Bolivia

Copacabana
After a quick and easy border crossing we arrived in Copacabana. Since it was Pete’s Birthday the following day we decided to splurge and stay at La Cupula, a beautiful hotel overlooking the quaint town. When we pulled into the parking lot we were surprised to see another VW van with B.C. plates there. Unfortunately the owners were in La Paz searching for parts so we didn’t get to meet them that day. Although we did snoop around peeking into their windows trying to get an idea of where they were from and what they would be like. Pete was extremely jealous when he spotted a ski bag inside. While we were waiting for our room to be cleaned we wandered around the hotel and looked at some of the other rooms they had to offer. This is when we noticed that the penthouse suite had its own solarium patio overlooking the lake. We asked if it was free and to our luck it was. We paid a few extra bolivianos but it was well worth the luxury. After strolling around town we went back for dinner at the hotel, although the menu looked great the dinner wasn’t. We then spent the rest of the night watching a movie on the lap top with the heat cranked. May 7th, Pete’s 34th: We spent most of the day taking advantage of our private patio, relaxing in the hammock and enjoying the views. Before dinner we walked up to the view point and amongst numerous other tourists watched the sun disappear behind Lago Titicaca and the Cordillera Real. We then walked around town in search of a good restaurant, and we ended up finding a nice pizzeria. We devoured a large pie that was covered in roquefort and chorizo and downed a few icy cold cervezas. Then back to Pete’s palace for some cheap Bolivian wine and a birthday massage. The following morning we checked out of the room with the intent of visiting Isla del Sol. When we went back to load our luggage into the van we met the other couple in the VW. As it turns out Dominic and Belinda, were both from Pemberton and work in Whistler. We chatted for a while and then decided to postpone our trip to the island and spent the day with them instead. We excitedly exchanged stories of our adventures and our travels. Unfortunately most if not all of their stories started with “when we were broken down here” or “when we were fixing the van there”. Their 77 Westfalia “Madeline” wasn’t doing so well, the engine, which is now a Mexican beetle engine had been rebuilt two and a half times and now they were having brake issues. Despite all of their problems they were still very upbeat and positive and weren’t afraid to push on. The next day we walked to the docks and caught the first ferry to Isla del Sol, the island where the Incas believed the sun was born. During the boat ride we met some tourists from Spain and Argentina and practiced our Spanish for a couple of hours straight, and got a great contact in Cordoba, Arg. The boat dropped us off at the north end on the island and we hiked the 9km trail back to the south where we were picked up again. On the way we visited some old Incan Ruins and enjoyed the amazing vistas. When we returned to the hotel we were sad to hear that Dom and Belinda’s brakes still weren’t repaired, we were hoping to caravan with them to La Paz the following morning but that was not going to happen. After breakfast we said our farewells, not knowing if Dom and Belinda would ever make it out of Copacabana, and set sail to La Paz. The drive was spectacular; the highway hugged the shoreline of Lake Titicaca with the snow capped peaks of the Cordillera Real growing larger and larger until all of a sudden the highway disappears into the dark blue icy waters of the lake. From here there are many small barges with outboard engines that shuttle vehicles back and forth across the lake. At first it looks a little scary but I’m sure it’s safer than an overloaded ferry in some of those other third world countries. Once we offloaded on the other side we continued the mellow drive towards the Capital. When we arrived in El Alto, things weren’t so mellow anymore, there were no lanes, you just drove where your car would fit, and red lights were a waste of electricity. Luckily we had good directions on how to get down to La Paz because there isn’t a street sign to be seen anywhere. From El Alto we dropped a couple hundred metres into downtown La Paz, we were going to stay on the main street all the way to the south of the city but then the road dead ended due to construction. “Ah great here we go again, can’t we make it through just one city without getting lost or getting turned around?” We eventually found our way and ended up safely at the Oberland hotel in Mallasa, where Patience had a well deserved rest.

La Paz
La Paz is a bustling city full of street markets where you can find anything from electronics to llama foetuses. It’s located in a steep valley which makes every direction you walk either up or down a steep hill. This will whip you into shape especially if you haven’t been at altitude before. La Paz’s claim to fame is that it is the highest capital city in the world at 3660m. It is a city that you either love or hate and we both loved it. We spent our days wandering around the black market or tourist shopping in and around the gringo streets. On our second day at the Oberland we were excited to come back from town and see Dom and Belinda had made it. Their brakes held up on all the steep down hills but once again they were having engine troubles. They limped their way up the last hill to the Oberland leaving a thick blue cloud of smoke behind. Our original plan was to do a jungle tour from La Paz, but although it sounded amazing the price had just jumped up ten dollars a day which made it out of our budget and we just couldn’t convince ourselves to go. Instead we decided to do the opposite and head for the hills. We teamed up with Dom and Belinda, rented some mountaineering gear and went off to explore the Condoriri zone. After a two hour taxi ride we were dumped off at the end of the road and we started our hike into base camp. Our packs were ridiculously overloaded which made the hike slow and painful, although the stunning views took our minds away from the suffering. Before we had left on this trip an Austrian tourist told us that this zone was notorious for robberies and was very dangerous. So when we reached camp we were very happy to meet Mario, a security guard/employee who watched your gear while you were away from camp. This beautiful camp was located on a lake with Cerro Condorriri towering overhead, from certain angles this jagged Andean peak looks like a condor raising its wings getting ready to take off. We found some shelter from the wind behind one of the many stone walls and set up camp. We decide to cook up dinner early before it got dark and it was a good thing because not long after we finished we experienced our first snow storm of the trip. For the rest of the evening we played cards and kept warm in Dom and Belinda’s tent. The next morning we were up at 4:45 fighting off the bitter cold, cooking up a brew and gearing up to climb Pequena Alpamayo, a beautiful peak that has a relatively easy route up an exposed ridge. We hiked for a couple of hours through the new snow before we reached the glacier. Here we put on our harnesses, double boots, crampons, and roped up, not an easy task with frozen fingers and toes. Off we went at a snail’s pace navigating around crevices and trying to stay on the main route. After numerous hours of climbing we took a lunch break in between a couple of huge crevices. Due to the time of day, softening snow and the thick black clouds moving in we turned around and made our way back to camp, leaving Pequeno Alpamayo for another day. We spent another freezing night at base camp and then hiked out the following morning. We were happy to see that our taxi driver didn’t leave us stranded in the middle of nowhere as he turned up right on time. Once we were back in La Paz we treated ourselves to hot showers, beers and a huge meal at the hotel then had a well deserved sleep. We spent one last day in La Paz soaking up the culture and black market and then decided to push onto....CHILE!!

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