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Published: February 23rd 2009
Mon 26th - arrived into Copacabana from Peru and the bus stopped outside a really fancy looking hotel that we figured would be really expensive, but turns out was cheaper than the hostel we´d been staying at in La Paz! So I went inside and booked us a room while Lorna manned the bags coming off the bus. We were on the second floor and when the hotel man opened the door to our room the view was amazing! It looked right onto Lake Titicaca and the sun was just starting to set and the room was sunny and was great! And the shower had hot water so we were sold! While we sorted ourselves out we watched the sun set over the lake and then went to get something to eat, which I ended up getting a pizza cos had felt like pizza for ages! Wasn´t too bad for a 3 quid resteraunt pizza, so that did breakfast and lunch the next day as well! We wanted to visit Isla del Sol and the hotel had a tour we could book so did that for the next morning and also booked our bus to La Paz for the afternoon, after
being assured we would have plenty of time inbetween getting back from the tour and the bus leaving. Copacabana is a tiny place so everything was only just around the corner.
Our boat the next morning was meant to leave at 8:30am but they kept pilling people on so we didn´t leave till closer to 9am and it went so slow took ages to get out to the Island. When we got there the return boat was going in 40mins, insead of the 90mins we should have had, so we bascially walked up the hill, and walked back down again and paid 5 Bs to do this! Though Lorna got to get her photo taken with a llama so she was very very happy. She still has trouble remembering the difference between a llama and a yak though, and kept saying how happy she was to have a photo with a yak! Is funny. Three guys on the return boat hadn´t even bothered walking up the hill, they just sat in the cafe at the bottom by the dock and waited. So was a bit of a waste of a trip but a boat ride filled in the morning.
We were due back at 12 but because we had left so late we didn´t get back until just after 1pm and our bus left at 1:30pm! We bolted to the hotel to get our bags and then up to where the bus left from. Got our bags on and I asked if there was time to go to the bathroom, which the driver said si and pointed to where they were. It must have been about 1:15 by this stage so down the stairs we went and there was only one loo so I went first and then Lorna. I looked up the stairs to the bus and the driver was starting to drive off and waved for me to get on the bus! I had to yell to Lorna to finish up quick smart cos the bus was going and we ran up to the bus and off we went, it turned around and then went up the hill mabye 20 metres and then stopped there for 15 minutes!! Poor Lorna hadn´t got to finish either and we had to wait until we got to La Paz for the next toilet which was bout 4 hours. We had
Hotel Mirador
Our room is the one above the word hotel with the light on and my undies hanging in the window!to cross part of the lake to get to La Paz otherwise the bus would have had to go back into Peru. So our bus got loaded onto a barge kind of boat and we got crammed into a speed boat and over the water we went and waited for our bus to come over. We all got back on our bus and turned out we were missing a person! We looked around and the bus waited about 5 mins and then drove off. We reckoned he´d got onto the wrong bus and a few minutes down the road there he was waiting at the side! He´d gone about another 5 mins on the bus and then realised it was the wrong one, so got off and paid some locals 50Bs to drive him back along the road to find our bus, so it all worked out. We got to La Paz and met up with Stu and Louise again at the hostel and ate their that night and had some beers, Bolivia is too cheap and you could just put it on your tab so felt like you were drinking for free! The beds in the hostel were the
best hostel beds I´ve ever slept in! So comfy and warm. There were loads of police around and some roads barricaded, turns out there had been a big country vote the day before and pubs and clubs had been shut really early to try and avoid extra troubles!
On Wednesday (28th) we set out to find the miniature market, held at the end of every January in honour of the God Ekeko. It was about 5-10mins from the hostel and we only had to check our way once since the map went a bit weird. Bascially you can buy pretty much anything in miniature form, and the theory is if you get it blessed by a special person (can´t remember the name) then you should receive it back in real size by the end of the year! So you can get wads of american dollars or euros or bolivian money, houses, babies, diplomas, house building materials, little married couples, clothes etc. Did present shopping there since it is easier to carry around for another 3 months! After that Stu and Louise had to go change to their hotel since they were joining a tour to Rio so we went
on our way to La Paz
how the bus gets across the Lake along with them and after lunch tried to find a bank that changed travellers cheques for Stu and a cash machine that would actually accept Louise´s cash card! Travellers cheques are not easily changed in central and south america if you wanted to know! Went to the witches market which sounded better in the book that what it actually was. Got photos with and of the dried llama foetuses and bought a few things. There was another guy there we took his photo for him and randomly ran into him about an hour later when he was trying to find a bank and turned out he was joining the same tour as Stu and Louise! We booked a tour to the salt flats for the saturday.
On Thursday there was a group from the hostel going to visit San Pedro prison, which since Lorna didn´t want to do I tagged along with them. We went to the Plaza Sucre and waited to be approached and asked if we wanted a tour, which didn´t take long. The cost was 250Bs each, plus 15 to use your camera and then a tip for the guide. And I bought some cigarettes, lollies
and chocolate to take in which only came to 15Bs (£1.50) - first time I´ve ever bought smokes!! There were 13 of us from the hostel, 3 girls and the rest guys so we got a bodyguard who was tiny. Was a really interesting tour, you are literally walking among real criminals, some murders, lots of drug associated prisoners. But they just ignored you and got on with whatever they were doing. If they are sentenced to 10 years they only have to serve 5 and if they fight between themselves they get a year added onto their sentence, just for one fight. So two fights is two more years. I imagine if they attacked a tourist the punishment would be worse. If you have money you can pay to have your own cell, and your family can come and live with you. The women and children are free to come and go from the prison so the inmates that make things, the women and children can take them out of the prison to sell. The cells are two teir so you and your family live downstairs, while another prisoner and possibly his family would live above you. If you
have more money you can have both levels, and we got to view one of these. We offered the guy some cigarettes to say thanks, but he didn´t smoke. I offered him the pack of M and Ms I had bought and he was so stoked to get them. The kids that live in the prison kept bugging us for dulces (sweets) which sometimes you´d give them, other times not. There were seven different areas in the prison, ranging to people with no money to one with a penthouse suite with three levels to it! Some cells had private bathrooms, others shared bathrooms. Breakfast and lunch are provided free and if prisoners want tea they have to pay for it. Each head of the section that oversaw the day to day running of things and sorted out any disputes, was very organised.
We had been told that we could only take photos when the guide said it was ok and to keep our camera hidden at other times. But the guide was like take photos whenever and wherever you want no problem! There were various cafe / resteraunts in the prison that you could eat at, and we happened
to be doing our tour on visitors day so it was really busy. There were even TVs in the courtyards they could watch soccer games or whatever on, if they couldn´t afford to have one on their room, and phones they could use to call outside. Was the most random tour I´ve ever done. But the last room, which I will call the powder room (it was just a guys cell) was where the tour finished. We paid the tip and camera fee and then you had the option to purchase some of Bolivia´s finest white substance (not salt!). And if you had purchased you could sample your purchase before leaving! Some of the guys bought a fair bit and had a massive next few days! We weren´t allowed to take photos here, but another guy in the hostel had done the tour the day before and was allowed photos. Apparently the police know it goes on and turn a blind eye, since they are the ones getting paid most of the 250Bs per person, and don´t search the tourists coming out of the prison. There were also handmade crafts and chocolates you could buy, so I bought a hat
keyring one of our bodyguards had made. That afternoon Lorna and I went to change our salt flat tour so we could go and do an Amazon tour first to save us having to take a 12 hour bus to Uyuni and another one back to La Paz for the Amazon tour and then another one back down to Potosi.
The next day we where meant to check out of our hostel but hadn´t realised and I was sitting on my bed and a guy came into the room with the same bed number and we were very confused until realised that it was the 30th! Two of the guys got moved to another room and we got to stay where we were. Didn´t have much to do that day so just mucked around and enjoyed a day of nothing for a change. Went to the post office to send another CD off and there were people dressed up as big blue fish outside the post office for some reason, think it had something to do with voting for Lake Titicaca as a new natural wonder of the world. There were also people dressed as zebras at some of
the crossings, that were very entertaining and helping people to cross the roads.
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