Blogs from Bolivia, South America - page 560

November 29th 2005 I decided my short stint in Peru was coming to an end, it was time to head east to the border. My original plan of hitting Mancora in northern Peru and heading down the coastline, would have to wait to my next visit to these parts. Hopefully when I'm a more accomplished surfer and I'm able to take more advantage of the reputedley kick-arse sets. GNARRLY! So after two weeks in the Cuzco region, I boarded the economy class tuesday morning ten hour train ride to Puno. Pleased to see a newly acquainted face in the form of Sally "Kyles" Dawson. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to one of our great aussi exports. Pedros "The Greek" jumps aboard the train. Bringing with him Johnny "london" and kiwi chick "Flick". Unbeknownst to me, I would ... read more

During our jeep tour we met Matthew and Martina, a really nice british-swiss couple who had the same plans as us so we decided to travel together through Bolivia and Peru. This hopefully also makes us less prone to getting robbed. We had heard many stories of people getting robbed in La Paz and Cuzco so we tried to do everything we could to avoid that. From Uyuni we took train to Oruro and from there a bus to La Paz. We stayed there just one night before taking a bus to Copacabana. Copacabana is a small town by the lake Titicaca close to the border of Bolivia and Peru. The hotel we stayed at was at a magnificent location overlooking the town and the lake and they also had nice hammocks which were perfect for ... read more

The fixed island of Taquile One of 70 islands on the lake, remote and with a stark beauty. ... read more

Disclaimer: this is a pretty long email. Potosí · a lot of images, scenes, and emotions I´m taking from Izzy´s letter to her parents. I´m totally ripping her off but she has some pretty amazing insights. So - co-authorship of Patrick and Izzy. The stories you hear of the inhuman cruelty of the Spanish conquistadors in their drive for gold and silver? The infamous mines that made Spain the glory of Europe and the Spanish galleons the prize of British, Dutch, and French pirates? The epicentre of the New-World wealth Christopher Columbus told of when he returned to Ferdinand and Isabella? Welcome to Potosi. The town of Potosi is high up on the altiplano of Bolivia, at about 4,100m. Potosi calls itself El Patrimonio de la Cultura y la Humanidad. But not in the same way ... read more

Salar de Uyuni, the world´s largest salt flat has an area of about 12000 square km. That's a whole lot of salt! In January, February and March the salt flat is covered with water which reflects the sky and creates an impression of walking on an endless mirror. Absolutely surreal! Bolivia has some really weird stuff! It's a big country with over 1 million square km, three times the area of Finland, and only 8.3 million people living there. It's a scarcely populated country with everything from high mountains to rain forests. And some of the most unbelievable scenery we've ever seen, I must say. In the past Bolivia has been in war with all of it's neighbours and lost a lot of land to them. For a long time it's been looked down upon by ... read more