Machu Picchu

Nothing quite prepares you for your arrival at Machu Picchu, especially when you’ve hiked four days to get there. I felt almost (unfairly) angry at the tourists who’d got there on the bus and were moaning about being out of breath from one flight of stairs. I wanted to shout “do you know what we’ve been through?!” in their faces. But I realised this was unfair and merely a result of 26 miles, a lot of rain and a 3am wake up to arrive to Machu Picchu in cloud.

4am: The final climb

For this...

This sounds negative but it was one of the best experiences of my life. Day one was pretty easy, not too long and mostly flat, day two was described as brutal, day three was long but beautiful and day four was when we arrived at Machu Picchu. We had a fantastic group who were a lot of fun and we spent our evenings solving riddles, playing mafia and laughing so much another tour group complained about us making too much noise at 8.30pm! They were early mornings but seriously!

Reaching the top of the brutal climb

And then starting the more brutal descent

What’s amazing about the hike is that you’re following the actual Inca trail. I realise it’s called the Inca Trail but until I was there I couldn’t really appreciate what that was. Along the way you see other Inca ruins and it helps you appreciate just how in the middle of no-where Machu Picchu is.

Our wonderful guides Juan and Raul

I was particularly impressed with three things. 1. The 60 plus year olds doing the hike. It’s not impossible but it’s a tough four days and they definitely helped the rest of us have a reason to keep going. 2. The porters. They carry about five times the weight I was carrying and most were my height or shorter so their packs were bigger than them. Not only this but they would run past us wearing sandals and to make us feel even worse… they’d clap on our arrival! We felt so inadequate! 3. Our Chef. He cooked some of the best food we have had, in the middle of no-where, in a tent! On top of this he managed to bake a cake (I repeat, middle of no-where, therefore no oven) for Chris’ birthday. AND I told them once we’d already started the trek. When asked how he did it we simply got “anything’s possible in the mountains.”

Chris and I actually found arriving at Machu Picchu and it being covered in fog pretty funny. And in some ways it was really magical seeing it appear slowly from behind the clouds. I was nervous, given all the photos and hype that it might not meet expectations but it was truly breathtaking. We added an additional day and climbed Wayna Picchu (the mountain next to it) for another view and though it physically broke us it was absolutely worth it.

Smith

World's Most Dangerous Road

It is fair to say that I have a reputation for being clumsy. This fact crossed my mind as Millie and I booked our trip on the World’s Most Dangerous Road ®. While I am sure some you would have been sad had I come off my bike and fallen to my death, I also think it would have raised a few smiles and gone down in history as THE classic ‘McBride’.

For those that don’t know, the World’s Most Dangerous Road is a 3.2m wide gravel road that descends 3600m over 31km with rock solid walls on one side and 600m sheer cliff drops on the other. Until a new road was finished in 2009 you would share the road with buses, lorries and cars but thankfully nowadays it is mainly mountain bikers and a few brave drivers.

The ride lived up to all expectations. At the top of the road you are still in the clouds and the danger to your left is a mystery. However, as you start to descend, the clouds give way to sheer drops and you realise exactly what you have let yourself in for. The plus side of this is that the scenery is absolutely stunning and you have to remind yourself to take your eyes off your front wheel every now and again in order to enjoy it.

While the ride can be challenging in places (riding through waterfalls was fun!) the prospect of riding the road is much scarier than the reality. Millie can attest to this as she slept for one hour the night beforehand! However, 'The Bomber' (ironic considering the speed she was travelling) arrived at the bottom with a huge beaming smile on her face! The drink at the bottom was well deserved and one of the best I have had on this trip!

Mc

Rurrenabaque: The Jungle

We had THE most incredible five days in the Amazon Jungle joined by three funny, interesting and wonderful people. We have done so many amazing things over the past few months but for both of us this was a real highlight.

After 6.5 hours travelling up river we arrived at our ecolodge and it was stunning. In the middle of the jungle we each had a tent on a raised platform with a hammock and a big dining area where we could spend time together. The food was amazing, genuinely some of the best we’ve had. Our cook Rosita also brought her two year old Naomi who was super cute and fun to play with.

We had a phenomenal guide called Pedro who’d grown up in an indigenous community (we later visited) in the jungle and dreamed of opening his own ecolodge. After being a guide for another lodge he moved to Spain to work as a waiter to save enough to buy and build his lodge. He was so knowledgeable and despite living in the jungle all his life, was still so excited every time we saw an animal!

Highlights included seeing a huge tarantula, tree frogs, parrots, macaws, paraqueets, turtles, snakes, four types of monkey, capybara, caiman, wild pig and catching a 35k catfish (and then eating it!)

Visiting the indigenous community where Pedro’s family live was fascinating. It completely challenged our expectations of a community in the middle of the jungle and we were really humbled to share lunch with his parents.

To end our trip we went white water rafting and it’s fair to say that on reflection we don’t think Pedro is a qualified guide! We got trapped in many a hole but laughed constantly and made it out alive!

I am, at this stage, in the middle of the boat!

To return to La Paz we had booked the larger plane, only to find out it had been swapped for a 17 seater with nothing between you and the pilots and propellers. Not the most fun, though watching Chris try to get in his seat was quite something!

Smith

Rurrenabaque: The Pampas

If you want to go to the Amazon in Bolivia you go to Rurrenabaque. Either a half hour flight or an 18 hour bus on the 'Death Road' from La Paz (we flew!) ‘Rurre’ is the base for trips into ‘The Pampas’ – the Amazon Basin – and the Amazon Jungle itself (more on that to come later).

We went on a trip for 3 days and 2 nights and in that time saw lots of different animals. While the trees may be partially submerged there is still plenty of tree to play in so capuchin monkeys, squirrel monkeys and red and black howler monkeys were everywhere. The howler monkeys were particularly fun as they woke you up every morning with, surprisingly, their howling. There are also lots of birds and with some pretty damn cool Toucans being the highlight.

The water held two of the biggest treats though. Firstly, there are plenty of Caimans in the water and our camp was home to three of them. Although on first sight they looked like plastic models it soon became obvious (when they blinked!) that in fact they were the real thing. We pondered why they hung around the camp until the final morning when we watched the cook feed them. It may not have been the most responsible bit of tourism I’ve been a part of but it was fun to watch!

 Secondly, the Pampas is home to pink dolphins. While not the prettiest members of the dolphin family it was awesome to see them in the wild and you even got the chance to jump in the water and swim with them. They seemed to enjoy nibbling on your toes more than swimming with you (and preferred playing with our guide Oscar) but it was still very cool. And in case you were wondering, the caimans are scared of the dolphins so tend to steer clear!

Mc