovy let s mistnima aerolinkama.

Po te, co na nas vyzkouseli fintu - 'pane prosim vas, muzete mi poradit?' a mezitim druhy kumpan bleskurychle bere vsechno co vidi - ale nas postreh byl lepsi nez jejich napad - jsme asi po dvouhodinovem zpozdeni vyrazili. Mysleli jsme si, jak mame dobre sedadlo, druhou radu napravo ve vysokem autobuse (neco podobneho jako dvoupatrovy doma)... V momente kdy skoncila asfaltova cesta a prijeli jsme na neco, co byste doma ztezi nazvali polnackou, ridic najednou zmenil stranu a najednou misto vpravo jel vlevo. Nechapali jsme proc, protoze nalevo byla jen hluboka propast... Desitky, nekde i stovky metru pod nami, proste doura az dolu. Proc se dobrovolne tlaci doleva, bliz k te propasti? Odpoved byla neskutecne jednoducha. Protoze on sedi nalevo a vidi kolik (centi)metru jeste muze ke kraji. My ostatni akorat videli, jak ten autobus precniva pres okraj a pod nama ta doura! Aby to nebylo az tak nudne, dalsi auta, nakladaky a autobusy samozrejme prijizdela v protismeru a malokdy byla silnice dost siroka pro dve vozidla. Ridici vystupuji a domlouvaji se, kdo z nich to ma bliz k dostatecne siroke casti pro oba smery a kdo bude couvat. Mezitim prijizdeji dalsi, vsichni troubi (jakoby se tim neco vyresilo) a tak v tech krkolomnych zatackach 4 auta ci busy manevruji a zkouseji se vejit... Michal prohlasil, ze na tu silnici by pustil mozna tak motorkare, ale auta a autobusy? Obcas se take intuitivne chytal vseho okolo, asi v nadeji, ze to lip vyvazi :o)Nastesti po par hodinach se setmelo a my predpokladame, ze jsme sjeli z teto silnice a opustili vsechny ty srazy. Kazdopadne uz jsme se tim netrapili a spali az do rana. O asfalt jsme uz vice nezavadili...

A pak zacalo to opravdove dobrodruzstvi - vylet do pampy a dzungle. Taky nam poprve prselo. Prijemna zmena. Akorat tim, ze zadna cesta nema asfalt, se 3 hodinovy presun k rece, stal opravdovym zazitkem. Myslim, ze jet v hlubokem snehu je mnohem jednodussi. Meli jsme jeep, takze ten ty hluboke koleje celkem zvladal, sice to nim a nama pekne hazelo, ale kdyz se autobus zasprajcnul pres celou siri cesty a oni se marne snazili krumpacem a lotatou problem odstranit, moc jsme neverili, ze k rece dojedeme. Podarilo se. A pak to prislo. Vedeli jsme ze uvidime aligatory a kajmany a ptaky a delfiny a anakondy, ale ze jich bude tak moc a tak blizko, to nas vubec nenapadlo. Prvniho aligatora jsme videli asi po 10ti metrech ve vode. A pak uz byli s nama celou cestu, kazdych 10 nebo 20 metru byl aspon jeden, vetsinou ale mnohem vic. Obcas na nas koukali jen tak ze brehu, obcas byli pul metru od nasi lodky. Naucili jsme se rozeznavat je od cernych kajmanu, kteri jsou jeste strasidelnejsi. Nejvetsi mohli mit pres 4 metry. Vsude litali hromady ruznych ptaku, skakali opice, spolu s aligatorama a kajmanama si tam spokojene ziji kapybary a ricni delfini. S tema jsme si skocili do reky a plavali. Aligatori nas pozorovali z bezpecne (???) vzdalenosti 20ti metru. Pry si delfini brani svoje uzemi a aligatory by na nej nepustili... Verili jsme pruvodci Negrovi, ktery uz tam vozi turisty a sam se koupe minimalne poslednich 18 let... Negro sam o sobe je legenda, ale o tom asi az nekdy osobne. Asi by se rozkriklo, kdyby se jim ztraceli turisti :o). A taky dve anakondy jsme videli a pirane chytali. Byly ale takove male, moc masa na nich nebylo. A to vsechno v jedne rece! A taky jsme videli tapira, coz bylo pry uplne jedinecne, protoze ten se vidi na brehu reky tak 3x rocne.

Po 3 dnech v pampe jsme vyrazili do dzungle. Ta byla taky fajn, ale pampe se vyrovnat nemohla. Zase meli jsme pruvodce jen pro sebe a ten nam popisoval kdyjakou rostlinu a strom, vsechny druhy mravencu a termitu, opic, nejake ty pavouky - v noci jsme vyrazili na tarantule, ale nasli jsme jenom 2 takove mensi. Prvni noc jsme spali na taboristi u reky, coz byl takovy normalni kemp s houpacima sitema a asi i nejakyma breberkama, protoze od te doby nas furt neco zere. Druhou noc jsme zasli dal do dzungle a spali jen tak pod siti, na zemi a vsude okolo ty ruzne zvuky zvirat, ktere jsme nedokazali identifikovat. A kazdy den jsme videli divoke prasata, tak na 20 metru. Na ceste zpatky jsme se zastavili na skale, odkud bylo videt moc papousku, Macau cerveno-zeleni, jsou snad nejvetsi papousci co existuji. Pry jsou castecne podobni lidem, ziji v parech, cely zivot s jednim partnerem.

Za zminku uz snad jen stoji ten zpatecni let z Rurrenabaque do La Paz. Jednak uz se nam nechtelo travit dalsich 18h v autobuse a druhak jsme doufali, ze uvidime Huyana Potosi (kterou jsme si vylezli na zacatku nasi cesty) z letadla. Pocasi nam nepralo, videt nebylo nic, hrozne to houpalo - letadlo bylo pro 18 pasazeru, takze si dovedete predstavit jaky to byl prcek) a ja se dobrych 25 minut z 45ti minutoveho letu trapila otazkou, jestli budu muset pouzit nouzovy pytlik nebo jestli budu hrdina a udrzim to. Vyhrala jsem. Sice jsme pry byla zelena, ale rozdychala jsem to! Mnohem horsi nez lod na velrybach nebo jakekoliv pristani ve Wellingtonu!

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Capybara|Kapybara
Blue Heron|Modry Heron
Anaconda|Anakonda
Eagle|Orel
Turtles|Zelvy
Just fished piranha|Certsve ulovena Pirana
Pink river dolphin|Ruzovy ricni delfin
Yellow monkeys|Zlute opice
Aligator
Parrots|Papousci
Catepilar in the jungle|Housenka v dzungli
Spider monkey in the hut|Opice v chate
Plane back to La Paz|Letadlo zpatky do La Paz