From Buenos Aires, I bussed my way to Bolivia checking out the Andes, wine country, and Santiago-Chile along the way. The bus system here is great; comfy seats and movies that have gone from Movie to DVD to S. American bus, which I figure must be the end of the line. Lots of distance here. I did 28 hours in one shot, a record I never want to break and I got the Michael Shoemarker of bus drivers on a windy mountainous section.

It´s all mountains here. Everywhere you go you see the Andes. They are huge. The altiplano rises dramatically from the coast in northern Chile to form a high plateu with volcanos and Vacunas ( wild llama like creatures ). In the space of 4 hours I went from sea level in northern Chile to about 12,000 feet in La Paz, Bolivia, the world's highest capital. La Paz is a trip, like no city I have ever seen. It sits in this deep, narrow canyon. All the buildings are made from the same red brick and cover the canyon walls. It takes 20 minutes of winding through narrow streets to reach the city center at the bottom.

La Paz is filled with women in big multi layer skirts and men´s English Derby hats that sit on top of their heads, one or two sizes too small. They also carry a bright colored shawl on their back tied under the neck to carry supplies or babies. Apparantly, an Englishman introduced the hats when he had imported too many and convinced the women that they were all the rage in Europe. Talk about a salesman! Urban legend or not, it must be one of the world's biggest fashion successes because every woman wears the hat.

I had fun buying everything Alpaca in the outdoor stores ( and bargaining, I am learning some very good life skills ) and doing some trips out of La Paz. I rode a mountain bike down the "World's Most Dangerous Road" to a small town in the jungle called Coroico. The van ride back up was scarier. It was awesome scenary and thrilling to see the drops to the left. They actually had human traffic signals who held up a red flag for approaching trucks and green flages if clear at blind corners. I also did a 3 day hike in the Cordillera Real; the huge glacier covered spine of the Andes that appears directly behind La Paz.

From La Paz I hit the tourist route and did Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Colca Canyon, and the Nasca Lines. I spent a few days on Isla del Sol in Titicaca and had amazing views of northern edge of the Cordillera Real that rises over 20,000 ft on the eastern shore and went to some Inca Ruins. Inca legend says the sun rose from the lake as well as the first Inca. Titicaca means Puma Rock and that is the rock on Isla del Sol from which the first Inca rose. Colca Canyon is the second deepest canyon in the world and the home of several small, ancient cultures and their villages. Their fertile valleys of terraced hillsides deep in the Andes ( the mountains that rise above feed the Amazaon ) was very cool. The people and their traditions ( cool bright colored clothes ) were great as well. We also watched the Andean Condor soar on thermals at the edge of the canyon.

Arequipa has colonial architecture made from white volcanic stone to give it a totally unique look. It also has 3 20,000 foot volcanos that rise right out of the city. Everywhere I have traveled I have been amazed at the width and breadth of the high Andes. The highest point is Aconcagua at 23,000 ft. in the center of the Argentine-Chile border. I figured that there would be one or two main high sections of the Andes. However, it seems that 22,000 ft mountains cover the entire range, even spots not on the main spine such as Arequipa. I saw the frozen Inca girl, Juanita, that was sacrificed to a nearby volcano by the Incas and then bussed it to Nasca where they have these mysterious lines in the desert. I flew in a 4 seater as the pilot pointed to a sheet of paper ( no eyes on the horizon or hands on the controls ) that listed the shapes and names of the Nasca Lines we were about to see, such as the Monkey, the Condor, the Dog, the SpaceMan, and more. Then he abruptly banked hard and would shout, "The Monkey . . The Monkey!!", as I and the others, I´m sure, thought about what we had eaten for breakfast. It was a very cool experience and the lines are amazing. Contrary to some opions, they are not extraterrestrial in nature, but rather for reasons relating to water. FYI.

After an overnight bus ride with the Michael Schoemarker of bus drivers, I FINALLY arrived in Cusco, Peru and met my sister, Julie, and friend, Jeff Dallas. We did the Inca Trail and saw Machu Picchu. We just finished yesterday and had a great time. The trail takes 4 days, follows old Inca roads, and passes several Inca sites before arriving at the Sun Gate overlooking Machu Picchu on the last day. The scenary goes from semi dry cactus land to lush jungle ( many types of orchids, the big attraction ). All of it is surrounded by 20,000 foot glacier covered peaks that rise directly overhead, spectacular scenary! We had a great group consisting of 2 South Africans, 4 English, 1 Irish, 2 Canadians, 2 Dutch, 2 Swedes, and us 3 Americans. We laughed a lot in the dining tent over popcorn, coco tea, and great meals.

Machu Picchu was amazing. The Incas gave so much thought to the city. For instance, there is a temple made from natural features in the rock that looks like a Condor. It´s as if they scoped out the site, found it had many potentials to build their belief system into the architecture, and then built the city. The views are great too, 20,000 footers on either side in the distance and smaller jungle covered peaks nearer, that circle the city. It was much bigger, more elaborate, and more interesting that I imagined.

We have learned a lot about the Incas from Cusco and Machu Picchu ( such as they only ruled the Andean Empire for 100 years and were only in existence for 400 years! ). The stone masonry or architecture is amazing. In Cusco they have remnants of a stone temple. The stone blocks that make up the walls are so finely shaped and so precisely fiited together. I can not believe they developed such refined building techniques in such a short period of time. They also have remains of other old walls that have bigger blocks, more bulgy, but just as tightly fitted to form this totally unique wall shape. They even have hidden patterns in the wall that form, say, the shape of a puma. The local kids point this out and expect money in return. The local sales kids have been an attraction all by themselves. They ask where you are from and when you say, "USA" for instance, they rattle off facts like the capital and even the presidents all the way back to Wilson. We have learned a lot about other countries by telling them that we are from Canada, Sweden, etc.

Well, I enjoyed having Julie here. Unfortunately, she headed back to the States today. Jeff and I head to Brazil tomorrow for a little fun and relaxation. We deserve it after 3 nights in cold, damp tents!