Avoiding the march

Trip Start Jun 26, 2008
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Trip End Jun 2009


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Flag of Bolivia  ,
Saturday, October 18, 2008

We arrived at the office of the agent in Copacabana that sold us our bus tickets at 13:00 for our 13:30 bus. At 13:30 with no sign of a bus Kingsley was getting anxious and when a crammed minibus arrived he started demanding a refund. Turns out the minibus was just to take us 5 blocks to the "real" bus. Much to our horror the bus did not look like what we were expecting, luggage on the roof and old and squashed. It was made worse by the antisocial passengers in front of us who were making tuna sandwiches. The ride was stunning winding above and along lake Titicaca. The lake was deep blue when beside it and a shimmering sea green from the distance. We wound down into a small village (Tiquina) where we disembarked from the bus while it was loaded onto a wooden plank with a 40hp outboard engine that claimed to be a "ferry" . We bought tickets for a tiny boat to cross the lake. The port officials looked odd in camouflage jackets with white sun hats turned up to look like sailors hats. The craft dipped deep into a couple of the waves and we were glad we were not in the bus, we watched on while the bus made its trip across the lake; taking about 20 minutes longer than us to get across . A rude traveler asked Kingsley to "Take a photo of us" and he kept saying "excuse me" until she got the hint that a simple PLEASE would work wonders.... As we came closer to La Paz we saw snow capped mountains first in the distance and then closer and closer. Suddenly we were on a ridge with the sprawling city below us. The sight alone is a reason to come here.

The hotel called and booked for the boys to play golf the next morning. They woke up like children on Christmas day and headed off. Alanna and I headed to the supermarket to buy ingredients for macaroni cheese (excited about having a kitchen in our apartment).

Golf at the Highest Course in the World!!
The last time I managed to get a game in was with Brent and Brendon at Hoebridge in Surrey, so when Gareth mentioned that there was a championship course in La Paz and that it was the highest in the world I was keen no matter what the cost!!

What a find! This course is definitely one to play for those that get a chance for the following reasons...
1) There ain't that many courses where we have been.
2) It is colonial in that one has to take a caddy which is brilliant and much needed due to the altitude
3) The back 9 are some of the most spectacular and beautiful holes I have had the pleasure of playing
4) The clubhouse has that old typical feel to it that made me feel instantly at home albeit the decor was very 50's.
5) It is the highest course in the world and the scenery is spectacular.

We were let on despite no proper golfing gear... they loaned us two sets of antique clubs.... G was playing with a  set of blades and wooden woods that must be worth a fortune as they looked like stuff I have seen in golfing museums !!!  Gareth's putter was a multi purpose club that could pass as a 1 iron and a putter....The course was very forgiving and despite the lack of technology the altitude helped immensely with the distance we could pound the ball. The play was easy and I only managed to lose one ball. It was a very worthwhile experience. Both GT and I loved the setting and some of the holes are really superb, check the canyons and colour of the greens in contrast to the "moon like setting of the surrounding terrain"

We managed to scream around the course in a little over 3 hours. This is a record for G and I however it makes sense as we were not playing with the master company of Brent Katzin :-)
The lady at the clubhouse kindly called our hotel so that we could alert the ladies to jump in a cab and head over to meet us earlier than agreed for a much enjoyed beer or two on the 19th which was a perfect ending...

Check the pics and videos....

The next day we headed into town. It took ages to get to the bus station due to roads closed by the march and even longer to get back downtown for lunch. The burger place (Mongos) was closed but our taxi driver recommended an Argentinian restaurant nearby. The place was heaving with local families and had a great atmosphere.
1.6KG of awesome Argentinian steak between the 4 of us washed down with a bottle of fine wine complete with salad bar and mountain of french fries was an wonderful treat for a little under 30UK Pounds all in !!!

We then tried to get a city tour bus but they were going to the Valley of the Moon, which we had seen on the ride to the golf club so instead we wandered the Witches market (see the picture of the Llama fetuses which are bought as good luck to use as decor in one's house!! - No shit!)  and surrounding areas until the afternoon rain arrived. The city has lots of nicely manicured roundabouts and Plazas and a few beautiful old buildings.
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