Hostal Alojamiento Emperado Copacabana

Well pleased to say that Erin and I made it to Copacabana.We caught an overnight bus from Cusco...supposed to be a nice tourist bus...it wasn´t though wecould recline and stretch our legs out.But we were shocked when woken to tell us we had to get off the bus and take a dodgey mini van to the bolivuian border,luckily there were 5 others in the same boat so we trudged along.We found out that there was a strike on one of the bridges so we couldn´t go the ...

We left La Paz at about 8 am for the 3 hour drive in a mini bus to Copacabana a town on the shore of Lake Titicaca...<br>The icelandic girls I had met on the bus from the salt flats were also on the bus as were some other Ozzies from the Loki hostel. <br><br>The bus ride was pretty un eventfull and most of us decided to catch the 1:30 boat to the island of the sun. On the boat we opted to sit on the top to get a better view - not the best idea as the sun was strong and so was the ...

... then started asking very loud and obnoxious questions whenever the tour guide started explaining somethings. Anyway, the trip to Puno took a day and involved 5 stops at an Inca ruin, a church, some markets and other picture taking opportunities. Overall quite good but not absolutely necessary.<br><br>We then stayed 3 days in Puno, a lakeside city close to the Bolivian border. Puno was much ...

... emptiness. <br><br>Arequipa is a great town, Peru´s 3rd largest, with good nightlife, clear blue skies everyday, and Volcano Misti looming over the town. The cities buildings are all made from a white rock from the volcano and the town is clean and beautiful to walk through. There seemed to be a festival going on everywhere we go and here was no different. There were parades and celebrations with colorful dancing in the streets ...

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 ...

At the Copa, Copacabaaaanaa. Music and laughter is all they were after at the Cooooopa! They fell in loove.... <br><br>I've had that stupid song in my head for days. <br><br>I arrived at fabled Lake Titicaca on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. I wanted to travel on Friday, but Copacabana is a prime pilgrimage point for Catholics on Good Friday and was told transportation and accommodation were nada. One more night in La Paz ...