Oh, the Places We'll Go

Valle de la Luna, or Valley of the Moon. Just outside the borders of the Bolivian capital, La Paz.  Crazy landscape!

Floating islands are a big draw around these parts. The Uros islands on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca were interesting, though not exactly authentic. But, when our return boat from the Isla del Sol stopped at these floating “islands” on the Bolivian side for a paid visit, I just felt sorry for the locals. These “islands” are no more than a wood dock floating on plastic bottles, with reeds laid over the top. It was the most pathetic attempt to make a quick tourist buck that I have ever seen. But hey, at least they were reusing plastic bottles!

Similar to Lake Titicaca, Copacabana is one of those place names that just sounds fun and that you look forward to visiting. Not to be confused with the famous Brazilian city with the same name, Bolivia’s Copacabana is a small little tourist town just across the border from Peru and also on the shores of Lake Titicaca.

Just as it is popular to visit the lake’s islands from the Peru side, it is equally popular from the Bolivia side as well. As we had already spent a good amount of time on and around the lake, we opted for a day trip out to the much talked about Isla del Sol.

After a hilariously slow ride out to the island, we were free to explore. There are several impressive intact ruins from the Incas that were cool to check out, however we were most blown away with the impressive scenery. We were dropped at the north end of the island and chose to walk the length of it to the south end where our boat picked us up later in the day before returning back to Copacabana.

Beyond on our day trip to the island, the highlight of the Copacabana area included amazingly delicious fresh-caught trucha (trout) served in lakeside fish stands with salad and potatoes for less than $3, where we ate several times.

Many folks cross the border from Peru and bypass Copacabana completely, opting to head straight for La Paz. However, it’s a neat little stop and we were happy to have a few more days on the water before moving on.

Lake Titicaca’s Isla del Sol (Bolivian side)

People in the Andes hate to break big bills (or even medium sized bills, for that matter). Never in my life have I been in such constant pursuit of small bills and change. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that most ATMs don’t dispense small bills. Every purchase must be considered – can this person break a 50 Sole note? Can this restaurant accept a $20 bill? If there is even a small chance that a retailer might take a larger bill, you must try! Even though you may have decent change in your pocket right now, likely that won’t last for long.

And what happens when you don’t have smaller bills? You don’t get to buy what you want to buy. That’s right, on multiple occasions, I have been told that a store owner would rather not sell me a product than give me the change required for the bills I am presenting. A small example – along the Ecuadorian coast, I was thirsty for a Coke. I walked in to a small store where a 500ml (20oz) bottle of coke was for sale for US$0.50 (Ecuador’s currency is the US dollar). I had no change and no single bills, so I handed her a US$5 (not a $50, or a $20, or even a $10, but a $5!). Nope, no change, no Coke for me. This is not uncommon.

And the kicker…THEY HAVE THE CHANGE (most of the time) – they just don’t want to jeopardize their ability to make change in the future! Well, two can play at this game. It’s most fun to force the change out of your service providers. This works best when you have already consumed the products they are selling. I’ve had hotels tell me they don’t have change for my bigger bills, but since I’ve already stayed at their property, miraculously, change for my 100 Soles appears from the drawer after denying its existence just minutes prior. I’ve also gotten quite good at denying my ability to make change, even when I have it. Often time a store will request small change on top of your bill so they can give you a bigger bill back. For instance, if my lunch costs 56 Bolivianos, and I pay with a 100, they’ll ask for 6 Bs so they can give me a 50 back. Little do they know that I have 56 Bs exactly, but I am using a 100 so I can hold on to that precious 6 in change (and to make more change to be used later). AND, since I already ate their food, they somehow or other find a way to break that 100 after all.

Who would have thought that a $1 could be more valuable than a $10 bill, when you need the change?

After 3 months of 24/7 time together, sometimes this is how we feel!

Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia.   Crazy landscape

The Andean countries of South America (Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia on our itinerary) offer a brilliant lunch concept. Almuerzos, or simply “lunch” in English, are set menu meals, where patrons simply order the meal of the day. It nearly always starts with a huge bowl of sopa (soup), followed by a segundo (second plate) of meat or fish, and finished off with a desert. Best part – these large meals cost anywhere from US$1-3!

Of course, there are some variations. Some restaurants offer a choice between 2 or 3 different segundos (perhaps chicken vs beef vs pasta), others will include a small additional entrada (appetizer) and a glass of juice. Sometimes the restaurant will also offer a la carte items as well, but these are never as cheap as the set menu. But some restaurants are open only for lunch, and only offer one option. There is something delicious to be said for buying in bulk, preparing a massive amount of one meal, and offering a smokin deal.

Generally speaking, the countries we’ve visited so far have been very tranquil and safe places. Not once have we felt threatened or in danger in Ecuador, Peru, or Bolivia. But twice now, we have been the unintended victims of peaceful protests, preventing us from accessing our planned activities.

The first, and more significant issue we encountered occurred throughout the south of Peru. We were in Cusco at the time, and had just returned from our Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu. During the 3 days we were set to be in Cusco, we had arranged AWR product testing biking, rafting, and hiking in the Sacred Valley. We got to do the mountain biking, but after that, transportation in all of southern Peru was halted due to these protests, apparently tied to water rights. During these protests, road blocks are put up and no traffic is allowed to pass. Any cars caught on the road during these protests are in danger of being stoned (the only violent aspect to this civil disobedience, and stoning rarely happens because everyone knows not to drive). In addition to the roadblocks, protesters walk the street, chanting their calls to action, while police in riot gear stand idly unless something breaks out (but never does).

Such protests have come to be quite regular in Peru, happening roughly 15 times per year! So regular, that certain tour operators put roadblock bribes into their operating budget. For us, it was a bummer to miss out on the rafting and hiking days, but it allowed for some very tranquil days exploring downtown Cusco with no automobile traffic.

Our second encounter with roadblocks occurred in northern Bolivia. We were excited to do one of Bolivia’s most famous tourist activities – mountain bike down the “World’s Most Dangerous Road” (the road is no longer that dangerous, as nearly all vehicle traffic now takes the new road to Coroico, leaving the road pretty open to bikers). Well, it turns out that a lot of the country’s coca is grown near Coroico, and the coca farmers were a bit angry at the government for some new regulations put on their production (coca is both legally and illegally produced in Bolivia). As a result, they blocked the roads to their town, and thus our access to the bike trail.

All in all, we’ve been very lucky in our travels to date, with no major interruptions, detours, or delays due to uncontrollable circumstances, so I’m not complaining. When traveling in the Andes, you never know what roads might wash out, what bus might break down, and what roads are impassible. So far, our patience hasn’t been fully tested….yet.