Bolivia….Que Lindo!

March 23rd, 2009 by Gabrielle Armstrong

After a hideously long bus ride, I finally reached Copacabana at night. As I hadn’t bothered to book a hostel before hand, I wandered around the so called ‘quiet’ fishing town with my massive backpack, getting turned away from hostels because apparently it was carnival and everywhere was full. Grrr!

Eventually, I bumped into an English couple who were in the same situation. We headed to La Cupula Hostel where, to my surprise, we all managed to get rooms and I even secured a discount, by saying I was a volunteer with little money

As were on the shores of Lake Titicaca, it was only right to head out for a trout dinner! I instantly fell in love with Bolivia because its so freaking cheap!!! The town was full of carnival buzz, which continued next morning, everyone dressed up in costumes running through the streets and throwing water. It was a great atmosphere, but after a month of Carnival in Cusco, I was glad to finally take the boat across the tranquil Titicaca to the calm of the Isla del Sol.

How mistaken was I, I had heard that the Island is notorious for being a place to relax with a bottle of red and watch the night sky! When I arrived, I was instantly harassed by kids asking if I needed a hostel. I reluctantly agreed to be taken to one by a boy who insisted on carrying my rucksack, which was almost twice the size of him, so I felt compulsed to give a big tip! Naturally, carnival was rampant which meant finding an open restaurant was pretty impossible as most locals were partying. Eventually I found possibly the only place, which was packed with hungry tourists!

After a stormy night, I woke to find a group of Argentinians and Germans who were attempting to BBQ a lamb in the hostel garden. They told me that they had no money so decided to slaughter a lamb from one of the fields and grill it! Even though it was pretty gross, it depicted exactly how life on the Island should be, days dictated by the sun, mules as the only form of transport and caveman-like cooking!

I eventually managed to head back to Copacabana, just in time to catch the last local night bus to La Paz. The bus schedule, was basically to leave once the bus is full! The journey began around the shores of the enormous, ocean like lake, and was fairly tranquil UNTIL…the bus stopped and the Bolivian lady sat next to me and asked me (in Spanish) if I was crossing the river. I assumed she must have been crazy and thought that the stop was for people who weren’t going all the way to La Paz. So I stayed put on the bus with a few remaining stragglers, whilst the majority of the passengers hopped off. We drove off and I could see people were boarding a boat, then the bus proceeded to back onto a PLANK OF WOOD in the middle of the lake, and we were then waded out into the middle of the water! I actually thought I was going to die because my bus sank in a lake! I don’t think Bolivians have quiet grasped the concept of Health and Safety yet!

I eventually arrived in La Paz, the entrance to which is stunning, you descend around a corner into the City and are greeted with a million twinkling lights from the hilltop neighbourhoods, down into the City Centre. I was surprised to get off the bus to a lecture from the tourist police, warning of the dangers in La Paz….would have been nice to have been warned before taking the death bus!

I met a couple of friendly Irish girls and took the next few days exploring in and around La Paz. I went to the Coca Museum and learnt about the use of Coca leaves in everyday life and how they are used in Coca Cola and to read the future! I also came across the infamous Witches Market, which was actually quite rank! There are Llama foetus hanging up and other varieties of dead animal which are apparently used in sacrifices still. It was all a bit creepy!

The funniest thing about La Paz has to be their Zebra Crossings…they actually employ people to dress up in Zebra costumes and help pedestrians to cross the road! There is so much traffic in La Paz, they are a genius idea and look absolutely hilarious!

The next day, I braced myself to do the notorious death road bike ride from La Paz to Coroico. The road it known as the most dangerous in the world because at one time there would be as many as 200 deaths annually. The 3 metre narrow, bumpy road, complete with horrifically steep drops is set in jungle terrain and is worth a visit for the scenery alone. The ride itself wasn’t that bad, at first I was pretty nervous, but after spending sometime on the bike, weaving in and out of traffic on practice roads I relaxed and enjoyed the ride. As you pass along the death road, crosses line the route and you are reminded not to get too comfortable. The guide told us that the last person to die was an American guy in September who cycled too fast around one corner and plunged over the edge! Because of the thick jungle terrain, many wreckages have remained and we saw a bus which still remained there 5 years after it had crashed!

However, the trick is to concentrate, not go too fast and don’t panic! I was kitted out in some sexy cycle gear, and the funniest of all because I have a tiny head, I had to wear a child’s helmet…yes the world’s smallest head takes on the world’s most dangerous road!!

The bikes themselves were also great, complete with hydraulic brakes and made the ride much more comfortable so much so after 64km I hardly felt any pain! Once we reached the bottom, our small group had a beer to celebrate not becoming the latest victims of La Ruta del Muerte!