Hostal Alojamiento Emperado Copacabana

... on our way. When we reached Lake Titicaca we all had to get off the bus and get a boat over to the other side while the bus drove onto this raft thing. We were watching our bags intently as they were not strapped on the top of the bus and my bag would definitely sink a lonnnng way if it fell. After getting safely back on board, and following a short drive on from the ferry port, we were in Copacabana. Ben went off to look at a couple of hostals to make sure we ...

Bilbo had his second ferry trip across the straits of Tiquina to cross from Copacabana toward La Paz. You really need to see the photos to appreciate this which I hope to be able to upload soon when I have finished crashing internet cafe pcs!

We turned up at the port, basically you enter a queue (which consisted of one vehicle, us on this occasion) and are then filtered to the next awaiting ferry to get across. This is not the Pride of Bilbao, am not sure the ...

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From Copacabana we did a day trip to Isla del Sol. This was actually one of the places that Luke had found in the footprint guide before we came away so we had to go really! We met a dutch couple the day we arrived who told us there were two options for the trip, one a half day just in the South of the Island and the other a full day where you get dropped off in the North and then walk (they kept referring to as ŽhikeŽ which I ...

Well, not the best first impressions... we arrived and checked into an ok looking hostal on the main street (hostal central), opposite the plaza.. anyway, weŽd been on the night bus from Potosi, stopped for breakfast in la paz and got straight on a bus to Copacabana... so I was dying for a wee and a shower... Al said something about a bit of an electric shock when he got in the shower... but didnt moan too much, so I got in, and before I even ...

I'm getting fat! It comes from having your meals prepared for you and not doing any exercise. I've also been longing to get in amongst the hills here, I mean what the hell We're in the bloody Andes! I got myself motivated and headed out early one Saturday morning. My destination was an Inca trail starting in the Tarija Valley and heading up into La Reserva Biologica Cordillera de Sama. This 108,000 hectare reserve includes part of the flat Southern Altiplano ...

... C'est plutot impressionnant pour une petite ville de Bolivie. On commence par du classique puis un session danse espagnole pour finir par danse moderne (plutot extravgant et kitch, la creation c'est pas trop leur truc...). A la fin toutes les meres apportent d'enormes bouquets de fleurs a la directrice pour la remercier, les gens sont tres fleurs ici.

... 10h de route effective) au lieu des 8h prevues, on arrive enfin. Quel plaisir de poser les pieds sur terre, nous ne reprendrons plus cette route ! On va poser nos affaires au Residencial Rosario avant de se ballader en ville. Ici tout parait plus Argentin, c'est etrange. En fait la region est typiquement plus argentine mais elle a eu le choix de son futur pays. A l'epoque, les mines de Potosi battaient leurs pleins et la region a cru que la Bolivie sera le meilleur pays dans l'avenir : rate...

TARIJA Tarija is a city of 100,000 people. However, it feels smaller because it is quite compact. I guess many people share one home. There are MANY banks, about seven churches, and zero high rises. The town is set up in a compact grid with the mercado and two main plazas in the centre. There is a river with three vehicle bridge crossings and two more bridges for pedestrians only. Like Albuquerque, the other side of the river is mostly for housing. Oh yeah ...

... empanada vendor and another gal that made my carrot drink (about $.30 a glass), so I was happy with the food situation. Yes, I had my pizza vendor (I would buy just 1 piece), my sandwich vendor, and my peanuts vendor. They all knew me after a while. While I was there several events happened. The first was the protest against Morales (which had started in Sta Cruz while I was there) and the second was the San Roques Festival. The ...