The next morning I headed back to Copacabana to catch the bus to La Paz and met Nirmal at the station aswell. We were both heading in the same direction so we decided to join forces for a bit. At one point during our bus ride to La Paz we were all told to leave the bus, having no clue as to why. We then noticed the bus needed to be transported across river & we had to get a ferry across. This was the main short cut to La Paz. It was a bit chaotic with all the other buses in port & not to mention the water balloon kids trying to hit all the unsuspecting tourist as they walked by. It was Carnival time in Bolivia.
Upon our arrival to La Paz we had a breath taking view of this vast city in the valley below. Approx 11K ft (3500m) above sea level. The second most striking thing was this metallic statue of Che Guevera riding an eagle as we entered the city.
It was carnival time in La Paz. All the shops were closed. Everyone was out in the streets drinking, dancing and loud music was pumping from cheap amps all over the city streets. Shops were celebrating by creating a flora circles in the stores then spraying beer all over it for good luck. It was a sight to take in especially all the indigenous women dancing and pissing in the streets.
There has been a resurgence of the indigenous culture in Bolivia, hence you see majority of the people dressed traditionally especially the women. Also passed by several witch markets where you can buy llama fetuses for prosperity, to toad talismans, owl feathers and stone amulets.
The next day we met up with a couple of cool people we met at dinner. Lenore from NZ and the Bird Man Martin Berg from Switz. We spent the day sightseeing & planned to meet up for a drink later that night.
The are tons of vintage cars still on the road in Peru and Bolivia.
What was suppose to be a couple beers turned into a few beers followed by this very cheap Boca Rica rum & coke. Let just say it did the trick. We mucked it up with a few of the weird locals. We were the only non locals there so we ended up getting alot of attention.
We ended our night at the local food stand in the center of town to get a steak sandwich with your assortment of veggies to add on ( lettuce, onion or tomato) & a fried egg on top to boot. These cheap sandwiches are amazing at any time of the day. I could easily eat two of them with a side a greasy fries. As we are eating our food in our drunken stupor, one guy approaches us out of now where and warns us that there are ‘pick pocketers’ around here & too be careful. He then begins to demonstrate what these ‘pick pocketeres’ do as he quickly walks upto Martin and myself and feels our pockets with a quick and swift motion. He then proceeds to unzip his lower vent zipper which he thought was a pocket. It took a few seconds to realize that this guy who was so kindly warning us of the ‘pick pocketers” was the actual pick pocketer. Not long after that the guy was gone. In the end we had nothing stolen but had a good laugh and a lesson learned. “Never drink cheap rum!”.
(contd from colca canyon…) On the way back to Arequipa the tour stopped by the hot spring pools in Chivay which was needed after a 21km hike, just what the Dr ordered. At the springs i bumped into North again and spoke briefly about leaving for Puno on the overnight bus then cross into Bolivia that night. Night buses are excellent way to travel and majority of them have full & half sleeper chairs. You don’t have waste a whole day traveling & you save on hostal fee for the night. The plan was to get a bus ticket as soon as i reached back to Arequipa at 7pm. I had literally no time to rest before catching the bus at 11:30pm. All my rest would come on the bus. Once on the bus i came to realize North had the seat right next to me (what a coincidence!). After talking for a bit about the “Mormon business model for survival” we started to hear animal noises coming from the seats behind us. In my fatigued state having been up since 5am and hiked 21km in the past two days, I wasn’t sure if i was hearing a chicken, a puppy or both. Once i tried to recline my seat, it was then that i realized there was a big box on the Peruvians lap behind me. This big bloody box with a chicken in it impeding my chair from reclining back. North had a puppy behind him and was able to recline. Too tired to deal with it i fell asleep upright (crappy bus ride #1). Arrived in Puno bus station at 6am to a pack of agents selling trips into Bolivia. During this time in the station my ipod touch fell out of my cargo pants pocket ( was not stolen). I was quite pissed because i was using the touch to read my pdf guide books. Oh well easy come, easy go. I bought my ticket for Copacabana, Bolivia which is right on Lake Titicaca. North & the girls headed for La Paz. Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, making it the highest lake in the world. The Bolivian side is known to have better scenery than Peru. After going through border control and paying my $135 visa (ouch!) I finally arrived at Copacabana by midday.
I bought my boat ticket and cruised to Isla Del Sol where i planned to stay the night. Once i arrive to the island I realized I had to climb uphill hill again to reach the village up top. This time it was a steep row of steps followed by steep paths. Having just done Colca Canyon the day prior my body was tired and sore. It had to be done but this time with my heavy backpack. I could have found a place to sleep there but that would have costed three times more.
After sometime i was able to find room with an amazing view of the lake. I took a rest and shower then decided to go look for dinner. Walking the paths of Isla del Sol I crossed paths with an american guy with news of an excellent restaurant on the other side of the hill with views of the sunset. This climb was even higher up from my room. Once at the top we had t cross through a woody eucalyptus forrest and came out the other side of the hill with breath taking view of the sunset over the lake. There was a small quaint house with wood tables & chair scattered across its lawn overlooking this amazing view. My mood instantly changed and I felt energized from my surroundings. All the drama in the previous 24 hours was now a memory of a distant past.
I ordered the local hot tea and got acquainted with couple from USA and Nirmal from UK. Together we watched this amazing sunset. I requested a menu from the chef but he stated there wasn’t a menu but he could verbally tell me what he had. From his broken english heard him say trucha ( trout ) which was all i needed to hear, my day has gotten even better. Trucha from the lake is suppose to be amazing and a must have if your here. The dinner was absolutely amazing!! (cant find the pix) If you ever find your self on Isla del Sol, you must stop by Las Velas for one of the most memorable meals you will have while watching the sunset. The owner/chef came out to chat with us for some small talk and we got to thank him for an excellent meal.
