La Paz to Lake Titicaca

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So the transport strike has been called off. The government backed down and put the subsidy back on fuel so everyone's happy again. Since I last wrote I spent a few more days in La Paz seeing the sights. Went to the Coca museum among others. Also went to the Witches market which is just the place for your mummified Llama foetus and any other spell casting trinkets you might need.

The place I'm staying at has a church next door so have seen a couple of weddings spill out onto the streets. I had planned to go off to the salt flats at Salar de Uyuni but it meant a 12 hour bus ride in the wrong direction followed by a 12 hour ride back again and I couldn't face it so I headed off to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca instead.

Staying at a village on the Lake called Copacabana its quite touristy as you'd expect but a nice place to spend a few days. In fact I'll probably be here for the best part of a week before heading of to Peru.

Got a room at one off the best hostels I've ever stayed at called Los Olas. Its not really a hostel more a collection of half a dozen cabins stuck on the hillside overlooking Lake Titicaca. Each cabin is different and if your heading for Copacabana its the place to stay. Its £20 a night which is expensive by Bolivian standards but worth every penny.

Spent part yesterday at the Cathedral in town which is huge considering what a small place Copacabana is. Every morning they have a blessing of cars. So you turn up in your motor all decked out in flower garlands and what not, the priest does a bit of jiggery pokery and bobs your uncle your safe as houses. Also had a look round the local market where among the usual stuff pop corn sold from huge bags seems very popular.

There's a building being demolished in town using a method that is asking for disaster. Half a dozen blokes are stood on the wall their knocking down, no scaffolding, no harnesses, no hard hats nothing. They just knock a bit of wall off and hope the rest stays there as that's all they've got to stand on. To save time they haven't bothered to cordon the road off they just shout at you if a particularly big bit drops into the road. Been taking a different route to the shops.


The only downside to Copa is it has hundreds of stray dogs who seem to like nothing better than starting a good old barking session at 5.30 every morning so not getting as much beauty sleep as I'd like, not that I need it of course.

Off on a boat to the Isla del Sol (Inca creation site) in the morning and maybe the Isla del Luna as well.

Anyway not much else to tell you as I've been having a lazy week. Will write again next week probably from Cuzco in Peru.

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