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Posts tagged ‘Bolivia’

Jun 26

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Hasta La Vista South America

Tick (√) off the list a tiny portion of Central/South America.

93 days spent exploring a little bit of: Costa Rica, Panama, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.

Which required a total of 11 flights – way too many!

The Highlights:

  • We’ve woken to Howler Monkeys and the crashing surf in Costa Rica.

    Bocas del Torro

    Bocas del Torro

  • Been serenaded to sleep by nature in cloud forests.
  • Soaked up the sun on the islands of Bocas del Torro.
  • Watched huge tankers navigate the Panama Canal.
  • Been charmed by the bowler-hat wearing Bolivians and the brightly dressed Peruvians.
  • Explored the ancient trails of the Incas and the mystical ruins of Machu Picchu.
  • Uros Village Lake Titicaca

    Uros Village Lake Titicaca

    Visited the Amyara people of Lake Titicaca and trekked the Island of the Sun.

  • Soared over the mysterious Nazca Lines.
  • Immersed ourselves in the wild beauty of the Amazon Jungle.
  • Ridden horseback to the Quilotoa Crater.
  • Swam with sea lions and turtles. Marveled at the marine life in the Galápagos.
  • Visited remote villages and islands of just a few hundred to major cities of millions.
  • Had the privilege to catch a brief glimpse into the culture and lives of the people.

You know you’ve spent too much time in South America when you:

  • wpid-zoom.jpgautomatically look for the bin to put the toilet paper in.
  • alway have spare toilet paper on you and use it regularly.
  • turn the shower on and wait 5 minutes before you even consider checking to see if it’s hot yet.
  • stop noticing the foul taste UHT milk has in coffee.
  • don’t expect the hotel to have a lift.
  • expect your room in the hotel to be on the top floor.
  • anything below 3,000 meters doesn’t count as ‘altitude’.
  • start to realise you understand the person rattling off in Spanish.
  • think Casillero del Diablo is a reasonable red wine!

 

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May 3

Intrepid Travels Begin – La Paz to Bolivia

30 April, La Paz
Today we join our Intrepid tour from La Paz to Lima. The tour is actually run by Dragoman, who specialise in overland travel through South America.

The trip begins with a group meeting at 6pm in our hotel.  Our fearless tour leader is Rich, with driving support from Tige and Jez, who is on his maiden voyage as a trainee.

Our transport for 21 days will be ‘Carmen’. Tige points out that it’s a truck, not a bus, and we are not to insult Carmen by calling her the later.

We are joining Carmen on a small part of her 96 day journey, a voyage which began in Rio in February and will end in June at Cartegena.

Some of the passengers have been onboard since the beginning or for much of the trip: Michelle, Aynslie, Lisa, Manju, Birgit and Mary.

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Carmen & Don

Then there is Donna, Courtney and Michael, who have previously done a leg on Carmen before jumping off and are rejoining again in La Paz.

Lewis was leaving the trip in La Paz, then decided to extend his holiday, which resulted in having to quit his job to stay on to Lima.

That leaves 9 newbies eagerly ready to jump on in La Paz; Greta and Agusta, Julia, Sarah, Bob, Matt, Kyle and the two of us.

Once introductions are made, paper work completed and instructions given for our morning departure, those who are up for it head out to dinner.

1 May, Copacabana
It’s an early 7:00am departure, in the hope of escaping the traffic chaos of La Paz – which is only somewhat of a success.  We have 200km to cover to reach Copacabana.

It happens to be the Fiesta de la Cruz and there are celebrations Countrywide. We hit a procession on the outskirts of La Paz which makes navigating the potholes, crazy traffic and a crowd of people walking down the middle of the road, slow going.

Copacabana is a picturesque town on the shores of Lake Titicaca with an impressive Moorish-style cathedral. On Sundays the town fills with the faithful believers who walk up Cerro Calvario (the hill guarding the town) to make their dreams come true.

At the top of the hill numerous stalls sell all manner of miniature material goods from cars and buses through to houses and graduation certificates. The selected items are taken to a small altar where they are blessed, decorated with flowers and petals, incense is burnt and finally beer is sprayed over the whole ensemble.

A fascinating insight into local beliefs, as is the blessing of the vehicles in front of the cathedral. Thanks to the trip notes for that little insight.

Copacabana takes its celebrations seriously and this is a big weekend, not only is it the Fiesta de la Cruz, it’s also the Fiesta de la Chakana (Southern Cross) and the town turns the two festivals into a non-stop party for four days.

We arrive early afternoon as things are getting started. With streets blocked off we have to abandon the truck and walk into the town square.

Endless dance troops are parading by; each with their own band and elaborate colourful costumes, including fabulous masks and head-dresses.

The atmosphere is fun and lively, people young and old celebrating throught the town and who later invite us to join in.

Pacena (a Bolivian beer) are clearly supporting the event, handing out free beer to the parade participants – this keeps the party spirit going and by the end of the night, there are a lot of intoxicated Bolivians around town.

The celebrations go through to the early hours of morning, including a party outside our room until about 3am.

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2 May, Copacabana
A little weary from the lack of sleep, we board a boat out to the historic Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca for a 14km hike.

Inca mythology claims the island is believed to be the the birthplace of the sun and where the bearded white god Viracocha and the first Incas made their mystical appearances.

Even today Aymara and Quechua people in Bolivia and Peru still accept the legend of the sun being born on this island as their creation story.

There are a host of ancient ruins dotted across the island, along with tiny traditional villages and walking trails. There are no cars, Llamas and donkeys provide the transportation.

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3 May: Lake Titicaca/Puno
Another 200 km drive takes us across the Peruvian border to the lakeside town of Puno.

Puno is a melting pot of Aymara and Quechuan Indian culture and traditional Andean customs are still strongly represented here. The town is known as the folklore capital of Peru and is famous for its many festivals and traditional dances.

Don and I find lunch at the local market close to where we are staying. Amongst freshly butchered meat (with roaming dogs hopeful for scraps) are stalls cooking up lunch, serving you at communal laminated tables.

We must have been looking hungry since a women at one of the food stalls ushers us with a friendly smile to sit down. We order the pollo lunch special at a costly AUS$5 for two.

It includes a huge bowl of soup, which itself would have been enough, followed by grilled chicken, rice and potatoes and a cup of sweet mint-like ‘mate’ tea, which I’ve now discovered is considered carcinogenic!

In the afternoon the Carmen gang participate in a friendly tuk-tuk race from the hotel to the port. After having the lead the race, it was clear our man had peaked early; we came a respectable third.

We board a boat to the floating reed islands of Uros on Lake Titicaca.

The Uros tribe warmly greet us and give a glimpse into what their lives on the reed islands are like, demonstrating how the islands are made and how they live.  Then they delight in dressing us up in traditional clothes.

The Uros tribe pre-dates the Inca civilisation. According to legends they were superior beings, existing before the sun, when the earth was dark and cold. They were impervious to drowning and being struck by lightning until they fell from grace by disobeying a universal order and mixed with humans.

The tribe scattered, lost their identity, language and customs. Today the are known as the Uro-Aymaras, and now speak Aymara.

There are about 40 islands on Lake Titicaca made and re-made from the totira reeds which grow in the lake.

The reeds are essential to their existence, providing land and shelter, sustenance and transportation for the residential Uros tribe.

There existence is a precarious one; the reeds rot and constantly need replacing. Once dry they are susceptible to fire. Drowning is sadly a common occurrence, especially young children. The climate is harsh: cold, windy and at an altitude of over 3,800 meters, the sun can burn fiercely.

Yet they have endured centuries and outlasted the mighty Inca civilisation.

Alasitas are miniature that represent the desires and wishes of people and the Alasitas Market is on the night we are in Puno.

The crowded alleys are lined with stalls selling everything imaginable: husbands, wifes, houses, university diplomas and suitcases of money.

Our highlight was dinner – streets stalls roasting everything from guinea-pig to pork and lamb and we skip the guinea-pig, but devour a succulent meal of pork and lamb.

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Apr 30

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The Bowler Hats of La Paz

Our Intrepid tour begins at dizzying heights in La Paz, Bolivia.

The city sits at 3,660 meters above sea level and the airport at a little over 4,000 meters is one of the highest in the world.

After a long day commuting from Panama via Lima, we finally arrive at our La Paz hotel around 3:30am in the morning.

It’s a good thing we’ve arrived a few days before our tour starts, because it’s impossible to avoid some level of altitude sickness.  We struggle through nausea, headaches and insomnia (a very foreign concept to me).

Of course, I take longer to acclimatise than Don. Every morning I wake up feeling like I have a wicked hangover (not that I’ve ever had one of those!).  It takes a good coffee and few hours to feel somewhat normal, only for the headache and insomnia to kick-in again at night.

By the way, if you are looking for a good coffee in La Paz, we can recommend Café del Mundo, it does a great breakfast as well.

La Paz is cradled within a steep canyon where the altitude varies 900 meters. Poorly constructed houses cling to the canyon walls.

Just when you think your adapating to the thinner air, a hike up a steep hill, or some stairs (which in La Paz is unavoidable) reminds you that you’ve still got a long way to go.

After Costa Rica and Panama we are charmed by the chaos and disorder of La Paz.  This is one of the fastest growing cities in South America.  The streets are hustle and bustle, filled with cars and people.

The most striking feature of the women in La Paz is the proudly worn bowler hat.  It perches precariously on top of their heads and is an odd addition to the brightly embroidered skirts with layers of petticoats and colourful shawls.

Apparently the bowler hat was introduced in the late 1800s when a shipment of hats sent to English residents was too small.  The English donated the hats to the indigenous Aymara’s.

The hats are now ubiquitous with the Aymara women.  Whilst they provide no protection from sun or rain, they are worn proudly. It is believed that women who wear the bowler hat have good fertility.

We even managed to explore a few Museums during our three days:

The Museo de Instrumentos Musicales de Bolivia, is quirky, fun and cheap.  It has an extensive collection of national instruments and from other parts of the world.

The Museo Nacional de Enthnography and Folklore has a wonderful display of traditional textiles, pottery and my favourite was the ceremonial masks.

The Church of San Francisco was constructed in various phases between 1743 – 1885.  It is considered one of the finest examples of spanish architecture and features artwork by Spanish and indigenous artists, in a style refered to as baroque mestizo.

A guide is provided for free (tips basis), who shows us around and takes us up the bell tower where we have spectacular views over the city.

Perhaps the most interesting was the Coco Museum which provides an in-depth insight into the history of cocaine.  So much I didn’t know (and probably didn’t need to know).

There is evidence that the Coca leaf has been used by humans since 2,500 BC. The leaf was, and is, mainly chewed or steeped into a tea.  Rich in nutrients it has many medicinal purposes related to respiratory and digestive ailments. It actually takes intensive processing to produce cocaine from the coca leave.

The import of coca leaves into the US is illegal, unless you are Coca-Cola.  In 1922 the USA banned cocaine imports, but granted Coke an exception.

The company still uses the coca leaves in its secret recipe.  Originally the formula included a small amount of cocaine, but today the cocaine element is removed.

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