So, I finally found the time to sit down and write about the second part of my trip through Bolivia – so many impressions, memories and experiences that I find it hard to decide what to share without writing an entire novel about it or bore everyone to death. So here we go, part II…

Road to La Paz

Following our tour from Tupiza to Uyuni (did I mention, it was amazing), we spent the day in Uyuni to catch the night train to La Paz. I think I’ve never traveled more comfy before – blankets, drinks and a snack, cosy seats and the nicest conductor I have ever met. We booked first class (22$ for 7 hours to Oruro) which was definitely really cheap and well spent money. But- word to the wise – if you get car sick or any of this kind, take a pill before falling asleep. The train might be comfy, the rail roads, however, are a little bumpy, to say the least (Ha-a-a-a-a-l-l-l-o-o-o-o). Once we arrived in Oruro, we had to catch the bus to La Paz. Again, just check the best options for you and don’t settle for the cheapest bus that will break down the minute you look at it. Maybe also good to know, in order to step on the actual bus platform, you have a pay a fee inside the bus station (only a small amount, but not very obvious if you first get there and don’t know that you have to pay it). The bus ride is pretty comfy and takes approximately 4 hours, if your bus is not late or stops every few meters to collect other people from the side of the road. Shout out to the very trusting American lady that left her luggage with us in Oruro, attempting to find a hotel – we are happy you actually decided to come back at one point to pick it up – thanks (and you’re welcome).

La Paz – About Cholitas, the Wild Rover & Witch Markets

We arrived in La Paz on a Sunday, and Sunday nights are Cholita Wrestling nights. Our hostel, the Wild Rover (oh yeah, South Americas craziest threesome), offered the cholita tour to El Alta by bus, including transport, a snack, a drink and a little present to take with you. So, once we arrived, we jumped on the bus with a bunch of other backpackers and drove up the mountain. I always heard about Cholita wrestling and everybody told us it’s a must see, but I couldn’t really imagine what it would be like. And I feel like even after seeing it, I still can’t really describe the whole thing. It was awesome, and weird, and disturbing and funny, scary and exciting all at the same time. I must say, if you go there, don’t go for the front seats where all the tourists are sitting. If I could go there again, I would sit right in the middle of all the Bolivians. It looked like even much more fun, they were screaming and laughing, totally into it. No matter if girls fighting girls, men fighting men or zombies fighting werewolves – definitely an interesting atmosphere. In total, the event takes approximately 2,5 hours, however we already had to catch the bus after 2h to go back down to La Paz. Two hours are plenty of time to get a good impression of what entertainment means to Bolivians – even though it gets a bit repetitive after a while. However, it was a great experience and if you ever make it to El Alto, definitely go there.

After our Cholita experience, we drove home (go up the mountain and see La Paz by night – so beautiful) and decided to stay in the hostel for a quiet night. Yeah, not at Wild Rover. We had dinner in the bar (best chicken wings!) and only wanted to stay for a few drinks- but once the clock hit 9 everybody started shouting “Free shots” and suddenly we were in the middle of wild rover craziness. It was so much fun, the bar keepers were awesome, good music, fun people and a good atmosphere. They also had a Pub quiz (that we sucked at) that night, only one of many different events they have throughout the week. So, if you are looking for a good party, entertainment and “Free shots” – Wild Rover is definitely the place to be.

The day after was a littler rougher than expected, but I guess thats what you get when you stay up late the night before. We decided to do one of the walking tours that the hostel offered (Red Cap Walking Tour La Paz) and were picked up around 1 pm to walk to Plaza San Pedro, where we met other backpackers to join us. Its right next to San Pedro prison, for the ones that know the book Marching Powder. It’s funny, because our guides told us, that you can see them walking on the roof sometimes, just chilling (its not a high security prison) and throw down drugs for their dealers once in a while. So, if you ever walk by San Pedro Prison and a bag of drugs drops on your head- you better not pick it up (haha). Our guides on the tour were Brian and Chris and were pretty easy going and funny and we spent the next four hours together, walking through La Paz to learn more about the cities history, the constant uprises in the city and the famous witch market.

This market serves to sell you all kinds of things that you would need to bewitch somebody else – for love, for revenge, etc. The creepiest part were all the little dead baby Llamas (they don’t kill them, they all died naturally, or at least they claim they don’t) that were hanging around at the different market stands. Our guides explained to us that Bolivians bury them when building a new home. It is a offering to mother Earth and is meant to bring well-being to all the people that live in there. They also claimed that, back in the day, they did it with real people and buried them alive – yeah, not creepy at all, but who knows if thats true or not.

Being a little weak from the night before on a four hour tour in high altitudes is probably not the best combination, so after the walking tour we decided to just walk back to the hostel, pack up our stuff and have dinner at the bar again. This night, they had an eating competition (yum), but we were just chilling at the counter, talking to some people that we met the night before and called it an early night as we continued our trip the next early morning, going to Copacabana/Lake Titicaca. Overall, La Paz is a big city and, like all cities, has a bunch of things to offer. However, we cut our stay there short (2 days instead of 3) and I don’t regret it for a second. Being on a trip like that, I want to see authentic, landscape, people etc., I can have big city life whenever. So, go there, but decide for yourself how long this city is worth staying in.

Copacabana/Lake Titicaca

The bus picked us up from the hostel (book it with Wild Rover, they have their own travel agency inside), which was very comfy considering that we had to leave around 6am. The trip to Copacabana took us around 3h. On our way there, the bus suddenly stopped and we all thought this was it. However, we all had to just cross the lake (the bus too), so we got off and drove by boat, while the bus had to wait for its own ferry. At least the view was amazing in San Jose and we were able to walk around for a little bit before we continued our journey and arrived in Copacabana around noon.

The town is tiny, so it was very easy to find the hotel Estelar de Titicaca that the French couple from our Uyuni tour recommended us, lake view included. The hotel was a nice change of scenery, after staying in hostels for the past couple of days. I really don’t mind hostels, in fact I find it cool to meet other backpackers to share experiences and maybe sometimes travels with, however having a private room for at least two nights and being able to spread your stuff all over the place is very comfortable, too. The rooms there are basic private rooms, however, all of them face Lake Titicaca with is beautiful in the morning and before going to bed. They have a breakfast buffet included and Bar London right next to it – the food is nothing special but the view is amazing.

We spent our first day wandering around the city, exploring the little streets and, most importantly, tried to find stamps for my friend – mission of the day (just kidding-or am I?!). As i mentioned before, the town is tiny but it just felt good to walk around and enjoy the view. We walked along the water, then to the Basilica de Copacabana and along Avenida 6 de Augosto, which is basically the main tourist street with all the sales stands and restaurants.

One highlight in Copacabana is visiting Isla del Sol. Because we extended our stay for a night, our plan was to go to the island the next day. When you walk along the streets you will find a lot of different shops that sell the tickets. Word to the wise, compare the prices a little bit. I don’t even remember which company we choose, I just know we paid approximately 30 Bolivianos per person for the transport plus a little extra to visit the island. Boats leave at 8am in the morning and bring you back around 3:30pm – just enough time to cross the island and make it back before its dark. Its around a 2h drive to get there, but I felt like our boat was the slowest anyways.

Isla del Sol

Leaving at 8:00am we had a few hours to just chill on top of the boat in sun before we made it to Isla del Sol. You have a few options here once you get to the north end of the island. You can either stay there and explore the area, before going to the South Island by boat, or you can trek down the island, which takes you approximately 3 hours. Some of the tourists are also staying a couple nights there, but we didn’t have the time to do so. My friend and I decided to stay at the North Island and only trek a little part of the way as we were both sick and didn’t want to risk the complete outbreak when getting to Machu Picchu. The trek is really beautiful and we were lucky that the sun was out (they don’t call it Isla del sol for nothing, right). The boat picked us up around 1:00pm and brought us to the South Island, where we had another hour before going back to Copacabana. It’s a good day trip, especially because you get back around 5pm and still have enough time to pack up your stuff, go to dinner etc.

There are lots of dining options in Copacabana, you just need to go outside and walk around – people will address you with special deals and happy hours (as I said, very touristy). This evening, we only had dinner, a few drinks and went back to the hotel, as we had to leave early the next day to cross the Peruvian boarder to go to Cusco (10h bus ride). But more about Peru in my next blog post. Stay tuned.