Relaxing in the pretty region of Sorata

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We left La Paz for the lower altitude of the tiny town of Sorata hoping that by the time we returned to the capital my bronchitis would be much better. Sorata is in a valley between the Amazonian jungle and the high peaks of the Andes. Our first problem was actually finding where the bus left from La Paz as nobody seemed to have an exact location. We took a taxi to the cemetery area of the city where all the small bus companies have their offices and our taxi driver kindly asked around until he found the correct bus company (there were dozens scattered around half a dozen city blocks) - it involved a few journeys in reverse down the very crowded streets of the area - thankfully we weren’t driving! We had been warned by many people that robberies are very common on the route to Lake Titicaca and Sorata so we decided to purchase a seat for our luggage as well and carry it all within the bus - it cost the grand sum of $2.50 extra!
It was only a mini bus and full of Bolivians returning after shopping in La Paz. They were very friendly and spent the three hour trip asleep or eating puffed wheat and corn (similar to our breakfast cereals but sold us a snack here).
Half the trip followed the road to Lake Titicaca (which was to be our next destination) before it turned off onto a dusty bumpy road towards the snow capped mountains of the Andes. We kept getting closer to the peaks of Illampu (6362 metres) and Ancohuma at 6472 meters. We just can’t get enough of the mountains - absolutely love looking at them even if we are finding the altitude tiring. We eventually turned away from them and starting winding our way through the valleys below. It was very pretty country and would be spectacular after the rain, when it is a bright fresh green. We kept approaching small villages which we thought were Sorata but the bus kept going!
Eventually we arrived in the main square of Sorata - it was very busy - so many mini buses and jeeps (very old jeeps) ferrying the locals in all directions. We found a small basic hotel on the plaza and set off to explore. There were other tourists in town - it is becoming a major staging point for trekking expeditions and you can actually now bike and canoe to the Amazon jungle in Rurrenabaque (it takes five days) from Sorata as well. We were going to Rurrenabaque but were taking the easy route - a flight from La Paz in a week or so.
We wandered the dusty or cobbled streets, generally just watching the locals get on with their daily activities. Whilst enjoying a coffee in a small café on the plaza we heard a brass band playing outside the church opposite us. We realised that they had got off a bus which had just arrived in the town and were giving an impromptu performance. They were really getting into the swing of the music, banging the big drum with too much enthusiasm and the man on the cymbals was quite an entertainer. Within a few minutes many of the local people had stopped what they were doing and starting dancing in the street. It was very spontaneous and great to watch. Half and hour later the band loaded their drums back on top of the bus and left town and the dancers went back to their daily business.
Next day we went for a long, though very dusty walk, to a café outside of the town where we enjoyed coffee and cake in a very pretty garden. Later that day whilst walking around the streets (checking out the views of the snowy peaks rising above the town) Jerry was attacked by a dog. It ripped his trousers badly but thankfully didn’t break his skin. We’ve had rabies vaccinations but it still gave both of us (particularly Jerry) a fright.
Despite the dog attack we were enjoying our time in Sorata - the back streets were full of run down but picturesque old houses - and decided to stay for another day before catching a bus to Lake Titicaca. We went to buy a bus ticket for the next day - there is only one direct bus a day to the lake - to be told that the transport department were holding an indefinite nationwide strike next day and there would be no buses or taxis operating. With the strikes on the Peruvian border this was the second strike in a fortnight to affect us. Deciding that if we were to be stranded somewhere for a few days we would rather it was Lake Titicaca so we hired a minibus to collect us an hour later - the only bus having left four hours earlier - and drive us to the lake. We were on a bit of a schedule as we needed to be back in La Paz by the 18th of the month as the largest festival (street parade) in La Paz was on that day and we didn’t want to miss it.
It was certainly much more expensive than a bus but well worth it. The minibus driver took his wife along for the trip and they were a very friendly couple. The scenery was spectacular - we left the valleys and the snowy mountains and crossed the bleak altiplano. The people who live in these areas - we passed many tiny settlements of a few adobe houses, donkeys, little vegetation, certainly no running water - have a hard life. The only crop seemed to be potatoes and the farmers had already harvested their crops. They were spreading them out on the ground to dry for a few days before standing on them to crush the remainder of the fluid from there. The potatoes are then left to dry in the sun for a few more days before they are stored away to use over the winter months. These were the grey and white shrivelled lumps we had seen in great quantities for sale in La Paz. As we got closer to the lake we started seeing more vegetation and fields of triangular hay stacks.
Our taxi was held up by a passing festival at one stage. Another brass band and a large group of Cholas, all wearing matching outfits, dancing along the road. Great fun to watch - the women were all spinning wooden clackers in the shape of beer bottles and their skirts and the long fringes on their shawls were swirling. It was all very happy and enthusiastic. We were thrilled with our first close up view of Lake Titicaca - so blue with a back drop of mountains. To get to Copacabana, the town on the lake, we had to cross a narrow part of the lake to the peninsula on the other side, by barge. Thankfully we didn’t go on the one called ‘Titanic’! We arrived very late in the afternoon just in time to see a beautiful sunset over the lake.

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