Bolivia: Lake Titicaca Area

From La Paz, the five of us continued on our way to Copacabana. We survived the ferry ride across the lake and saw the picturesque city nestled between two hills. We arrived to the hostel tired and very hungry. Although we all needed showers, food was a priority, and we headed to a local restaurant. The three course lunch of quinoa soup, fresh trout, and chocolate-covered bananas was divine.

The rest of the day was a lazy one. We showered, witnessed a powerful and noisy afternoon rainstorm, wrote, emailed and chatted. After a day in the hostel, we decided to make our own dinner. The grocery store was quite the experience. Raw slabs of whole cows hung from the ceiling, flies buzzed everywhere and dogs openly ran through the stalls. It was a public health nightmare. Yet we still managed to find our appetites and tried cow’s heart from a nearby street vendor as an “appetizer.”

Making dinner was nothing short of a disaster. There was only one working burner, which made it hard to make our meat, veggie, and rice dinner possible. Finally, two hours and five starving young adults later, it was ready and we ate. Tired from our lazy day, we cleaned up, hung out and chatted in the boys’ room for a while, and went to sleep.

The next morning we found ourselves with more energy. I woke up early and decided to make use of the roof top terrace I had seen on our day of arrival. Facing the morning sun, I stretched and listened to music. It was absolutely the most peaceful and energizing way to wake up.

Rooftop view of Copacabana

 

We left the hostel to find breakfast. To the New Zealander’s delight, we found a restaurant that served English breakfast.

Feeling energized and full, we decided to hike to a nearby lookout before catching our boat to La Isla del Sol (The Sun Island). Perhaps it was days without running, or (hopefully) it was the altitude, but my heart pounded as we scaled the steep hillside. We came to a set of rising rocks which we climbed. The view was incredible-the colorful city to the left, the crystal-clear lake to the right, and trees and rolling hills in all directions.

Hiking up the hillside of Copacabana

 

The views of Copacabana were well worth the hike!

Yet suddenly, as we ascended the hill, it became clear we had lost the path. The crunch of the occasional beer bottle underfoot suddenly turned into wading through piles of trash. We found ourselves hiking through a landfill in a South American country (sorry mom). We plowed through piles of plastic bottles, broken glass, and god knows what else. I tried to keep my eyes straight ahead, not wanting to know what exactly I was climbing through. Once again, the public health student in me was shuddering. But we were too far up and too far off the path to turn back. It would be easier for us to struggle through the trash to the top than to turn back and wrestle our way over the cliffs to get back down.

A few prayers and a good deal of hand sanitizer later, we were at the top. The lookout over the town was definitely worth it. The town was beautiful and the lake seemed to stretch endlessly. Unfortunately, the top itself was bleak. The cliff top had been covered in cement, and vendors sold soft drinks and candy out of small carts. As we passed by their goods, I realized the items they sold were exactly what we had seen in the landfill. And to my horror, I understood that they had been throwing their trash off of the cliff.

Luckily the views were worth it!

 

The guilty vendors of the cliff top

 

We talked about it as we climbed down (on the regular path this time). I didn’t want to judge the vendors-after all perhaps a lack of education or cultural differences led them to dispose of their trash off of the cliff. But despite my best efforts, I still felt angry at them for defiling such a beautiful landscape.

Because we took the easier path and weren’t hiking through a landfill, we made it to the bottom in less than 15 minutes-just in time to catch our boat to La Isla del Sol.

After a freezing cold two and a half hour boat ride in which we were anticipating rain that never came, we landed on La Isla. The island was incredibly beautiful; almost something out of a story book. Terraced hills, Incan-type stone paths, and mountains on the horizon met the lake. We made the arduous trek up the Incan steps, and arrived to the top breathless from the altitude. We decided to stay in a hostel with an incredible view-the patio was stationed almost at the peak of the island. Unfortunately, the rooms were not so nice; Emma and I had mold in our room, and I was fairly certain it smelled like asbestos.

Climbing the Incan Steps
The terraced hillside of La Isla del Sol

After a bit of relaxing on the terrace, the boys and I (Emma wasn’t feeling well) hiked to the uppermost part of the island. We found a touristy restaurant serving beers, so we decided to sit and relax. We ended up getting the best seats in the house: the table was in the backyard on a cliff overlooking the bay below. We watched a sailboat drifting toward the setting sun and I marveled at how lucky I was to be there.

Hunger finally got the best of us, so we abandoned our spot to retrieve Emma from her long nap. But we couldn’t stay away, so we hiked back up the cliff to another nearby restaurant for pizza with a view. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, it started raining, so we retreated indoors. The lack of electricity meant we had a candle-lit dinner, which created a homey atmosphere. Tired, full, and cold from the rain, we hiked back to our hostel and called it a night.

With views like this, we just couldn’t stay away

The next morning was a lazy one. The rain continued from the night before, so we were game to sleep in and stay in our warm, dry rooms. Finally, we motivated ourselves to pack up and hike up the cliff. We decided to have a big breakfast in a local restaurant to wait out the rain. We played cards (“Scum”) and lazily ate breakfast. Around noon, the rain began clearing, so we set out to hike to the northern half of the island. Hiking along the stone path of multi-colored stones, amongst terraces and farm animals, I felt as if I could be in a painting. Our slow but steady pace finally brought us to the Incan ruins on the northern part of the island. We took pictures at the Sacrificial Table and explored an ancient cemetery. The afternoon had shaped up to be really warm, and the beach on the bottom of the cliff looked inviting. Hiking down, we changed into our bathing suits and ran in the lake. The water was freezing and all of my limbs were numb. But we were swimming in the highest (navigable) lake in the world!

Hiking the northern half of the island

 

It is rumored that humans were sacrificed on this table!
Swimming in the highest lake in the world!

We dried off and hiked back up the treacherously steep hill. We continued on the path, passing natural streams and stunning lookouts. I kept imagining myself living there. Perhaps I was idealizing after spending so much time in the big city, but the slow pace of life and the beautiful landscape looked so inviting. We passed herds of piglets, mules carrying heavy loads and grazing llamas.

Farm animals were everywhere!

We made our way to the northern town, situated picturesquely on a beach. A wedding was taking place in the town square and we watched pairs dancing and heard music blasting.

Reaching the northern half of the island

We found a quaint little hostel on the quite side of the island, overlooking a reedy bay filled with docked boats. As it was getting dark we picked up some bottles of wine and headed to a local restaurant. After a relaxing dinner we decided to open the wine and play cards. From our balcony, the stars glowed, the pigs grunted next door, and our laughs echoed from the empty hostel.

We woke up early the next morning, hoping to find the Templo del Sol (Sun Temple) before catching our boat back to Copacabana. Despite our best efforts to get there quickly, we found out the temple was closed to tourists. Cutting our losses, we headed back to town and caught the boat. This time we were inside and the ride was much more comfortable and warm.

We arrived in Copacabana just in time to catch a bus to La Paz. After being in the boat and on the road so much, it was a long ride, but we made it. La Paz fascinated me: the red clay buildings scattered among the valley and nestled between trees were so beautiful and different. La Paz to me was what Buenos Aires lacked: nature and a real Latin American feel. And the noise and chaos of the city seemed so minimized compared to the sprawling metropolis of Buenos Aires. We grabbed our bags and headed to a recommended hostel: The Wild Rover Hostel. The name should have given it away, but we did not expect to find ourselves in the middle of a crazy party hostel. After our tranquil stays in humble hostels throughout Bolivia, it was too overwhelming for me.

La Paz

 

We escaped to find dinner; after all, we hadn’t really eaten all day. To my pleasant surprise, the city was decorated with Christmas trees, lights and nativity scenes. After lacking the Christmas spirit due to the lack of snow, music and my family, the decorations were greatly appreciated. We found a nice restaurant and decided to treat ourselves on our last night all together. We ordered everything: salads, appetizers, drinks, main dishes and even dessert. We ate it all. The restaurant was clean, with toilet paper in the bathrooms and everything, and we felt like kings and queens.

Our last dinner as a group

After dinner, we set out to find a karaoke bar. James had been teasing me that I’d never done karaoke, despite my insistence that I was the last person he wanted to hear sing. But after reminding me that we were in South America, that no one would know me, and that it was all in good fun, I reluctantly agreed.

We found ourselves at the Do-Re-Mi Karaoke Bar in the lower part of La Paz. I couldn’t stop laughing: the shag couches, the smoky, red-lit atmosphere and the devoted locals singing in out-of-tune voices were exactly how I had pictured a cheap karaoke bar to be. After much insistence by the group and a few drinks for liquid courage, I picked a song. Did I mention they were all in Spanish? We went one-by-one, clearly picking the fastest songs and messing up all the words. When my turn came, with legs shaking, I sang Juanes’ “Tengo La Camisa Negra,” with much help from Emma. We ended up laughing until we were crying, and as the night wore on we sang more songs including Enrique Iglesia’s “Heroe” together. Our terrible Spanish was clearly upsetting some of the locals, so we decided not to push our luck and call it a night. It was quite the night out in La Paz 🙂

Emma choosing a song at Karaoke Do-Re-Mi

The next morning we awoke very early, the boys heading off to the Death Road and the Amazon, and Emma and I heading back to Buenos Aires. We said a surprisingly painful goodbye and then quietly ate breakfast. Without a plan, we wandered the city, walking into a cathedral during mass and through street fairs. We decided to have lunch at a rundown café. A little girl was hanging on my chair, and I decided to get out a piece of paper and a pen so she could draw. The pens turned into racecars and she laughed incessantly when I crashed them together.

In the end, as she tried to follow me as I said goodbye, I gave her one of the pen “racecars” to hold on to. I realized that despite our language barrier and cultural differences, playing together was universal.

After aimlessly walking the city, we grabbed our bags and headed to the bus terminal. After 11 days and 10 nights our trip was coming to a close. With so many days on the road, I felt tired, weary, and ready to go home. But I also felt like a different person; meeting new people, seeing a new country, realizing some things that are important to me, and feeling so lucky to have this opportunity. We may have seen a good chunk of Bolivia, but I have a feeling I just might have to make my way back someday.

From your thankful traveler,

Jess