December 2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Titicaca

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-28658826

Weekend at Lake Titicaca and La Paz.

Thanksgiving was a day that was certainly different than I have ever experienced. One in which I was away from family, but with friends who have become like family. Not one that I would have ever imagined. But, it was an adventure, and one that I am grateful for experiencing. I am truly blessed for the opportunity that I have to see this beautiful world that God created for us all. I’m truly blessed everyday to experience new cultures, experiences, and friends.

Thanksgiving Melissa, Kelly and I took off for the airport and flew to La Paz where we were met by our guide, Carlos, to begin our journey. He is Bolivian, but interestingly enough spent 4 years in Fairbanks, Alaska when his son was stationed there in the army. We had a nice time talking about our time in Alaska.
We drove over three hours to Copacabana, where we boarded a boat for Sun Island on Lake Titicaca. This lake in the Andes, on the border of Peru and Bolivia is the largest lake in South America. It is often called the largest navigable lake in the world with a surface elevation of over 12,000 feet. We took some medicine to combat the altitude, but I don’t think it helped, so I quit taking it. The lake is stunningly beautiful. It looks like an ocean, in fact in some parts you can’t even see the other side.

We took an hour boat ride to The Island of the Sun. When we arrived we had a yummy lunch outside. They brought us a tablecloth filled with hot potatoes of all sorts, including sweet potatoes. We also had fresh trout, which tasted like salmon. Delicious. I haven’t had fish in 4 months, so it was a nice change……and we kept having fish for the next 2 days….

Donkeys hauled our stuff up to the Ecolodge, and we began our hike up. And here was where you could feel the altitude change. It was hard breathing and my heart was beating a lot. I’m not in as great shape as I was when I first got here, cause I haven’t been walking and hiking as much as I did in Utah, but I felt totally out of shape. But we made it. And so many interesting things to see. Many of the people were in native dress. The views were wonderful, the scenery fascinating. I enjoyed not seeing any motorized vehicles. And there were no paved roads. And there was a lot of farming going on. Potatoes and lima beans growing on the terraced land. It was fun to see llamas, alpacas, and donkeys everywhere. People walking with their animals, working in the fields, hauling water up to the hotels. Lots of selling of tourist stuff. And lots of tourists traveling. Seems like most of them were from Europe.

We arrived at the hotel about an hour later. It consisted of little cottages built like the surrounding buildings. Each had a bedroom and bathroom. And each with a wonderful view of the lake. And the weather…..after hot Santa Cruz, it was a nice change to be “cold”. We relaxed until dinner and then had another yummy trout dinner.

The next day we hiked down, took a boat to another island called Island of the moon, where we could see the Incan ruins dating back to 1450-1532. We then came back to the Island of the Sun and saw more ruins. Interesting information about the Incans. They weren’t very nice. We hiked back to the lodge which took a couple of hours. We rested the rest of the day, and decided that we really only needed one night on the island. It was way to quiet and …..boring. Melissa and I ended up playing chess. Dinner was another yummy trout dinner with soup and dessert. The long hair in the soup will always be memorable. LOL. There was a family that was doing the cooking there. The girl looked about 30, but she was only 18. These people don’t age well.

Saturday we hiked back down, took the boat to Copacabana and did some shopping and ate lunch. Then drove the 3 hours back to La Paz where we took the new cable car connecting the 2 cities together. It was an amazing 3 B’s. About Carlos dropped us off at the hotel. Kelly wasn’t feeling well, so Melissa and I headed out to do some shopping and have dinner. We had llama steaks for dinner. It tasted a lot like venison. We wandered the city near the hotel and then called it a night.

Sunday I spent an hour looking for a church to attend, with no luck. The hotel said there was one near, but I walked and walked and couldn’t find it. So I headed back to the hotel and Melissa and I went out exploring again until it was time to head back to the airport, and back to Santa Cruz. Where we stepped out into the sweltering heat….oh how we didn’t miss it!

Home to do laundry in the sink and prepare for school the next day. 3 weeks until the next adventure….home! Course there is always an adventure everyday in Bolivia!