2023 November 11th - December 7th South America Redux. Last Call 👍

 2023 November 11th - December 7th South America Redux. Final 

Dateline: 2023 December 8th Toronto, Ontario

This trips travelling map 

Picking up from my 2020 pre Covid trek.

I've got a fairly decent business ticket, but I need to go to Asunción in Paraguay.  No problemo

Matchu Pichu. Everything the guide tells you is made up

Devil's Throat Lookout Iguazu Falls. It's very wet here in this season 

Surprise, I'm the only one on the rooftop terrace tonight overlooking the main square in Cusco
I've ordered a Peruvian salad, artisanal, heritage etc etc. It was incredible

I arrive from Panama City just before midnight

I've never used an e-sim before, but it seemed to work when I loaded it up in Panama, and it now fires up here

Immigration is slow and sweaty, Uber is a pain because I don't have a phsical address, so need to load it up as a GPS. It works and I get into my apartment with no further issues

My first view of Asuncion, Paraguay
It was 44C the day I arrived  and did not
have an address

The legislature. Paraguay is still almost a 
dictatorship, so this is just for show

As per my last trip to South
America, much poverty and
homelessness

My Airbnb is only a few hundred metres from

a very upscale shopping area

There are however signs of social problems

It took me at least an hour to find a decent beer.
Asuncion is not a particular haunt for expats

I've read that I need to be
careful on the streets.
I don't feel any animosity as I wander around in 38C

First thing I look for in a new country
Signs of the expected are sprinkled around

 This is typical of Spanish colonial
Rotting grandure

 I have not done any research prior to my arrival
There's pretty much nothing of interest here
I head out to the city botanical gardens and zoo
There's a "museum" inside a run down office
It's obviously just a place for civil servants
to hang about in and do pretty much nothing at all

After a walk around town in 38+C, even this
silly pool on the top floor
was a welcome relief at sunset

I find a cafe serving pasta and sauces.
This is a Parmesan cheese and operative 

I head out for the bus to Cudad del Este, a rampaging border town in the East

Insert here my day from hell getting from Asuncion to Puerto Iguazu in Argentina. A nightmare of total dreadful coincidences and cock ups on a level that I have never experienced before. An excellent reason for solo travel

It seemed to be all easy enough (the poverty and social horrors of Ascension are just too heart breaking to relate)

On my way to Cuidad del Este, my data stops, I assume it's because I'm out of Cell service

Wrong, it was a "Roaming" miss set up on my e-sim. Big mistake #1

I decide to head directly to Argentina across the river, and maybe my signal will pick up once I'm in Argentina. Big mistake #2

I've convinced a cafe owner to let me use his WiFi to order an Uber to the border without getting my sim to work first

Lovely Uber driver does exactly what I need, trouble is, the border check point has shut down, so it's only for locals

LUCKILY, the Uber driver hung around to check, and took me back to the central bus station, finds me the bus to Argentina, organises my ticket and put's me on the bus etc

With some patience, I get my data to work again. This is A VERY GOOD THING!

It's Friday afternoon, so there's traffic forever. The bus is diverted about 2 /Km away from the border

The bus driver tells me it's quicker for me to walk, apparently, I can get the same bus on the other side of the border. OK

It's something like 38C, I use my last Paraguayan cash to buy a bottle of water. This was a VERY good idea

I walk about 1, 2Km and get officially stamped out of Paraguay

The traffic is just a solid lump, walking is much, much quicker, but really slow with a suitcase and backpack in the heat

It's a very long bridge

I get to Brazil, and QR the passport form. While taking the QR, a customs lady says come on in and we'll do it now.

Now, apparently, unless it's turned off, if you have an Android, press the on/off and the volume control, (which I did when I just grabbed my phone to go inside immigration), you are instantly dumped into "talkback mode". This is for blind people and responds to every keystroke with confirmation. This is BIG MISTAKE #3

Without data access, I'm totally FUCKED

This is while I'm waiting for the same bus company bus to pick me up just past immigration. Small mistake, but adding to the general stress and discomfort

I've got a new Android, so the actuation is solely by swiping. With this blind mode on, you can't get anything into as a browser question to ask how to turn it off

This all while trying to find a bus stop where I can resume my trip to Argentina

I try rebooting, then when I'm at an actual official bus stop, and ask google how to fix it. Good move #2

It actually tells me. It works

Luckily, I've still got a decent amount of battery left

I get on the first bus. The driver refuses to accept my ticket (for another bus company). I should have just got off

BUT, I have about $20 worth of Argentinian cash from my last trip 3 years ago

With the massive amounts of devaluations, it's just enough for the fare (now about $1)

I'm now decompressing from my outright panic attack

Immigration will only speak Spanish, no problem, Google Translate.

Immigration want's to know where I'm staying. No problem, I call it up on my unlocked phone

Eventually, I get to the Argentine bus station

There are no Ubers here (taxi mafia)

I've spent all my Argentine money on the bus

It's 10 to 6, and I'm dialling up "forex" on google maps

They all close at 6, and are a minimum of 1Km away

So, I still have my suitcase and backpack safe (in some circumstances not dissimilar to these, These could have disappeared due to being otherwise stress engaged. I run down into town, and get to an exchange place just before 6

"No money left"

Now what?

On the way back to the bus station, someone looking for black market $, tells me where to go.

I get a terrible deal, but I no loner care

Taxi to the Barrio, a few eggs and bits from the local store, I shower, set up my Google Home, cook, give thanks to Allah, and sleep the sleep of the blessed

Back in Argentina.
Puerto Iguazu
AH! Civilisation and great
beer

Google tells me this is the very
best restaurant in town.
I have wandered around town
for hours, plotting to end up
here hungry.
My side of the plan worked
perfectly, but it wasn't
very good. Positively less
than decent
It was really expensive, AND 
I was ripped off by the waiter
My Google review was very bad
I eventually work out that there
aren't many decent restaurants
in town

My Airbnb turns out to be in the Barrio
There's live camera monitoring on the screen
 in the kitchen. Oh dear. 
As one piece of information about the safety
here puts it:
"Don't worry, you will look like you belong
here"
True enough, I was walking down this road,
 and a driver stopped and asked me for
directions.
Just don't look like a tourist...

Mean streets in the Barrio?
Not really. Any antipathy 
was probably just in my
own mind

Pretty much your first view
from the Argentine side

What I've come back to South America for
this time. My first sight of Iguazu Falls

There's a lot of it

Apparently, this is in full flood now

First money shot. Note sweaty demeanor

If you look, you can see
previous walkways, now
also destroyed

I have seen a shot of the falls last week where 
one of these is engulfed in flood water

This is the Argentinian side
It stops just ahead at the border in the middle 
of the falls

f

Actually, quite a few bridges were washed away
These paths were built to be a loop.
Only half of it is accessible now  

Ay! There's the rub....

 With half the paths washed
away, there's heading out
and heading back crowds
all on the same path. Chaos!

Next day, I'm off to the Brazilian side

 It's pretty unassuming
for a while

But you get to see the entire Argentinian
side over here

But it's vast

Totally awe inspiring too

The Brazilian side is probably nearly 1.5Km

It's constantly incredibly noisy, and pretty humid

Devils Throat Lookout

Lookout! Here I come
Just out on the farthest bit. It's wet 

There's so much water, the 
updraft will blow anything
loose off of you

Yep! Out there too

There's a hell of a lot of spray out here
Amazingly, I keep my hat (just) and my camera
lives to click another day

Yes, soaked throughout

This is what it's like in the dry season

That's it, my work here is completed

Next morning, I'm up early for my flight to Mendoza

This was where I was heading to in March 2020, but diverted to Chile and then Santiago and Toronto, just before Covid locked everything down (like for 15 months in Santiago!)

This was the plan 3 years or so ago. I had great plans to get a bike and head out of town to the vineyards to sample the local brews

It's funny, because it was only when I had nearly reached Mendoza, that I realised that I wasn't much of a wine (or much else) drinker any more. So, suddenly, I wondered what the hell I was going to do here (The beef was fantastic, and at black market rates, you can live like a king)

Mendoza street life

Now I feel at home again
I've wandered up and down the main drag
looking for recognisable food, like cow
I find a great beer, then a great steak

I'm in town for the presidential elections
The town goes berserk as soon as the results are published (as in REALLY! happy)

I celebrate with large lumps of cow and Malbec

My favourite coffee shop in Mendoza
Breakfast is such a delight, but I have no
real direction without mountains to climb

In 2020, my idea was to come here and do a
bike tour of the vineyards 
Now, I don't really enjoy wine in excess, so
I'm investigating the local parks instead

The park is surprisingly well maintained considering Argentina is bankrupt

My Airbnb is amazing.
I read, listen to my Economist 

And enjoy my wine and cheese on my patio

There's still much delirium regarding kicking 
out the previous government

 city in

I talk to the owner and get some really cheap
Peso's. This kilo of cow, about US5

OK, I'm a tourist, get over it

Just bones left
A truly fabulous pig out

And that's it. Five glorious days here

Tomorrow, up early to Lima

Mendoza is like a European city inasmuch as 
there's piles of parks. 

Here's a vendors market

The local market, much like many around 
the world
No one speaks English here.
Heart rending scenes of poverty on the streets
I shop here for my dinner and tomorrows
travel experience

IUt's something like 26C mid evening
Sadto leave, but I'm getting too used
to this luxury

Fish stew. I think it's talapia. I bought about half Kg. I thought it was about $7, but was actually $0.70
Almost tasteless, but a fun treat as my last night here

Just a little something I whipped up

Next morning, well before dawn, I'm up early for my flight to Lima

A very early flight to Peru on the Friday
The warnings of these countries are totally different from 4 years ago
BE CAREFUL! is the common threat
Using Google the Lima street view, I know that 
there's a central walkway from the bus stop to my apartment.
I'm in Miraflores. Very upmarket. Very safe as it turns out
The areas around the airport, definitely looking very much not so

I have great digs
12th floor on the main drag
but very quiet up here
Very central

Central Lima, and
a 5 minute walk from my digs,
Huaca Pucllana Site Museum
The tour

Remains of a clay & adobe stepped pyramid
from the Lima Culture (200–700 A.D.)
Really, the so called  Inca civilisation could do 
no better than mud bricks?

Until around 1980, this was just a hill
Mainly used for hot rodding
As Lima gets almost zero precipitation, the
mud bricks survive intact for well over a millennia
Sort of interesting if you have nothing better to do

Definitely not the best Ramen, probably the opposite
I also ordered large. Should have been small. Oh well....

Lima is quite a civilised
place.
Lots of the usual Catholic
head
banging of course

I've strolled down to the beach in 
devil may care disregard for my safety
It's the weekend, so there's a huge amount of
surfers at all stages of abilities. 

The beach is full of keen wannabe surfers

It's a pebble beach and really cold. Good luck
You need to be keen to surf here

I head further down the beach then up to
the park
This is obviously the upmarket area

There's a massive hill of pebbles all along the coast
Endless upthrusting of some plate or other I'd guess.
Not a very stable base for all the residential towers

 around he

Well kept and patrolled
parks and playgrounds

There's a thriving art market in the local park
I'm very close to the University,
so I feel pretty safe here

Parque John Kennedy
Quite the meet & greet and
the be seen to meet & greet area

I've discovered the city walking tours 

set up by the tourist offices in town

This on a bus trip to Baranco, about 8Km
south
These shrubs are indigenous, apparently a
kind of  Deadly Night shade lite. Date Rape

A lot of local art and artists

It's nothing special really
A burnt out church no
one wants to repair

I really didn't find any of it particularly interesting

So much for cuisine.
Street Shawarma, probably the highlight of the tour

Sunday and it's down to the business district on another tour
These cops are not there to help old ladies 
across the road

Plaza San Martin. Thats pretty much it

We stop at this church for no particular reason
All the usual religious excess

Plaza del la democracia
Big deal I guess

This is the main commercial drag. Lots of druggies and stench and obvious signs of building decay from decades of piss 
Note druggy shooting up
under jacket behind

And a bit of local colour. Lots of indigenous
dancing around here

Well, it wasn't a very interesting tour

This was more to highlight
the precariosity of the
slums on the hills behind
The river behind is really 
more sewer than river

 My final request to my tour guide
A really good place for the local dishes.
Ceviche at Ceviche Express, a chain.
She definitely got this right. Fabulous!

I'm feeling brave and head 
off into Chinatown
It's packed and my wobbles
start to play up
There's nowhere to sit, so
I collapse onto anything
flatish above the pavement
All shit and piss, again. Ugh

This is certainly where the poor hang out. A lot of Chinese stuff and traders
 

There's a huge open area as I head to the
National Museum. Endless dancers
Teams and teams in their own uniform, 
each dancing, mainly Tango to their own music

Endless glorious synchronised chaos

Now this is a real icon of Inca civilisation
An equivalent of a ledger, or memory stick
Each strand represents something, say rice
or villagers. The collection is how many
the headman has control over

Just around the corner from all these activities is the National museum
I have about an hour

Who would have thought?

Not a great deal here, but
you definitely get the idea
the the Conquistadores were
Grade A Arseholes

gOD bless Google.
It organised me into the
correct bus. You need some pass
to get past the turnstile
 (I didn't have one),
and the driver just allowed
me to snuck into the back door

 And I got off at the local art 
centre, a few hundred metres
from my digs. I enjoyed the show

On my adventure to the beach, I found

this great cafe by the park

My breakfast, next morning
Probably the best mango
I've ever had 

As it was Sunday, I left it so I could 
have a brunch here on my last day

Looking smooth Chaddleworth escapee

The centre for the tourist market

Not many tourists here today
I realise this travel thing can get dull and boring

The flight was delayed, cancelled, recheduled and then delayed again.

I arrived late, but got a great welcome. 

Cusco was glorious, if chilly

Breakfast at 3500 metres

The central court at my Cusco hostel

Central square, Cusco
They are definitely used to tourists here

I invest in a tour of the Inca
Museum

Original pix of what Hiram Bingham 
rediscovered at Machu Picchu in 1911

Oh what fun we used to
have
back in the good old days

Mummies. I think that they are all real
You could almost smell them through the screen

Are for Art sake?
Apparently, tourists just love this sort of thing

I find the worlds best croissant in just down
the road at Circania Pan y Cafe

Life goes on, just as usual

Well, what else could I do?

I hate finding out things
about my transport at 
the time I need my
transport. I investigate my
bus station for an overnight
bus trip to Bolivia
Bloody good idea as it turned out. I find the tiny desk of the bus company (WARNING! sign!) and confirm my reservation
"Just get here early" I'm told. Eventually I find our why
I also book a totally refundable ticket from Bogota to YYZ, just in case

I've organised a super last minute tour to
Machu Picchu at my hostel for 6AM tomorrow
So I wander around the square for a late lunch

A Cusco wander reveals the locals market

Cusco is at about 3300 metres so its quite cold
The surrounding hills are glorious at night
and the rain clouds have moved on

I head back to my hostel
There's a lot of rain here
and I'm suitably soaked

Surprise, I'm the only one on the rooftop terrace tonight overlooking the square
I've ordered a Peruvial salad, artisanal, heritage etc etc. It was incredible

Hey! I feel quite at home here

There's been folk dancing
for my entertainment

Atahualpa's fountain
2000 Inca vs 1 Spanish
wounded. "a massacre"

As identified. My representative
arrived at 6AM
I'm on first, so get the best front seat

I have no definite idea about this trip
I have enough gear in my backpack for one night

A quick refreshment stop. I choose fruit

I can't believe that this is the main road

But it is

As there is major construction, for a better
road I guess, it's chaos. It starts to rain

We arrive at our lunch destination
"The Hydro power plant" to more rain

And set out. There's only 4 of us and a guide out of the 17 in the bus
I'm not sure what I've signed up for, but get out my rain gear for the first time

Turns out to be the walking route to  
Aguas Calientes. About 13Km, mostly flat

I'm totally confused with the road/ rail setup

You need to sign in at the 
entrance
Pages of "Age 22"
"Age 32", "Age 28"
Me: "Age 74"

We follow the railway track, so pretty flat

Various bridges without any particular safety restrictions

Behind, Huanya Picchu

Would not work in Canada

I'm getting totally knackered
This is why I prefer to hike alone

"You can stop whenever I like"

Not today thanks

Aguas Calientes
 I'm totally zonked when I arrive. Probable sugar deficiency
I know absolutely nothing about entry requirements to Machu Picchu
I make my demands know, realise the ticket clerk speaks English, take over from my guide and book my tickets for the 10AM slot.
My fellow hikers are not so conscientious, they allow the guide to book for them thinking everything is under control. It wasn't
I later learn that these last minute treks are a bit of a scam, as you only find out if there are tickets when you arrive. If so, the "guide" rushes off to an ATM and gets a ticket(s) (maybe even one you want if you demand it), for next day. If they are sold out?
Well, you can work that out
Our hiking guide takes us to our hotel (its pretty good), and tells us where to meet for dinner (part of the package)
There's a "hot springs" just up the hill, the remaining 3 of us head off there
It's pretty dire, and not really "hot"

 I'll have the Alpaca steak please
Not bad
There's now only 3 of us as part of  the original bus load that set out on the  package. Our hiking guide has brought along the actual Matchu Pitchu guide who coordinates our trekking tomorrow
The couple I've been to the spa with, find out that they have been given tickets for the 7AM entry. I did warn them at the time of ticket buying to make clear their requirements. Oh Well.
 As they are hiking the trail,  they need to be up at 4AM
Good luck!
They tune me into the train trip as a return
It's massively expensive, (last minute, and looked like, last ticket) but "luxury" Yeah, OK
We say goodbye

It'd s great day to stay in bed today!
I luxuriate knowing the other folks have been
gone 3 hours already
I've even got a fairly decent hotel with my own
room.
Things can work out occasionally
I leave all my gear at the hotel and buy a
bus tickets up the mountain

I wander around town
It's quite cute

I join the "10AM" queue
It's truly massive

I've been coordinating with my 2nd guide

and meet him at the entrance

He passes me off to yet another guide

We are in, and we're off

This one is giving a Spanish tour

She repeats everything in English after

Spending US$20 on bus tickets is a lot easier on my body
I'm worth it

First view. It's not usually recognised as such, but this is Huanya Picchu

This peak is the actual
Machu Picchu

Apparently, all this mountain range was created
by ancient volcanic eruptions, hence remaining
volcanic plugs

My guide (you must have
one) gives my all the low
down on the Inca set up

Machu Picchu, the centre of Inca civilisation 

But the more detail she gives me, the more
questions I have

The walking groups are
pretty
tightly coordinated and
controlled. There's masses 
of tourists here

It was certainly quite a big place in it's heyday

It's mostly reconstructed, with maybe
20% original

I'm told that this was the centre
of Inca culture, the administrative and
religious centre

Just like Aztec's, these

guys never invented the

keystone

Roofs were tied onto the 
out jutting 
stones with local twine

Supposedly, native plants in "the garden"
possibly Incan ancestry? It's all made up anyway

And they never invented a written language

So, my guide eventually had to admit that
everything she had told us, and by extension
everything that everyone is told about the religious or
social aspects of Matchu Pitchu, is quite simply,
just conjecture

Glad to have been there,
done that, I'm heading back on the
bus, just as it starts to rain

My cheapy guided tour defined
me having to leave here by about
1PM to catch the return bus

I did well, great in fact
A complete tour,  and back in Aguas Calientes, totally
dry

I bought (an outrageously
expensive) ticket back on the
"dude" train

The track follows the river
Like everything
else on this trek, it's not
100% what you think you
have booked. There's a bus
for the last half to Cusco
At least I avoid the dirt
track of death at night

It's certainly luxurious
Luckily, I'm facing forwards

At $US100, it's amazingly hokey
The train only goes about half way, then back
onto busses. It's pissing down in Cusco

I get the only spare seat
in a carriage full of 
German tourists. It's dire.
I realise I use that word a
lot about travelling now

The amazing thing about the central
square is that it's surrounded by cafe's with
balcony windows. Just great pix material

Cusco is a great place just to hang out
I'll miss it, that's for sure

More music and dancing in and
around the square as I head back to my digs
and prepare to leave later that night

And finish off with a
Coca tea

Puno Bus station 5:45 AM next morning
My previous reconnoitre for the bus really paid off
I'd bought quite an expensive ticket hoping it would be A: luxurious, and B: direct to La Paz
Neither was true. Arriving 40 minutes early, my bus had never existed, and I was dumped onto an overnight local bus
I got the last seat, ergo, the worst one, on the bus to Puno, a city still in Peru
A couple from China, shouting at everyone from the time I arrived, were still shouting when I was led out to the bus
My booked bus obviously never existed, but at least I was headed out towards La Paz, the Chinese couple
(still shouting I think), did not
At Puno, it's totally devoid of information

You need to be on the ball and lucky for this
do it yourself stuff in third world countries
where you don't speak the language
Fisherfolk "houses" passing on Lake Titicaca

The ferry across Lake Titicaca

Bolivian Immigration
Arseholes did not stamp
my passport

Luckily (again "luck") I've exchanged a few
dollars, so can pay for the ferry and some chips

It's actually quite a glorious ride

Back to my roots as it were

I'm dreaming, not a good idea, and get on the
wrong bus. 15 seconds later and I would
have lost my bag and been totally cooked

 Just like home.
A total cloudburst of
hail, sleet and snow

After several cock ups and misshaps, we arrive
on on my 3rd bus, in La Paz

 I've got a top floor execuroom, but it really
only a hostel

I Uber to the hostel and check in.
My friendly receptionist tells me "Be back by 8. It's dangerous out there!"
OK, I don't believe her until I'm on my way back at 8:30

Yor local public transit
awaits

There's a local lookout for tourists
About 3Km away. I hike it

It's deserted and I commune

On the way back, I get involved in a scam
I should have known better, but I get away
without loosing anything. The lady who
was scammed with me, not so lucky/ assertive

Central Square, La Paz. Believe it or not, the building/ slums, Ahem, barrios
are so out of control here, this is pretty much the limits of public space

I can see this area from my hostel.
There's a lot of noisy speakers here
Looks like revolutionary rhetoric

Central La Paz, a shopping area
and relatively well looked after

If La Paz is famous for one thing,
it's the cable cars

About 15 - 50 cents a ride
You can get almost anywhere on them

I found this lovely upmarket middle class (upper?)
at the end of one of the lines and made it
my brunch hang out

These are simply skiing type of gondolas

And the routes ate coloured 
according to designations

La Paz is the highest capitol
in the world, surrounded, and made
from mountains

This is the end of one line. I was intending to walk from here
Call me old or whatever. Maybe my adventurous days are over
Did I use the word "dire" before?

I'm up on top of the plateau 
From here, you can see the snow topped Andes
A remarkably civilised and effective public
transit

This, is the central park
Full of abandoned vehicles and of course,
more slums

In the cable cars I feel safe. Down there?
Probably not so

I get more and more neurotic about the poverty and probable crime here
From this angle, it looks pretty hostile down there

My exevuview, daytime

My hostel is very central. It's a mix of
tourists and peasants

I think I've done all the lines, so I head back. Here on the street, instant tradesfolk, identified by their bag of tools
No one said it's easy here

I am so glad I booked my flights out
Not knowing how apprehensive I'd be about
my safety here
The food here is great, but I'll be glad to be gone

I can't remember the last time I shopped for
Christmas gifts. Here it's easy AND delightful

The flight is at 3:30AM
Jesus!
Incredibly dreadful immigration
I'm fined about $50 for not getting a stamp
at the border
As if I had demanded the immigration lady
not stamp my passport when I came into
the country
Fuck Wits and ArseHoles!

A couple of hand knitted
poncho's
"Baby Alpaca" style for Christmas gifts, and I'm done

A head warmer or two

And I'm done
A final wander around down town

However, My flight arrives in plenty of time for my 9:30AM flight for Toronto, I collect my bag in Bogota, head to Delta for my first class "FLAT" seat A1, take my sleeping drugs and be super glad I'm leaving South America, NEVER! to return.......

The business lounge in Bogota is actually pretty good
I catch up on some well needed breakfast, brush my 
teeth, take my pills and ready myself for home

I decide that I'm no longer physically agile, and painfully, that I'm no longer  cynically agile any more. My reasoning and luck held this time, but I just escaped several pit falls

Time to reassess my travelling abilities, but that's for consideration next year

To be continued, maybe

From your correspondent