Peru to Bolivia
Trip Start
Feb 10, 2008
1
23
28
Trip End
Aug 14, 2008
La Paz,
Bolivia
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
La Raya market seller
The train stopped at La Raya where there was a market at the side of the tracks with locals from the surrounding areas selling their wares. Very colourful local people in their traditional attire. The air was fresh and bracing and a welcome rest after so many hours on the train.
La Raya Pass
We continued on to Puno and what an amazing arrival. We had seen a 'Youtube' video of market stalls being moved and people running out of the path of a train and our arrival into the suburbs of Puno was very similar. As our train slowly inched along people were moving all their wares from the tracks to let the train pass. We were passing right through the middle of a market. Absolutely amazing to experience.
Puno/Lake Titicaca
We arrived at our hotel which is right on the shore of lake Titicaca and what a beautiful location it is. We were supposed to get a boat early next morning to spend 2 days on the lake but the effects of altitude suddenly hit me and during a disturbed night, David spoke to the hotel front desk and minutes later an oxygen bottle with mask suddenly appeared...it was obviously not uncommon. I had to see and be treated by a doctor in the morning who again was well prepared for Altitude Sickness (he called it 'mal de montagne'). One good thing was that we were both up and awake to watch a magnificent sunrise over Lake Titicaca and to see the locals collecting reeds at the edge of the lake and manouevering their small boats around.
Sunrise over Lake Titicaca
The bird life is also fantastic so we were treated to a brilliant early morning display from our hotel room window. The bad side was that we missed out on the trip to the islands as we were advised to go to a lower altitude if possible. As our next stop was due to be La Paz in Bolivia, we made arrangements to go there by road, instead of boat. This was an interesting journey partly around the edge of the lake. So we crossed the border from Peru to Bolivia and a few hours later arrived in La Paz, 'the city in the clouds'.It seems strange to go to La Paz, the highest capital city in the world, because of altitude sickness as 1 in 3 people who visit there suffer the effects.
approaching La Paz City
The centre of the city is in a bowl surrounded by snow-capped mountains and just happens to be a few hundred metres lower than Puno and apparently this small difference may and did help a little.
La Paz City
We loved Bolivia even though neither of us was feeling our best. We did a guided tour of the city to get an overall picture. Our guide was an interesting, knowledgeable man who had a great sense of humour, calling part of the tour the ABC section (another bloody church). We understood him well as South America is full of the architectural legacy of the Spanish and we have seen many churches and cathedrals over the last 2 months. 
Snow-capped mountains surround La Paz golf club
David played golf at the La Paz golf club; the highest in the world and very picturesque.
Golf course, La Paz
The journey to the club passes through the Valley of the Moon which is an area of hills and rocks eroded into fantastic shapes by wind and weather; a strange landscape and very aptly named.
Valley of the Moon, La Paz
Valley of the Moon, La Paz
I enjoyed the walk around the course with him and it is a beautiful club. It is very expensive by Bolivian standards and the luxury of the club is in stark contrast to the life of the majority of Bolivians, even those with an education and job. It is a country with a lot of unrest and social problems but we found the people open and friendly. We were there on May Day and witnessed street marches and protests but all were peaceful and we saw no problems.We wandered the city streets and particularly enjoyed the market stalls and ubiquitous street sellers. One amazing and interesting area was the witches' market; one could purchase all sorts of brews and potions and even animal foetus as can be seen in the photo.
Witches market stall
The witch collects the dead foetus of llama etc. at night in the high country and sells them to the shaman for their rituals along with all sorts of other weird stuff. She also sells things for people to offer up to the spirits. We had never seen anything like these stalls and probably never will again. We heard tales of experiences people had had going to shaman and even our Bolivian guide had visited one once but never again, he said.
Bolivian street vendor
The dress of the women was once again interesting with their alpaca leg warmers, voluminous layers of skirts and woollen shawls and their bowler hats so distinctive. We were told many different stories as to why the women wear bowler hats and you can take your pick if you google it.
Bolivian lady with lolly
We were however reliably informed by our guide that the angle of the hat tells the marital status. Some of them are beautifully made and very expensive but last for years.
Bolivian Lady
Another interesting sight on the streets of La Paz were the zebras; no we haven't got our continents/animals confused. We saw 'zebras' walking around the crowded streets of the centre of the city and apparently they are there to teach motorists about zebra crossings as the standard of driver awareness of pedestrians is not good. Students are paid to dress up and patrol the areas with pedestrian crossings to draw drivers attention to them. It appears that this scheme has been in operation for 4 years but we couldn't see the results!!
Zebras in La Paz
The food was excellent and we particularly enjoyed the Bolivian soups some of which are meals in themselves.
It was with mixed feelings that we left Bolivia as we would have loved to see more but we were looking forward to descending to a more comfortable altitude. At least we have learnt how high we can travel in comfort so will plan any future trips with that knowledge.
