South American Notes

by Maxine Bates

 PERU

 Lima is nice but nothing special. I get the impression people use it as a gateway to Peru and as an overnight stop to recover from a long haul flight before heading inland to Machu Picchu. We flew from Lima to Cuzco, which is at high altitude so you have to take things steady. Luckily we didn’t suffer from altitude sickness but places sell coca tea to combat the effects if you do suffer. You should be OK - just don’t go jogging up any hills and get out of breath!

In Cuzco you can buy a ticket that admits you to all the tourist attractions for 70 sols (around 22 dollars). Such stuff as various Inca ruins sites, some interesting museums, a monument to climb and a folklore show 7-8 pm every evening. The church in the main square is interesting but I think you’d need a guide to explain everything. If you go there look at the big painting of the Last Supper and spot what’s on the table - the disciples are eating guinea pig! Foodwise there are loads of ridiculously cheap eateries around the square and we even found the British pub (The Real McCoy) selling Heinz baked beans! It was full of backpackers and a great place to hang out and meet other travellers, with comfy sofas and a sort of library with guide books.

We took the train to Machu Picchu from Cuzco. The journey is 4 hours each way (departures at 6 am and 7 am) plus 30 minutes in a coach up the mountain from the train station. You’ll need to book train tickets in advance and they’ll ask for your passport number. Machu Picchu itself is awesome and so remote! From next year we were told they are going to reduce the number of tourists allowed onto the Inca site by two thirds to preserve it and also bump up the entrance cost. There’s a large handicraft market and lots of restaurants in the village of Machu Picchu itself. You can also trek there and catch the train back. That takes anything from 1 to 5 days and you'll need to pre-book with an agency.

I loved Lake Titicaca and the people who live on the floating Uros reed islands were fascinating. We visited one of the islands and sailed in one of the reed boats. Nowadays they cheat and fill the insides with empty plastic Coke bottles to make it float rather than using all reeds. Kind of shatters the illusion!


BOLIVIA

We crossed the border on the edge of Lake Titicaca and moved our watches forward one hour. Then we took an afternoon catamaran cruise on the lake stopping off to visit the sacred Island of the Sun. We thought being the highest navigable lake in the world it would be cold, but in fact we were sunbathing on deck at 6pm. Do use lots of sun cream though as the altitude makes the sun much more fierce.

La Paz is the highest administrative capital in the world. The actual capital of Bolivia is Sucre. The city is set in a valley with houses built up the sides. It looks very pretty with all the lights at night. In my opinion La Paz was the roughest place we visited. Look out for llama foetus for sale in the Witches’ Market! 

A couple of places offer a meal, drink and folklore show and we did that on our own. I ate alpaca stroganoff, llama kebab and had a taste of guinea pig!!


ARGENTINA

Buenos Aires is a total contrast to Peru. Avenido 9 Julio is the widest in the world and the only street we saw in the city with lane markings. Everywhere else they just seemed to drive where they liked and honked at each other!

For the best views go to the top floor of the Plaza Hotel near the Obelisk on Avenido 9 Julio. You can do that if you’re non-resident. We had lunch up there quite cheaply for such a posh hotel and admired the views. 

Our city tour included La Recoletta where Eva Peron (Evita) is buried. Look for the black Durante family tomb (or follow the tour groups!) but she is actually buried in the ground just outside the tomb. She died only 33 years of age, loved by some and hated by others. You can see the balcony where she addressed the crowds - and the one next door where Madonna sang in the film Evita - at the governmental pink palace in the main May square. Also on the square is the cathedral with the mausoleum of San Martin who was an independence hero. It is guarded and draped with the Argentinian flag.

For shopping try the pedestrianised Florida Street. We picked up some nice things in the colourful La Boca district too - safe by day but not recommended at night. We took a tour of the Teatro Colon (theatre on Avenida 9 Julio) lasting around 1 hour 15 minutes. We got to see the auditorium where an orchestra were rehearsing, the practise rooms where the ballet company were rehearsing, the wardrobe rooms, etc. That cost 7 dollars. The tours in English are roughly every hour from 10 am to 4 pm.

Highly recommended is a tango show and we did the Madero Tango show near the harbour. It cost around 65 dollars but well worth it for the food alone. The menu was created by the Argentinian equivalent of Jamie Oliver/Gordon Ramsey and was superb with excellent service and washed down with the best local wine - unlimited! The show included tango dancers and singers and a very good 7 piece band.

URUGUAY

We caught the ferry from Buenos Aires to the historic town of Colonia del Sacramento. The crossing was an hour. We would have liked to visit the capital Montevideo, but that crossing is 2.5 hours each way and the day much too long considering what we had planned around it. Colonia was pretty. We had a guided tour, a three course lunch (at a place we thought the Uruguay equivalent of a Harvester restaurant!), chance to walk on the beach etc. Looked like a nice country from the little we saw.

Had we had time to nip a bit further north I hear the town of Fray Bentos is the most macabre tourist attraction on the continent! We got some extra stamps in our passport that day!


BRAZIL

 Go to Iguassu Falls on the Argentina/Brazil border - definitely my holiday highlight! Unlike Niagara there are around 250 falls depending on rainfall. You can stand so close you get very wet from the spray. The “Devil’s Throat” is the big horseshoe section of water and spectacular. A train runs along the Argentinian side with stops at the best viewing platforms. We took a speedboat ride down the river and got a real soaking as they took us right under one of the thundering falls. The trip cost 40 dollars but was amazing fun and an experience of a lifetime!

Our final destination was Rio. Despite its reputation I felt safer there than anywhere else on our trip. You have to take the cable car up Sugar Loaf Mountain for the super views. And don’t miss the statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado. There’s the option of cog railway or taxi to the top. Walking isn’t recommended as there have apparently been some muggings. We took a taxi with a couple from our tour so it worked out at 8 dollars per person with the taxi stopping at a couple of view points on the way up. You then catch a lift and an elevator to the base of the statue itself. Be a real tourist and stand in front of him with arms outstretched being a copycat version! We had lunch at an Irish bar off the square in Ipanema and if you’re there on a Sunday there’s a market. We walked the length of Copacabana beach which took around half an hour.

First published in VISA issue 66 (Apr 2006)