Bolivia extravaganza

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After our amazing journey through the Lares Valley, to Machu Picchu, we made our way to La Paz, Bolivia. The first day Justin was not feeling well so we spent the entire day at our hostel, relaxing and trying to feel better. The next day we took a bus to Lake Titicaca, which is about 3 and a half hours from La Paz. We were a bit confused as we had to get off the bus and then take a little boat across the lake as our bus was put on a ferry and sent on its way. As it turns out the road to Copacabana does not extend all the way from La Paz, hence the boat ride. We stayed in an amazing little hotel that overlooks the lake. We felt like we could breathe again, and we spent the day relaxing in the hammock and taking in the views. We considered this a bit of a vacation from our vacation and did not really want to head back to the hustle and bustle of La Paz.

The following day we hiked up to the top of a hill overlooking Copacabana, where locals go to give offerings. The views were great and it was only about a 30 minute hike up. After that we went into town to buy our return bus trip and have some tea, which proved to be a bigger hassle than we had anticipated. Our waiter, who took about an hour or so to get us tea and our check, ended up trying to take us to various money exchanges claiming our us dollar was only worth 3 bolivianos, when in reality it is worth 7, our bill was 6 bolivianos and he did not have change for a 50 boliviano bill. We argued for a bit and left him with the dollar bill and went on our merry way. Not a great way to end our time in Copacabana. Next came the bus ride back to La Paz, which was an adventure as well. No one would trade us seats so we could sit next to each other, 4 hours is a long time for Jasmine not to sit next to Justin. Then both of us got a little sick on the ride to the boat crossing, then Justin's ipod broke, then the ride took nearly an hour longer than the ride out, and to top it off they dropped us off in a random bad part of town and just told us to watch our bags. Needless to say, we were very happy once we walked back to our hostel.

Today, we finally had a chance to explore La Paz. We walked around a bit, visited some markets, and climbed up to a park overlooking the city. What a crazy city it is.

Tonight, we are flying into Lima for our last two days in South America. It has been a great journey so far, but we are both ready to be home and see our friends and family...and get married.

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