La Paz

Having finished our Salt Flat tour we stayed the night in Uyuni before catching a bus to La Paz the following evening.

Uncertainty was growing following the Bolivian election and reports pf electoral fraud. We hoped that the road to La Paz would be clear.

The road was clear but this was a disastrous journey as Father was ill and we were robbed on the bus.

While we were asleep a man had crawled under my seat and taken my ipad (well it was actually mum’s ipad but she gave it to me when she got an upgrade).

We only realised what had happened when we arrived in La Paz to a commotion as an Irish couple had lost their phones. I checked my bag and discovered the soul destroying truth…I too was a victim.

The bus driver ensured me it could not have been the trustworthy Bolivian miner who was the only passenger to leave the bus during the journey. A quick glance at the passenger list told me that our trustworthy Bolivian miner was in fact “Chilean”.

We were frogmarched to the tourist police about 10 minutes away…but they were all asleep and a gruff looking chap told us to come back in 3 hours time (we didn’t bother).

With the traumas of the night playing on our mind we arrived at York Vintage Hostel:

Abi’s Rating: 8/10 – “Duck feather quilt and pillows had real potential”.

Mike’s Rating: 8/10 – A real shame we were only here for a couple of hours…it was a lovely little place.

Richie’s Rating: TBC

A decision was made to try and get out of La Paz as quickly as possible. The situation seemed quite volatile and we figured that the sooner we got to Lake Titicaca the better. With that in mind, we booked a 1pm bus and, in a blink of an eye, we were in and out of La Paz.

NB – The loss of the ipad will be greatly felt as we enjoyed our Netflix. However it also means that the blog (including the last two) has been written on my phone…I hope the transition has been smooth but please be forgiving re typos!

Copacabana

The best way to overcome adversity is to get straight back on the horse so getting straight onto another bus was the perfect tonic (I don’t think Abigail agreed).

The 4 hour trip to Copacabana (Bolivia) and the shores of Lake Titicaca was a good one. We enjoyed the short crossing that saw us take a little speedboat while the bus was placed on a large raft and ushered across.

On arrival in Copacabana we swiftly located Hostel Olas de Titicaca before having a little rest.

Abi’s Rating: 5/10 – “Dark and thin walls so felt uncomfortable pooing”

Mike’s Rating: 7/10 – Comfortable bed and decent enough shower. Breakfast was very basic.

Richie’s Rating: TBC

There was just enough time for a stroll down to the lake to admire the breathtaking sunset before we had dinner (I thoroughly enjoyed the trout). We were desperate for sleep after a quite frankly mad 24 hours and were grateful for the rest day to follow!

The change of plans had resulted in am extra day in Copacabana and we used this to refuel the tank. Aside from some laundry, eating and boat/bus organising the majority of the day was spent relaxing.

The only activity was a short hike up to Cerro Calvario to drink in the stunning sunset views over the world’s highest large lake.

The altitude and steepness of the climb meant a few pauses were necessary but we spent a couple of hours at the top enjoying the spectacular view. (The only blot on the copybook was a group of loud backpackers but they did quieten down eventually and we managed to outstay them).

Isla del Sol

Isla del Sol is the biggest island on Lake Titicaca and we clambered on top of a boat to take the tediously slow 2 hour journey (in spite of it only being around 10 miles). We didn’t help ourselves by going to isla de la luna (an extra 90 minute round trip) which wasn’t really worth the hassle. Nice mountain views though.

Isla del Sol itself has changed a fair bit since I was here in 2016. There is an ongoing dispute between the North and South side of the island so it is now not possible to visit the North side. We still enjoyed taking in the stunning views of from the South and hiking up the steep hills.

Some members of the group found it more challenging than others.

I had stayed at hostel Intikala on my previous visit and it boasts some of the best views on the island. We spent the afternoon relaxing on the balcony and enjoying another spectacular sunset.

Abi’s Rating: 9/10 – “Comfy, warm, hot water…never seen stars like that. Point off for breakfast”

Mike’s Rating: 9.5/10 – Magical views…I actually thought breakfast was decent too!

Richie’s Rating: TBC

Dinner was a wonderful affair and were were treated to a 3 course meal for £5. Sweetcorn soup, grilled trout and ice cream…delicious!

The evening was rounded off under a blanket on the balcony with the perfect view of the star laden night sky.

The following day we negotiated our passage back to the mainland on a private vessel skippered by Max. I trotted down before the others and made a canine friend before we departed.

Puno

We took the bus from Copacabana and took some interesting “roads” to the Peruvian border.

A very easy crossing and we did not have to wait long until we arrived in the city of Puno. Suites Antonio was our home for the next two days and it was an excellent pick:

Abi’s Rating: 8/10 – “Comfy, clean, spacious”.

Mike’s Rating: 9/10 – Comfortable, very good shower, cable TV.

Richie’s Rating: TBC

We were extremely lucky that we had arrived on an important day for the city as university graduates celebrated by parading through the streets. We spent about half an hour marvelling at the constant stream of dancing youths dressed in all kinds of weird and wonderful outfits.

The Rugby World Cup had reached the semi final stage and thankfully we had cable tv to enjoy it on. Father and I were up at 4am two days running to watch England’s demolition of the All Blacks and Wales’ agonising defeat to South Africa.

In between we took a trip to Uros…the infamous floating islands on Lake Titicaca. The tour company had seemingly forgotten us so they had to send a taxi to pick is up and take us to the boat.

Overall the trip was average. It was fascinating to see how the islands had been constructed out of reeds and it was certainly worth a look but everything was so geared towards tourism and it was rather cringeworthy. Singing women and constant sales patter…it just felt really forced.

We had spoken to some other travellers who did not like puno but a combination of our accommodation and the incredible street parade meant that we actually really enjoyed the city for a short stay.

Next Stop: Arequipa

#WhatOddsPaddy

Abi took it upon herself to correct my Spanish which went down like a lead balloon and she made it a double whammy of indiscretions when she left her small amount of allotted cash on the mainland. Cue having to spend some of our precious dollars…nightmare.

Otherwise Richard ‘Nigel Owens’ Yeates has been keeping the peace and ensuring that everything runs smoothly.

Divorce Odds: More chance of ‘Chilean’ Citizen ‘Oswaldo Zabaleta’ ever being found…goodbye beloved ipad.