Travel to Uyuni

South America Day 23

Travel to Uyuni

Our trip has now changed over to a new tour called the Andes to the Atlantic Experience. The first section would take us to the Uyuni Salt Flats. Our day was going to be a lengthy travel day starting on the bus from La Paz to Oruro where we would take a train.

Like Peru a few days previous, Bolivia was in the midst of an unstable period. There was a very good chance that we were going to be delayed on route to Oruro. We were on the go at 6.15am to get away hopefully before the protest march blocked our way for an extended period.

A couple of kilometres out of La Paz, we crossed paths with the march. The bus pulled over (with all the other vehicles) and we watched them go past. Some of them had marched from to outlying parts of the country. They were pretty worked up but they were still happy enough to smile & give us a wave.We didn't get delayed too long before we were on our way again.

We arrived in Oruro well ahead of when the train was due to leave. We were herded into a restaurant & fed lunch. There isn't much in Oruro but we wandered around for a little bit to kill some time. We then headed for the train station where the soccer fans could watch a game. I tried getting some sleep.

Finally we boarded the train (above) & were on our way to Uyuni. It was the start of a long dusty trip into the middle of nowhere.

Lago Uru Uru

Not too long after we got under way & clear of Oruro, we were suddenly in the middle of this shallow lake (Lago Uru Uru). I had no idea the flamingos would be so prevalent. It was a scene I thought was only possible in Africa. The flamingos were in greater numbers on the other side of the train.
After we cleared the lake, the sun started to disappear & the dust started getting into the train. None of the windows sealed properly & the dust was getting through any little crack it could. By the time we reached Uyuni at 10.30pm our heads we full of dust.

La Paz

South America Day 22

La Paz

Today was the day to explore La Paz. Had I not been coughing my lungs up we would have been off mountain biking the Death Road. (Look it up on the net if you haven't heard of it.) Mike, Hina & Smita had booked themselves in the day before. [Edit] Missing that ride is the one big regret of the trip. I guess you can't control everything.

We followed the walk trail that our trusty Lonely Planet had laid down. It was mainly markets & dodgy side streets. Somehow I stepped off the curb with one foot only to avoid a stall or something on the footpath (side walk for those North American readers...) only to get clouted by one of those crazy local vans! So (and Dad will appreciate the humour in this) technically I got hit by a bus.....The one highlight was the Parliament Building (above). Because of the political unrest in Bolivia, the place was locked down & guarded by heavily armed soldiers.

The afternoon was taken up with a city tour on an open topped double decker bus (just like the ones in London). Kerri took this photo (above) in the heart of the city & then nearly had her head knocked off by the overpass in shot.
It wasn't a bad way to see the city. La Paz is quiet a dangerous place (other than the chance of getting hit by a bus) and being away from bandits on a nice safe tourist bus was more my style. I don't like people much & La Paz has no shortage of them. There still wasn't that much to get excited about, but at least we knew what was there. It wasn't all boring.

Yes, La Paz has a San Francisco church (above) as well. Not one of the most spectacular we'd seen.

A bit of an engineering side comment now. I saw some wacky 110V wiring in Canada & the US, but La Paz really had some crazy stuff. I'm not sure exactly how the whole thing doesn't short out. This mess was typical of just about every street intersection.

This would be the highlight of the city tour. We got to have a look over the entire valley & the snow capped peaks that overlook the city. You'll be able to see the soccer stadium (below). The Bolivians, like all the South American people, are obsessed by football.

Later that day I managed to find a bottle of cough syrup that I haven't seen in Australia since I was at school, Neodiphen. I think they stopped selling it because it's packed full of codeine. It's the most awesome cough mixture because it knocks you out, let's you sleep & allows your body to fight the infection. How surprising that I started to turn the corner overnight & started along the road to recovery.
That evening we said our teary goodbyes to Em & Gem. It was sad to see them go because Kerri & I had become quite good friends with them. Lucky the world's a small place these days. I'm sure we'll see them again soon.

Travel from Puno to La Paz

South America Day 21

We woke up in Puno to rain, but it was more serious this time. We were so lucky to catch Lake Titicaca on a couple of clear days. Our exit from Peru was a rather dreary trip on a bus alongside Lake Titicaca.

Copacabana

The border crossing was a bit odd. We had to go to the Peruvian border control point and get our passports stamped. Next step was to change our Peruvian currency for Bolivianos. We then had to go back to the bus, grab all our belongings & hike them half a mile up the road to the Bolivian control point. It was all a bit of a hassle with the intermittent rain.
We then boarded another bus (well a small van really) for the short drive to Copacabana. Not the Copacabana Beach everyone would be familiar with in Rio de Janero, Brazil. This one is at the water's edge, but the water in this case is Lake Titicaca. When we arrived we left our gear in the foyer of some hotel & set off to explore the town & find some lunch. The only thing that was remotely interesting was this church. The markets around them are almost exclusively to sell offerings for the church.

Kerri, Emma, Gemma & myself stumbled upon a quiet little restaurant for lunch. The food was really quite nice. Simple but fresh. As we left to head back to the hotel where our bags (and new bus) were waiting for us, the heavens opened! It was serious this time. We were completely drenched and no rain jacket or poncho was going to help. The streets were turned into river torrents. We made it back, but we weren't exactly dry...We boarded our new bus with another group & set off for Lapaz, the business capital of Bolivia.

At some point we had to cross the great lake at a narrow straight to avoid a long detour back through Peru. The trick would be getting the bus across. We all got off the bus and crossed the straight on the small boats pictured. For boats this size you would expect some sort of inboard engine. Nope. Little 20hp outboards that we'd attribute to a small run-a-bout or tinny.

We made it OK, but our bus didn't look quite so safe. You can just see it toward the back of the photo above.

This is how our bus crossed and probably the reason we were made to get off and take the ferry boats. These dodgy little barges didn't look stable at all. I was thankful that I'd taken my passport and valuables with me. The bus made it, but it was interesting all the same.

Apolobamba Range

About half way to La Paz we saw the Apolobamba Range for the first time. It's what I'd thought the Andes were meant to look like. We were following along the spine of the Andes mountains. This range is well over the 6000m mark as the snow caps will attest to. On the other side, the Amazon jungle 6km below.

La Paz

We reached the outskirts of La Paz. It looked pretty much the same as the other bigger cities we'd been to. At that point we were around 4100m above sea level. We drove past the airport which is one of the highest international airports in the world at 4061m.

Not long after, we took an exit & descended some 300m to the heart of the city below. The city centre & the more affluent areas (in contrast to most places in the world) are at the lower altitudes. This is due to the altitude. The lower the altitude, the easier it is to breathe & the healthier you tend to be. La Paz is the highest capital city in the world at 3660m. (Note that La Paz isn't the capital of Bolivia, but the business & administrative capital. No, I don't quite understand the difference either.)

As we neared the city centre, the traffic went from busy to mad! It was just like Lima. Eventually we came up to a round-a-bout that had 7 streets entering it. It was basically at a standstill. We sat in the bus for a good 20 mins half way across the intersection. It turned out to be only a few blocks from our hotel. It was an experience.
That night was all a bit sad. Our tour leader, Roberto was also leaving us. His job was done & he was about to back track from where we had come from that day & then on to Arequipa. He was going to spend some time with his family before starting another tour in a few days.
Our friends Emma & Gemma were also leaving us the next night. They were about to wing it from then on. They were planning to do the salt flats & Bolivian dessert like us & then going to Argentina.
On the positive side, we were gaining two replacements for the girls & a new tour leader. Corina & Sandra (the replacements) were from Switzerland. When I asked them whether they were German or French speaking Swiss, they told us "We speak both, but we are from the Italian speaking valley near the border".
Interesting. They were a little bit older than the throng of English 20 something girls on the tour which was very welcome in my books. More on our new found friends later.

Visit Uros Islands & return to Puno

South America Day 20
Home Stay Exit

I woke up early coughing again the next morning (annoying the crap out of Kerri). We decided to get dressed and pack up our gear so that we would be ready to go as soon as we could.

The last night had been very uncomfortable with the language and cultural boundaries. The underlying issue I talked about before was more about us invading their homes. They seemed not to be too worried because we bought food supplies as gifts for them. I just sensed that it was weird for them that us rich westerners were staying in their simple houses. Having said that, they seemed to be prospering from the billeting because they'd added a whole new building to their house complex (below). I still couldn't wait to get out of there. I milled around outside (above) and admired the view. What else was I going to do?

Finally! Breakfast. It wasn't the Weetbix and milk we're accustomed to back in Oz, but it did the job. I just couldn't face the eggs which I'm sure were a big thing for them to offer us. They were just boiled eggs, but I just wasn't feeling well.
The kitchen/dining room had a plain earth floor and a fireplace in the corner. It was pretty basic. Again it was all pretty weird with the language barriers a big problem. The Dad was pretty friendly and smiley, but the mum was a bit on the cranky side.

The wait was excruciating, but finally it was time to grab our stuff and head back down the hill to the boat. We were so relieved. The kids were all friendly as kids the world over are, but the rest of the experience wasn't my favourite part of the trip. It was just plain awkward.

Uros Islands

After escaping the peninsular people, the boat took us close to Puno amongst the reed beds in the bay. Centuries ago some of the people of Puno took to living amongst the reeds to flee from invaders. They created floating islands using the buoyant reeds. These Islands are called the Uros islands.

The island we visited was Khantawi Island. The tourist operators share the tourists (and their money) around the different islands. Not so many years ago these people were still living a simple life as fishermen & weavers bartering with the people of the mainland for grain, meat etc.

We were 'treated' to a demonstration on how the islands were created & maintained. It was all very rushed & tacky but the message got through. They just pack the floating reed on top of each other & as they rot they sink allowing room for more fresh reeds on top. You can see a piece of an island in this photo. You can see the fresh reeds on top & the rotten reeds below almost looking like soil for the most part.

I'm not sure how it helped, but they put some live fish in this small bowl as part of the demonstration. These are the fish they catch in the lake. The problem was that the sun must have heated the water up or the bowl was too small. Either way it killed the fish. It was just a bit odd.

The Uros island men go out to fish (or go to the mainland to do regular jobs these days) while the women stay on the island making crafts. Above is one of the local craftswomen. I think she and her sister have been buying too many pies with the money they fleece from the tourists. The average Peruvians are scrawny folks that struggle to get enough nutrients to keep from fading away to a shadow. Not the case here let me assure you. More on the result of fleecing below.

 The problem with fleecing the tourists is this. Instead of the traditional way of life continuing (which the tourists come to see) the excess money they fleece from the tourists goes into all the western mod cons. The folk we'd stayed with the night before didn't have stereos, flat screen TVs or solar panels.
It's a shame to see, but if I were in their shoes, I'd probably do the same thing. Why wouldn't you make your life a bit more interesting & comfortable? It was just a shame that she was so proud to show it. It does spoil the illusion of the traditional lifestyle.

 Despite the touristy feel to the Uros islands, the local artisans are pretty good at their craft. Their rugs are very colourful and well made. Kerri ended up buying one off one of the pie eaters but I'd have to say it was somewhat in the high price bracket for what it was. She loves it so that's all that matters (so do the cats BTW & that's why it's now in the cupboard out of harm’s way)

With such small islands they've had to adopt an odd way of keeping animals. Pictured is a hole in the island where they have a smaller island to stop the guinea pigs getting away and a fish pen stocked with some sizable table fish.

Just to top off the tourist experience, we boarded this reed raft that looked very Egyptian, but apparently authentic. The island men paddled us for a lap around a couple of the islands & set us back on the island next to our cruise boat. Of course the lap wasn't free.

 As we were heading off for our hot lap, the crew left on the island gave us a send off dance & song. Unfortunately the song was a very corny English sailor song that I can't recall off hand (I think I'm trying to block it because it was too traumatic.) Points for effort, but someone needs to tell them to try a traditional song instead of an English one.

Waterbirds

The only other comment about Lake Titicaca is the bird life among the reed beds. The reeds are a haven for water birds & we saw plenty. Pictured above is a pair of Andean ducks. I like their blue bills. Below, a grieb of some sort.

Below are two more species of water birds. The black headed gulls we had seen in Canada, but the Crested Ducks are new.

Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca and Peninsular Home Stay (Day 19)

We awoke the next day to light rain. I'm never one to complain about the rain because I see precious little of it (particularly in Perth) but I was worried about it spoiling a nice couple of days out on the lake.

Above and below was our transport to the lake. It was all very touristy, but it was the most fun we'd had in days! The drivers turned it into a race. By the time we reached the port a couple of kms away, the rain & clouds were gone & it was shaping up to be a belter of a day.

 

 

 

Lake Titcaca

We climbed aboard our cruise vessel and started out through the reed beds toward the open water of the lake. Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world at 3827m above sea level. It's quite large as well and forms a section of the border between Peru and Bolivia. Our boat wasn't very fast, but we had all day to take in the view so we were in no rush.

 

Along the way we saw people in small boats harvesting reeds (above) and others tending fish farms like the one below.

 

The shallow waters near Puno allow the locals to simply drive stakes into the bottom of the lake and string fish nets between them. It's not the same as the fish farming in the western world because they catch the wild fish and rear them until they're big enough to sell. No captive breeding here. Just as we were about to make it outside the bay where Puno sits, we had to perform a rescue mission on a stricken boat that had broken down and was drifting aimlessly. It was all a bit hap hazard, but you have to let the locals do it their way. We dragged them close enough to shore so that they could hop off without drowning. Our good deed for the day.

Taquile Island

 

Our first stop for the day was Taquile Island. After a short wonder up the hill we reached a nice spot where we could look over Lake Titicaca.

 

Taquile Island has a slightly odd society. It's a commune of sorts (Community Collectivism it's called technically). It's not like the communism of China or some of the eastern block countries. Nobody is forced to be there and people from the mainland are able to come to live there. Everybody has a job to do and they all rotate their jobs every 6 months. It seems to work very well and the locals seem to be a happy bunch which is proof that the system works. It's a shame the rest of the world can't play so nice together.

 

We had a prearranged lunch on the island. It was quite nice and with a great view over the lake. After lunch we set off in the opposite direction from where we had come from to jump back on our boat.

 

Home Stay - The Peninsular

 

That night was the night of the trip I'd been dreading since before we booked the tour. It was what they call a home stay. They set each of us up with a family of peninsular residents.
The obvious issue was the language barrier (because our Spanish was rubbish), but there was another underlying gut feel thing that I couldn't put my finger on until sometime later. (I'll explain below). We were greeted by this welcoming committee whose musical talents weren't brilliant.

 

Considering this lot have a new group in every 2 days, they really don't have a clue how to organize the billeting. The chit chat about who's going where went on for a good 20 minutes. I don't understand why.

 So we thought we would be staying in one of the houses in the village near where the boat dropped us off. No such luck. Most of the group were whisked off somewhere close, but Kerri and I (and I think it was Vixy, Special K, Melissa & Richard) were frog marched up the hill and along the ridge (above) to our home stay places. This was after we'd been told we'd be coming back twice during the evening. I was stoked considering the chest problems I was having.

 

 No sooner than we'd dropped our stuff off in our room for the night, than we were turned around & taken back down the hill to the village. Everyone was already playing soccer & looked like they had been for some time. I gave it a miss being unwell. Volleyball was next. Kerri got involved, but I just wasn't up for it.
The games finished & it was time to hike the 3km back up the hill for the second time.We had a fairly simple dinner with our hosts and before spent some time with their inquisitive children. Communication was dreadful with us picking words out of our translation book & me showing photos of animals & birds from earlier in the tour to try to understand what each one was called in Spanish. It was hard work!

 

After dinner,we were supposed to 'suit up' in traditional dress and go do some traditional dancing. I wasn't about to do that hike again and was crashing badly with the chest infection. The temperature drop with the sun gone wasn't helping. I told Kerri she should go because she was keen enough, but I think she wasn't about to do the hike up the hill again either. We decided instead to get an early night.