Anna's entry:
PERU-BOLIVIA TRANSIT
I
had read such a bad feedback about Lima International Airport; for us, however, the stop-over there became one of the best. While
waiting for our connecting flight to Bolivia, and wandering around various stores and
duty-free shops, we enjoyed (all for free) 12 different kinds of chocolates, 4
kinds of coffee, 3 kinds of tostadas, and several pisco brandy
cocktails - store representatives, with a big smile, kept pouring more samples for us to try. There was also a band at the airport playing a traditional
Peruvian music to go along with all the free treats around us - so we
boarded our plane with tummies full of chocolates, refreshed by coffee,
and a little dizzy from all the sampled brandy. And, we were ready for
our next chapter - next morning we would touch down in La Paz, Bolivia.
LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
We
met our first sunrise in Bolivia while still on the plane. Under us was surreal landscape of salt flats and mountains - vast opened
areas were stretching as far as eyes could see... Prior to our
arrival, while doing my research about La Paz, I had encountered horror
stories about the city (kidnappings and extortions were the big ones);
guide books had a warning not to talk to any locals (especially the nice
ones), and that "there were no friends in Bolivia". In addition, just
before our arrival in La Paz, a National Emergency was declared because
of the water shortage all over the area. So, as you can imagine, even
though we are quite experienced travelers, we were preparing ourselves
for the rough city and rough crowds. Our first impression upon
arrival, however, was quite different - people seemed quite soft-spoken
and mellow, public bus ride from the airport to the city went smooth - no road
blocks, no extortion, no shenanigans. The only challenge to get used to
was a high elevation - at nearly 12,000 feet (La Paz is the highest capital in
the world), moving around high mountains and steep hills was a
challenge. Breathing was harder, moving was slower, lightheadedness was
a normal physical state. It almost felt like we were in a slow motion
where everything around us was happening at a very slooooooooooow
pace...
We
spread our time in La Paz among thee very different neighbourhoods -
Sopocachi, Central Market Area, and around the Central Bus Station.
Each of these areas had a very different character, and I thought that
would be an excellent way to learn about the city and its quirks.
-- SOPOCACHI
The
peaceful neighbourhood of Sopocachi is considered a wealthier part of
La Paz. It is somewhat removed from the city, and is located high up in
the hills with absolutely stunning views of La Paz. The place we
stayed at was run by a lovely smiling crew, we had a super comfortable
private room with a view over the mountains and cable cars soaring high
in the air. The view at night was similarly breath-taking - thousands
of lights from the houses built all over mountain slopes would lit up,
and we wouldn't even want to draw the window curtains closed so we could
enjoy that night landscape right from our bed.
La
Paz has the largest cable car network in the world - and it is built and
used as a mode of public transportation. No road blocks, no traffic
lights, the cable cars are soaring high up in the air over the majestic
Andes Mountains, with numerous neighborhoods and settlements stretched
all over the city hills. Needless to say, we wanted to dedicate a
special time to ride those cable cars in various directions above the
vast city and dominating Andes Peaks. The rides were fantastic! We
made several stops to connect various city points - at one of them we
had (a local fast food) lunch with 180°
Panoramic views of the city below us. Local people were very mellow and
humble, and indigenous people almost seemed afraid of their photos
taken - in Peru and Ecuador they loved the attention, so we really would
have to get used to new customs around here, and obviously be more
discreet. We stopped at one of the local supermarkets and picked up a
$4 bottle of Bolivian wine (great!), and $1.50 of fresh cheese for supper.
We are slowly getting used to this 12,000 feet altitude - I seemed to be
adjusting a bit easier than Rob. Our hotel has a basket on their
breakfast table with coco leaves - supposedly they help with the
altitude. A hotel lady helped us to make a special tea with them - Rob
decided to give it a try, but I wanted to experiment and do without them
to see who gets adjusted to the altitude quicker.
Our
neighboiurhood also had a day dedicated to a special festival called
Alasitas. This was sort of a "wish day" festival with all kinds of odd
things on display - toy money, cars, houses, dolls dressed in men's
clothing and decorated with candies, rice, beer, pop-corn AND a
cigarette (which was lit for real!!!) in a mouth. Very odd and very
fascinating. Some stall sellers spent their time and explained to me
what those things symbolized and how people used them. From what I
gathered, if you wish for something - say you want to graduate from a
university, for example - then you'd buy a toy diploma that day, and
hope for the best for your wish to come true. Same applied if you
wanted to find love, money, etc. Just like that! Later that day, to
escape a heavy rain, we stumbled upon a restaurant that served a $3 per
person buffet lunch - the BEST cooked trout I have ever had! It was
served with rice, sauce, all-you-can-eat soup and vegetable salad.
Surprisingly, I noticed a lot of similarities with a Russian style
cooking - even a popular local cake here was called "Napoleon Torte" -
the Russian bakery staple!
On our last day (before the move to another part of town) we enjoyed the sunset from a hill-top park terrace with 360°
views over the city and the Andes. Beautiful snow peaks could be seen
in the distance, and cable cars gracefully moving among the mountain
peaks - what a mesmerizing city and landscapes!
-- CENTRAL MARKET (a.k.a WITCHES' DISTRICT)
This
area located in the city center, is a REAL person's La Paz, that's for
sure. More traffic, people, noise, smell, commotion, and interesting
from a cultural point of view street scenes. We walked around the
"witches and shamans" market - lots of unusual things on display as one
would imagine - lama fetuses, potions, amulets and other shaman craft.
When we asked what local people do with the dead lamas' dried out bodies,
local people explained to us those were offerings for "Pachamama" - the
"Earth Mother", also known as "Goddess of Fertility"... OOO'K, I must
admit, I don't see why poor lamas need to be traumatized and sacrificed
to appease the "Earth Mother", and how could "The Mother" find this
enjoyable - but then again, none of any religious rituals make any
logical sense. From a cultural point of view, it was fascinating however, and
local sellers were very kind and welcoming to show their sacrificial
paraphernalia, and had no problem with us taking the photos. By the
way, the same "full of sh.t" guide books said "don't even think of
bringing your camera to the market, they won't let you take any
pictures!". I remember also, how one local lady was standing
behind me in a pouring rain patiently waiting for me to finish my
photo-shoot (I was completely unaware of her presence and apologized to
her profusely, but she smiled in return and reassured me it was totally
fine). YES, I must say - so far, all the warnings about the
"unfriendly" and "dangerously friendly" locals, did not match our
experiences whatsoever!
For
supper, we headed out to the Central Market with plethora of basic food
stalls to choose from. We settled for their day's special at $1.80 per
person - poyo con arroz y sopa (i.e. chicken with rice and
soup). And then, we came across something really tasty - on the ground
floor of the market, a local family had a huge oven burning in the
evening making super delicious "queso empanadas" - the freshest
tastiest "piroshki-type" savory pastries with melting cheese inside,
they were the best! On the way back to our place, we also picked up a
bag of HUGE sweet popcorn kernels from some local teens selling the
treats on top of their wheel barrels. I have never seen since South
America the popcorn of that size, the kernels were about 1.5'' (3.5+
centimeters) in length, and this is NOT an exaggeration.
On
another occasion exploring the market, we witnessed a local brawl.
This was also our first unpleasant interaction. We ordered a meal from a
food stall, re-confirmed the price (twice), and went to pay, and all of
a sudden the meal price went up 5 times more. While we were trying to
reason with a dishonest lady (stall owner), I saw some liquid flying
around - apparently, another unhappy person (looked like another food
stall competitor) threw something at our stall owner - the fist fight
developed among several sellers (all were tough-looking and big women),
and while that was going on, Rob and I vacated the premises. It was
somewhat entertaining actually... Later on that day, our hotel owner
tried to over-charge us too - I didn't let her though. So, that was the
first day we faced a dishonest pricing - previous 62 days traveling in
South America we did not have a single incident of that kind.
Walking
around colonial streets with stately, but dilapidated buildings was
interesting. There was definitely a lot more indigenous presence in
this part of the city. Also, we encountered many street labourers
wearing ski-masks (made them look like bank robbers from movies) -
apparently, those were shoe-shiners, and they wear the masks to avoid
the "stigma of their profession". There were more beggars as well (and
they seemed the real ones, not the business-beggars) - Rob gave an
elderly indigenous lady some bread, which she seemed to genuinely
appreciate. Rob also shared his umbrella with a pedestrian during a
heavy rain-storm, and the lady was seemingly touched by that as well.
So, as you can tell, we broke all the guide books' warnings of steering
clear away from La Paz' local scene - not only we interact with locals,
we actually initiate the contact.
There
was another scene in the central district that really stayed in my mind
- the pigeons feeding as a past time activity. In a beautiful colonial
central square surrounded by stately cathedral, and government
mansions, locals (both kids and adults) gather to feed the pigeons, and
they take it seriously! The birds are so used to it, that it is common
to see people's heads, arms and hands covered with birds. That was
really fun to watch and photograph. In Malaysia and Thailand feeding
monkeys is a local tradition, in India and Sri Lanka feeding stray cows
is an old-fashioned tradition, in Singapore and Hong Kong feeding koi is
a popular tradition, and in Bolivia feeding pigeons is obviously a
thrilling tradition - I've never seen so many smiling exhilarating
faces!
-- CENTRAL BUS STATION DISTRICT
This
third neighbourhood was chosen for several reasons - to see and
experience yet another part of the city, to give business to another
local establishment (who were very honest and obliging compared to the
second location), and lastly, strictly pragmatic reason - we had a 5
a.m. bus departure for our next destination. In either case, though our
room was simple, we had quiet polite neighbours - a local family (v.s.
"Western travel trash" who we had to be around while staying at the 2nd
location described above). We also had a HUGE glass enclosed veranda
with 180°
Panoramic views of La Paz' hills that would come alive with thousands
of lights at night - just gorgeous! We ate at a local restaurant,
walked along colonial streets, bought treats for my tea from indigenous
"babushkas", who we even managed to laugh together with and get big
smiles from (remember - Bolivian indigenous locals are quite reserved).
Rob fed some homeless ladies with food left-overs, which they loved and
appreciated.
We
finished up La Paz with several cable car rides over the city and Andes
mountain slopes. During one of those rides, an indigenous lady from
Copacabana became our passenger companion, and she actually initiated a
conversation with us (not a typical behaviour, as I mentioned above - our
looks must have toughened up by now). Then, we headed back to our
favourite buffet lunch place and had another delicious Almuerzo Ejecutivo. And,
in the late afternoon, after a nice long walk and stopping for a final
good-buy at the Central Market and picking up our favourite super-fresh
cheese empanadas straight from the oven, it was finally time to say good-buy to La Paz.
So,
as it turned out, La Paz was a GREAT place to spend a good portion of
time. Except for a couple of minor "unpleasantries", local people were
soft-spoken, helpful, courteous, and treated us in a very respectful
manner. Not a single warning from guide books or travel websites became
true - on the contrary, we made connections with local people and
experienced their warm (if a little humble) hospitality. Personally, I
LOVED La Paz as the city - actually, I had not expected I would enjoy it
as much as I did. I loved the city's neighborhoods, diversity, street
scenes, colonial architecture, unconventional urban landscapes, unique
public transport, the breathtaking views and general feeling being there
- all of those things combined created unforgettable images and
associations. I am so grateful to have been accepted by this
magnificent giant.
COPACABANA - Part I
We
took a so called "tourist" bus from La Paz to Copacabana due to
numerous safety warnings - allegedly, kidnappings were a big concern on
this route. As expected, the bus consisted of 90% of Western tourists,
which we hated. The rest 10% were occupied by wealthier Bolivians, which
were barely tolerable. Our seats were apparently double-sold (to the
latter group), and the bus company asked us to move, which we
categorically refused. I had picked the seats specifically to enjoy the
landscape and volcanoes, and we were not ready to give up our seats to a
wealthier/spoiled group of Bolivians for no apparently important reason
- they couldn't care less about the landscape, and just wanted to sleep
for the entire portion of the route. After a loooooooong squabble and
our obvious defiance, the bus agents gave up, and figured things out.
The bus route started really strange - our driver took us on off-roads
and weird alleys (this was when Rob asked me if, maybe, we really should
be concerned about kidnappings), but eventually it made its way to the
real country highway with gorgeous sweeping views of the mountains.
Another local (non-tourist) bus passed us, and the local passengers and
us waived to each other - their ride and mood seemed to be so much more
cheerful than on our bus. Rob and I decided that on the way back to La
Paz, we would definitely take a NORMAL/non-tourist bus, we enjoy the
REAL PERSON experience so much better. In order to get to Copacabana,
we actually had to unload the bus, take a small ferry, while our bigger
bus was transported on a barge across the channel. This was the first
time in Bolivia, I began noticing the sky - the clouds, and the depth
of colour were so striking!
Eventually,
after several hours of beautiful mountain rides among high elevation
(and a lot colder temperatures), we made it to Copacabana (Copa). We
stayed at a quiet place ran by a former mayor of Copa. Our room was
cute, but so cold - after all, we were located at over 12,000 feet
elevation! Our common bathroom was located outside, and I was shivering
going outside to use it. I was wondering if my breath would freeze
before I could make it back to bed. Our main reason for coming to Copa
was the connection to Isla del Sol. We didn't want to rush things and
before moving on, ventured to explore the town. On our arrival, we had
our first lunch at a local joint (but, unfortunately, frequented by
Western tourists - almost always the sign, to avoid the place). But, we
were super hungry, and settled for a local lunch consisting of soup,
rice, and fish. It was barely worth it. On our second attempt, we were
determined to find a REAL local eatery, which we did - and went there
every single time afterwards. For under $1.50 we had a set lunch
consisting of hearty soup, beautifully prepared fresh trucha (rainbow trout)
along with rice, salad, hot salsa, and locally baked buns. It was
served by a local family, and even their young kids were involved in
helping the guests. The attitude was warm and welcoming, price was
super cheap, the setting was picturesque - in open garden terrace with
tables covered in locally woven tablecloth, AND, the food was so tasty!
While
walking around town, we witnessed several "car blessing" ceremonies
taking place in front of the grand cathedral. The vehicles were
decorated with flowers and ribbons, then sprayed with sparkling wine,
then firecrackers would be set off, and then a priest would bless the
vehicles with holly water. I found priest looking very fashionable - he
had his traditional robe on, but also was wearing a super cute straw
hat. Around that ceremonial place, there were several market stalls set
up. Normally, I wouldn't buy anything, but I knew we would end up in
some cold areas at high elevation, and I bought myself a pair of gloves
made out of lama wool (they for sure, as it turned out, came in handy
all the way in Chile later on). We were planning to return back to
Copacabana after Isla del Sol.
ISLA DEL SOL - NORTH
We
were a little skeptical visiting Isla Del Sol - due to its fame,
meaning it is on tourists' radar. But, there was something about the
island that kept getting my attention, so, reluctantly, I made it part
of our journey - if anything, we would see more of Bolivia. As it
turned out, our experience on Isla Del Sol was most definitely one of
the highlights of our journey in South America.
Some
historians conclude that Isla Del Sol (meaning Island of the Sun) was
THE birth of Inca dynasty. They also say, that Inca people themselves
believed - that very island was the place where the Sun had been born. It
may sound pompous, but in either case, there were a lot of legends
associated with the place. Surrounded by mysterious lake of Titicaca,
there are actually two parts to Isla Del Sol - North and South. Most
tourists rush (as always) their trip and take a boat to the North, spend
their two hours, and then walk to the Southern part, and then take a
boat back to Copacabana the same day. It was entirely a stupid way to
do it - luckily for us, though, that meant that we had island to
ourselves. We had no interest in rushing things, and spent two DAYs
(not tow hours) in the North before making our way South (for another
two DAYs).
We chose to stay in the village called Challapampa. Our place was owned by a soft-spoken indigenous family, our room had 180°
views of Lake Titicaca, mountains and the village. Donkeys, piglets,
and local kids were running along the beach. Upon our arrival we went
to the lake's shore to pet an adorable fluffy baby donkey. There were
also piglets around, and one of them just loved Rob scratching its
back. Apparently, the piglet's owner was searching everywhere for him -
the owner "unloaded" on the piglet and startled the poor animal during
his "scratching procedure". The shore was so peaceful, with wooden
crumbling docks and boats, local indigenous ladies quietly gathering
together, the clouds ascending on Lake Titicaca... There was so much
peace and tranquility around us... For food, the eateries were limited
and over-priced - unfortunately; but we found several empanadas stands which were very reasonable and very tasty.
I
"dragged" Rob (his wording, not mine) for a 6-hour hike along the Inca
Trail with absolutely stunning panoramic views over Lake Titicaca, Andes
Mountains' peaks, harbours, peninsulas, ruins, etc. The views were
truly breathtaking! The
hike was very strenuous, I must admit - the island's elevation is over
12,000 feet! At one point, I got Rob so exhausted, that he had to lay
down while scooping water from a stream to purify it. Even though the
hike was challenging, the beauty of nature was so inspiring, that I just
wanted to keep going. Eventually, we reached the impressive Inca's
ruins - the Palace of the Sun and an elaborate labyrinth made out of
large rocks. Just upon our exit at nearly a sunset, we stumbled upon a
ritualistic ceremony performed by an indigenous shaman - first, on the
Inca's ORIGINAL sacrificial
rock, and then above the fire. The shaman dressed in a traditional
attire, was performing the ritualistic ceremony in the indigenous
language, on the background of the Inca's temple ruins, with a gorgeous
sunset over the Andes's peaks - it was a fantastic experience and an
excellent way to finish our exploration of the Northern part of Isla Del
Sol.
ISLA DEL SOL - SOUTH
We took a boat from Challapampa to the village of Yumani, in the
Southern part of Isla Del Sol. Well, actually, to the dock of the
village - it took us 222 steep stone steps to climb to reach the actual
village. Just one kilometer (about 3000 feet) had an elevation of 200
meters (about 650 feet), that's how steep it was - imagine climbing it
loaded up with heavy backpacks on our backs at an over 12,000 feet
elevation... The were numerous trails spiraling out in all directions
over the steep hill, and the hotel we were looking for was mistakenly
marked on the GPS's map - which turned out to be a good thing! Mislead
by the GPS, Rob found us a great peaceful place with stunning sweeping
views over Lake Titicaca and snow peaks of the Andes, for fraction of
the cost - about $5 per night! Bathroom was outside, and with a door
opened you could continue enjoying the stunning views. Our bungalow had
a large window with a sweeping view right from our bed. It was truly
beautiful! We also had a traditional reed boat inside our room (as a
storage unit) - which was super cute, and added a sense of the tradition
and history. We cooked our own supper enjoying the views from our
bungalow. A few restaurants that were opened here were greedy for
tourists' money and had a rip-off pricing (which we were not planning to
encourage) - especially, after our fantastic local family's cooking in
Challapampa, it just didn't feel right to over-pay. To our surprise, we
did not have tourists around us at all! A genuine tranquility was
present when we were there. We spent two nights in Yumani loving the
views, peace, and quiet. We hiked around the mountain terraces and Inca
trails, and even now - months later when I am typing this blog, the
images of the sky and Lake Titicaca are still so striking - the intense
colours just haven't faded away, just like the legends of Isla Del Sol
have not ceased to exit with time...
COPACABANA - Part II
We
returned back to Copacabana from Isla Del Sol; majority of tourists who
had arrived on our boat rushed to their connecting buses back to La
Paz, but not us. I knew of a BIG 4-day festival coming up in Copa, so
we settled back in our previously used hotel (owned by a former Copa's
mayor), and spent a few days prior to the festival exploring other parts
of town. We climbed to the top of Cerro Calvario with 13,034 feet
(3,973 meters) elevation with unbelievable views over the area. We also
took a steep hike to Inca Rock Observatory (at nearly the same
elevation, and also with breath-taking panoramic views). That
observatory is supposedly used up-till present day for harvest and
rainfall predictions by local indigenous people. While enjoying
sweeping views from the top, a humming bird came by to join us. We
actually had seen another humming bird feeding on flowers' nectar at our
local family restaurant that we enjoy so much, but as soon as loud
Western tourists showed up, the humming bird left immediately -
understandably so.
We
finished up our evenings at a local night market, where a jolly local
lady was cooking up fresh dessert - puffy crispy dough wheels freshly
cooked in hot oil and served with sweet syrup (which tasted a bit like
burnt sugar, but surprisingly good with the pastries). I did not take
any photos of those pastries because my fingers were so sticky after
enjoying several helpings with both hands.
We
also attended a special bull-fighting event. Both Rob and I had
dreaded the performance, but to our biggest surprise and relief, the
event was very mellow, and NONE of the bulls got hurt. I actually have
to mention a few details about this event that are worthy of further
description. First of all, the event started 1.5 hours late. Secondly,
the seating was completely packed and unsafe - the self-built platforms
made out of wooden trunks, boards, plastic chairs, and rickety
platforms were filled way beyond their capacity with locals and their
families. We were wondering when they would fall down and how many
injuries to anticipate (Rob and I chose to stand along the fence, and
just were hoping that those people would not fly down on our heads).
Thirdly, and to our big relief - the bulls were treated quite kindly -
no injuries, no blood, just matadors facing reluctant and
resisting-to-fight bulls. I was even thinking at one point that it
would be nice to pet the bulls and give them a banana peal treat. In
addition, inside of the fighting arena, besides the matadors, there was a
drunk man, a selling bread man, and a cotton-candy selling lady - so it
tells you the "seriousness" of the bull fight. I also noticed that
indigenous ladies loved more watching the young matadors than the
angry-not-really bulls. So, the bull-fighting was totally an authentic
local cultural experience not to have been missed!
And, finally, the day has arrived for the BIG Fiesta! The details of which follow below.
FIESTA De La VIRGEN De CANDELARIA
One of the largest and most significant festivities both in
Bolivia and Peru, celebrated for four straight days. And, we were
fortunate enough to attend all of the festivities, well, almost all -
except for heavy drinking the last day (never mind it is supposed to be a
"religious" festival). Parades, dancing, multiple traditional
costumes, indigenous groups from various parts of Bolivia and Peru - the
atmosphere ignited the mood of the entire Copacabana, that's for sure.
I loved the enigmatic mix of colourful traditional attires, animalistic
masks, paganistic costumes, etc. Dancing rituals varied from a
traditional skirt waiving and rotating in circles to jumping and running
around to modern sexy hip moving (the latter mostly done by men). The
second day of celebration, besides parades, music, and dancing, there
seemed to be a river of beer flowing all over town - both men and women
seemed tipsy from all that circular dancing and alcohol to go with it.
We were offered to join a group on several occasions along with offered
beer and chats. Normally, it is challenging to photograph indigenous
people in Bolivia, but during this festival it was a completely
different story - lots of smiles, invites, and even posing for photos.
People really opened up and just had a good time! I specifically
remember chatting with one of the Bolivian men whose wife was a parade
participant. The guy was very easy going, so I decided to ask him a
question that had crossed my mind on several occasions. It just seemed
that the lower body part of Bolivian women covered in their traditional
dress seemed disproportionate to the rest of the body. I really
was curious if the anatomy of the Bolivian women was different, or it
had something to do with the construction of their dress. So, I went
for it and asked that local guy. He seemed more than obliged to address
my curiosity. Very swiftly, he introduced me to his wife, and asked
her to LIFT HER DRESS for me so I could see what was going on under it! And they
say that Bolivians are UNAPPROACHABLE??? Now - maybe with the only
exception in INDIA - where local ladies showed me what was happening
with their sari, I could have NEVER imagined that in the reserved
BOLIVIA I would be allowed a casual look under a traditional woman's
skirt! The man's wife slightly scolded her husband, smiled at me AND
lifted her skirt! And, there they were - 12 layers of other skirts
under one big one - that explained the look that I had been so curious
about. Yes, we had a good fun at the fiesta. Needless to say, that festival has become a very colourful
memory for us about Bolivia and the gentle soul of its people.
BOLIVIA - CONCLUSION
Kidnappings, extortion, unfriendly locals, national emergency - luckily
for us NONE of it came true. Instead, we met warm kind polite
individuals that made our journey so worthwhile. The reserved nature of
the Bolivians and, perhaps, more so reflected in the country's
indigenous population by no means signifies indifference. With the
proper respect towards local traditions and customs comes gratitude. I
have to be honest, prior to our arrival to Bolivia, the image of the
country and its people was somewhat disturbing - probably, due to a
large number of warnings on various travel sites and in guide books. I
left the country, however, with a completely different impression - I
loved the city of La Paz, I cherished Isla Del Sol's
breath-taking landscapes and history, and even more touristy Copacabana
with its incredible festival spirit found a very special place in my
heart. And, the genuine Bolivian soul is as gentle as it can be, you
just have to find the places and people that preserve their soul instead
of selling it for tourists' money.