On our way back from New Zealand in June, Becky and I spent a month in South America. Great people and new friends, culture shock, language, landscapes, bus rides, morning sickness.
When we planned this trip, there were a few sporadic on-line 4 week itineraries, from which we put together the following, which I give in painful detail to perhaps help another:
4 week itinerary, South (Santiago, Chile) to North (Lima,
Peru):
Arrive in Santiago (2 nights), late flight to Calama and then a bus
to San Pedro De Atacama (4 nights),
Land-Cruiser across the Salar De Uyuni
into Bolivia (2
nights), 6 hr night bus to Potosi (+ 1 more night), then morning bus
to Sucre (3 nights),
2 day walk through Crater de Maragua (1 night),
12 hour overnight bus to Cochabamba (+ 2 more nights), 7 hour overnight
bus to La Paz
(+ 2 more nights), 3.5 hr morning bus to Copacabana (1 night), 4 hour boat
to
Isla Del Sol (1 night), 15 hour overnight bus to Cuzco in Peru (+ 2 more
nights),
bus and taxi to Ollantaytambo (2 nights), bus to Pisac (1 night).
Fly to Lima (1 night), and then out.
The smog makes for a pretty photo of La Plaza De Armas en
Santiago, Chile. We stayed in the Hostal De
Plaza De Armas for
US$20/night. Santiago is the gateway into the southern part of South
America.
El Tatio Geyser at sunrise, a day's journey from San Pedro De
Atacama in northern Chile. We stayed at Hostal Sonchek for US$28/night.
At almost 20,000 feet on Cerro Toko, with other picture perfect volcanoes
in the background (a day trip from San
Pedro De Atacama). A fair skinned Chilean named Roberto, who we met in a
back alley, guided us to
the top.
We entered Bolivia and La Salar De Uyuni with Coulque Tours (largest
and oldest tour company) in the
morning after leaving San
Pedro De Atacama.
There are 12000 square kilometers of salt flats en La Salar De Uyuni
It's an overnight bus ride from Uyuni, the promiscuous town at the end
of the Salara De Uyuni
tour, to Bolivia's most beautiful
city, Sucre. This is a view from the roof of El Convento De San Felipe
Neri, with Bolivian government buidlings behind.
El Mercado De Tarabuco, a day trip from Sucre, is full of locals and
their wares.
Caminando en los Calles De Sucre: After a visit to El Cristo on the
hill overlooking the city, I walked back to the Grand Hotel ($20/night) as
dusk fell.
One of the highlights of our trip was following the Inca Trail from
Chataquila into La
Cordillera
De Los Frailes (Mountains of the Friars). We hired Ruben (pictured
here - he's patient and kind and learning English) from Joy Ride
(la cafe de gringo cerca de la Plaza De 25 De Mayo en Sucre) to guide us
to La Crater de Maragua where we spent the night.
A weaver en Maragua. The town is built in the middle of a
meteor impact crater.
Cochabamba (12 hours from Sucre) was the food producing region for the
silver mines when the Spaniards ruled. El Parque
Nacionale Tunari
is a day trip from Cochabamba, where I climbed 17 thousand foot Cerro
Tunari with Alberto from Fremen Tours. We stayed at Hostal Florida for
US$8.45/night.
Becky went to high school with Janke, a Cochabambina, who got
married in her native town on July 19, 2008, one of the main reasons for
our trip. 
This alligator lives in a children's playground on a hill overlooking
mountain ringed La Paz (7 hours from Cochabamba by bus).
La Plaza Pedro Murillo en La Paz: Los Plazas De Bolivia are alive with
families and pigeons and statues and la polcia.
Copacabana and its wee fleet nestle the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca.
The walking in this little town was great.
Nope, this is not the Mediterranean! Walk through Challapampa (4 hr
skiff ride from Copacabana) on the
north end of Isla Del
Sol to get to the Palacio Del Inca and the birthplace of the sun and moon.
And you've got to summit Cerro Tunaki which silently watches the ruins.
From here, its an easy walk to Yumani at the
southern end of the island, and even easier to find a place to sleep.
A 15hr overnight bus took us to Cuzco in Peru, tourist capital of South
America. Its an easy walk to the Inca ruins Saqsaywaman aboved the
city and its
lighting bolt mimicing walls.
Tourist jewel of Peru and the symbol of ancient Incan might: Macchu
Picchu, unknown to the world at large until the early 1900's, which is
why this place is so well intact. You can get here via an
expensive tramp or train ride out of Cuzco. Here's the
view from the trail heading
to the Inca Bridge. Nearby Ollantaytambo is the site
of the sole Incan (short-lived) victory against Spanish cavalrymen.
La Plaza de Constitucion en Pisac de la Valle de Sagrada was
celebrating Peruvian independence
(July 28-29) when we arrived. The Inca ruins above this place are
superb and get way less tourist traffic than nearby Macchu Picchu.
El Palacio de Gobierno en La Plaza De Armas de Lima.
The changing of the colorful
guards out front was not as interesting as this machine gun
turreted Armored Personnel Carrier
out in back of the
palace. We appreciated having these guys out in force throughout
the Peruvian capital city.
As a consequence of the efforts of early missionaries, South Americans
are deeply Christian. Here's the Virgin Mary de
Sud America con nino en Catedral De Lima. The
virgin is the same throughout Bolivia and Peru: Triangular (instead of
lithe) like a mountain; a crown of gold like the sun; and with a rounded
belly like Paccha Mama, the Earth Mother. This cathedral also houses the
remains of Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador responsible for kidnapping
and murdering the Incan king in the 1600's. The Incas did not stand a
chance.
