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Published: November 12th 2005
Dead things
Llama foetuses and an armadillo. Before I start, one thing deserves mention. Bolivia is so cheap that it is stupid. One Boliviano costs about 13 cents CAD, and you can buy a decent falafel (yes, such a think exists in La Paz!) for 10 Bs. But maybe that isn’t the best example... 620 ml of beer at a bar also costs 10 Bs. Hmmmm.
So anyhow, we left Puno several days ago for Copacabana. It is a three hours to the Bolivian border, and we rode in a combi. Now, to your average person a combi is like a little, cramped bus that stops every kilometer to load more passengers onto the roof, etc. But to me, 6 foot 2 with 4 foot long legs, a combi is like a vice squeezing out my organs. My knees hurt for days. There is a picture - my legs were literally at a 90 degree angle, and one was in between two seats.
Crossing the Bolivian border was comically easy. There were no checkpoints, and we didn’t even fill out the forms properly I don’t think. But once on the other side, it was like a whole other world! .... just kidding, it was exactly the
same - only cheaper.
From the border town (Juguyos) we rode another combi to Copacabana. It is also on Lake Titicaca, and thus greatly resembles Puno. The difference is that it is a little bit smaller and more “idyllic” than Puno, but I preferred Puno on account of the fiesta. Our hostel was ridiculously cheap - 30 Bs a night - and had a kitchen (a first). Having a kitchen (even though it wasn’t exactly modern... or complete with a sharp knife) was quite welcome after a month of warily eating potentially diarrhea-causing Peruvian restaurant food of dubious nutritional value. We made excellent French toast the first night, and pasta the next.
Since we had seen the lake to our satisfaction while we were in Puno, we decided not to undertake any lake tours while in Copacabana. We pretty much took it easy for the first day except for a hilarious pub excursion on my part (remember, beers are $1.30). The next day we climbed a nearby hill, which is somewhat similar to Mt. Doug except for the “Stations of the Cross” - big stone crosses - that dotted the path. On the top is a great stone
lookout place, as well as some more Catholic stuff.
On our fourth day, we hopped on the 15 Bs bus to La Paz. The bus ride was uneventful except for the Kung Fu movies very poorly dubbed into Spanish. And you thought the English ones were funny.
La Paz is great. We have essentially been shopping the whole time we have been here (and purchased a lot of very good things), and we are at about the same budget as we were in Peru. It isn’t an exceedingly beautiful city, but it has its oddities. In the Witch’s Market, for instance, you can buy everything from llama foetuses (to bury under your house for luck) to tea that brings you financial success. It also has a great pub called “Big Bad Juan’s”… Okay, that isn’t the real name, but it should be! Lots of cool antiques, and I got to watch a Boca Juniors game (much to Kathleen’s chagrin, all the players had terrible hair - mullets and rat tails). We saw a cool museum of musical instruments. I got to play on a drum set for the first time in a month, and that was the highlight
(for me, but not everyone else…). I also saw the Coca Museum, which was very informative (coca is extremely nutritious, it turns out).
Tomorrow we check out of our “Hotel” at 5:15 and catch a 6:30 bus to Iquique, Chile. Three busses leave at that time, so we’re gonna get a deal, I bet!
Cheers,
Mike
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Lindsay
non-member comment
Looking Good
I enjoy Mike's cowboy hat - it is very becoming! Your pictures are amazing and make me jealous every time! I guess I will just have to live vicariously through you guys until school is over! Have fun in Chile!