March 30-31 Tranquility

This wee island would have been absolutely idyllic but for the altitude which left me with no energy, a sense of lassitude, strange pains and a feeling of helplessness. Around our lodge, Tacana Lodge, were terraced vegetable gardens creeping up the slopes of this mountainous island. So beautiful. The silence or rather the absence of human sounds was heavenly. 

Beautiful donkeys grazed on herbs, grass and flowers outside our cabin

This little vegie patch almost at waters edge had many different species of fava beans and potatoes plus

This second day we took a boat ride along the part of the coastline. Our guide was very keen for us to climb to the ruins which I know would have been very special but neither of us had the oomph to take the steep climbs. Instead we wander through a little village and along the shore meeting up with some very friendly pigs. We also watched a couple of the local men untangled their fish nets in preparation for setting nets in the evening. 

This big sow had a couple of youngsters rooting around through the seaweed

All around the island, the hillsides bore the sign of an industrious culture, the Incas - every slope was terraced. 

We only had a precious fewdays on the shores of the island gazing out in Wifi-less silence at the snow-capped Cordillera Real that cradles the lake on the eastern aspect as we nursed our breathless aching  bodies - at 3800m and after many days of rough travel we were rather ragged. Sadly the next day we had to return to La Paz. Juan organised an alternative return trip via the Copacabana Peninsula. A short boat trip then more waiting around while our guide chatted with the locals leaving us like shags on a rock waiting. Finally after a little prompting we hopped into a car (which smelled like there was a fuel leak) and wove our way around the rocking peninsula. It was a little like  being back in Australia – we were driving through forests of eucalypts. It seems our Aussie trees were imported to help stop erosion and I’m assuming for other reasons as well. 

We stopped along an inlet amongst dense reed beds to have a look at a traditional reed boat.  He was old before his time the dear man but very pleased to show us his craft. These boats are called balsa and evidently are built in various sizes from small fishing canoes to thirty metres long. They are still used on Lake Titicaca, but I suspect they are more of a tradition rather than a practical reality as they need to be rebuilt every year as the reeds rot.  

Then we arrived back in Copacabana in time to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana before it closed for the day; it was of special significance to our guide who had never managed to visit it. It is a C17th Spanish colonial shrine that houses the image of the Virgen de Copacabana. I don’t remember much beyond that.  

The sun was reaching its zenith and our tummies were grumbling so we headed back down through the village to find food. Lots of street stalls caught our eye plus a produce market which was a bit of an eye opener. We were told there are no flies in the region .... hmmmm we saw lots buzzing around bowls of meat and tripe and other ‘things’ sitting out for all to ‘admire’ as well as showing a keen interest in the ‘fresh’ fish spread out on the ground. It’s an interesting world.

That's a bowl of tripe in front. It's a popular dish and one can buy it on the streets cooked up with onion and potato in big washing up bowls.

I think we've become squeamish in our refrigerated sanitised world. Our guts can't handle many 'little beasties' that live in so much food. 

Lunch was a hamburger and chips which we thought might be safe but I couldn’t eat mine because I had the images and smells from the meat market lingering in my mind so Lindsay finished mine off – overactive sensory imagination perhaps? But that evening poor Lindsay suffered a bad case of ‘Bali’ belly. I had meds for him but he was still poorly the next day when we were flying off to Lima. Poor darling. 

Another very early start 3am - I mean really! Lindsay was feeling pretty rotten but today was the day we were to commence the next leg of our South American 'adventure' so he soldiered on and we made it safe and sound into the chaos of Lima.

March 29-30 The mysterious Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca a name that sends echoes back to my childhood. We were on our way to stay on the Isla del Sol (not far from the Island of the moon!) at the southern part of this lake, the world’s highest navigable lake. It is situated on the border of Bolivia and Peru.  The beautiful Isla del Sol was known to its early inhabitants as Titi Khar'ka, the 'rock of the puma'  from which Lake Titicaca gets its name. It is believed to be the birthplace of the Inca Empire, the birthplace birthplace of Andean spirituality and culture. The island and surrounding shores still bear the results of the industry of that amazing empire - millennia-old stone-walled terraces cover every slope. It was to here they say that the priests and chosen ones from  Machu Picchu came to study.  Legend has it that the Sun created a man and a woman (Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Ocllo) on Sun Island.  But we were still to arrive!

The border between Bolivia and Peru passes through the centre of the lake south to north

It was an early morning start which almost didn’t start because someone forgot to set the alarm, or rather she set it to PM rather than AM. OMG and sacre bleu! We were to be picked up at 7:15 and we were awoken by the soft burr of the phone at 7:07 - our guide was downstairs "but don’t rush" he said. Whaaa! We were out of bed, washed dressed, washing stuffed into our bags, zipped up and in the lobby 11 minutes later - my eyes were only just open. We scoffed breakfast in 10 mins with the anxious diminutive Geronimo hovering over us, darling man (we understood we’d have a boxed breakfast to take - lots of mis-communication at this particular part of our travels). We made it to the bus station 30mins after we woke - with time to spare. I think we must have set some kind of record yeah!?

The 2-3hr bus trip gave us a chance to see a little more of Bolivia’s countryside before reaching the lake. Towards the end of the trip we hopped off the bus and were loaded on to a small ferry boat in order to cross the Strait of Tiquina which joins the northern main lake and the southern smaller lake both of which form Lake Titicaca. The passage is almost 1km wide and is deep and fast flowing. The little villages on either side of the Strait, San Pablo de Tiquina and San Pedro de Tiquina provide a nonstop barge service for cars and large vehicles alike. It provides a livelihood for many locals and there is some heated debate about where a road bridge should  be built.

Strait of Tiquina. Fish farms in the foreground (the Lake has been practically depleted of fish)

Fascinating to watch large buses being ferried across the Strait

We passengers crossed separately.

That fringe of trees on the skyline are eucalypts. we saw many in this region of Bolivia 

This is a representation of Manco Capac welcoming us to the Lake

Once across the Strait we headed across the Copacabana Peninsula to Copacabana where we eventually boarded a ferry which would take us to our island.   There seemed to be quite some 'negotiating' going on (often) - I think we tourists are a captive market. We had a wander and took some pix in this popular holiday destination.

This wee poppet captured my heart.  

There is a naval base on the shores of the lake.

A number of Acacias in flower dotted the shore

Juan and Lindsay taking our bags to the wharf area - while I lagged behind taking pix.

We eventually arrived at the Sun Island 4200m above sea level, blurry eyed and short of breath but excited about the tranquility that awaited us on the island. The lodge where we were staying was right on the waters edge - quite idyllic albeit fairly basic.  

They welcomed us with a late feast served on the terrace overlooking the lake. Sardines, trout, chicken, dried black potato, eggs, baked banana, corn tortilla, the best fava beans I've ever tasted, cheese and huge white corn. Man oh man - and then dessert came out! we left the table groaning, but we lined up again that evening for more delicious food. As the sun sank below the distant mountains, the chill set in. Our cabin was not heated but while we were eating dinner, our hosts lit a small fire in our room - kero or some such. It was very effective.

Snow-capped Cordillera Real

March 28 La Paz

 

Our original plans had been changed because of civil unrest in Peru particularly in Puno where we were planning to spend a day or so around THE lake and then fly out of there to Lima. Little did anyone know but we faced social ‘issues’ in La Paz however  …..  after an absolute shocker of an overnight bus trip from Uyuni, La Paz was an experience I shan’t describe in much detail. Suffice it to say it is a dense dirty city that sprawls up the sides of a deep canyon. 

It's a street culture in the older part of town.

Street people, mostly the indigenous Aymara, descendants of the Incas, squat along the sidewalks and gutters eking out an existence by whatever means. It’s a different life to what we had seen so far in Chile and Bolivia. Our first day there explosives were detonating around us. It was a bit scary even once we knew they were 'firecrackers' according to our guide.  There was a city-wide demonstration/protest instigated by the teachers to try to force the government to become a formal socialist State. It is ongoing with planned city lockdowns and demonstrations on every intersection over the weekend starting Friday when we’re due back in town from ….. but that is a few days away and one doesn’t want to get ‘anxious’. And to think we were trying to avoid social unrest in Peru! 

Cute local transport

Indigenous dress is very common for the women

Narrow streets we were forced to take because of 'strike' congestion in main intersections

Our guide/driver locked his car. "Lots of theft" I asked? "Not at all" he said hand on heart and I think hmm

Everywhere street markets

Our rather short stay in La Paz was OK-ish. Basically an afternoon to see the city which started with a trip to the Valley of the Moon. The erosion in the canyon where La Paz is situated is hard to believe. Yet still people build on the very edge of the canyon – and get washed away! We rode the Teleferico (cable car) and had amazing views out over the city. 

We were, me in particular, disappointed in our visit. Our guide spent a lot of time of the phone (not aware of where we were) and sneaking pix of us for his FB page. Really!? Until I told him to stop. Despite warning from our guide that we would not find places that would take credit card, we managed to find a number of them and one particular wee hole in the wall amongst the chaos of the streets that served delicious food.

Guide on phone with us trailing behind

Fairly specky views

Excellent network - if you live at the top or bottom of the canyon!

Then thankfully we escaped to the tranquility of Isle de Sol in Lake Titicaca. 

March 27 – Bolivian salt flat, Uyuni and Pulacayo

 

The small red dot is Uyuni and the white blob is exactly what you think it is - astonishing!

View from our hotel towards the salt flat - a vast horizon.

Yesterday as we drove through Uyuni it was pouring with rain and look dismal, but this morning the skies were clear as we launched into another exciting day  – we were to visit Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat. Measuring 12,000sq km, this salt-encrusted prehistoric lakebed cradled at 3,660m above sea level, can be seen from space evidently. Today much of it was mostly covered with water from the rains and from water draining from the mountains. The reflections were breathtaking. Staggering! I could only stare open mouthed at the endless horizon, the reflections that washed out when the sky met the land - much of the salt plain where we were was covered with water so it was like driving on a mirror. I have run out of superlatives so I'll post pix for you to enjoy.

We hopped out of the car, pulled on rubber boots and walked - amazing stuff.

At one spot we stop to see pools where lithium, in some form or other, bubbles up through the 140 m deep salt layer. Evidently Bolivia has the largest reserves of lithium in the world.  

We drove and walked across the lake and then had lunch at a rather rundown place, once a hotel, made of salt blocks. Eddy prepared a delicious picnic lunch for us there.  The Dakar rally came through here 8 or 9 years ago so there’s an international flavour to the place including a cirque of flags - our Aussie one was sadly shredded, and the windows were covered in stickers from all over the world. 

A salt art gallery. Very imaginative creations

The sky was starting to look a little dark so we headed off. It was the most astonishing place I'd ever experienced - perhaps! We ended up sunburnt from the reflected light in spite of having sunscreen on. One last photo before we leave this wonderful place.

In Uyuni we visited a train cemetery. A bit of an oddity but once trains carry massive loads of silver, tin and zinc out of the area to a port on the coast of Chile. The lines were built by the British.  Being a bit of a steam train-lover Lindsay was fascinated. I wandered around an installation of creative works made from scrap metal and bits from trains. 

More trains! We drove out of Uyuni to visit what was once the second largest silver mine in the world, Huanchaca in the mining town of Pulacayo. This mining operation  which used steam power and railways employed men from all over the world. It was also the site of labour strikes in the 1940's. Before that however ……..  

Remember the film ‘Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid’?  Well the train that the real Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid travelled in when they were robbing the miners of their wages was sitting in the derelict rail sidings at Pulacayo Bolivia wow!  So many stories to tell – if I could remember them all.

THE very train

The town is run down  but they still mine here on a small scale. The place is guarded by the army.

All of that before we headed boarded a n overnight bus to La Laz.

March 26 Fantasy rock city and hidden valleys, llamas and dainty plants

 

Today was a day of rocks and valleys and other surprises. So much of what we are seeing is off the road, off the beaten track and today was no exception. First stop we headed beyond a tiny llama-herders community, probably one family. Once passed the dwellings and yards, we headed into a breathtakingly beautiful, gentle valley. Not a soul in sight anywhere – the silence was heavenly.  Of course we got out and walked. 

The valley was covered in peat moss with rivulets meandering through

We were to wander up a valley for about an hour where few people venture and where we would likely see some wildlife. As we walked we saw a few wooden pegs close to the rocks which it seems were to indicate where we should walk.  The rest was squelchy fragile peat moss. 

I was still struggling with the altitude and my legs weren’t too happy doing long walks so after a while I stopped and let Lindsay and Freddy go on.  I was happy and quite able to entertain myself in the gentle silence – I was completely alone. It was wonderful after weeks of always being surrounded by people. Freddy assured me that I would be safe from pumas which until he mentioned it I had not given a thought about.  Actually I wasn’t concerned at all – he would never have left me there if there had been any danger.  So while he and Lindsay were tramping down the valley I looked at plants and rocks and took pix and a video. All of a sudden as I was staring off into the distance a small group/family of llamas came wandering past. Such gorgeous things.  

Lindsay and Freddy finally came back (Lindsay was quietly a bit altitude-stressed). He’d seen a chinchilla (long tailed rabbit), Andean foxes, lots of birds and was happy. Back in the car we headed for an amazing, jumbled bastion of eroded rocks which Freddy called ‘rock city’. 

We wandered through weird and wonderful, unlikely shapes and teetering boulders. I found lots of tiny plants and flowers tucked into crevasses and cracks. 

These are yareta. Bottom L densely packed tiny leaves with we flowers. Bottom R some of the resin from the plant

And a number of the strange moss-like plants that I had seen in the valley and had puzzled over. It was a moss-like cushion often spreading. Turns out it’s called a yareta, a cushion plant. They grow very slowly, many only 1mm per year, and can grown up to 6m. Many are estimated to be over 3,000 years old. Freddy told me that during the war when fuel was scare they were used instead of coal. Fortunately their very slow growth makes the traditional practice of harvesting it for fuel unsustainable which is a relief. Evidently the menthol-like ' resin’ they exude has been traditional used for medicine.  Incidentally they are native to South America and grow quite happily at high altitude – which is where we were! You can imagine I was in my element photographing tiny flowers amongst the rocks and lava. 

Once down on the high plains we saw acres of quinoa in all colours spreading across in the distance. It's a staple part of Bolivian diet.

In the background is a wall of lava 

We headed for the tiny village of San Cristobal for lunch.  This village was an eye opener for us. In order to reopen a mine, or extend it, BHP rebuilt and revitalised the town. That entailed shifting the church stone by stone because it was sitting over a huge silver/tin deposit. It is a huge concern with an open-pit silver, lead and zinc mine near the town. They brought in services and schools and generally the whole thing worked (very different to another mining company which i won't mention).

The roof is made of reeds

We ended the day at Luna Salada, a hotel made from salt blocks - even the bed base and some of the dining chairs are huge chunks of salt. And the floor in most places is loose crushed salt. Fascinating! the hotel looks out over the huge salt plain. 

The floor is covered with crushed salt - very hard to wheel a case across!