Sailing to La Paz

Preparing to cross the Lake Titicaca

As we passed the border and make the migration and custom paperwork, it quickly become clear that Bolivia is a country that still has corruption problem. Not at the point where they will not let you pass if you don’t give money, but you easily get this kind of dialogue:

– Ok senor, everything is OK, and now you can make a contribution
– What do you mean, I don’t understand.
– Dinero?
– I don’t have any money.
– Si Senor, contribution.
– So it is corruption?
– No Senor, just contribution for the office, no corruption.

To all of them I say I have no Bolivian money, and no more Peruvian currency either. And they let me through at the end, because it is true, I have no more money, and I need to find a bank quickly.

Lake Titicaca

We cross the first town in Bolivia, Copacabana, a charming place on the southern shore of Lake Titicaca.

Copacabana cathedral

Its cathedral is worth seeing. Built in a Moorish style between 1605 and 1820, it is very colorful, and dominates the main plaza of the town.

Copacabana market

Copacabana in general is very colorful, and may remind you of a place you would see in Europe. There is a lot of tourist there, as it is the main departure for excursions on the lake.

The majestuous lake

An hour after, we continued our drive on the shore of the lake, and as the day was ending, we arrived to the town of Tiquina. There, one can catch a raft to cross to the Bolivian mainland. It is a short ride, and it is good, as you can’t help but be worry about the fragile boat where I loaded my truck. 

On the raft, crossing Lake Titicaca

I still didn’t have local currency, and the boat ‘captain’ was a little bit puzzled when at mid-crossing I just handed him six U.S. dollars, but he finally accepted it when I showed him some science on my calculator. An hour after the crossing, we stopped in a village and slept on the soccer field. It was raining all night, but we were able to pull out without problem the following day. At another booth toll, I had to negotiate again to have them accept few dollars and we were on our way to La Paz.

La Paz

There, the traffic was a nightmare. I had some GPS coordinates of campgrounds, but we figured those were too far from the center, and we opted for a backpacker hotel where for US$17 we would stay two nights.

Peruvian and Bolivian are great bakers

It is very nice to walk in La Paz, and somehow, the air reminds me of Paris, France. It is very tiring also, as the altitude takes its toll since you have to walk uphill a lot.

Witchcraft market

I found the markets to be the most attractive sights of the city. There is a witchcraft market, a food markets, an art supply market, a black market, an electronic market and more!

People reading the newspaper on a newsstand, a common sight in La Paz

I spent the afternoon with Coen, another traveler who is staying in La Paz for few weeks to rebuild is Land Cruiser (find his website here). We spent time trying to find parts in the numerous specialized stores in the southwest of the city. La Paz was a nice surprise, as you hear from many people or guidebooks that the city is not worth visiting. I found the inverse to be true, and I hope to come back one day to spend more time. Also, Bolivia is dirt cheap, and you can stay there for a while with no big expenses. To fill up the tank of the truck, it did cost me only US$40, while in the U.S., this would have been double this price. That’s right, gas is less than US$2 per gallon. Don’t ask about quality though, since there’s no option, and no one seems to know neither the octane or if gas is leaded or not. Regardless, it did power my truck, and I don’t ask for more at this price.

Lunch in La Paz

On Wednesday, we are leaving the city to go southeast to Potosi, and we hear there will be a two-days strike across the nation. Regardless, we decide to go on the road anyway, since nothing – as you will see – can stop the Expedition.

On the shore of Lake Titicaca

Pisac, in the Sacred Valley

Ten minutes after I got to Cusco, a guy took a laptop from the trunk. I chased him and got it back. Twenty minutes later, as we were away from the truck, some other dude tried to force into the trunk, breaking the lock, fortunately with no success.

Cusco, Plaza de Armas

That was a warm welcome in the charming and colorful city built by the Spanish and located in the mountains at 3,500 meters high. After these events, we spent our time locking and unlocking doors and trunk, and paying extra attention to the surroundings.

Cusco

We arrived on Thursday and as Dan was leaving us the day after, we hurried to take a tour of the city in the afternoon. It was great to stroll along the streets of one of the nicest city we saw so far. The highlight of the day was a visit of the food market where we had coca leaves tea and bought a massive amount of cheese, the best I had in a long time. Peruvians are good bakers too, and at time, the bread can be similar to the one you find in France.

Cusco, food market. Lot of cheese!

We took a hotel room (Inka’s Inn, US$4 per person), and after this long day, I just stayed in the room eating cheese and organizing photos I took. Of course in the morning, I was unable to get hot water. That became a classic, as always hotel owners promise it to you, and you never get it. Hot water became our Machu Picchu. Always wanted to see it, with no success. 

Cusco, Plaza de Armas

 I drove Dan to the airport, and got back to our street, where our French friends had parked their RV as well.At the beginning of the afternoon, we went back to the market to buy food, and left all together for a two-days excursion in the sacred valley. Our first stop will be Moray, a stunning site used by the Incas as an open-air crop nursery. There, depressions are lined with terracing.

Moray, an agricultural laboratory

We slept there, covered with many blankets, as the cold weather is here to stay for at least two weeks, following us through Peru and Bolivia. (Free camping is allowed on the site’s parking)

Will we go through?

 The following morning, we departed for Pisac, a major site of the Sacred Valley. This is definitely the substitute for Machu Picchu, as the latest will be closed for few more weeks and we will not be able to visit it in this expedition.

Constant animal presence highlights reasons to not drive at night

Pisac is an Inca fortress 30 kilometers of Cusco. It took us three hours to visit the site, larger than Machu Picchu. The walk through the ruins goes across terraces, temples and housings, purification baths and water channels. Everywhere you can admire the fine masonry work of the Incas.

Pisac, agricultural terraces

Later, we rolled back to Cusco, and as night was falling, we stopped in Chinchero to admire the church and the plaza.

Pisac, the temples

Back in Cusco, we returned to the same hotel we spent our first night (to make sure water was always as cold) and had a great pizza in the same street. It is nice once in a while to have something to eat from the old country.

In the Sacred Valley

We spent the following morning walking in the city and went back again at the food market. The next step was the Lake Titicaca, and we wanted to make sure we had enough to eat while up there.

First snow since the U.S.

At the beginning of the afternoon, we left the French convoy, and started our trip to the lake. We went up high in the mountains, and saw snow in some villages. We also noticed several scary looking peaks with eternal snowcaps or glaciers.

Don’t count on me to go up there

It took up six hours to go all the way to Puno, on the border of the lake Titicaca, and there, we camped in the parking of a hotel.

Who knows if the train is still running up there

For US$15 (ouch!), in addition to authorize us to park they let us also use the showers. At this point we were so tired that we accepted the price. I cooked some pork with honey I bought at the market, and went to sleep under heavy rain.

Getting closer to Puno, at dusk

In the morning, we wake up early to catch the boats going to the floating islands. The islands are man-made and built with layers of tortora reeds, a common plant in the shallows of the lake. The Uros Indians living on these islands live mainly of tourism, fishing and hunting. Life therehas never been easy, as freshwater is hard to come by, and the reeds rot rapidly, necessitating constant addition of layers.

A floating island

Despite these interesting facts, you can’t help but be put off by the transformation of the proud fishermen into touristic puppets. Back on the shore at noon, I was behind the wheel again, and drove straight to the Bolivian border, where new adventures were awaiting us.

The Bolivian border