Marchamarca, i got there and heres what happened

I made it back to Potosi, i checked into the Casa Blanca hostel, and a tourisim poster on the wall got my attention, it was a lost city track.

Waiting with Helen

After a quick chat with the guy in reception off i went to the office promising the trek, i got the office, i didn't get much answers, so i came back to the hostel, after talking to Walter on the reception an hour later he told me

 ´No, no, they are going on an expedition to Marchamarca tomorrow´

Walter calls the office again, i got to the office, maybe its on, maybe not, i have no boots, that's a problem, a problem that can be solved, i have size 45 feet, i couldn't find any shoes that size in the market, all i want to do is go to a lost city, i wouldn't have minded crawling.

Wall inspecting

To cut a long story short, i got woken up by Walter the next morning, he said

´Helen said your to get to her office in the next twenty minutes, if you want to go´

 and i was gone.

Rodney and myself

My trekking buddy was Rodney, since it was an expedition, things weren't really organised, Helen the owner of Amigos de Bolivia came with us to see for herself.

First up we got a taxi to the domestic bus station, then the bus, we picked up 2 girls and a guy then we got on the back of a truck to a cross roads. No one was sure what time the next bus coming was, they come when they feel like it, one came in about an hour. We were off.

After about an hour and a half on a dirt road over mountain passes, we were dropped off at the side of the road, then we trekked down a hill, after an hour we came to Spanish ruins

Looking up the valley

Now the interesting thing about these ruins, is noting can be found online about them, no one has really studied them, the Spanish ruins are from the 17th century Rodney found out from talking to some suspicious miners.

Da Chinese were ere

Since we had hard hats, this was enough cause to make some locals very jumpy, juys were shouting at us from a mine from over the valley, maybe we were Chinese coming to take their silver?

Hostel Marchamarca, dont stay here!!

First we had to sleep, we slepped in a room next to the church, i didn't get any sleep, between the cold, people snoring and people talking about how cold it was, things didn´t get better, eventually somehow, it was morning, thank god!!

First building in the ruins

The next morning we had guests, two guys who came to see what we were doing, maybe we were miners, no we were tourists, interestingly Rodney was quick to ask them about he history, recording their opinions, they people loved it, but we had to go to see the Inca ruins.

I was told i would be the first ever tourist to go to the ruins, alas a Lorenza from South Africa, girl i know from Rio claims to have been there, whatever, she is crazier than me, i will take first European to go there.

Welcome to Marchamarca


Apparently we had someone in our group who was studying Incas, too bad she didn't say much, the site has not been studied yest and there is no preservation order on the place, which is obvious by the amount of destruction being done to the area by Chinese miners.

Seem like Inca to you?

Apparently about 12 years ago, under a previous corrupt president, they sold the rights to the mines, and now about 1 million Chinese live in Bolivia

Mining in the valley


17 century Spanish village, local people use houses on the weekend

We met another ´miner´guy on the way back, he said he was a miner, same ding dong, lots of questions, shook hands to say good bye, i said to Helen, that guy isn't a miner at all, his hands are too soft, he must work in an office, that and he was a spy, to see who we were. Too funny, Hlen said people there are like that.

Bridge before the Spanish village

Oh Bolivia if you promoted these ruins, your kids wouldnt need to go near any mines!!