PUNO, PERU TO LA PAZ, BOLIVIA - DAYS 11 & 12

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I had an interesting time getting from Puno to La Paz. We went by bus from the hotel to the town of Juli . Before getting to the dock where our hydrofoil was waiting, we toured an old church which has become a museum and many large, elaborately framed 17th century paintings were displayed. Across the street from the museum was a private school. The children, in uniforms, had the day free to prepare for a special feast and procession. A few of my travel mates talked with the kids in Spanish and they were very excited with the exchange. We then boarded the hydrofoil to travel to Sun Island and crossed the international border between Peru and Bolivia. Tauck handled all the paperwork to cross the border. We ate lunch at a restaurant on the Island with a spectacular view of the beautiful lake with several glaciers in the background. The view was better than the food, but we survived. We departed to go on a 90 minute hydrofoil ride to Huatajata, Bolivia to transfer to our motor coach for the journey to La Paz. We crossed through the narrow Straits of Tiquina to get to our bus and, while the bags were being transferred from the boat to the bus, we visited the small museum housing displays of the Limachi family’s works as builders of the RA II and Tigris reed boats for Thor Heyerdahl’s epic voyages.

Our bus trip took us past spectacular views of the Bolivian countryside and several glaciers. A few small towns and farms alongside the road were very basic. I didn’t see tractors, but did see several teams of oxen pulling plows to get ready for the planting season. As we approached La Paz we got word that there were road blocks ahead because of parents protesting the under funding of schools, especially in the rural areas. Our guides commented that demonstrations are fairly common in Bolivia and, as a new democracy, people are expressing their displeasure with government policies and actions. This demonstration was very effective in disrupting our schedule. Fortunately, we had an excellent driver who went to unpaved roads, forged some streams, and, after a lot of dust, got us back on the highway after about an hour delay. We got to our hotel after dark, but enjoyed dinner at the hotel and I had a real surprise; I was assigned a two bedroom suite with two baths and a common area set up as a conference room; also a full refrigerator, microwave and a two burner stove.

La Paz is a very interesting city and my stay was very short to get a real feeling, but this much I saw; it is a country trying to improve their services to the population and move from being perceived as a third world country. Their residents are proud and they have a very diverse population with 32 indigenous groups, many speaking their own languages. The disrespect shown those groups is disappearing, but there is a ways to go before full equality is reached according to my guide. Traffic is terrific and the geography of the city is, in many ways unique. There are three distinct elevations leading to a 3,000 foot range of elevations around 13,000 at the highest point in the city to around 10,000 at my hotel. It has the highest international airport in the world and the highest golf course in the world There are 4,000,000 residents and there seems to be an almost endless supply of mostly indigenous people selling their wares on the streets. We started our touring today at the Valley of the Moon which is actually a sandstone glacier valley that has eroded into interesting shapes and gullies. The next stop was the Plaza Murillo where the main cathedral, Presidential Palace and Congress Hall are located. There was a demonstration happening there also, this one demanding pensions for those public servants that served under the previous dictatorship. Next, we tried to go by bus to a major local market, but the traffic was so backed up and exacerbated by the installation of natural gas that we left the bus and walked the rest of the way.

The farewell reception at a local museum followed by dinner and return to the hotel to pack up for our trip home celebrated a great itinerary and compatible travel mates. Peru and Bolivia are great destinations and are home to some of the oldest cultures in the Americas. The occasional discomforts found by the traveler in these developing countries are far outweighed by the physical beauty, the friendly people and the history and culture afforded by these countries. ILYS

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Photos

SAN FRANSSISCO MUSEUM
SITE OF OUR FAREWELL RECEPTION

FAREWELL!
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