week 16

We arrive in La Paz, we are now around 3600m above sea level and altitude sickness is waiting to get the best of us. We are still with Jen and Pete as we did a 24 hour journey from Vallegrande to here. We trek around trying to find a good but cheap place to stay, after several dives of hostels we decide to head to a hostel across town which had good reviews but wasn’t the cheapest. Arriving there me and Carol were happy to have a comfy bed that was well maintained, shame the hostel it was in was a party hostel. 

 

Over the next few days we explored Le Paz, going to the Coca Museum, Contemporary Art Museum, Musical Instrument Museum to name a few, as well as perusing the market street of the witches market (which sold dry Lama foetuses) and the local artisanal shops. It was a busy City not so enjoyable as it had nowhere to relax, it was however are first real feeling of Christmas as the town was building its Christmas tree and putting up Christmas lights. My final activity of Le Paz was to cycle down Death Road, its not so death any more as they built a new road so only tourist use the road now. The experience was amazing cycling on a gravel winding road with a sheer drop beside you,  the views were beautiful!

 Take a good look at the goods for sale!

Christmas!

That evening I return to find Carol not feeling too well, making sure she has water and some lemonade, I finally make it out to get food. Unfortunately I decided to go for a cheap chicken and chips. That night both me and Carol were violently ill!

The bus ride to Copacabana

The next morning not wanting to stay in Le Paz we druged ourselves out of bed and got the bus to Copacabana, that sits on the shore of Lake Titicaca. We make it and found a Hostel, we push the boat out and get a private room with lake views. That evening however the drugs wore off and we were ill once more! The following day we rested and tried to get ourselves right again and planned the trip to the Isla del Sol (Inca birth place of the sun). Refreshed after a good night’s sleep we head down to the port and got a boat to the north side of the Island. From there we walked around the coast through old temple ruins (which looked like a farm?) to a ceremonial table (where they sacrificed children)  and another temple at the most northerly part of the Island. From there we headed south over a high peak of just over 4000m above sea level (me and Carol struggled to breath!), until we reach the main town on the Island. We found some cheap accommodation, bought some drinks and watched the sunset before having some fresh trout from the lake. The next next morning we woke early to watch sunrise but the weather was awful, so we watched it out of the window before returning to bed. The rest of the day we saw some more Inca ruins, including steps to the main port, before we got the boat back to the main land.

The sacrifice table, don't worry kids the Spanish killed all the Incas!

 

 

We had returned sooner than expected, so we decided to hit the road straight away and get the bus to Peru and the other side of the lake. Leaving at one we made it to Puno in Peru in 3 hours, walked off the bus got a hostel through a tout and we were set for a few days here.

The following day we went on a tour to Sallustani where they have these massive funerary towers where they mummified their dead. The place was amazing, with great panoramic views of the surrounding lake and countryside. The next day we got up early and took a boat tour to the floating islands of Uros. There were 42 islands altogether all made from reed in which four families lived on each island. It was really interesting to see but the tour was one big drive for you to spend money or give money to the locals (exit through the gift shop and all that!)

The next day we head to the bus station once more and get a bus to Arequipa, to Colca Canyon which is around 1200m deep and to see the frozen Inca child!

Just in case you thought Carol had stopped stroking every dog she sees, here's some more....