After a few days in La Paz, we moved to Copacabana to see the highest lake in the world Titicaca.
Wednesday, 21/05. Copacabana is not a beach in Brazil
Copacabana is a town on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. To get there we spent 3 hours in the bus and then ferry crossing (it is not an island, but I guess there is no road around) and then another 40 minutes in the bus. Titicaca is the highest lake in the world shared between Bolivia and Peru. There are a few islands, the biggest two where people live are Isla del Sol y de la Luna.
Altitude, yo
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We arrived early afternoon and after finding accommodation (which was easy but I am assume price is negotiable, I still cannot quite understand) we climbed the hill. Altitude on the top of the hill is 4020 m. I felt very unfit going up. I did not have a lot of symptoms of altitude thickness, but I feel tired even if I walk and I eat A LOT (which is not advisable especially at night).
LLama al curry!!! It is llama al curry!!!
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Thursday, 22/05. Isla del Sol
We took early morning boat to Isla del Sol, the largest island on the lake. There're supposed to be Inca ruins and local communities. Also Jacque Ives Cousteau found ancient Inca towns on the bottom of the lake back in 60s. Wooooow!
We hiked the island from north to south with hundreds of other tourists. It was supposed to be 7km, but took us almosr 5 hours. I am getting used to altitude now. Maybe I can even go for a run like people of La Paz soon?
Isla
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Countryside feel
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In the island you have to pay quite a few times when passing community land, they extort money out of you for lama photos, even little kids.
In general I find Bolivian people more closed than argentinians and especially chilleans. They try not to look at you when you pass them in the street, they seem like they do not care whether you would stay in their hotel or not (hostelworld reviewers call them 'unfriendly staff'), they beg you to buy from them. Well, at least prices are negotiable and low.
The other problem with Bolivia is that its hostels are not online and one really needs to look once at the place. Actually hostels pretty much do not exist outside of La Paz (maybe big cities- but I did not have a chance to check yet). This make it very difficult to meet new people. I am so happy Sophie is here! No idea how I am going to continue in Bolivia on my own when all accommodation is usually twin/double rooms.
anyway, back to La Isla. Because of the high wind, there was no electricity at night and we had candle dinner in the restaurant (thanks God they use gas for cooking!).
To walk the island, one has to pay 3 times to different communities. Ok
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Friday, 23/05. Titicaca - Uyuni.
Мы решили, что Исла де ла Луна мало чем отличается от дель Соль, поэтому вернулись обратно в Копакабану с утренним транспортом и через час сидели в автобусе в Ла Паз. Теоретически мы должны успевать на авобус до Уюни. Путеводители пишут, что ночные автобусы в Боливии опасны и непредсказуемы, дороги плохие и спать невозможно. Это, конечно же, так, но дневных автобусов в Уюни не существует, поэтому выбора у нас особо не было.
Вечерний Ла Паз напоминает мне Люберцы: куча народу, пытающегося поймать маршрутку, палатки с пиратскими двд, пробки. Удивительно, но вечером практически не видно женщин в традиционной одежде, только джинсы и модные телефоны.
Wednesday, 21/05. Copacabana is not a beach in Brazil
Copacabana is a town on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. To get there we spent 3 hours in the bus and then ferry crossing (it is not an island, but I guess there is no road around) and then another 40 minutes in the bus. Titicaca is the highest lake in the world shared between Bolivia and Peru. There are a few islands, the biggest two where people live are Isla del Sol y de la Luna.
Altitude, yo
We arrived early afternoon and after finding accommodation (which was easy but I am assume price is negotiable, I still cannot quite understand) we climbed the hill. Altitude on the top of the hill is 4020 m. I felt very unfit going up. I did not have a lot of symptoms of altitude thickness, but I feel tired even if I walk and I eat A LOT (which is not advisable especially at night).
LLama al curry!!! It is llama al curry!!!
Thursday, 22/05. Isla del Sol
We took early morning boat to Isla del Sol, the largest island on the lake. There're supposed to be Inca ruins and local communities. Also Jacque Ives Cousteau found ancient Inca towns on the bottom of the lake back in 60s. Wooooow!
We hiked the island from north to south with hundreds of other tourists. It was supposed to be 7km, but took us almosr 5 hours. I am getting used to altitude now. Maybe I can even go for a run like people of La Paz soon?
Isla
Countryside feel
In the island you have to pay quite a few times when passing community land, they extort money out of you for lama photos, even little kids.
In general I find Bolivian people more closed than argentinians and especially chilleans. They try not to look at you when you pass them in the street, they seem like they do not care whether you would stay in their hotel or not (hostelworld reviewers call them 'unfriendly staff'), they beg you to buy from them. Well, at least prices are negotiable and low.
The other problem with Bolivia is that its hostels are not online and one really needs to look once at the place. Actually hostels pretty much do not exist outside of La Paz (maybe big cities- but I did not have a chance to check yet). This make it very difficult to meet new people. I am so happy Sophie is here! No idea how I am going to continue in Bolivia on my own when all accommodation is usually twin/double rooms.
anyway, back to La Isla. Because of the high wind, there was no electricity at night and we had candle dinner in the restaurant (thanks God they use gas for cooking!).
To walk the island, one has to pay 3 times to different communities. Ok
Friday, 23/05. Titicaca - Uyuni.
Мы решили, что Исла де ла Луна мало чем отличается от дель Соль, поэтому вернулись обратно в Копакабану с утренним транспортом и через час сидели в автобусе в Ла Паз. Теоретически мы должны успевать на авобус до Уюни. Путеводители пишут, что ночные автобусы в Боливии опасны и непредсказуемы, дороги плохие и спать невозможно. Это, конечно же, так, но дневных автобусов в Уюни не существует, поэтому выбора у нас особо не было.
Вечерний Ла Паз напоминает мне Люберцы: куча народу, пытающегося поймать маршрутку, палатки с пиратскими двд, пробки. Удивительно, но вечером практически не видно женщин в традиционной одежде, только джинсы и модные телефоны.
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