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Published: August 27th 2008
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We refused to go into this bus
We didn't dare to enter this bus because we were afraid that it was going to fall over La Paz and Copacabana and a meteorite
When we earlier this year planned the details of this trip we decided that we would also visit Bolivia. Since we in Peru intended to roam around mainly in the southern part of the country it would be easy enough to cross the border into Bolivia for a few days. The main reason for going to Bolivia was to visit
Salar de Uyuni, a large salt flat in the Bolivian highlands. Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat in the World. If you have Google Earth on your computer we can recommend you to have a look at Salar de Uyuni there. It looks really cool!
We have seen photos of Salar de Uyuni before and we have also seen a TV documentary about the place. A visit there is supposed to be a totally surreal experience. But already before we entered Bolivia we knew that we had to cancel those plans. Salar de Uyuni is located in such a remote part of the Andes that to visit it from La Paz you need at least four days and that was time we simply didn't have this time. But we decided to cross
Bolivian border
Chaos at the border crossing between Peru and Bolivia the Bolivian border anyway for a few days and visit the city La Paz and the town Copacabana.
In spite that the plans for going to Salar de Uyuni had to be scrapped we are still happy that we ventured into Bolivia for a few days. The border crossing alone was worth the time and the effort. Both of us have crossed several land borders before but neither of us have seen anything like this before. We crossed at a town called Desaguadero and the best word we can come up with to describe things there is chaos. To pass the border we had to visit two offices on each sided of the border. But these offices were so poorly marked that people constantly went into the wrong office or simply missed one of them and had go back to get the necessary stamp in the passport. But apparently Peruvian nationals can cross the border without passport so while all Westerners were queuing at immigrations and filling in form and getting stamps hundreds of Peruvians walked across the border like it wasn't there at all. Add to this that half of all Peruvians were bringing over live animals, carts
Bolivian border
Chaos at the border crossing between Peru and Bolivia with fruit and sacks and large bags containing all kinds of things and that there were 100 vendors sitting there doing business and you get a situation that more looks like a very hectic market rather than a border crossing. The border crossing was so chaotic in fact that nobody would have noticed if we had decided to cross the border without visiting the immigrations on any side. We wouldn't recommend anyone to try that though because that will without a doubt lead to big trouble.
La Paz is the capital of Bolivia. La Paz sits at an altitude of 3660 meters so if you fly into La Paz without being acclimatised to the altitude you suffer the risk of getting altitude sickness. For us that was not a problem since we were already properly acclimatised after spending more than a week in the high Andes before arriving in La Paz.
We only spent one day in La Paz. We walked around the city and managed to see the essentials in a few hours. What dominated the city this day was a big parade. Just like the parade in Cusco we don't know the purpose. But unlike the parade
La Paz Witch Market
Llama foetuses are considered a luck charm in Cusco we know for sure that it was some kind of celebration, not an arrangement to promote tourism. This was easily the largest parade anyone of us has ever seen. The parade seemed to be everywhere in town at the same time and it went on from early morning until late in the evening.
In La Paz there is a place known as the Witch Market. Here they sell charms and idols and other artefacts that is supposed to hold magical powers. It is a little bit like a La Paz version of
Diagon Alley. We have to admit that we felt a bit like
Muggles when we walked through the Witch Market.
One of the things sold in the Witch Market is dead dried llama foetuses. These are considered a luck charm for homes and are buried under the foundation when they build houses.
After our short visit to La Paz we went back towards Peru again. We stopped in a town called
Copacabana, Bolivia (which as far as we know has nothing to do with the more famous Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro). When we arrived in Copacabana Emma was tired after the bus ride and
La Paz Witch Market
Llama foetuses are considered a luck charm that allowed Ake to visit Carancas, a place Emma had no wish to see at all.
Carancas is in Peru but very close to the border of Bolivia. Carancas made headline news all over the World in September 2007 when a
meteorite fell there. Nobody was hurt by the initial impact, though it was close shave because the nearest house was only 100 meters away from the spot where the meteorite landed, but several locals visiting the crater later became ill from what is believed to be arsenic poisoning.
Ake thinks meteorites in general are fun and this also gave him a reason to visit a place that is easy enough to go to but still is off the beaten path. When he went there he didn't even expect there to be any crater left to see. But luckily he was wrong there. There crater is still there but it is covered by a tarpaulin so it is not really visible. But Ake is happy that he had the chance to there anyway.
Copacabana is the main gateway to the island Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca. That is also where we went on the last day
Low electric lines
Is it really permitted to have electric cables this close to the ground? we spent in Bolivia. We took a boat to the northern part of the island and walked to the southern end where we took a boat back to Copacabana again.
Isla del Sol's main drawing card is the large number of ruins and other archaeological remains that can be found on the island. The ruins are both of Inca origin and from various pre-Inca cultures. But we also found the views over Lake Titicaca just as interesting. The sharp contrast between the dark Blue Sky (due to the high altitudes a lot darker than at sea level), the white clouds, the sand coloured island and the blue waters of Lake Titicaca was a photographers wet dream.
When we arrived back to Copacabana Ake went down to the beach and had a swim. The water was cool, maybe 15 degrees Celsius or so, but not as cold as he expected. Emma can't understand the point in having a swim in Copacabana. The reason is simple enough. Ake wanted to swim in Lake Titicaca only to be able to say that he has had a swim in Lake Titicaca. How often do you really have the chance to swim in
Carancas impact event
Impact crater covered by a tarpaulin a lake at the altitude 3812 m? Maybe only once in a lifetime and Ake was not about to let this chance slip out of his hands.
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Irene
non-member comment
Titicaca vs Röda Havet
En gång lyckades vi bada fötterna i såväl Röda som Döda havet pås amma dag. Det är också lite coolt, fast Titicaca är nog coolare.