After leaving our volunteer experience in Cusco we took the overnight bus to Arequipa. The bus was quite luxurious and the only truly terrifying moment was when one of the bus workers came around with a video tape showing everybody's faces and saying their seat numbers, just in case something were to happen. The hostel we stayed at had a delicious breakfast each morning and we were talked into a tour of 3 volcanoes because we were so "beautiful" we got a great discount. lol. The tour was fun but perhaps a little long and repetitive. For dinner we decided to eat in the plaza at a pre-incan restaurant. The owner of the restaurant was incredibly nice even when we told him we only had 80 Nuevo soles (not really a lot of money) He decided to order our food for us, something that would "fit" our budget. Most of the food was quite good until he brought out seafood stew made with river shrimp. On first contact with my mouth I knew this meal was going to be a struggle. We attempted to eat what we could but claimed to be too full to finish. Walking home that night the river shrimp set in instantly and there was some immediate discomfort. South American tip: Never eat river shrimp.
The next day we left for a tour of Colca Canyon whose claim to fame is the giant condors that soar through the canyon looking for food. It was quite a long drive with some super high altitudes. When we got to the town we went to a hot spring and were finally able to temporarily warm up for a bit. That night we went to show called a Pena and watched traditional dancing. The next day was a bit challenging for me only because I have an intense fear of birds. Now imagine a giant bird whose wingspan is the length of my monkey arms. Had I now been perched upon a rock with plenty of other tourists I might have had a severe panic attack or worse yet, messed myself. Failing to have planned ahead, the battery on my camera died and all we had was Kate's phone to take pictures. After our up close encounter with Condors it was time to head back to Arequipa, then move on to Puno.
In Puno, sources will neither confirm nor deny if we temporarily lost our luggage for a night...I will say I do get a rise out of arguing in Spanish. We stayed at a really great hostel called Quechuas if you are ever in the area. The next day we headed out for a tour or Uros which is an island completely made of reeds. The entire island is floating and solely made of reeds tied together. It was pretty amazing to see and even more amazing to know that if you ever got into it with your neighbor you could simply cut your reeds apart and be done with them. From Uros we headed to Amananti where we had arranged to stay with a host family. I wish I could say they were a bit more friendly but they weren't all that talkative. They did however fix us delicious soup and some insanely rubbery cheese to eat. We hiked to the top of a mountain called Pachatata for an out of this world sunset over Lake Titicaca. That night, our host sister dressed us in traditional clothing and we went to a little fiesta and did some interesting circle dancing. With little time to rest, the next day we left for Taquile Island to check out the town and have a super yummy lunch looking out over Lake Titicaca. Then, back to Puno for more adventures.
Now, having done a bit of research about Americans crossing the border into Bolivia, Kate and I were pretty freaked out trying to make sure we had enough money and all the proper documents. We were literally shaking walking into immigrations office. Within minutes the guards were laughing and joking with us, telling us to come back soon. It truly pays to know Spanish! We made it to the town of Copacabana which is a very small laid back town with tons of artisanal crafts and shady internet. Our first night there we went to a restaurant that had happy hour. We decided to try a cocktail that for the life of me I can't remember the actual name but Kate had somehow confused for Copacabinis. Night we decided to go for a hike to the mirador to watch the sunset. The sunset truly was fantastic and we did manage to get a picture from a man who neither spoke English nor Spanish and I truly tried to evolve my mime skills. I am not sure I have yet mentioned how flipping cold it is in South America during their winter but it was stinking cold. Kate and I went straight mountain goat down the mountain, knowing the sooner we got down the mountain, the sooner we might find some warmth. That night we tried the Bolivian beer Hauri and Pacena to decide which was better. We also ate some pretty delicious Bolivian Nachos.
Panaroma of Lake Titicaca
Then, it was on to La Paz where we walked around a little and checked out some of the crafts. We knew we would be heading back to La Paz before we left so we kept it pretty chill.
Then it was off to Oruro where we stayed in a fabulous hostel with some of the sweetest owners. By this point I had gotten pretty sick coughing, and I am fairly certain with a fever. We went to buy train tickets for Tupiza and check out some farmacias to get my illness under control. We left on a night train for Tupiza but couldn't leave without a meal. Imagine 2 Americans with huge backpacks and various other backpackers breathlessly walking into a pizza restaurant asking for a pizza to go. Thank goodness we are used to being stared at... The train ride was actually quite awful with the amount of dust and hot and cold temperatures...especially being sick.
We made it to Tupiza and attempted to search for a tour but had very little luck finding a tour with only openings available. We did however find a French doctor who was able to give me some medicine because at this point I was terribly sick and afraid to be going on a 4 day jeep tour with no doctor or farmacia in sight. We stayed another night in Tupiza so that I could rest and get better.
We finally left for Uyuni in a jeep with 2 other French ladies, Kate and I, and our driver and cook. The first day was mostly just driving with not too many sites to see. It was super cold but the Frenchies Lucie and Maude kept things quite interesting. Those ladies are a hoot!
The 2nd day had some amazing sights like Laguna Verde and the Laguna Colorada. Todo bien!
The 3rd day had geysers, flamingos, and a salt hotel. We went for a hike through some Cacti and finished off the night throwing some back with our new French friends and Basilio and Annie ( Our cook and driver who were in a romantic relationship)
The 4th and final day we watched the sunrise at Isla de Pescadores which was totally amazing. Then we had a blast taking pictures and having a dance party on the salt flats. We then had to return to La Paz and prepare ourselves to head back to the good ol US.
We did make sure we saw the witches market in La Paz to see all the interesting rituals and dead baby llamas used for good luck. Though the trip was a bit challenging physically with the high altitudes and cold weather, there were so many amazing sights to see and memories that were shared!
Those are dead baby llamas!
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