Next Stop – Bolivia!!
After the Inca Trail we had a
relaxing 2 days in Cusco to recuperate. On the 2nd night we got a
bus to Copacabana, Bolivia. The bus was actually pretty comfortable (as far as
buses go). After 7 hours we had a 2 hr stop over in Puno where we got
breakfast. It’s a very uninteresting place on the Peru side of Lake Titicaca
(unless you want to see the floating islands). Being still half asleep at 5am
and hearing all the touts shouting out their bus destinations competing for
business by being the loudest – was very jarring. (This is a common fixture in
Latino America everywhere you go, especially bus stations. Everyone shouts out
what they have to offer, they even run out of their restaurants if you walk
past on the hope of getting your attention.)
We tried to spend the remainder of
our Peru Soles in coins and afterwards discovered we had to pay another
departure tax (and we already paid one in Cusco) so we had to break a 20 soles
note and ended up with a wallet full of coins again. Sigh. Luckily at the
border we managed to find someone who accepted the coins to exchange to
bolivianos. (Note that in Copacabana there are no ATMS so make sure you have
plenty of money if you’re passing through).
Back on our connecting bus for
another 3 hours to the Bolivian Border. We passed a small native village having
their market day. Women in traditional dress – big colorful skirts and woolen
jumpers, long black braided hair and a Charlie Chaplin type bowler hat balanced
precariously on their heads, (some also wear sparkly shawls with tassels) –
with their children or large bags tied to their backs in a colorful blanket as
they tried to sell fruit, veggies, animals etc The men at the vans had big
groups of sheep tied to their roofs all on top of each other. Some of them were still alive and this
disturbed me a lot. Almost as much as all the dead wild dogs we’ve seen run
over (the worst was one with its intestines rolled out... I shed a tear for
that one...)
Thankfully there were no dramas at
this border crossing. We just had to go to 2 offices to line up and get stamps
on the Peru side, walk 200m to the Bolivian office to get our entry stamp. This
time the bus waiting for us, yay! From here it was only 8km to Copacabana.
It had been raining for hours and
looked rather gloomy but we were blessed, blue skies came out once we arrived.
We checked into a inexpensive hotel right on the edge of Lake Titicaca and we
had the most fantastic view of the sparkling blue water from our room. Note: In
Bolivia, always check that the hotel has hot water before accepting the room –
this place did and we even had our own bathroom and TV and breakfast included,
bliss!
We even had access to wifi (which a lot
of places here didn’t have) but unfortunately my laptop packed a sad in Cusco
and now no longer turns on. This is a huge inconvenience as we now have the
added cost of internet cafes to do our accommodation research and to save
photos onto a usb in case of our camera theft (and of course to keep in touch
with family and friends – especially to say were still alive as we have no
phone for people to contact us). Its now difficult for me to upload my blog and
photos which is very disappointing – I will now have to do this when our accom
has free computers to use because its rather time consuming. Hopefully I can
find an English speaking repair shop soon....
Went for a walk around the lake
front and got surrounded by people trying to sell us trout which is in
abundance here. I also noticed a large number of tourists here – even Asian
ones! Other than Cusco, we haven’t really seen more than a handful of fellow
gringos in each place – its mainly South American tourists.
We were going to spend the following
night on Isla Del Sol but the weather still looked dubious so we went for a day
trip in the morning instead. It was pouring with rain when we got onto a little
boat packed to the brim with people, and leaking water... The boat was
painfully slow and the sea was rough. After 2 hours we finally arrived at the
north point of the island. Magically the sun came out in force and as we hadn’t
been prepared for it, we got very sun burnt (my poor head was peeling chunks of
skin through my hair far days... argh).
The island has no roads or traffic
so it’s very peaceful. There is a community of around 5000 people living in
simple huts there. Its 5.5 by 3.75 miles in size and is believed to be the
birth place of the sun in Inca Mythology.
We walked for 2.5 hours around the
island on its main paths marveling at its untainted beauty and visiting some of
the islands many ruins. The island is made of grey, orange and red rock with a
few beaches & groups of gum trees. The whole island is surrounded by the
stunning bright navy blue waters of Lake Titicaca. Some of the hills left me
breathless, even after the Inca Trail! This reminded us that we weren’t at sea
level even though it seemed we were. The lake is at an elevation of 3820m and
is 230km long, 97km wide and 1000 feet deep, flanked on either side by Peru and
Bolivia. It had the reputation of being the highest navigable lake in the
world, but its not quite. The snow covered peaks of the Cordilliera Real rise
grandly in the distance.
It would’ve been wonderful to stay
the night but we boarded the little boat back to Copacabana for another
painfully slow 2 hours. I had a conversation with a guy from La Paz in Spanish
and I enjoyed the practice but felt a bit uncomfortable after a while as he was
blatantly hitting on me despite Andrew sitting right there! That evening we
found an internet cafe to book our Salt Flats Tour and accommodation for
Christmas and New Years. We’ve hardly had to pre book anything so far but now
that its the holiday period – and Jan to March being summer and the peak season
– we’ve been forced to as well as paying the astronomical inflated prices. To
be honest I wish it wasn’t this time of year!
Afterwards we got glimpses of the
fiery red sun sneaking down behind the horizon. Wed heard that the sun sets
here were legendary but due to low cloud we didn’t get to see the full effect
unfortunately.
Lunch time the following day we got
a bus 3hours to La Paz passing spectacular lake views – it looks like an ocean!
To get over the lake we had to board a little boat and our bus got its own
small barge which looked like a few planks of floating wood. Very random! And
of course this part wasn’t included in our bus ticket price. That’s a
frustrating thing about around here, there always hidden extra costs. Always.
Like on Isla Del Sol we got stopped 3 times on our hike to pay a fee to
continue along the path. Even though the fee doesn’t amount to much, having to
pay on more than one occasion for the same excursion creates the impression
that you’re being taken advantage of and being ripped off. Why not charge one
larger fee at the beginning? And paying for toilets is a hassle too, Andrew
hates this with a passion (but it usually gets you a few squares of toilet
paper which is necessary for a female – ALWAYS carry your own as free toilets never provide it).
For some reason I was under the
impression that La Paz was built into a cliff side (prob cos I heard about the
worlds dangerous road..) but its not. It’s a huge city built with red brick
into a canyon. Everywhere you walk is up or down a hill, it’s never flat. It’s
a mess of telephone and electricity wires crisscrossing above the streets and
like every city in Central & South America, traffic is chaotic. The drivers
make their own lanes where the please and I’m surprised there’s not more accidents
as it looks like their about to play bumper cars the way they cut each other
off and push in! La Paz has a population of 1.5 million people and it’s
situated at a dizzying height of 3660m. To be honest I’m a bit bored of cities,
I prefer the little places with more character and nature.
We treated ourselves to eating out
in a Thai Restaurant. The food was good but it blew our budget and the mood was
soured when our waiter gave us a guilt trip about leaving a tip. In Mexico it’s
almost compulsory to leave a tip but in South America its not so we haven’t
been as we really can’t afford too. I would love to help every hard worker and
every struggling person and beggar but its impossible to help them all, and
here there are so so many of them. Were spending more than we thought we would
have too just on survival here ourselves. South Americas economy is poor but it sure
has grown due to tourism increasing. Still, it makes me feel very thankful that
I was born into a country where the majority of people have jobs and homes with
running water and electricity, rubbish isn’t strewn everywhere, where people
sitting on the side of the road aren’t desperately trying to sell whatever they
can make or grow. Were very fortunate to live in the part of the world where
50% of the population isn’t in poverty....
The following day we explored the city’s
busy streets. We checked out San Pedro Prison from the outside (if you haven’t
read the book Marching Powder, then you should! It’s about the corrupt life in San Pedro
Prison...) and wondered through the witches market with its potions, herbs and
llama fetuses (yuck! Apparently its good luck to bury them under your home) and
the black market with its stalls of house hold knick knacks and women selling
fruit on a mat on the dirty road side. There is no supermarket in the city
centre and it was difficult to find food to cook but I still wasn’t keen on
purchasing from the roadside! We managed to find a store selling eggs, ham,
bread and noodles. Score! Life on a budget...
Our hostel room looked like
something out of a psychiatric ward and the computer that we had to pay to use
was so ancient you could barely see what was on the rounded screen. The kitchen
didn’t even have cutlery! But it was cheap and we managed. It’s been
frustrating having to eat out all the time so we try and stay in hostels with
kitchens. Even then, the supermarkets here don’t leave you with many meal
options. Having to decide what you want to eat and then having to make the
effort to actually go out and find somewhere 2-3 times a day is tiring. Plus it
costs so damn much! The cheapest food is always pizza and burgers which isn’t particularly
healthy or the menu del dia which is a set menu of rice, chicken and soup
which gets boring or looks dodgy! All we can really cook is pasta, noodles,
toasted sandwiches... I miss food from back home!!
The next day I spent in a sulk. We
had found out that the train to Uyuni that wed booked when we were in
Copacabana had actually sold out but their office was closed in the weekend which
meant that we had to get a night bus for 10 hours- 5 of which is on a dirt and
gravel road – and 2 hours after we arrive we would be leaving on our tour which
involves loads of driving. I can barely function after a normal over night bus
let alone a disruptive gravel one! I was disappointed that id be too tired (and
unshowered) to enjoy our tour which id really been looking forward too. To add
insult to injury, the place we chose to stay at for New Years had booked out
right before we confirmed and the next cheapest available place was double the
price! Grrrrr..... And I was missing being able to use my own computer big time
so I had my bottom lip out.
But hurrah! Good news!! The agency
had made a mistake and they did have the last train tickets for us! We happily
rushed over to pick them up and my smile was back!
There’s more I would like to see in
Bolivia but after our tour we are moving onto Chile already. One day id like to
come back and head into the Amazon again – more than 50% of Bolivia is part of
the Amazon Basin. Id also like to do some hiking in the Andean mountains where
peaks reach as high as 6000m, go horse riding in the desert and visit Potosi –
the highest city in the world. Stolen
from the Lonely Planet Book – “The hemispheres highest, most isolated and most
rugged nation, its also among the earths coldest, warmest & windiest spots,
with some of the driest, saltiest, swampiest natural landscapes in the world. It’s
the land of paradoxes: South Americas poorest country, Bolivia is the richest
in the continent in natural resources. Over 60% of the population claims
indigenous heritage making it South Americas most indigenous country.”
Bolivia is a landlocked country despite
ongoing discussions with Chile about access to the ocean. Lake Titicaca used to
be the ceremonial centre of the Tiwanaku culture which got incorporated into
the Inca Empire. In 1532 the Spanish took over and high quality silver was
found in Potosi turning it into one of the richest cities in the world and it
had forced slave labor in the mines. Appalling work conditions caused the
deaths of around 8 million African and Indian slaves. In 1824 after 15 years of
bloodshed, Bolivia escaped Spanish domination and became independent. This
triggered political chaos and the country endured nearly 200 changes in
government in its 181 years as a republic. Under the Bolivian constitution a
candidate must earn 50% or more votes to become president. When no candidate
wins a clear majority, the congress makes the decision. This happened
constantly resulting in a very unhappy population.
Over time Bolivia has been at war
with Chile, Brazil and Paraguay losing land to each. In the war against
Paraguay, 80,000 lives were lost.
Coca leaves are popular here, like
in Peru. It is a big part of their culture. Chewing the bitter leaf increases
alertness and reduces hunger, cold and pain. Coca Cola used to use it in their
recipes! The raw leaf is neither harmful nor addictive but it is used to make
cocaine which has made the government enforce limits on its growth.
Bolivians standard of living is low
and 70% of the population lives in the high and cold altiplano region. Some
still live by the traditional lunar calendar for their farming. The country has
a high mortality rate of 52 deaths per 1000 births with a birth rate of 2.85
women. The thing that astounds me is they make their children squat on the side
of the road or over a drain in the city if they need to go toilet!
The culture is very spiritual mixing
their Christian & Inca beliefs together with loads of superstitions. In
Peru, Guinea Pigs are eaten which I can’t stomach as their pets!! They’re
cooked whole and served with their little paws and teeth & everything! I
tried eating alpaca though and it’s kinda chewy but not much unlike eating
beef. Llamas are their pets and are not eaten but in Bolivia they are. In Bolivia, they
even make instruments out of 5 pairs of llama gut strings and armadillo shells!
Sad...
