Uros and Taquile Islands
by Cassie, August 16th, 2010 | No Comments
While we were in Puno, we visited the Uros and Taquile Islands on Lake Titicaca. Check out the photos!
Uros Islands (Floating Islands)
Reflections on Bolivia
by Cassie, August 12th, 2010 | No Comments
Non-litigious society: Bolivia´s motto is: ‘Fewer laws make fewer offenders.’ It definitely shows in Bolivia. It can be a little scary when traveling around the country. None of the boats have life jackets, and they do not look particularly sea-worthy. When crossing the straights of Tiquina, we could see the water through a gap in the boards on the bottom of the boat. You also have to be careful when walking around. There are suddenly big holes in the sidewalk where you could easily trip and hurt yourself. Construction areas are not blocked off. The Gringo Alley in La Paz, Sagarnaga street, was under construction, and there were people using heavy machinery right next to people walking down the street. On the positive side, anyone who wants to set up shop can just clear some space on the sidewalk and start selling, so it is really awesome to be able to buy anything and everything on the street. We saw a guy performing with balls of fire in the middle of a busy street intersection while the cars were stopped at red light. When the light turned green and the cars passed him, he asked for tips. You would never see anything like that in the US.
Crammed buses, micros, boats: No matter where you travel in Bolivia, it is guaranteed that every square inch of space in the vehicle will be filled with as many passengers as possible. Buses and micros will stop anywhere to pick up an extra passenger.
Fiestas: Bolivians definitely know how to party! The fiesta will most certainly not begin on time, but once it gets started, it will go on for hours. They have amazing parades with fancy costumes, lots of marching bands, and dancing. The parades in the US pale in comparison to those in Bolivia.
Fires: Bolivians love to set fires! They set fires anywhere even if it’s right next to houses or in the middle of the city. While we were on the Choro Trek, we were camping alongside the trail, and we suddenly saw a huge fire on the side of the mountain. When we asked someone about it, they said the people set fire to the grassland to create better pasture for their animals, but the fire definitely seemed out of control. When riding the bus out of La Paz, we saw fires on the side the road right next to heavy traffic.
Animals Everywhere: Especially in the countryside, there are animals everywhere: sheep, llamas, mules, donkeys, pigs, and dogs. It is common to see people herding their sheep down the street or road.
Cheap: Everything in Bolivia was so cheap! You could get a huge meal for only a dollar or two! Even when we ate at nice restaurants, we never spent more than ten dollars! It will be hard going back to the US and adjusting the cost of things.
Onto Peru
by Cassie, August 12th, 2010 | 1 Comment
We left Bolivia, and now we’re spending a few days in Puno, Pero. Check out the photos.
Picnic lunch at the overlook in Puno, Pero
We also have photos from our ill-fated trip to Oruro.
Do not order Salcipollo!
In line with how the rest of our day was going, we ordered the Salchipollo in Oruro not really knowing what it was, which turned out to be a gross pile of french fries, sausage, and a couple pieces of chicken covered with ketchup and mayonaise. Do not order Salchipollo!
Hiking in Sorata
by Cassie, August 9th, 2010 | No Comments
We had lots of fun hiking in the mountains in Sorata. Check out the photos.
Laguna Glacial at 5,080 meters / 16,666 feet
Road to Potosi still blocked!
by Cassie, August 9th, 2010 | 1 Comment
We thought that after a week hiking in the mountains in Sorata, the road blockage in Potosi would be resolved. However, 12 days after it started, the roads to Potosi are still blocked. The people in Potosi have several demands of the government, and the government has offered to meet in a neutral place to talk about their demands. But, the people in Potosi refuse to meet anywhere besides Potosi. It doesn´t seem like the protest in Potosi is going to be resolved soon. It is frustrating that we still can´t get to Potosi, but it could be worse. There were hundreds of tourists that were stranded in Potosi. Since all traffic to the city was blocked, there was no food getting into the city and all the ATMs ran out of money. Can you imagine being stranded in a city without food or money? Some of the tourists have been able to get out, but there are some that remain stuck in Potosi.
Tomorrow, we are going to try to take the bus to Oruro, and then take the train to Uyuni. Today, all the roads south of La Paz were supposed to be blocked due to another political protest of a law that was just passed. However, they postponed the road blockages until next week and just marched through the streets instead. We hope everything will be okay for traveling south of Bolivia tomorrow, but you never know what is going to happen in Bolivia.
Maybe by the time we do a tour of the Salar de Uyuni, the road will be reopened to Potosi. Otherwise, we´ll have to see Potosi on another trip to Bolivia.
Plan B
by Cassie, August 1st, 2010 | 1 Comment
Traveling in Bolivia is more challenging. We were supposed to travel to Potosi last night, but the road to Potosi was blocked by a political protest. So, we were not able to travel to Potosi last night, so it´s onto plan B. Bolivia requires you to have more flexible travel plans. Instead, we are traveling to Sorata today to do some hiking in the Cordillera Real range since the road to Sorata is actually open. Hopefully, by the time we leave Sorata the road to Postosi will be open again. 🙂
Back from Lake Titicaca
by Cassie, July 30th, 2010 | No Comments
We didn´t go over any high passes on our hike around Isla del Sol, but they do not call it the Island of the Sun for nothing. The sun is incredibly intense on the island, and we both left the island sunburnt despite using lots of sunscreen. Unfortunately, our malaria medication makes us more susceptible to the sun, which was not good on Isla del Sol.
Hiking on Isla del Sol
Check out the rest of our photos: http://www.grinnellgallery.com/photos/schmitzc/lake_tititcaca_and_isla/
We´re back in La Paz for a day, and tomorrow night we take an overnight bus to Potosi.
La Paz, Bolivia: Day 3
by Cassie, July 16th, 2010 | No Comments
Today is the independence day for La Paz, Bolivia. They were celebrating 201 years of independence. There was huge parade with all the military groups and their marching bands. Check out the photos.
July 16 Independence Day Parade
Tomorrow, we leave La Paz and go on the Choro Trek which descends from the mountains into the tropical valley. This will be a huge change from the climate in La Paz. This will be our last post until we return to civilization in a few days in Corroico. 🙂
La Paz, Bolivia: Day 2
by Cassie, July 16th, 2010 | 1 Comment
We spent another day exploring the city. Check out the photos.
Political Protest in La Paz
by Cassie, July 14th, 2010 | No Comments
We heard loud noises that sounded like gunshots from our hotel this morning, but no one seemed to be concerned about it at all. We went for a walk around the city, and we discovered that the source of the noises was a political protest on Plaza San Francisco. We couldn´t understand what they were protesting, so we asked someone in the plaza. They didn´t know what they were protesting either, but this is something that happens in La Paz every couple days.
