belated bolivia

best intentions... so the planned blogging along the way didn't really come to fruition but i did take advantage of the inordinate amount of time spent on sometimes sketchy buses by pecking out notes on my iphone which i later converted to emails and which i'm now gonna stick right here!

So our first morning in la Paz we learned about the snow problem (border closing and impasse) in the south (where it's never supposed to precipitate) and we had to do some rethinking. We hooked up with a really wonderful travel agency in the courtyard of our hotel which was lovely- the hotel I mean, but also the courtyard and having the agency there. So we decided we could give ourselves a little more time at lake titicaca and then make the only feasible border crossing into chile a day or two early. This involves A LOT of bus time. There are no international airports in the whole of northern chile-all flights would go through Santiago (and 3 other cities) before getting us back to where we wanted to be and none cost less than $850. Anyhow, we devoted some time to the logistics stuff and changed up the plans but also worked in some wandering around la Paz- the shoeshine guys are eerie, lined up along the sidewalk in their balaclavas like sedentary terrorists with more pleading than menace. We did a little shopping (should have done more, prices in Bolivia for Andean handicrafts were MUCH lower than in Chile)-including at the witchcraft market where I bought a charm that's supposed to help ensure good luck with travels. Hmmm. We also managed a visit to the big church and two meals of llama as well as a total repack and rebook our same hotel for the night of our return from Titicaca.

Early our second morning, we were picked up at our hotel to head out to Copacabana and Lake Titicaca. Live and learn, the curbside service was nice but we spent the first 1.5 hrs driving around to other hotels and then made a long stop at the bus station where we could have just taken a cab. Finally we take off for real but quickly wind up in a traffic jam. What should have been a 3 hr trip was 5. The end was pretty entertaining though. About half an hour before we reached Copacabana, we had to get off the bus and get on boats (they randomly handed out lifejackets to about a third of the passengers) while our bus crossed the straight on its own rickety flat bed ferry thing. We snagged some mystery food we'd been seeing in giant piles in markets. Turns out it was a kind of sweetish popcorn-like substance, maybe a popped hominy? I got the name but drat, now i've lost it.

In Copa it was off to the Isla del Sol. The Amayra people's mythology tells that the sun was born here. The boat dropped us off at the foot of the Incan stairs, a lush area fed by springs channeled into a kind of fountain running alongside the steps. We walked about 7 steps and had to take a break. 7 more, break and so on- the altitude was over 12,000ft above sea level- but it was nice to be out and hiking and there were frequenty women or kids with blankets full of stuff for sale or great views to take pictures of so we had good excuses to stop.

Our hotel was up and over the top ridge of the island. Gorgeous views, a sunset hike, and a yummy quinoa soup (very traditional and warming because the temps dropped drastically at night) and trout (farmed a lot in the area.) In the morning we hiked down to the other side of the island and caught a smaller boat back to Copa where we spent the afternoon exploring.