Copacabana, Bolivia

My last stop in Bolivia was the small town of Copacabana on Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is a huge lake (about 80km by 100km) that sits on the border between Peru and Bolivia. The lake and its islands are important sites from the Inca civilization. Copacabana is a quaint little town that sits right on the edge of the lake. Besides the tourism which is pretty big there, Copacabana is known for its massive church which houses the famous Virgin of Copacabana (the Copacabana in Brazil is named after her). The church is surrounded by a huge plaza which is enclosed by a really tall wall. There are immense crosses inside the plaza as well as beautifully designed towers. Inside the church is decorated with amazing amounts of gold and statues and art. To see the virgin you walk through this dark and damp hall on the side of the church. The only light comes from candles that people have lit to pray with. At the end of the narrow hall there is a huge glass case in which the virgin is housed. All around the case are plaques and writings of thanks to the virgin.

The rest of the town is made up of one street that runs along the beach of the lake (mostly filled with nicer hotels) and a street that runs from the lake up towards the church that is filled with restaurants, tourist offices and street vendors. I stayed in a hostel about 10 minutes walking from the beach. It wasn’t anything fancy but the showers were hot and my double room cost me $3 per night. The only crappy part was that there wasn’t any heat and my room didn’t get any sunlight in the day so there were times when it was colder inside my room than outside.

I did a tour of the Isla del Sol in which I took a boat (along with a ton of other tourists) out to the island and then we walked around looking at ruins, learning about the Inca and current culture and just enjoying the views. The lake is seriously one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen. It goes on as far as the eye can see and is this amazing color of blue that looks even more spectacular next to the clear sky. It was quite a bit of trekking and I got really sunburned but it was an incredible experience.

Along the tour I met 3 Argentine guys and later we realized that we were on the same bus to Peru the following day. We ended up going out to dinner that night and I had this great Bolivian dish of french fries, sliced beef, egg, tomato, sausage and some sort of spicy sauce. Mmmmmm! Later we went out drinking - Fernet of course (a really typical Argentine drink) - and I ended up having this intense conversation with one of the guys about politics and dictatorships and the drug war. Sadly, I felt like it was the first intelligent conversation I’ve had in a while . . . While we were at the bar a few of the people I had met in Sucre showed up so we all ended up hanging out and drinking together. We stayed out pretty late and around 3 or 4 am when I tried to go back to my hostel I realized that it has a curfew . . . After about 5 minutes of knocking I gave up and went and stayed with the group I met in Sucre. Lesson: always check to see if hostels close up at a certain hour.

The next day I boarded a bus and headed for Peru with the Argentines.

La Paz, Bolivia

From Potosi it was about a 10 hour bus ride to La Paz. Although La Paz isn’t the official capital of Bolivia it is home to all the government offices and it is the largest city in the country. I’m pretty sure it is about 3500 meters above sea level and home between one and one and a half million people. The city is basically built into a canyon of sorts. The downtown is at the bottom and the city goes up in all directions becoming more residential and more impoverished (like in Sucre). I climbed up to a look out point one day and it was quite beautiful (and quite hard with the altitude).

I stayed at the Wild Rover hostel which is known for being busy and a pretty big party place. Had some interesting experiences in the hostel, saw some new things and its pretty clear that most people come to La Paz to party. In general I didn’t like La Paz that much (maybe because it reminded me of BsAs but not nearly as nice). One thing I did love tho was the people. Downtown La Paz is like any big city, busy streets, tall metal buildings and lots of people hurrying on their way. What was distinct about La Paz though was seeing these official looking men in their power suits and carrying their briefcases walking alongside indigenously dressed women in bright colors carrying babies on their backs and bread in their arms. I loved the contrast.

The other thing I liked about La Paz was the witch market. Basically it was a couple streets maybe 5 blocks from downtown full of people selling things. Each street was like a huge mess of color, bright colors. The booths were full of fabrics, clothes, jewellery, bowls, pipes, art, coasters, bottles, statues, wall decor, incense and weirdest of all llama foetuses. The place was full of interesting smells and full of the sound of people talking over one another and making deals. Definitely the best place in La Paz, for me at least.

I ended up spending only two days and one night in La Paz and then I headed off to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca.

PS
Here is a link to an album with a few photos.

Potosi

After my stay in Sucre I took a 3 hour bus to Potosi, what used to be one of the wealthiest mining towns in the continent. Unfortunately I decided to go out the night before . . . waking up hungover at six in the morning and then going to a city at about 4500 meters above sea level isn´t the best idea I´ve ever had. But I toughed it out because I really wanted to see the mines. The story of Potosi is that huge amounts of silver were discovered in the mountains there, thus it became a huge and very prosperous mining town. Since then the deposits have been depleted and only about 10% of what they take from the mine is useful materials (the rest they call waste). The main industry of the town is still the mine, thus it has become more and more impoverished.

I arrived in Potosi around 10am and went to a hostel to sleep some. Then around one I had the mine tour. We were 5 tourists and 2 guides. First we went to a facility to change into rubber boots, helmets and jackets. On the wall was spray painted ¨Argentina: 0 Bolivia: 6 A day to never forget¨(but in Spanish). I thought that was pretty funny (the story behind this is that a few months ago the crappy Bolivian soccer team beat the really good Argentina team because the match was in Bolivia at a really high altitude thus making it extremely difficult for the team not accustomed to the extreme altitude). From there we went to a miners market which was basically just a store where you could by mining tools, explosives, soda, water and coca leaves (used for altitude sickness and as a part of Bolivian culture). Then we headed to a plant where we saw how they process what is taken from the mines, separating usable materials from the waste. It was so strange driving further and further up towards the mine because I could feel the pressure from climbing in altitude.

Once we got to the mine there was a collection of little shacks that the miners use to change clothes and leave their tools in. All around the doors and the entrance to the mine was this red paint looking stuff splattered on the wall. Our guide explained to us that it was llama blood - like a sacrifice . . . Walking though the first level of the mine was interesting. Some parts were really high and I could walk upright comfortably but other parts I had to slouch down almost to my knees. We then got to a little room called the mine museum. It was a collection of statues of different types of men that had been involved in the mine. One was the devil of the mine which had all kinds of ribbons and coca leaves around it. Our guide explained that these were offerings to the god of the mine in hopes that he will keep the miners safe and keep the mine going. In the little room we sat down with the guide and had a really interesting talk about the life of miners and about coca.

He explained that mining is a family tradition and that he himself is a miner when there isn´t much tourism. We also learned that the people generally live for about 15 years after they start in the mine because of physical injuries, accidents and horrible air quality (basically breathing the air in the mine so much is poisonous). This was really sad, especially considering that there are young kids who work in the mine . . . We also talked about the production of the coca plant in Bolivia. There is a huge portion of the Bolivian population who cultivate this plant and deepened on it as a living. Basically the coca plant serves two purposes or two markets. One is as coca leaves which visitors use to combat altitude sickness or by Bolivians who eat them as a part of culture or tradition (they way Argentines drink mate). The other market of course is the production of cocaine which is huge in Bolivia. During the Bush administration he attempted to come into Bolivia and eradicate these coca crops which was devastating for the farmers who's livelyhoods depended on it. It turned quite violent for a while and there were hundreds of Bolivians who lost their lives. Even though I´ve learned about this before, it was so different hearing it from someone who had lived through the experience. And it makes me so frustrated with my government and its tendencies to act without consideration of the effects on others. Or without logic . . . . production can´t truly be ended until there is no demand . . . ahh I don´t want to get started on this. Back to the mine .. .

After the museum we continued on to the second level of the mine. We walked through a small arch and I could feel the temperature drop, the air thin and the dust increase a lot. At this point I knew I wouldn´t be able to go further (between the hangover, altitude and poor air quality). So I went back and waited outside the mine with another couple from the States who opted not to go inside. After the rest came back we detonated some dynamite which was pretty impressive. All in all it was a really informative and impressing experience which I highly recommend. Later that night I hoped on a bus and headed to La Paz, the effective capital of Bolivia.

Sucre, Bolivia

My time in Sucre started with meeting another group of travelers in the hostel. They had assembled together over the past week or so and represented about 4 countries. When I finally woke up Sunday morning and got to see Sucre in the daylight I was amazed. It is an incredibly beautiful town. All of the center of town is full of white-washed buildings with a very strong Spanish influence in the architecture. Sucre is full of these breath-taking cathedrals and arches and just beautiful architecture. Plus everything seems to be well maintained. It was the perfect change from Buenos Aires and the border towns I had seen along the way. The city is basically built into a basin so the town center is relatively flat while in all other directions it becomes residential, more impoverished and the roads just go up and up. I walked up one road to the mirador (look out) - which was really hard with the altitude - and I can´t even put into words how beautiful the town looks from above.

Right across the street from my hostel was this incredible market. The first part was full of Bolivians selling jewelry, toys and snacks. Then, inside, there are rows and rows of people selling meat, bread, grains, spices, pastries . . . Past that is this huge lane or row that is lined with women selling all kinds of fruits and veggies. There was a huge variety and lots of things I didn´t recognize but I do know that the fresh pineapple and apples were delicious. After the food part of the market you walk out into a square in which there is a collection of booths full of fabrics, scarves, hats, jewelry, sweaters, gloves, table clothes and other trinkets. The colors were absolutely amazing, ranging from neutral browns and greens to these brilliant pinks and blues. Of course, this was my weakness and I came away from the market with my wallet a little lighter and a bag or two of purchases.

Another thing that was new for me in Sucre was the people. Most of the women, especially in the market, are indigenous or at least maintain those traditions. They wear flats, tall socks, a very full knee-length ruffled skirt, several cardigans, a shawl or brightly colored material folded into a backpack like thing, their hair in two long dark braids that run down their back and then a bowler hat to top it off. Although some of the patterns or colors would change, all the women were dressed incredibly alike.

Most of my time in Sucre I spent just walking around and exploring the city. On Sunday there was this big car rally with race cars doing timed laps in a route through the town center. There were also classic cars and fancy cars on display next to the main plaza. I also spent a lot of time at the Joy Ride Cafe. It was amazing food and drinks and made for a good time with the group of travelers I was with.

Buenos Aires to Sucre

On Friday I left Buenos Aires to begin my travels. I took a bus from BsAs to the border with Bolivia. It was a 26 hour trip but it was not bad at all. It was interesting to see the variety of views throughout northern Argentina, from flat lands to what looked like jungle coverd mountians. That part was quite beautiful. Sometimes I seem to forget how many diferent kinds of landscapes are contained within the country. Arrived in La Quiaca (Argentine side) on Saturday afternoon, where I walked across and did all the paperwork and payments to enter Bolivia. Villazon (on the Bolivian side) looked like Tijuana to me, I guess lots of border towns have a run down look to them. Got a bite to eat and then got on a bus from there to Sucre. It was a 12 hour trip on a small bus or large van full of about 40 people. It was cold, cramped and unbelievable bumpy ride. Everyone told me that busses in Bolivia are and experience but I really had no idea. Most of it was on windy dirt roads that went up and down the mountians. After surviving that I feel like any sort of trip will be not so bad. Arrived in Sucre around dawn and had some trouble getting into a hostel but another group of travelers helped me out and I got to sleep from dawn til about noon in Sucre.