Americano Worries

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Proud as I am to be an American, for one day being a Canadian would have been the desirable option. Bolivia, for reasons relating to poltical opposition of Socialism versus Democracy and drug farming, has evicted American missionaries from their country and made entering the area twice as difficult for American travelers. I had heard the visa costs were over a hundred dollars, that the visa would take three days to get, and boarder guards were known for rifling through bags and confiscating "illegal" items such as extra American dollars.

I barely slept my final night in Puno at the edge of Lake Titicaca. Rosalinde, my new Dutch traveling partner, saw my saggy eyes in the morning, patted my arm, and told me not to worry. Still, I piled everything into my waist belt, including my camera memory card in case the Bolivian police decided to confiscate my camera. During our trip to the floating islands on Lake Titicaca (and event slated for another blog), Rosalinde and I teamed up with a French guy named Julian and a German named Natalie who were also on their way to Bolivia the following morning.

We bought our tickets together, ate dinner together, went out dancing together, and in the morning met on the bus after it swerved through the narrow streets of Puno to our hostel door. The bus finished its loading of tourists at the bus station. High on adrenaline (or in my case, fear), Rosalinde and I cracked jokes and entertained all the English speaking tourists on the bus.

After three hours of passing farms of dried fields and various farm animals tethered to posts in the yard, we arrived at the boarder. We shuffled off, passports in hand, and formed a line at the front of a low white building.

What I learned about crossing the boarder as an American:

1. If you have extra paperwork filled out beforehand with a passport picture your visa tax is only $100, not $135.

2. Have copies of both your yellow fever card and your passport pictures. There is a Peruvian man next to the immigration building making steal off of travelers who need quick copies for one sole or 5 Bolivianos. (about 30 cents)

3. The boarder guards are very nice and never became impatient or cross, if anything, they seemed quite happy to be receiving money.

4. Go on the bus with a bunch of other tourists, this saves you from being searched due to the fact that there are too many people for them to all go through.

5. Have exact change in American dollars, such as tens and fives, since most tourists pay in twenties and the boarder guards may not be able to give you change.

I was the last one to finish due to my constant form fillin out and shuffling from table to table to recieve first one stamp, then another, and then another yet again. When I was finished, Bolivia had taken one entire page of my passport. Once free, I escaped out the doors to where Rosalinde, Julian, and Natalie were all waiting on the steps. We walked back to the waiting bus and settled back in the blue seats, stress giving way to elation, and a celebration of Chips Ahoy cookies was begun.

We were finally in Bolivia.

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Photos

War
Delightful murals at the park.

My Beloved Book
Trying to hide my sunburned nose...and instead show off the bags under my eyes.

Peru
Country Flag

Tengo Miedo
Our Combi taken across Lake Titicaca on the way to La Paz