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Published: November 8th 2008
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Our Row Boat Guy
He took us across to Isle de Sol We were a little worried that we would not be able to make it to Lake Titicaca as there were huge farmer strikes going on in Peru and they had shut down the highway we needed to pass. We asked quite a few travel agents and were convinced by one that it was now safe to travel on the highway so booked a bus. When we showed up at bus station the next morning we learned that our bus had been cancelled due to the strikes. So much for that travel agent!!! After looking around a bit we managed to find a minibus that would take us there (for quite a bit more money) the long way which bypassed the highway with the strike via a dirt road. We were on our way!
The drive ended up being fantastic. Because we could not go on the highway we were in the real countryside on small dirt roads driving through the mountains. We passed several very cute small villages where we got to see the real local people (as opposed to the people in Cusco that seemed to be there for tourists). Their clothing is very traditional and the kids are
very cute and always waved at us as we passed. It is worth noting that everything was very basic for them, the houses were all made of stone and clay and really in the middle of nowhere. The drive took us 10 hours (normally it takes 6-7) but we were enjoying it so much we didn´t mind at all. The worst bit was a very annoying american sitting next to me who liked to hear his voice ALL THE TIME. I dont know why it always has to be someone from one of our countries but he was awful.
We arrived in Puno around 7pm. We only spent the evening there and then got on a quick bus ride the next day to Copacabana as we had heard that the Bolivian side was the better place to visit the lake from. We had to cross the border into Boivia and I was a little nervous about the visa situation as we had heard other americans had had issues. Becuase the US gov has angered the Bolivian gov rescently they had changed the visa policies and I had to pay $135. The needed a photocopy of my passport, a photocopy
Walking though island
This pic was taken about 45 minutes before the rain and sleet!! of my yellow fever vaccination, passport photos and the money---no dramas at all. I had heard that they may request a police record but they didn´t. Also, we had heard they may compensate all of your "fake" US money so we hid anything we had just in case. Overall it was relatively painless.
We loved Copacabama. We arrived in the later afternoon and had a fantastic sunset. The hotel we found was only about US$10 a night and was reallly nice--cheaper than the hostels recomended in LP. It is called Wendy Mar I think, located across the street from Hotel Gloria which is the posh hotel in town. We arrived on a Saturday night and all the locals were out and about. There was a band in the main square and everyone seemed to be having a great time. We went by the water and ate at a very small local place and had fish which we assumed had been caught that day. A nearby table had a load ofolder guys out for a big night. We didn´t understand what was being said but they were havinga blast and taking turns toasting each other and buying rounds of drinks.
It was really good fun even if we only had a beer each.
The next morning we went on a 17km trek along the lake which was called the Copacabama to Yampupata trek. It had fantastic views of the lake and was quite up and down. It wasn´t a killer but we were at an altitude of about 4,000 meters so it was a little difficult walking uphill. The end of the trek was a little town called Yampupata and very close to the Isle de Sol. From there we hired a guy to row us across the lake to the island. We assumed it would be a young fit guy but our rower turned out to be very old. He seemed to handle the rowning fine but rob offered to take over for a little while--he said it was no job for a shelia so I didn´t have a go. It was good fun and a completely different way to get to the island than the tourists boats that leave from Copacabama...I think it cost about the equivalent of US$5. Once on the island we saw a few ruins from inca days and then hiked up to a
environmently friendly
we were impressed with how much this little car was holding so took a pic small town which had hostels for us to sleep overnight. Our place was only about $10 and was nice enough. For dinner we went to a pizza place (pizza seemed to be the only food to eat) and had a very nice dinner. Being the only guests the owners daughter (8 years old or so) started up a card game of snap with us. She was really sweet and seemed perfectly happy with her half deck of cards to entertain her---it reminded us how much the kids back home dont realize how much they have. Overall it was a fantastic day!
The next morning we started out well enough and got walking in good time. Our plan was to walk to the other end of the island and catch a boat at 1pm. After about an hour or so of walking it started pouring down with very cold sleety rain. We had our waterproof gear but not our woolie hats or gloves so our hands were freezing. We eventually made it to the small town where the boats go from and ate hambugers and chips from a lady with a small stall to warm ourselves up. By this point the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out but we still sat in a small cafe and treated ourselves to hot chocolate and dried off our wet clothes. Once back on the mainland we went out for a really nice Bolivian dinner. I can´t remember what the food was called but it was a spicy beef dish (it is rare to find spicy dishes here so it was a real treat). We were once again the only people in the restaurant. I´m not sure but it is possibly business was hurting because so many people were unable to make it over from peru because of the stikes.
Next stop was La Paz. We had heard that it was one of the most dangerous cities in S. America but so far it has been fine. There are loads of food markets and street vendors. You can buy pretty much anything you want from a bolivian lady on the street including peanuts, fruit, bananas, DVD, CDs, ties, notepads, and loads and loads of local food. The best is just outside the cathedral there is a square that just sells cookies! La Paz was our base point in Bolivia over the next week and a bit. We picked a more expensive but secure hostel where we left our big bags while going on excursions. We spent most of our time here in the tourist parts which were totally safe and have used it as a city to catch up on email and do travel research. Also, we were able to go to different travel agents and book up the rest of our bolivian trip. In one day we booked up about 2 weeks of activities including going to the jungle, salt plains and relaxing time in countryside. A great travel agent to book at is called Viacha Tours (Calle Sagarnaga # 315), it is run by a german guy and his bolivian wife--they were really helpful and knew their stuff. Overall La Paz was a nice place to take it easy but we did not do too many tourist things besides sample the food. Oh, we did go out for a fantastic dinner at a place called Vienna which several other travellers had recommended. It was a fine dining restaurant (we were a little grubby too, rob in his track suit bottoms) for Bolivia and really good. We both got steaks and shared a bottle of champagne from Chile. The whole meal only came to the equivalent of about US$30 so still very reasonable. Def worth going to.
Tomorrow evening we are heading to the Salt Flats in the southern part of Bolivia. We have to take an overnight bus to get there but it is a tourist bus so should be pretty nice for bolivian standards. At this computer I can´t upload pics but will try to do it tomorrow.
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