The church at Putre
Tuesday 1st January 2008
As ever we did not get away from the hotel until late. After last night’s partying the streets of Arica were very quite and almost all the shops were shut. But most importantly the botilleria was open, so we bought some Cab Sav and headed off into the hills. Initially we went the wrong way, but eventually we found the road leading up to Putre and eventually Bolivia.
Initially the route inland was quite lush with tomatoes and maize being grown. We even passed a hostel specialising in vegetarian food and yoga. Pretty soon though we were rising into the arid mountains, though the road was remarkably good. We managed to avoid the occasional mad Bolivian bus, but apart from that there was little traffic on the road.
Imagine our horror though when we noticed some wet stuff on the windscreen!! Kevin struggled to find the wipers as we hadn’t had to use them so far. We are staying the night in Putre which is about 3600m above sea level. A lot of people stop here before going climbing in the Andes, to acclimatise to the altitude.
The hotel is a modest series of bungalows. A cat, very similar to Molloy, was on the door mat as we came in.
As ever we did not get away from the hotel until late. After last night’s partying the streets of Arica were very quite and almost all the shops were shut. But most importantly the botilleria was open, so we bought some Cab Sav and headed off into the hills. Initially we went the wrong way, but eventually we found the road leading up to Putre and eventually Bolivia.
Initially the route inland was quite lush with tomatoes and maize being grown. We even passed a hostel specialising in vegetarian food and yoga. Pretty soon though we were rising into the arid mountains, though the road was remarkably good. We managed to avoid the occasional mad Bolivian bus, but apart from that there was little traffic on the road.
Imagine our horror though when we noticed some wet stuff on the windscreen!! Kevin struggled to find the wipers as we hadn’t had to use them so far. We are staying the night in Putre which is about 3600m above sea level. A lot of people stop here before going climbing in the Andes, to acclimatise to the altitude.
The hotel is a modest series of bungalows. A cat, very similar to Molloy, was on the door mat as we came in.
The view from our bedroom
We waited until the rain eased off before heading into town. Putre, like Arica, was closed, but hopefully tomorrow it will return to the buzzing town described in the guidebook. Though closed, there is even a restaurant specialising in vegetarian food.
A traditional building. The grass hides the corrugated metal roof.
We spotted a sign saying “We have fuel”, so hopefully tomorrow we should be able to fill up and go and explore Parque Nacional Lauca, with its Christmas Pudding volcano (currently covered in cloud.)
We were pleasantly surprised to find that there is both electricity and WiFi here.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that there is both electricity and WiFi here.
No comments:
Post a Comment