Huayna Potosí

DAY 1: It's Monday already, the day we leave for our second excursion of this vacation, a trek up Huayna Potosí, one of the easier mountains to climb in the area. Somehow and quite easily, Alice convinced me that it would be fun, ignoring the fact that we would be in arctic temperatures of course. Have in mind I have never done anything very 'outdoors-y'. This would be my first experience with anything even remotely close to this.

The first day we arrived at the first refuge. There we had a quick lunch and then an hour trek with our guide Jesús to our training grounds, a little patch of ice but sufficient for learning the essential techniques.

all bundled up in the refuge

on our way to refuge #2

during training

taking a break

We returned to the refuge, another meal awaiting us. Warm soup and rice and meat; some things just never change no matter where you go in Bolivia. It was sooo cold! Even inside the refuge you could see your breath. We looked kind of ridiculous all bundled up, but it was oh so necessary. After an early dinner we went straight to bed, for the next day we would be hiking up to the second refuge at 5.300 meters (an altitude of 17,500 feet), three hours of rocks and another 40 minutes of snow near the top.

DAY 2: Well, no surprises, 3 full hours of slowing making our way up along rocks and finally another 40 minutes of snow. The pictures don't even show how difficult that last snowy part was. A very steep mountainside with slippery snow, not to mention the altitude and therefore lack of oxygen.  By the time we got to the second refuge I didn't want to do anything else but curl up in my sleeping bag, which is exactly what Alice and I did. We didn't move from those sleeping bags until the next day.

halfway to the top

snow-covered and hard to climb

in the second refuge

DAY 3: This is when we were supposed to climb to 6.088 meters (almost 20,000 feet), the top of the mountain, a six hour climb from our refuge starting at 1 AM. But at that hour, strong winds, snow, and poor visibility made us think twice about the rest of our trip. Let's be honest, we did chicken out. We didn't think it was too good of an idea with the little experience we had climbing mountains; we respected nature and its unpredictability and decided to turn back the next morning. Yes, when we got back to the first refuge  we did somewhat regret our decision, but at the time it seemed like the smartest thing to do. The sunrise that morning made the climb on day 2 worth it, for sure.

sunrise

Two and a half hours later we were back to the first refuge. Alice and our guide pretty much sprinted the whole way down, leaving me a good 30-50 feet behind them at all times, but I didn't see the rush. I was trying to enjoy the views while I could.

A couple of hours waiting at the refuge, quick trip back to La Paz, and then our 16-hour bus ride back to our house in Santa Cruz. Another unforgettable week of vacation.

A Day in La Paz

 We did a little tourism in La Paz for our fourth day on vacation. We walked along the Avenue El Prado, towards the main plaza, where we found the government building where current President Evo Morales works.

government building

posing with the guards

on the avenue El Prado

pigeons in the plaza

'cholita'

Being a Sunday, most stores were closed unfortunately for the majority of the day. Our shopping was unfortunately kept to a minimum, for only that reason.

We stumbled upon this restaurant for lunch, very colorful decorations inside.

A super relaxing day, except for the hilly streets that made walking not so fun.

night on El Prado

Mountainous Return to La Paz

This is the sunrise we woke up to on the island. You could even see the Peruvian side of the lake, where there were still stormy clouds and rain.

And the beautiful views continued all the way back to La Paz.

Lake Titicaca and the Island of the Sun

Let me tell you about my first night. We went to bed early, by 9 o'clock since the tourbus was picking us up at 7 the next morning. Our first mistake was the choice of hostal. The restaurant downstairs was noisy until late that night. The beds looked like hospitals beds and squeaked with every little movement you made. When I finally fell asleep, it didn't last long. I woke up every so often from the cold. At 1 AM, the city sounds were too much for my light sleeping. At 3 AM the sound of heels on a squeaky wooden floor woke me up. And they didn't just walk down the hallway once, but three or four times. Our conclusion the next morning, thanks for Alice's brilliant thinking: most likely a prostitute haha. At 5 AM the sounds of a city waking up for the next day, though you can hardly say the city went to sleep, and finally at 6 AM I gave up on sleeping more. Alice was up by that point too, but she 'had slept like a rock' all night. I have such bad luck. Well, you also have to take into account that we made a measly $15 for the room. We both agreed it was the worst hostel we stayed in and decided to never set foot in it again.

Residencial Marbella

After an awful night, the next two days made up for it. Three hours on a bus to Copacabana, passing over the Tiquina Straight and a quick boat ride to the Island of the Sun in the middle of Lake Titicaca. Not having brought our passports on this trip, we had to pass through the Tiquina Strait 'illegally' (nothing too uncommon or dangerous, just not the official way to do it). Because of the proximity to Perú, there are passport controls. And we all know that the police in any country are never the nicest people, so our guide decided that it would be better to avoid explaining our situation and just hide on the bus.

on our way to Copacabana

Tiquina Strait

little town on the shores of the lake

Lake Titicaca-- or Titikarka in aymara meaning "rock of the puma" or in quechua "grey puma". Obviously the puma was considered a sacred creature by the indigenous people.

Copacabana, from a distance

In Copacabana. The few hours we spent in the city our guide took us to the main plaza, Plaza 2nd of February, the day the Virgin of Copacabana arrived in the city. The cathedral dedicated to her was an interesting mix of renaissance and arabic architectural styles.

leaving Copacabana

on the boat

We finally landed on the Island of the Sun. Vicente, our guide for the two days, took us to visit the last standing Incan ruins, believed to be the first two-story temple constructed by the Incans. And then we were off to rest at the hotel.

trek to the ruins

the ruins and lake

view of next door from the hotel

The Island of the Moon is the other island frequently visited by tourists close to the Island of the Sun. It's also known as the Virgin Island. In the years the Incans inhabited the area, the king would choose the most beautiful women to be his wife, always virgins. He would send them to this island to learn to sew, cook, do pottery, etc. Then when it came time to make human sacrifices to the Gods, a virgin would be chosen, always a huge honor for her and her family.

Exploring Bolivia: Part 2

Well it's time for my second week of vacation, and my last chance to travel with Alice. She's leaving me stranded in Bolivia in a couple of weeks; her work down here in Bolivia is just about done and she's heading back to the states. This time we decided to visit La Paz, the capital and government-center of Bolivia. Of course, we took another 16-hour bus ride but at least this time it was one and done... and on a cement road too!

arriving in La Paz

El Alto, neighborhood of La Paz

 

The first day we explored the streets of La Paz, acclimatizing to the altitude. We found a Witchcraft Market, where they sold random things: love potions, gifts to offer the gods and even llama fetuses (a popular offering for the gods). A street full of little stands with little gifts to buy, and of f course we weren't able to resist for very long. Then we came across a local café called Pepe's for a quick lunch.

Dr. Douglas, hearing we were in La Paz, sent us on an errand to where else but a hospital. We can't stay away from hospitals even for a week! At Hospital San Gabriel, we met an endocrinologist, friend of Douglas', who wanted to express his interest in starting a rotation with the American volunteers that came down to work at the clinic in Palacios. The hospital and staff had good ideas and a desire for change but limited monetary resources, which always makes ideas only go so far.

hospital visit

First dislike about La Paz: there isn't a single street that isn't a hill. Even if you walk super slow, by the time you're halfway up, you almost don't even want to make it all the way up.

We found the best preserved indigenous street in the city, where decades ago the llama-trading business took place, a little street called Calle Jaen.

Calle Jaen

Our next stop was the cathedral San Francisco de La Paz, where there is a good view of the city from the bell tower.

Cathedral San Francisco of La Paz

view from the bell tower

We stopped by the restaurant Los Amigos for another dinner of typical Bolivian food.

view from the restaurant

My first impression of the city: big polluted city. I did enjoy walking down the streets and seeing all the ambulatory vendors on the sidewalks selling all sorts of products. The main indigenous population seen in La Paz are the aymaras. You see the 'cholitas', women dressed in the typical aymara wardrobe, on every street.

"cholitas"