Blogs from Bolivia, South America - page 514

Arrived in Copacabana yesterday, saw the Good Friday celebration. This small town is PACKED with pilgrims. Quite a site. Lake Titicaca is amazing, and the whole town is just very relaxing. Went on the Isla del Sol tour today, it was a 4 hour hike. Beautiful landscape, mountain dotted with little farms, herds of sheep and llamas, and the snow covered mountain top. The hike was quite brutal. Brian has not quite recovered from the diarrhea and the Death Road experience, so we basically rested every 15 minutes, which is great beucase it gave me some time to take pictures. Titi means Puma, and Caca means rock. So the it´s really The Lake of the Puma Rock. hehehe... The ferry ride to and from the island was quite relaxing, though it got quite cold in ... read more

Less than 36 hours in Bolivia and already a victim of the dreaded Bolivian Belly...hardly an auspicious sign the night before a 4 day trip around the salty lakes! Duly medicated up the next morning, we set off with our new Irish and English friends. The 6th member of our group had decided to pursue his romantic dream of life a la Butch Cassidy and went horse riding instead, but to be honest, it was probably a good thing, as it would have been a tad cramped with 6 people inside the jeep. Day one consisted of driving through lots of dramatic scenery as we headed south west from Tupiza. There was excitement at our first views of llamas, although they proved to be rather elusive when trying to capture their comical faces on camera, complete ... read more

I´ve been resting up since I got back from Uyuni yesterday. Reading a little, and just enjoying the weather. Brian went on the Death Road today, I hope he makes it back in one piece. Tomorrow morning we will head out to Copacabana. It will be Good Friday when we get there, and there should be some kind of pilgrimage festival. Supposedly Virgin Mary was spotted there, and that´s why people make pilgrimage there every year on Easter weekend. There will be a candlelight march up some sort of hill... should be exciting, we´ll see. After will head to Puno and then Cuzco. Probably won´t have internet for the next couple of days. Will write in Cuzco.... read more

'I've just seen a man wanking off a donkey into a cup over there! AND THEN ANOTHER MAN DRANK FROM THE CUP!', exclaimed the Irish man with a frantic expression. I went to investigate... I was really looking forward to Bolivia during my last couple of weeks in Peru - so much to see and do, and further away from the track beaten by other travellers (although increasingly on the backpacker circuit, 'cos it's cheap). La Paz first, and a somewhat foreboding city. You pick up horror stories about Bolivia while travelling, ranging from elaborate wallet snatching to tourist kidnapping. The city does seem somewhat sinister, especially at night: here the shoeshine boys aren't boys, but teenagers in hoodies and baseball caps. Nevertheless, the real highlight of the city is the streetlife. The enormous markets are ... read more

We weren't really ready to leave, but our pocketbook told us that it was time to head out of Chile and into Bolivia. We were so blessed by our time in Chile and had no regrets about going, even though before we’d entered Chile people questioned, "Why are you going to Chile? The people there are rude and there is not anything to see, and it is expensive!" They were correct about the money situation, but dead wrong about everything else. We found the Chileans to be lovely, kind, and friendly people. We found the sights, cities, and culture intriguing. So it was after some tearful goodbyes to those we had so quickly grown to love, that we headed to northern Chile to buy a ticket out of town, from San Pedro de Atacama, and into ... read more

For the sake of getting these photos onto the web, no detailed blog until I get time. Basically we traveled from Uyuni to La Paz, stayed there a few days, did the bike trip down the "Worlds most dangerous road". Then we went to Sorata for a relaxing week (except for the climb up to the 5038m Laguna Glacial). Then up to Lake Titicaca (about 3800m) and spent a few very nice days on Isla del Sol (island of the Sun). Now in Cuzco, about to try to get to Machu Picchu for tomorrow.... read more

Phew - made it across to Bolivia yesterday...overnight bus from Salta then a quick coffee at 7am before a walk across the border into Villazon on the Bolivian side...very different. Not unlike the way the roads used to change from tarmac to something less when we´d go across the border to Donegal years ago! Probably shouldn´t have said that since we´re now in Tupiza together with a couple of Donegal men we met in Salta last week, together with a couple of English girls who are heading the same way. Very nice hotel with a pool - not bad for GBP10per night. I really hope this sets the standard for the rest of Bolivia...though I doubt it. The town itself is quite dull...a lovely setting in the middle of the desert, at some 3km altitude. Has ... read more