La Paz & Lake Titicaca
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2010
1
22
55
Trip End
Feb 20, 2011
La Paz, Bolivia
Thursday, March 11, 2010
High Times - La Paz
La Paz really took us by surprise. One of the highest cities in the world, we were enamored with its bustling street markets, steep heights and anachronistic customs. Along with ornate native American-looking woven clothing, the women wear sequenced accessories and bowler hats, a custom picked up from the Brits when they came to build the railway system in the early 1900s.
Young girls wear knitted caps, and upon marriage become eligible to don bowler hats. Single women wear their hair in two long braids down their back while married women connect the braids at the ends symbolizing their attachment.
The roles of males and females are distinctly defined. Its predominantly women who work in the street markets and apparently any man found selling in the streets would be ridiculed and/or considered gay. Conversely as you walk through the financial district, women and men in suits intermingle seemingly on more common ground.
Sadly, Dan came down with his worst traveler sickness yet that kept him hotel-bound for 3 days. He wasn't getting better so I had the hotel call a doctor. Get this, a doctor's "house call" and a pharmacy run for 6 different prescription medications came to a mere $45. Its heartbreaking to think what this would cost in the U.S., even with new healthcare policies.
When Dan felt better, we took a private tour of La Paz visiting the main sights and the Valle de la Luna, an area just outside town where erosion created pockets and crevasses out of the mountain side.
The food in La Paz was divine. Saltenos and quinoa soup, EXCEPTIONAL.
At the Witches Market, we learned the llama is thought to be the spiritual liaison between the physical and spiritual worlds.
To pay homage to Pacha Mama or mother nature, give thanks or pray to the spirits, one creates a miniature decorative alter with a dried llama fetus. Let's say you bought a new car... you would then create a decorative alter that symbolized the purchase and included the llama fetus in appreciation. Turtles, little frogs and serpents are also used on alters and thought to bring health, money and protection.
Lake Titicaca
Three-hours away, Copacabana in Lake Titicaca was somewhat a disappointment. We arrived expecting beautiful crisp lake water, swimming, fishing and sunshine. But Copacabana wasn’t Lake Tahoe. If I’ve learned anything from my travels abroad, its to avoid having expectations. No easy feat if you think about it - how can we not consider new information in relation to what we know?
We arrived to the small town and quickly realized that it was awfully touristy, designed as a way station for travelers to organize their next leg, be it to Isla de Sol, Titicaca on the Peruvian side, or beyond. We were meant to stay 3 nights, but left after only one.
It may have been that we spent too long a time away from the coast, and placed too great an emphasis on Copacabana to offer reprieve. In the end for me, La Paz was truly the pleasant exclamation point on our time in Bolivia. I loved everything about it.
Off to Chile though running low on time. We’ll only have a week before heading back to Buenos Aires to meet Mom coming in from Florida. Chile is a looooong country - not looking forward to these bus rides.
Interesting facts:
• The official capital of Bolivia is Sucre even though there are more government departments, including the Presidential Palace, located in La Paz.
• The Wiphala emblem, commonly used as a flag, is meant to represent the native peoples of the central Andes of Bolivia.
