March 30-31 Tranquility

This wee island would have been absolute bliss but for the altitude which left me with no energy, a baffling sense of ennui, 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 water's edge had many different species of fava beans and potatoes

This second day we took a boat ride along 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 wandered 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

The Island's hillsides bore the sign of the industriousIncas culture,- every slope was terraced.

We only had a precious few days 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 around 4000m 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 ~40 mins  or more while our guide negotiated with the locals leaving us cooling our heels (not something we have experienced with any other travel guides - fortunately). Finally after a little 'prompting', we hopped into a car (which smelled like there was a fuel leak) and wove our way around the rocky 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 at an inlet amongst dense reed beds to inspect a traditional reed boat.  The proud owner was old before his time, the sweet man, but so delighted to show us his craft. These boats are called Balsa de Totora and evidently are built in various sizes from small fishing canoes to thirty metres long boats. They are still used on Lake Titicaca, but I suspect they are more of a tradition than a practical reality as they need to be rebuilt every year because the reeds rot.  

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 more beyond that.  A special service was in progress when we arrived so we only had a brief and respectful visit (with no photographs).

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 different world.

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

I think our guts have become a little fragile and sensitive living in our refrigerated/sanitised world. Sadly our constitutions can't handle many 'little beasties' that live in 'local' food. Lunch was a hamburger and chips which our guide thought might be safe, but over-sensitive me couldn’t eat mine because the smells from the meat market still lingered in my mind.  So Lindsay finished off his and well as mine. Unfortunately 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 is a name that conjurs up echoes from 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 massive lake, the world’s highest navigable lake. It is situated near 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 and the birthplace of Andean spirituality and culture: legend has it that the Sun created a man and a woman (Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Ocllo) on Sun Island. Evidently once the priests and chosen ones from  Machu Picchu came here to study.   The island and surrounding shores still bear the results of the industry of the amazing Inca empire - millennia-old stone-walled terraces cover every slope.  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 woken 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, damp 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 miscommunication at this particular part of our travels). We made it to the bus station 30mins after we woke - with a lot of time to spare. I think we must have set some kind of record!

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 and that provides a livelihood for many locals.  Currently there is some heated debate about whether 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 statue of Manco Capac welcomed 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) - we tourists are a captive, rather helpless market. While we waited we went for a stroll and took some pix of 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 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 water's edge - quite idyllic albeit fairly basic.  

Our hosts 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.

The view from our cabin - tranqility plus

Snow-capped Cordillera Real

March 28 La Paz

 

Our original itinerary had been to travel to Puno, Peru to spend a day or so around Lake Titicaca and then fly on to Lima.  But because of civil unrest in Peru particularly in Puno region, we were diverted to La Paz. Little did anyone know but we faced social ‘issues’ in La Paz also 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. 

Valley of the Moon

It seems very much a street culture particularly 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. Throughout our first day explosives were detonating around us. It was a bit scary even if, according to our guide, they were 'firecrackers' .  There was a city-wide demonstration/protest instigated by the teachers to try to force the government to become a formal socialist State. The protests are ongoing with planned city lockdowns and demonstrations on every intersection over the weekend starting Friday. And to think we were trying to avoid social unrest in Peru! 

Cute local transport

Indigenous dress is very common attire for the indigenous women

We were forced to take narrow streets because of strike-created congestion in main roads

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

Everywhere street markets

We had a rather short stay in La Paz. Basically an afternoon to see the city which started with a trip to the Valley of the Moon (a different one!). 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 the rains come and they get washed away! We rode the Teleferico (cable car) and had amazing views out over the city. 

I was a little disappointed in our visit. Our guide spent a lot of time on the phone (not aware of where we were?) and sneaking pix of us for his FB page - until I told him to stop. Despite warnings from our guide that we would not find eating 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, served delicious food.

Guide on phone with us trailing behind - we had to keep up or ...

Fairly specky views

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

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

March 27 – Bolivian salt flat, Uyuni and Pulacayo

 

The tiny red dot (centre pic) is Uyuni and the white blob beside it is exactly what you think it is - the Uyuni salt field. Absoultely astonishing!

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

Yesterday as we drove through Uyuni it was pouring with rain and looked dismal, but this morning the skies were fairly 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 140m deep salt-filled prehistoric lake bed suspended at 3,660m above sea level, can be seen from space evidently. Today much of it had a film of water covering it as a result of the rains and also from water draining from the mountains. The reflections were breathtaking. Staggering! I just stood open-mouthed staring at the endless horizon, the reflections that washed into the sky where 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 leave you to simply browse a few photos.

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

At one spot we stopped 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 made of salt blocks: it was once a hotel.  Here Eddy prepared a delicious picnic lunch for us.  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. 

An open air salt art gallery. Very imaginative creations all carved from salt

The sky was starting to look a little dark so we left this strange awesome place. It is perhaps the most astonishing place I have ever experienced. We ended up very sunburnt from the reflected light in spite of having applied sunscreen. One last photo before we leave this wonderful place.

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

More trains were to come! 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 rail, employed men from all over the world. It was also the site of labour strikes in the 1940's.   

Remember the film ‘Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid’?  It's a true story and 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 only could remember them all.  Freddy was a brilliant very knowledgable guide (a writer when he wasn't guiding).

THE very train

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

The day had been packed with fascinating things to see and chunks of history completely new to us.  Feeling quite overwhelmed Freddy dropped us in town and the bus station where we boarded an overnight bus which would take us to La Paz. Not our favourite way to travel but our only option this time.

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 have seen so far has been off the beaten track and today was no exception. First stop was a stunnng valley beyond a small llama-herders' community (most likely one family unit). Once past the dwellings and yards, we headed into a breathtakingly beautiful, tranquil 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

Freddy was going to take us wandering through this valley 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 Freddy reckoned were supposed to mark the path where we should walk - they were few and far between.  The ground close by 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.  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 for plants and rocks and took pix and a video. All of a sudden as I was staring off into the distance a small herd of llamas came wandering past. Such gorgeous majestic creatures.  

Lindsay and Freddy finally came back (Lindsay was a bit altitude-stressed but keeoing it quiet). 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 tip-toed 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 were flowers. Bottom R some of the resin from the plant

I saw a number of large cushion-like 'mosses' often spreading, the same as I had seen in the valley and had puzzled over.  It’s called a Yareta, a cushion plant. They grow very slowly, many only 1mm per year, and can spread up to 6m. Many are estimated to be over 3,000 years old. Freddy told me that during the war when fuel was scarce 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 traditionally used for medicine.  Incidentally they are native to South America and grow quite happily at high altitude – which is esactly 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 the Bolivian diet.

A field of quinao. The scraps tied to the fence are to deter the llamas

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 rather to extend it, BHP moved, rebuilt and revitalised this town. That entailed shifting the church stone by stone because it was sitting over a huge silver/tin deposit. Not far from the town the huge open-cut mines extracted silver, lead and zinc. As part of the rebuild, BHP brought in services and schools and generally the whole thing works well.

The relocated, rebruilt church

The roof is made of reeds

We ended the day at Luna Salada, a hotel made of 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 a humongus salt plain. 

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