Viva Bolivia

Forgive me, as I´ve gotten a bit off track with this blog lately. This is because 1) the internet in Bolivia is extremely slow, 2) computers are not exactly plentiful, and 3) I have been equal parts busy and lazy in recent days. So without further ado, here goes squeezing two weeks of my trip into one post...

I am happy to report that I have successfully made it to the great country of Bolivia. I met a very cool German girl named Johanna while in Cusco, and together we crossed the border to the lake city of Copacabana. We cruised into town just as the locals were performing their Sunday car blessing ritual, which consists of decorating their vehicles with flowers and trinkets, and then hosing them down with champagne. I personally like the concept, and think it should be introduced in the US:..

The picture of Lake Titicaca below was taken on a lookout above Copacabana. There is an extremely beautiful chapel on the top of the mountain (pictured left), where people from far and wide come to ask for miracles. There are several venders that sell toy versions of the things that people pray for- little cars, pots of money, toy houses- that you can purchase and leave at the alter. Another great concept, in my opinion.



Copacabana is known for Isla del Sol, an extremely small island where the Inca believe the sun god was born. There are no vehicles on the island, and only two walking paths that connect the island from north to south. One path contains Inca ruins, and the other is for locals. Unbeknownst to us, we took the locals route--and it turned out to be a great choice. Being able to witness farmers hearding alpaca, children playing, fisherman taking off for the day, and residents living their lives in such a remote town was a very cool experience. Not to mention that the view was incredible.

Isla del Sol

From Lake Titicaca, we traveled to the great city of La Paz. It is here that I finally got around to taking some Spanish classes. Johanna contacted Javier, a great teacher and awesome person, through Couchsurfing. He ended up inviting us to stay at his flat with his very cool international roomates. After being on the road for about a month, it was so nice to be in a real house (!) with a TV (!!) and best of all, hot showers (!!!)

While in La Paz, I experienced the biggest market of my life in El Alto, saw San Pedro prison (where prisoners pay for their cells and can come and go as they please), and experienced the witches market. It was there that I resisted the urge to buy some dried alpaca fetuses, which hang from almost every stall in the market. Why sell such a thing? Answer: to bury it in the ground to please the spirits before building a house. The larger the building, the bigger the offering. The tour guide said that they have heard of homeless people being buried alive as sacrifices...

Dried alpaca fetuses... yum

I was lucky enough to be in La Paz for the city´s 200 year anniversary, which we celebrated with a gaggle of Javier´s Bolivian friends. There were parades, music, fireworks, dancing in the streets, and of course lots of drinking. Think of the Fourth of July on steroids. People were drinking liquor out of the bottle, making out and sleeping on the sidewalks, and peeing everywhere. No porta potties plus thousands of drunk people equals a river of urine flowing through the streets. It was unlike anything I have ever witnessed. The night ended at 4 am at some strange underground street market where I ate one of the most delicious sandwiches of my life.

Leaving La Paz via a 17 hour, winding bus ride was a crazy experience that I will write about at a later date. Tomorrow I enter the jungle, where I will hike, boat, and swim with pink dolphins.

More to come!

Oh, the things you can pray for

La Paz Independance Day, 3 am

Sunday car blessing ritual in Copacabana

Taken at the La Paz independance day parade. Just in case you didn´t know, Bolivia doesn´t really like the US.

Beautiful street art in La Paz

The do´s and don'ts of Machu Picchu

Do assemble your crew. We started our trip with a fiery Argentinian, an adventurous Finnish girl, and yours truly. Along the way we collected two fun-loving Polish girls and a second Argentinian. Note: listening to Argentinians discuss politics can be a frightening experience, but wow are they incredible at bargaining!

Do walk the train tracks like a vagrant to Machu Picchu village. Taking this 2.5 hour hike will not only be mind-blowingly beautiful, but will save you about $100 that you would have spent taking the train.

Do not try to bribe the man at the gate to Manchu Picchu with 10 soles to let you in early. He will laugh heartily in your face, and you will feel quite silly.

Do hike Manchu Picchu Mountain. It will be a grueling two hour climb to the top, but the view will be well worth it. Note: your knees, calves and feet may not work the following day.

Do not pay for a tour guide at the ruins! Instead, just happen to follow a tour group as you walk along (note: be stealthy, as they will catch onto this pretty quickly). Making your own guesses about these big rocks and what they mean with your crew can be quite entertaining.

Do wear socks! Our poor Finnish girl found out that hiking without them can be quite painful. And asking strangers at the entrance of Manchu Picchu for an extra pair is quite odd. 

Do not, I repeat DO NOT rent a hostel room with a window overlooking the town square when any kind of party is going on! If you make this mistake, be prepared for the worst kind of repetative, synth-heavy Peruvian music you have ever heard, blared from a loudspeaker for 12 consecutive hours. Peruvians do not care that you are tired from hiking, that you have to wake up early, and that it is 2 am on a Tuesday (a WORK NIGHT!) Peruvians are the honey badgers of the southern hemisphere- they just don´t give a fuck.

Do soak your tired old ass in the hot springs after you come down from the ruins. Yes, the water looks like old bath water, and yes it smells like eggs. Just trust me.

Looking very proud at the top of Manchu Picchu Mountain

I won´t go into a lot of detail, but Manchu Picchu was an amazing experience. The Sacred Valley of the Incas in southern Peru is an extremely special place, and unlike anywhere I have ever been. I can only compare it to pictures I have seen of Tibet: towering mountains, mist rising from the valley, and vast amounts of lush, green foliage.

Three things will really stick with me from this journey:

One: walking the train tracks to Aguas Calientes, a tiny town in the valley directly below Machu Picchu. Call me crazy, but hiking along train tracks with a backpack makes you feel like a real badass. About 30 of us started the journey in the early afternoon, and arrived in the town at nightfall. The hike follows a beautiful river with amazing jungle scenery.

Two: making the hike from Aguas Calientes to the entrance of Machu Picchu. We started the journey at 4:30 am, when it was still dark. Witnessing the first bit of light starting to creep over the mountains in the Sacred Valley, and watching the mist settle over the cliffs in the distance, was an absolutely incredible sight that I will never forget.

Three: hiking Mt. Machu Picchu. I have done some hiking in my day, but wow. This one almost killed me. In total from our hostel in Aguas Calientes to the peak, we gained something like 2,000 meters. A must do.

And now, onward to Bolivia!

View from the top of Mt. Manchu Picchu 

The crew- minus an Argentinian, plus an Israeli- celebrating the 4th of July (note that I´m the only American)

The strike

I experienced my first, and hopefully last, moment of terror during this trip.

A strike and political rally began as I was making my way across the small tourist town of Cusco. I found myself stuck on a street between two intersections.


In the first, the street overflowed with marchers who were shouting angrily and setting off something that sounded like bombs. In the second, protesters had set a truck tire on fire, and were circling it while pumping their fists into the air. Police in full riot gear were standing on the sidewalks, watching nervously. 

People ran into buildings. Merchants slammed the gates to their shops closed. And I was trapped.

¨Well, shit,¨ I thought to myself. ¨I am fucked.¨

Everything I have read about international travel is to stay as far away from political demonstrations as humanly possible. If you find yourself in a protest, you are supposed to immediately find a safe place to hide.

After all, doesn´t everyone want to kill an American tourist from time to time?

I first ran into a printing shop, and then a much safer looking bank. After hiding in the back of the building, my inner-journalist got the best of me, and I found a window from where I could take pictures.

After about 20 minutes, the marchers dissipated. I asked the guard at the front of the bank if it was dangerous for me to leave the building. He nodded yes, and even rolled his eyes as if to say ¨this shit happens every day, white girl."

It turns out that these strikes do happen quite often. Also, it appears that the protesters share many of my own political beliefs. They want a higher standard of living and minimum wage for the working wo/man (the average annual income in Peru is under $10,000), less political corruption, an increase in basic social services, and a decrease in the large discrepancy between rich and poor. The bombs I heard were actually fireworks, and were a legal way of drawing attention to the protest. And from what the locals told me, the protesters are always respectful and have never been violent.

So, in retrospect, I probably should have joined them. Well... maybe not.

Onward to Machu Picchu! 

Cusco

A random conversation leads to an awesome night

I have found that backpacking solo has its advantages and disadvantages.

Plus: I do what I want, when I want. I pass the time as I see fit, and don’t feel guilty about spending a day reading in a park, stuffing myself with Peruvian pastries, or dancing until 4 am. My itinerary is completely open, and I can change my direction on a whim.

I must admit that not taking anyone else’s needs, thoughts or feelings into consideration is pretty awesome.

But perhaps the biggest benefit of solo travel is that you  meet so many people from all over the world. When you travel with a companion, you tend to nest a little with that person. Maybe you get a single room instead of sleeping in the dorm, or go out to dinner only with each other.

Not so with solo travel. Because you want some kind of socialization, you really put yourself out there. Personally, I try to talk to everyone. This has been easy, as people tend to notice solo travelers and will strike up random conversations with you.

Random street parade on a beautiful Sunday afternoon

I have met some awesome people in Cusco this way. At my first hostel I met Fernando and his wife Dörthe, and we shared great conversation and many games of pool. I also met Andrea and Luis Carlos, a young couple from Columbia who are both in med school. They saw me studying Spanish in our dorm and invited me out to walk around the city and put my studying to practice. Then they took me out to lunch and refused to let me pay for my food!

Point being, I am starting to really like this solo travel business.

I met up with some more couch surfers during my stay in Cusco. Our ad hoc group of six climbed out of the valley of Cusco to the mountains that surround the city on a warm afternoon. We meandered around Inca ruins, saw the beautiful statue of Christ the Redeemer, and explored ancient caves. A local musician at the top of the mountain even played some songs for us on his guitar.

Cusco, like Lima, is an awe-inspring city. The colonial architecture, immense churches and cobblestone streets make you feel like you have stepped back in time. And the street markets- good lord, the street markets! Merchants sling colorful llama hats, gloves, and sweaters to tourists. Locals come to grocery shop and chow down on fried trout, fresh juice, and the always popular cuy (guinea pig). Think of the street market as the Peruvian version of the US food truck, but with some serious sanitation issues.

Cusco in the winter is very similar to the Colorado mountains in the summer: dry, sunny and warm during the day, but cold at night (the temperature can dip down to the high 30s). The cold has given me a runny nose, and I looking forward to entering the warm and humid Peruvian jungle.

Manchu Picchu, here I come...

Plaza de Armas

The absolutely gorgeous city of Cusco, as seen from the surrounding mountains

 Street food

Statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the city

This part of the market was simply labeled ´´Innards´´

Enjoying the quintessental Peruvian meal- roasted chicken, french fries, salad, and coke. YUM.

My first llama sighting. I was overjoyed.