Isla del Sol and back in La paz
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Chantal
12 April 2015 | Bolivia, Copacabana
Hola all!
Writing this while just back from the Isla del Sol in the Titicaca lake. Now having lunch in the sun :-), and a mate de coca. In less then an hour I will take the bus back to La Paz.
Now I am at the bus, so still time to write a little more (offline). Can't write while I am in the bus, since it makes me feel nauseous.
Yesterday morning when I woke up in Copacabana it was raining terribly! I met 2 girls from France during breakdfast and they decided to skip the isla del Sol and return to la Paz instead. I already had my boat ticket and few time, so decided to go anyway.
The little boat was full. I was the only one who got off at the southern part of the island. Somebody from the hotel was supposed to pick me up, but nobody was there and it was raining (so glad I brought my umbrella!) so decided to find my way to the hotel itself. That was quite a challenge: an hour walk to the top of the mountain and first very steep stairs. Not that easy at an altitude of 4000m! Last part of the trail was very muddy too, but found it!
Had a mate de coca, checked in, chatted to an another traveller, ordered a prepared lunch (nothing for sale on the island except in the 3 little villages) and then started for my hike around 11:45. I decided to do the almost whole island loop (most people walk from north to south), a bit ambitious but possible. It was still raining.
First part up hill I was walking through an eucalyptus forest (nice!) accompanied by a nice dog. The walk to the most northern point of the island was about 2 hours non-stop hiking. The sun was trying to get through but it was still raining a little. When I arrived at the Inca site (Chillpaya) it was dry and sunny :-) there was an offer table there and the ruins of an old palace (?) building. Beautiful views on Titicaca lake (that is huge and looks like the sea), very clear and even a beach below.
There was also the puma shaped rock from which the island gots its name: titi is puma and kh"arka is rock. and Titi Kharka became Titicaca.
The return hike took like 4 hours more and was along the coastline, through some small villages and over steep mountain parts. Saw some small waterfalls and many paths were slippery and muddy.
Bus will start driving now, so I"ll stop...
Now its evening and I am back in La Paz in a small nice little cafe (cafe del Mundo, if you are ever in La Paz) for dinner abd a beer. Am a bit tired of the 45min hike, 1,5 hours by boat and the 4,5 hours by bus....
Back to my story. So, the hike around the island was really nice but also a bit challenging. On the way back I only saw some locals but no other tourists and a lot of people were walking back home with their herds (sheep, donkeys and some pigs). So that was nice.
Around 18:00 back at the hotel, tired and cold. The hotelroom was cold, so went to sit in the restaurant too tired to do anything. Fortunately they put the fireplace on to keep warm. There were 2 other elder couples (1 from Argentina & 1 from Germany). Had nice food and nice chats with them. And then went to bed early with my woolen hat on, a woolen scarf and of course my alpaca socks. I slept amazingly well after the 6h walk.
Woke up because of the heavy rain, but it was nice to stay inside. And there was a really hot shower in the morning (yes!) but then again cold.
After breakfast I started to hike to the harbour in the rain. Saw all soaked dogs and donkeys on my way and the hotel dog (Bobby) was accompanying me almost all the way. Cute!
The road down consisted of cobble stones and water was pouring down from it, like a little river and it was slippery too. So, a bit scary to hike the steep hill down, but made it safely and on time back for the boat. Saw Pedro again, a guy from Chili who was also in my Tihuanaco tour. T
he rain stopped and we could sit on top of the boat (with hat, coat and scarf) in the sun. Nice! Met a nice girl from Belgium who lived in Ecuador and was going to work in Barcelona later, so we had a lot to talk about! 1,5 hours on top of the boat and then we arrived in Copacabana. Had time for a lunch and then it was time for the bus back.
Tomorrow is already my last day in Bolivia and La Paz. Time flies... I will go and see the "cholitas" tomorrow. These are indigenous women wrestlers. They will perform in El Alto, the city"s big high situated and a bit dangerous neighbourhood with 1 million inhabitants. They call it here ciudad El Alto, so they consider it as a separate city. Also the airport is situated here.
I already saw some parts of La Paz on Tuesday when I arrived here in the afternoon. After a lunch in the patio if my hotel I walked to Calle Jaen, a colonial street with colored houses and 4 small musea with a combined ticket. I liked the Museo de Oro best, since it has beautiful archaeological artifacts and gold from a tomb found in Tiahuanaco.
Also visited the church of San Francisco and the so-called "witch market". It's not really a market, but more a group of stores in some streets where local yatiri (shamans) buy the stuff needed for rituals.
They sell: incense for different purposes (to bless your car, to obtain money, for love Et.cetera) candles, amulets, herbs, dried stuff (fruits, animals) and llama foetuses (small ones from some cm's and bigger ones which already had fur on them). These are used for offerings to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and will for example be buried in the corner of a new constructed house). Spent quite some time in different stores to look around and bought some stuff too (no llama foetus off course! :) ).
My food is here, so a break..
And on Wednesday I went on a tour to the archaeological site of Tiahuanaco, about 2 hours drive from la Paz. I was in a mini bus with 8 other people: 3 from Chile, a girl from England, a couple from Quebec and a guy from France. Had nice chats with the English girls and the people from Chile. One of the guys from Chile also studied archaeology, so we had lots to talk about. It was raining all the way, also in Tiahuanaco and so cold! I think around 3-5 degrees and I forgot to bring my gloves and hat.
First we visited the small museum where the archaeological objects found on the site (beautiful ceramics, metal tools and objects, some textile, gold) were displayed. Although many objects circle around in different musea in the world.
The Tiahuanacos had five sacred animals (condor, puma, llama, snake, fish) which are depicted on their ceramics or there a ceramics in form of these animals. Lake Titicaca was part of their big empire so was the south of Peru and parts of the north of Chile and Argentina.
Their imperium existed for a very long time from 1500 b.c till about 1200 a.d. In comparison the Inca empire only lasted for about 100 years.
The site is quite big, but not everything is excavated yet and the excavation is put on hold for 3 more years because of Unesco wishes. Also many stones were "stolen" during the colonial period and used for example to construct the church of the village.
The pyramid is huge, but mainly sand/hill. And than there were 2 stone figures cut out of one piece of stone with beautiful carvings and a huge one of 7m high and 1,2 wide, but the latter is put on a separate museum on site. It's very impressive and a pity you couldn't take pictures of it. And there is the famous "puerto del sol" (sun gate) with the depiction of the deity Viracocha and it was used as a calendar. Smaller then I thought but impressive and interesting.
We also went to a small site Puma Kharka, a bit further. This site is famous for its carved stones. These were carved with metallurgic instruments. The site also has a small pyramid, but this was also not excavated.
Then around 14:00 p.m. we had lunch and were so frozen! Food was really good, also for me! :-) and they sold books about Bolivian archaeology, so I was happy and bought some. It turned out that the cook studied anthropology so we had a nice chat and he gave me a little note book as a present :-).
When we were back in La Paz, I went with the 3 Chileans to the red cable car. That goes directly up to El Alto and gives you spectacular views over the city. We even "flew over" a cementary where 3 funerals were ongoing.
Then back to the hotel around 18:00 pretty tired. Repacked my bags for my trip to Copacabana and Isla del Sol (didn't want to carry my big backpack) and then had dinner in this nice little cafe, recommended by Paul. Had a nice chat with a guy from Sweden and his guide.
So, after this long (sorry!) story you are up to date again. Let's see if the Internet is fast enough to upload some pictures too.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Abrazo from La Paz,
Chantal
Writing this while just back from the Isla del Sol in the Titicaca lake. Now having lunch in the sun :-), and a mate de coca. In less then an hour I will take the bus back to La Paz.
Now I am at the bus, so still time to write a little more (offline). Can't write while I am in the bus, since it makes me feel nauseous.
Yesterday morning when I woke up in Copacabana it was raining terribly! I met 2 girls from France during breakdfast and they decided to skip the isla del Sol and return to la Paz instead. I already had my boat ticket and few time, so decided to go anyway.
The little boat was full. I was the only one who got off at the southern part of the island. Somebody from the hotel was supposed to pick me up, but nobody was there and it was raining (so glad I brought my umbrella!) so decided to find my way to the hotel itself. That was quite a challenge: an hour walk to the top of the mountain and first very steep stairs. Not that easy at an altitude of 4000m! Last part of the trail was very muddy too, but found it!
Had a mate de coca, checked in, chatted to an another traveller, ordered a prepared lunch (nothing for sale on the island except in the 3 little villages) and then started for my hike around 11:45. I decided to do the almost whole island loop (most people walk from north to south), a bit ambitious but possible. It was still raining.
First part up hill I was walking through an eucalyptus forest (nice!) accompanied by a nice dog. The walk to the most northern point of the island was about 2 hours non-stop hiking. The sun was trying to get through but it was still raining a little. When I arrived at the Inca site (Chillpaya) it was dry and sunny :-) there was an offer table there and the ruins of an old palace (?) building. Beautiful views on Titicaca lake (that is huge and looks like the sea), very clear and even a beach below.
There was also the puma shaped rock from which the island gots its name: titi is puma and kh"arka is rock. and Titi Kharka became Titicaca.
The return hike took like 4 hours more and was along the coastline, through some small villages and over steep mountain parts. Saw some small waterfalls and many paths were slippery and muddy.
Bus will start driving now, so I"ll stop...
Now its evening and I am back in La Paz in a small nice little cafe (cafe del Mundo, if you are ever in La Paz) for dinner abd a beer. Am a bit tired of the 45min hike, 1,5 hours by boat and the 4,5 hours by bus....
Back to my story. So, the hike around the island was really nice but also a bit challenging. On the way back I only saw some locals but no other tourists and a lot of people were walking back home with their herds (sheep, donkeys and some pigs). So that was nice.
Around 18:00 back at the hotel, tired and cold. The hotelroom was cold, so went to sit in the restaurant too tired to do anything. Fortunately they put the fireplace on to keep warm. There were 2 other elder couples (1 from Argentina & 1 from Germany). Had nice food and nice chats with them. And then went to bed early with my woolen hat on, a woolen scarf and of course my alpaca socks. I slept amazingly well after the 6h walk.
Woke up because of the heavy rain, but it was nice to stay inside. And there was a really hot shower in the morning (yes!) but then again cold.
After breakfast I started to hike to the harbour in the rain. Saw all soaked dogs and donkeys on my way and the hotel dog (Bobby) was accompanying me almost all the way. Cute!
The road down consisted of cobble stones and water was pouring down from it, like a little river and it was slippery too. So, a bit scary to hike the steep hill down, but made it safely and on time back for the boat. Saw Pedro again, a guy from Chili who was also in my Tihuanaco tour. T
he rain stopped and we could sit on top of the boat (with hat, coat and scarf) in the sun. Nice! Met a nice girl from Belgium who lived in Ecuador and was going to work in Barcelona later, so we had a lot to talk about! 1,5 hours on top of the boat and then we arrived in Copacabana. Had time for a lunch and then it was time for the bus back.
Tomorrow is already my last day in Bolivia and La Paz. Time flies... I will go and see the "cholitas" tomorrow. These are indigenous women wrestlers. They will perform in El Alto, the city"s big high situated and a bit dangerous neighbourhood with 1 million inhabitants. They call it here ciudad El Alto, so they consider it as a separate city. Also the airport is situated here.
I already saw some parts of La Paz on Tuesday when I arrived here in the afternoon. After a lunch in the patio if my hotel I walked to Calle Jaen, a colonial street with colored houses and 4 small musea with a combined ticket. I liked the Museo de Oro best, since it has beautiful archaeological artifacts and gold from a tomb found in Tiahuanaco.
Also visited the church of San Francisco and the so-called "witch market". It's not really a market, but more a group of stores in some streets where local yatiri (shamans) buy the stuff needed for rituals.
They sell: incense for different purposes (to bless your car, to obtain money, for love Et.cetera) candles, amulets, herbs, dried stuff (fruits, animals) and llama foetuses (small ones from some cm's and bigger ones which already had fur on them). These are used for offerings to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and will for example be buried in the corner of a new constructed house). Spent quite some time in different stores to look around and bought some stuff too (no llama foetus off course! :) ).
My food is here, so a break..
And on Wednesday I went on a tour to the archaeological site of Tiahuanaco, about 2 hours drive from la Paz. I was in a mini bus with 8 other people: 3 from Chile, a girl from England, a couple from Quebec and a guy from France. Had nice chats with the English girls and the people from Chile. One of the guys from Chile also studied archaeology, so we had lots to talk about. It was raining all the way, also in Tiahuanaco and so cold! I think around 3-5 degrees and I forgot to bring my gloves and hat.
First we visited the small museum where the archaeological objects found on the site (beautiful ceramics, metal tools and objects, some textile, gold) were displayed. Although many objects circle around in different musea in the world.
The Tiahuanacos had five sacred animals (condor, puma, llama, snake, fish) which are depicted on their ceramics or there a ceramics in form of these animals. Lake Titicaca was part of their big empire so was the south of Peru and parts of the north of Chile and Argentina.
Their imperium existed for a very long time from 1500 b.c till about 1200 a.d. In comparison the Inca empire only lasted for about 100 years.
The site is quite big, but not everything is excavated yet and the excavation is put on hold for 3 more years because of Unesco wishes. Also many stones were "stolen" during the colonial period and used for example to construct the church of the village.
The pyramid is huge, but mainly sand/hill. And than there were 2 stone figures cut out of one piece of stone with beautiful carvings and a huge one of 7m high and 1,2 wide, but the latter is put on a separate museum on site. It's very impressive and a pity you couldn't take pictures of it. And there is the famous "puerto del sol" (sun gate) with the depiction of the deity Viracocha and it was used as a calendar. Smaller then I thought but impressive and interesting.
We also went to a small site Puma Kharka, a bit further. This site is famous for its carved stones. These were carved with metallurgic instruments. The site also has a small pyramid, but this was also not excavated.
Then around 14:00 p.m. we had lunch and were so frozen! Food was really good, also for me! :-) and they sold books about Bolivian archaeology, so I was happy and bought some. It turned out that the cook studied anthropology so we had a nice chat and he gave me a little note book as a present :-).
When we were back in La Paz, I went with the 3 Chileans to the red cable car. That goes directly up to El Alto and gives you spectacular views over the city. We even "flew over" a cementary where 3 funerals were ongoing.
Then back to the hotel around 18:00 pretty tired. Repacked my bags for my trip to Copacabana and Isla del Sol (didn't want to carry my big backpack) and then had dinner in this nice little cafe, recommended by Paul. Had a nice chat with a guy from Sweden and his guide.
So, after this long (sorry!) story you are up to date again. Let's see if the Internet is fast enough to upload some pictures too.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Abrazo from La Paz,
Chantal
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