Since being in Tarija we have travelled to Sucre, Potosi, Oruro, La Paz, Copacabana, Sorata and then down to Uyuni. Almost two towns a week. Having said that moving around this much is not out of the ordinary for your average backpacker. In the many conversations had with fellow hostel dwellers staying more than three days in one place is often considered overstaying.
Sucre
Sucre is very nice and is a very popular place for people to come and stay for their Spanish lessons. We spent Christmas here with Gavin and Sinead, their friend Kieran (check his related blog here), Anna, Hester and Rachael. On Christmas eve we went on the March of Baby Jesus followed by attendence at midnight mass. Christams day was a really nice day with a potluck dinner shared with all the other constituents of the Hostel (Wasi Masi) plus some extras. In the afternoon I drank cheap wine and talked to some Danish guys about Swedish Hardcore (music, not pornography). In the evening we did Secret Santa (I scored a poncho courtesy of Gavin) . Wasi Masi was also good for meeting Tristan, an American in his early 20's who I could talk to about books. He also took us out on the town one night which resulted in a day-long hangover.
Potosi
When Cheetah and I left Sucre we were in bad moods and were not in the best of spirits. This was our first mistake. Once we arrived in Potosi I insisted we take the first taxi we saw. This was the second mistake, a big one. In this taxi we were “taken for a ride” (in New Zealand law this would have constituted kidnapping) and fleeced of our camera, Sarah's Ipod and 700 Bolivianos. I'll write more on this another time though I will state the obvious and note that this was a horrible experience that has left us with very average memories of the city.
Oruro
The next stop was Oruro for New Years. This was a cool town that was conspicuously gringo free. It is also the town, or region at least, that Evo Morales is from. There was not a whole lot going on in this place however we scored an up-scale hotel(Hotel Houston) for a good price and went to a discoteca for the big night. I was fighting off a bad cold and left early on (soon after the countdown) though was happy to wake up hangover free. It is also worth mentioning that I walked into a tinted plate-glass window at the hotel that night. It was easily the most gumby moment of the entire trip and as such it was met with much laughter. My head was OK, my pride only slightly wounded. Days later I could still catch Anna looking off into the distance giggling at this awesome power-move.
La Paz
With some difficulty we left Oruro to La Paz on New Years day despite being told this could not be done by the hotel manager. Once in La Paz we did La Paz related activities (i.e. travelled to Tiwanaku, listened to other gringos talk about there trip to Machu Picchu, Uyuni, et al). While there Sarah and I picked up a new Canon G10 at the very last place we looked (at that stage we had actually given up trying to find the model). The walk home was very nervous as we were still feeling the affects of the robbery, what with a new camera and all. The best part of La Paz was defintely hanging out with Gavin and Sinead. It was really heartening seeing the two of them being a couple soon to be married. They functioned well together logistically and emotionally. It was also inspiring to hear about Gavin's plans to open a book store and his thinking around that. His measured yet enthusiastic approach to that project is definitely something I can respect. Similar to my mates (James, Pascal and Ben) it is really energizing being around someone that thinks about the future and has creative ideas for it.
Copacabana & Sorata
Once we had departed La Paz we were now down to four: Anna, Kieran, Sarah and myself. The next two stops we made were Copacabana and Sorata. These two places were by far my favourite stops to date. In Copacabana the main church was stunning and the day trip up Cerro was really nice. Once at the top we spent the afternoon looking out over Lake Titicaca, it was a relaxing experience and I felt strangely at peace there. Also, the hike we went took to Isla Del Sol was through well maintained farmland. On that hike the sun was out and everything looked beautiful. The local farmers were warm and never failed to say “buenas tardes” or wave hello. A great day with exception to the major sunburn I sustained. Isla Del Sol was just fine.
Sorata was equally charming. There we stayed at a great place called Hostal Las Piedras which had the best breakfast in Bolivia (crepes, good coffee and excellent muesli), checked out the local grotto, went hiking in the surrounding area which included having a local farmer (as organized through the local tour company) take us to the top of a hill that I forget the name of. At the top was a lake that held special importance to the local campasinos. Our guide told us a story about a couple of gringos going scuba diving in it. One of them never returned and his body has never been found. This part of the trip was also favourable as I had just gotten over the cold from New Years.
Uyuni
The final destination for this leg with Anna was the Salt Plains. We bid farewell to Kieran and headed down. Not much to say about this place. Its charm came from meeting David, an old hippy who had become a bread entrepreneur in Hawaii and was now travelling the world with no real home to return to (nb. thank you Simon Gandolfi). The other charm was getting a vomiting bug on the second day of the tour. The effects of which I am still feeling seven days later. Being violently ill was not with out its benefits, though. At 02.30AM I had to rush out of the dorm to evacuate my stomach of my remaining stomach lining. In the process I made noises and strained muscles that I did not know I had. The sound of air exiting my stomach and the desperate gasping for air lead to hard guttural sounds that sounded like bones breaking and spades dragging over asphalt. But once it was over I stood up looked to the sky and I will say, that despite my discomfort, despite the freezing cold (being some 4000M above see level) I saw more stars in the sky than I ever have before, and ever will again, I dear say. If you ever want to understand where the term “milky” comes from then this is the place. An amazing sight.
Sucre (Back Again)
As for today, Sarah and I are in Sucre trying to get our insurance from the robbery sorted out as well as our laptop. The latter we had couriered from New Zealand in late December. A word to those who are thinking of couriering something to Bolivia: DON'T. It is expensive and difficult in the truest sense. It is expensive unlike anything else in Bolivia; it will make your blood boil. Besides that I just finished Robinson Crusoe and am now wondering what to read next. I end on this note in an attempt to excuse the curt and somewhat taxonomic account of the last four weeks.
Currently we are staying in the amazing hostel, La Dolce Vita, which is as good as the reviews online would have you believe. So right now we are taking the-very-good with the-very-average (i.e diarrhea and Bolivian Customs; strangely these two things go very well together, two peas in a pod).
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