Enjoying the sunset together at Lake Titicaca.
Bolivian flag & location of Bolivia in South America (in purple)
La Paz, Bolivia
Our arrival into Bolivia was a little startling, both because it was 3:45 in the morning, but also because we were freezing cold and could barely catch our breath. We flew from Buenos Aires via Lima to La Paz. At 3600 meters (11,800 feet), La Paz is officially the highest capital city in the world. Nothing like going from sea level to the mountain tops to give you a good dose of altitude sickness.
The remedies include the following:
- acetazolamide (which I took when we went to Machu Picchu, but I decided to roll the dice this time...)
- drinking lots of coca tea (Not the same as cocaine, but it is from the same plant.)
- lots of sleep
- limit physical activity
- limit alcohol intake
- drink lots of water
- eat small portions
PLEASE NOTE: While I have included the conversion from meters to feet here, I have no choice but to start thinking in metric. So for future reference (for all my family and my amigos americanos), I have included a couple handy conversion sites that will help you with the transition. :) FYI - The US is soon going to be the only developed country in the world still using the old English system. Even the Brits have moved on...
http://www.calculateme.com/Length/Meters/ToFeet.htm
http://www.metric-conversions.org/length/kilometers-to-miles.htm
As we were a little hesistant to just jump in any cab at 4am, we booked an expensive, but safe pickup, and headed into town to our hostel, Adventure Brew Hostel. I bet you can't guess why we booked it??
The Adventure Brew Logo and the view of the street that we stayed on.
Lots of traffic with few traffic rules!.
Lots of traffic with few traffic rules!.
The Adventure Brew Hostel is co-owned by Kiwi who likes beer and mountain biking. He also co-owns Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking, but we'll get back to that later. He also started a brewery there, since the beer here is all pretty standard. So the hostel has a pub on the roof with their own Saya microbrews!
The view from the rooftop pub
After a few hours sleep, we headed out to explore the town, starting with lunch. As per usual, Kyle ordered something completely unknown from the menu just to see what would come out. He ended up with a very interesting pork dish served on corn and freeze-dried potatoes. He wasn't too sure of the potato bit, but he was otherwise very happy.
This very first meal in Bolivia started my love affair with Bolivian juice. They love their fresh juices here and they are cheap! We got a whole jug of fresh peach juice for less than $3. Bargain! Although I didn't know it at the time, it would only get better when we discovered jugo con leche (juice made with milk). Basically they are breakfast smoothies with any fruit imaginable. Amazing!! At the Adventure Brew, I ordered a banana juice with milk and was brought the whole picture, equating to 3 large juices for 6 Bolivianos (less than $1). They are so good!!
Jugo frutillo con leche (Strawberry juice with milk)
The altitude really wiped us out for the first couple days, but we just took our time and made our way slowly through the city. There are stunning hilly views around every corner, but the views are very ¨real¨. You are never led to believe that people are wealthy when they aren't aren't. The hillsides are covered with poor communities where many people still couldn't afford electricity.
Views looking down the streets.
Even in a city of over a million like La Paz, there are locals carrying on their lives filled with traditions including traditional dress. Unlike in other places in Central & South America, the people here really seem to be doing things their traditional way to please themselves, not for a few pesos or bolivianos from a tourist who wants to take a picture. It feels more like the South America that I hoped to see, and I'm enjoying it immensely.
A couple locals dressed in their traditional clothing.
One of the prettiest spots in La Paz was in the government plaza.
The Bolivian version of the Queen's guards. They looked very sharp!
The local buses.
As we decided to use La Paz as our ¨base¨in Bolivia, we spent only a couple days there since we would be traveling in and out over the rest of the month. Besides, since we started traveling 3 months ago, we haven't taken an official rest yet, and we thought that Lake Titicaca sounded like the perfect place for a rest.
Lago Titicaca
We decided to travel like the locals would to Lake Titicaca, so we hopped into a little shuttle to find out just how dodgy the roads in Bolivia really were. (We'll get back to that later when we discuss "The World's Most Dangerous Road".) Once Kyle had climbed onto the roof to secure our packs, we were off.
Kyle securing our baggage.
A view of Mt Huyani Potosi from the hills as we drove out of town.
Where the road ended and we had to take a boat to continue our journey to Copacabana, and we got our first view of Lago Titicaca.
The little town of San Pedro that we passed through. Even the trucks and buses get ferried across.
It was a small town, but not that far removed from the things that tourists want to buy...
3 hours later, after some amazing views of crazy traffic in the city to be followed by cattle crossings on small country roads and then stunning views of the lake, we arrived into Copacabana.
A view of the lake and scenery along the way.
Copacabana is a very small town on Lake Titicaca that is very well (maybe a bit too well) set up for tourists.
View of Copacabana from lookout.
There are tons of restaurants, tour agencies and internet cafes, but it is charming nonetheless. The locals line the streets with booths selling their wares, and el mercado (the market) is the center of the local action on any given day. And believe it or not, this is actually the first town we've been to (in over 3 months travel) without a supermarket.
What most of the stalls in the market look like... and we bought our favorite - the biggest popcorn in the world!
A friend Lucy from Sydney recommended a fabulous place to relax for a week... Hostel Las Olas. It is a beautiful little german-owned hostel with 4 unique cabins, all of which have magnificent views of the lake.
Our cabin that we paid $30 per night for (that is very pricey by Bolivian standards) could easily have slept 6. It was huge, but our favorite amenities were the indoor lawn with 2 hammocks (for lounging in while reading our books) and a loft bed for afternoon tea and siestas. I love this place!!
The view of the lake from our room.
The fun loft & hammocks complete with indoor yard!
Our kitchen and bath with terracotta sinks.
And the stunning views of the sunset from our dining table....
Now back to the very famous lake...
Lago Titicaca means Rock of the Puma (Titi - Puma, Caca - Rock) The puma is an animal worshipped by the Pre-Incas, and is still prevalent in the area if you are patient and quiet enough to catch a glimpse of one.
Lago Titicaca is known as the highest navigable lake in the world at 3810 meters (12,500 feet). (However, while it is definitely the most famous, there are apparently lakes in Chile and Peru that are higher.) Bordering both Bolivia and Peru, it covers a whopping 8750 square kms. At its widest points, it is 190km long (120 miles) by 80 km wide (50 miles). It is the lifeline of both the Bolivian and Peruvian, and after traveling on their "highway system", I could give you lots of reasons why.
We spent a week enjoying our beautiful views of the lake and doing a whole lot of nothing. In between reading books and taking naps,we did manage to take in some of the sights. And since even the lake is at 3800 meters, all of the sights are a tiring walk up a big hill.
Some of the beautiful sights around Copacabana....
A few locals chatting after Benediciones de Movilidades (the daily blessing of the cars with flowers for safe travels).
And my personal favorite... the cathedral. It is a moorish-style cathedral built between 1605 - 1820. It was very beautiful inside and out. Per my newly discovered "criminal nature," I snuck a couple photos of the altar inside. Naughty, naughty...
Lago Titicaca is particularly famous for having many famous Inca sites, 3 of which are in Copacabana - Horca del Inca, Tribunal del Inca & Cerro Calvario.
We first one we chose to visit was Horca del Inca. It sits on a massive hill overlooking the city. Once we caught our breath, it was a magnificent view.
This sight is sacred to the Inca people because on 21 June, they all gathered here to celebrate the winter solstice.
Our local guide showing us where the Incas used to sit and meditate to their gods.
Giving it a go.
The second site, Tribunal del Inca, that I attempted to navigate us to didn't turn out as well. It was difficult to determine exactly where it was with our map, so I ended up walking us through a farm as I thought I could see it. The sheep and pigs we passed didn't seem to mind, but the 2 guard dogs that nearly took off our legs weren't as happy with our presence. Luckily, the farmer was there and held back the dogs while chuckling as I explained that I thought a pile of dirt and rocks in his field was a special Inca site.
While I wasn't silly enough to get pictures of the dogs about to attack us, these are the pigs that didn't seem to care that we were about to be torn to shreds.
The last site we visited (and personally, my favorite) was Cerro Calvario, another mountaintop sacred site. This one was unique in that it has the Stations of the Cross lining the rocky path to the top. The inca decendants still make the climb, laying stones on the Stations as they pass.
From the top of Cerro Calvario, the spectacular sunsets you experience are a spiritual experience of their own.
Looking over Copa at dusk.
We frequented a place called Cafe Bistrot a couple times as they had nice breaky... french toast for me and beans on toast for Kyle. The ladies running it also had a very friendly little girl named Emily who really wanted to get her hands on my camera.
We tried out lots of different places for our lunch everyday. This one was particularly memorable because of the "lady mug" for the beer and the super-shaggy dog with a camo vest on!!
Another popular cafe had tables and chairs made out of big logs. Porbably from illegal deforestation, but I tried not to think of as I ate my massive $2, 3 course lunch. They had lovely flowers growing everywhere too.
And nice restaurant that was in La Cupola near our cabin. As with all others in the area, it had a nice view.
And while I definitely didnt think that Bolivia had the best muesli ever, I had to showcase my "Bolivian look".
And a couple of the unique things we saw in Copacabana...
Sheep "mowing" the lawns
The poor mans burglar alarm... broken bottles lined along the wall. Simple, but effective.
Isla del Sol
A short 2 hour boat ride away is the magical island of Isla del Sol (Sun Island). La Isla del Sol is important to the Incas because it is thought to be the brithplace of the Sun.
As we were planning to do the 3-4 hours hike along the length of the island, we took the boat to Cho"llapampaa on the north side of the island.
A couple locals going about their daily life in town.
The view from Cho"llapampa before setting off on our trek to the ruins.
It was a beautiful 45 minute walk up the hillside toward the ruins. We saw stunning views of the lake, some of the little houses and farms along the way and lots of locals (donkeys, sheep, bulls and pigs).
Local workers with a nice view.
We explored the Chincana Complex which contains the sacred rock (where the creation legend began).
Some viewof the ruins...
Inca sacrificial altar - where a local shopkeeper has taken the liberty to set up his stand of cheap souvenirs directly on top of it!!- We never found out exactly what or who was sacrificed here.
Some viewof the ruins...
Starting our 3-4 hour walk to along the ridgeline to Yumani on the southside of the island.
Getting ready to explore the island. And for once, we weren't stuck in a hoard of tourists!
The nicely sculpted pathways.
Getting a little hot in the sun.
Some of the stunning terraced hills that they farm on.
Some new friends we met along the way...
This looks like a great spot for lunch!
We nearly got extorted along the way by 2 8-year old girls that put their shawls across the path and refused us passage unless we took their pictures and paid them for it. God, where do they learn this stuff?? Shouldn't you be in school or something?
We was quickly followed by an extra special charge for suckers, I mean, extranjeros (foreigners) only. The great part is that it was for entrance to some other ruins that we weren't even near, and we had no intentions of going to. While we tried to argue around it explaining that we were just going into town, this guy had found his meal ticket, and there was no way he was going to let us into town without paying.
Although a little peeved about being taken, we made it into Yumani and quickly found a hostal. Hostal Inti was a recommended hostel with a sunning view and, as we later discovered, no flushing toilets or heat whatsoever. Surprisingly, the lack of flushing toilets was much less of a problem than the lack of heat as the temperature started to drop after sunset.
Hostal Inti during rush hour
Admiring the peaceful surroundings.
We enjoyed a quick view of the sunset before getting setting out to find dinner. Restaurante Las Velas was recommended to us and,, unfortunately, proved more difficult to find than anticipated. Against better judgment, we began walking through the rapidly darkening woods looking for the place and were so happy to stumble across it!
Las Velas was an interesting place it was a pizza and pasta place that didn't have any electricity. Romantic candlelit dinner. It was quite nice and had simple, good pastasa. Once we had finished, the owner walked us outside asking if we had our torches. We said that we did, so he pointed out some constellations in the extraordinarily clear night sky. Then, to our surprise, he started walking with us, saying that it was very hard to find your way out after dark. I would say so... it was feeling like a scene from "The Blair Witch Project"...
After making it back in one piece to our hostel, we were a little shocked to find out just how cold our bed sheets were. That was the first time (but not the last) that we had to go to bed fully clothed including hats and gloves and with every blanket and sleeping bags piled on top.
We woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning to try to catch the first light. It was only a little colder out of bed than in it, so it wasn't that hard to get up. We did catch a magnicent sunrise, but not surprisingly, we weren't the only ones up and moving. Most of the locals are farmers so that were rushing by us with donkeys and getting themslves organized for the day.
We woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning to try to catch the first light. It was only a little colder out of bed than in it, so it wasn't that hard to get up. We did catch a magnicent sunrise, but not surprisingly, we weren't the only ones up and moving. Most of the locals are farmers so that were rushing by us with donkeys and getting themslves organized for the day.
After dragging ourselves out of bed for the second time today, we needed to start heading for the boat back to the mainland.
Many things on the island, including the walls of this cafe, are made from water reed.
The view of the Cordillera Real from la Isla.
Did they it was 1000 stairs to get there?? Hope our knees make it!
A cool dragon boat made out of reed that we saw when waiting for our boat to depart.
And a few shots of our nice boat ride back to Copa...
The boat
The ruins that the dodgy guy charged us to see but we never did (except by boat)
A rocky island along the way with one single tree remaining
A view of the cliffs of Cerro Calvario from the boat
Looking up at our cabin from the port (just behind the weird, oval shaped teepee thing)
Copa from the water
After a blissful week of relaxing, we loaded ourselves into the expensive tourist bus to La Paz in hopes of getting back to the city while retaining our newly regained serenity.
All was well until we pulled up in front of Hotel Milton in La Paz, the driver parked and got out. Everyone was a little confused as we were all apparently quoted different dropoff points. Haha. SO Bolivian. Now I remember why we took the Locals Bus down to Copa.... In their end, after 20 minutes of yelling by an older mexican guy taking control and demanding rsolution, we had a near-mutiny on our hands. The scandal of it was that the owner of the bus also owned the hotel and was looking for fast business. Needless to say, everyone was getting pretty worked up now and definitely were not going to stay at Hotel Milton. We organized 2 different dropoff points by majority vote, but the driver didn't even drop off us anywhere close to the bus station as promised. Bastard! Not everything can go perfectly...
All was well until we pulled up in front of Hotel Milton in La Paz, the driver parked and got out. Everyone was a little confused as we were all apparently quoted different dropoff points. Haha. SO Bolivian. Now I remember why we took the Locals Bus down to Copa.... In their end, after 20 minutes of yelling by an older mexican guy taking control and demanding rsolution, we had a near-mutiny on our hands. The scandal of it was that the owner of the bus also owned the hotel and was looking for fast business. Needless to say, everyone was getting pretty worked up now and definitely were not going to stay at Hotel Milton. We organized 2 different dropoff points by majority vote, but the driver didn't even drop off us anywhere close to the bus station as promised. Bastard! Not everything can go perfectly...
