Okay peeps, if you're a jealous type of person, may I suggest that you stop reading now!! As I had the most fricken awesome day today!!
Okay, so maybe the 5am wake up was not so awesome, however the revenge that I was able to achieve on my hotel room neighbour was brilliant!!
So last night, k*** head from next door thought that it would be brilliant to turn his music up in his room to full ball. I mean I could clearly hear every single crappy word being sung. This continued on until well after midnight. So at 5am this morning, I returned the favour!! I turned my music on to full ball!! Two can play at this game!! I happily got ready, listening to my music.
I actually received a phone call at 5.30, and I thought it was going to be reception calling me to tell me to turn my music down, no such luck. He was phoning to let me know, well the 'lady' of the room know that her guide was in the foyer waiting for her. I was meant to be picked up at 5.45, but as I only had to put my shoes on, I was cool with the fact that she was early!!
So I boarded the bus, and we were off. Today, I was to be joined on my tour by other tourists!!! However, you can imagine my surprise when the bus hightailed it straight out of La Paz, and did not pick up a single other tourist. Am I on candid camera?!? Where is that hidden camera???
As we were driving, my guide explained to me, that I was the only one doing the tour starting off in La Paz.... apparently every single other tourist doing this tour today was actually coming from Peru!! Ok then, I must have missed that memo.
We soon found our way out of the hustle and bustle of La Paz, and made our way into the hustle and bustle of the next town!!! Now this town was crazy.... there were minibuses and trucks everywhere, and they didn't care who they were cutting of or blocking on their journey across Bolivia!! Traffic lights mean nothing to these people, neither does looking before pulling out in front of other cars, nor checking for oncoming traffic before overtaking on the opposite side of the road!!
Our first part of the tour, was the 2 hr bus trip that I took with 3 sleeping tour guides!! It was pretty lonely being the only tourist in this big coach. However, I appreciate the fact that all the guides were sleeping, as it gave me the opportunity to just relax and take in the scenery without having someone speaking to me constantly!!
Now, I just need to put this out there, if you are deeply disturbed by roaming, matted haired dogs eating out of rubbish bags, than Bolivia is not the country for you. I couldn't even begin to count the number of disheveled, hobo looking dogs I saw on this drive today.
As we finally managed to negotiate our way free of the crazy traffic, we made it on to the open roads. It just became a matter of dodging cars coming directly head on at us!! Which obviously our driver managed to do.
The half built brick buildings, and side of the road food vendors, all made way for rolling green hills, and cows munching away on hay!!
After about 1.5hrs of driving, I soon got the first glimpse of lake Titicaca!! The water looked so still, and was the colour of dark grey storm clouds. Of course, that could have just been the direct reflection of what the sky looked like!!! I hated to think about it, but I knew that looking at those clouds that it was going to rain today!! Tucked up behind the lake, was an endless row of peaks and valleys of the surrounding mountain ranges.
After 2 hours, we finally made it to a town called Chua. This is where we were making our first bathroom stop. Much to my guides surprise, we actually picked up 4 passengers here. They consisted of a grandmother, a mother and two kids. The family now lives in La Paz, however both of the kids were born in New Zealand and they all spoke perfect English, so my life just got easier.
Back in the bus, we made a short 15min road trip to the next port side town of Tiquina. This was a very small town, right on the banks of Lake Titicaca. The town was actually split in two, with Tequina Saint Paul and Tequina Saint Peter being separated by about 1km of Lake Titicaca.
This is where we got off the bus, and were handed our essentials.... a life jacket and a poncho. Putting both on, myself and the other four people made our way down to a water taxi, which transported us from the Saint Paul side to the Saint Peter side.
It was in the boat that I realised just how independent and headstrong the little girl was. She was flat out refusing to let anyone take her photo!! It just wasn't going to happen!! I did manage to crack her for a smile though!!!
On the other side of the lake, there was another minivan waiting for us, so we jumped in and hit the road again.
We travelled along a windy, but smooth road, following along the coast of Lake Titicaca. On the other side of the road was endless hills, and at one stage we could see the white long barrier indicating that you were close to hitting Peruvian territory.
After about 40mins of driving, we pulled into another port side town called Copacabana. We drove through the town, and again found our way to the banks of Lake Titicaca. We stopped out the front of a hotel/restaurant, and went inside to enjoy some much needed breakfast. I chatted with the family on tour with me, and the mother Alexandra, formally introduced me to her two beautiful children, her son Matreal, and daughter Ariel.
As we finished breakfast, we all got our ponchos back on as it had officially started pouring down. Ariel asked me with a smile whether I could help her do up the zip on her puffer jacket, which I was more than happy to do. However I knew that I had really made a new friend today, when as soon as we left the restaurant, Ariel grabbed my hand and held it as we walked back to the centre of town!!
We took the walk quite slow, especially for the kids. We stopped and looked at a lot of market stalls that lined the streets, making the occasional purchase as we went!!
We then made it to the town square, where there was a beautiful white cathedral adjoining one side of the square. However, this church was different to many of the other churches we have seen in Latin America. You could definitely see a huge middle eastern influence in its architecture, with the huge domes, decorated so colourfully by mosaic tiles.
We had a guided tour of the church, and were then given some free time to explore the town, whilst our guide met up with some additional tour group members, who were making their way to Copacabana from Peru.
I had fun, walking around and checking out all of the street side stalls. I eventually caught up with Alexandra, Ariel, Matreal and grandma. The kids both showed off their new acquisitions, obviously being spoilt by grandma!!
We soon met our new tour group members direct from Peru, and as a group walked back through town towards the coastline again.
It was here that we embarked our catamaran and set sail on Lake Titicaca.
Waiting for us as soon as we got on the boat was a snack. A ham and cheese roll and some fruit. I actually thought that this was lunch, however we were told once we had finished that it was only a snack to get us through until lunch time. Man, we definitely won't go hungry on this tour!!
The boat sailed across the lake, and as we stood on the upper deck of the boat, taking in the amazing lake views, the sun came out. It was deceiving, as the sun was shining fiercely on us, however it was still quite cool!!
We watched as we sailed around the Islands, and past the amazing hills surrounding the lake. I knew I had finally cracked Ariel, when she said that she wanted me to take a photo of her. It just melted my heart!!
After sailing for about 1.5 hrs, we arrived at Isla del Sol, or island of the Sun. This is the largest of the Lake Titicaca islands, and is the most important island due to it's Incan history.
As we disembarked from the boat, we were greeted by 180 stairs, climbing steeply up the hill before us. The stairs were built by the Incan's thousands of years ago, and to say that some of them were a little rickerty would be an understatement. But really, what can you expect from a thousand year old stair case?
We made the slow climb up the hill, and I loved that at the top of the stairs was the fountain of youth!!! Maybe they should consider relocating that fountain of youth to the bottom of the stairs, so that the climb up isn't so hard!!
When we turned around, the birds eye view of the lake was breathtaking. The water was now the bluest of blue colours, and the garden that lined the walkway just popped against the water in the background.
We walked along a path, and soon found ourselves in paradise. There was garden bed, after garden bed of plants, all forming part of the botanical gardens. Each plant had it's own place, and proudly displayed what it was used for on an information board. The plants that flowered, where in full bloom, and the fruit, often too heavy for the trees branches, made them droop close to the ground. These plants had the best view in the world.... The beautiful blue waters of Lake Titicaca.
We continued on our journey, along the pathway, until we came to a little house. This provided us with an insight into how the local indigenous people of this island live. It was a small and basic clay building, but again had one of the most spectacular views!!
Further along the path, a local indigenous man sat waiting for us. In front of him was a clay plate, filled with many little offerings, including candy, and miniature figurines of different items. Behind him, again a spectacular view of the lake. We watched, as the shaman performed a ceremony for us, asking Mother Earth and the catholic gods to bless us. He then placed the offerings on a fire, and as we watched them burn before us, the shaman then blessed each of us with spiritual water, pouring some in our hands and some on our head. I always feel free after a ceremony like that.... it's such a brilliant thing to be part of.
Relaxed and blessed, we started to make our way back down the hill, and stopped in at a cultural centre. This was actually pretty cool. In the first room, there were a lot of costumes used during the Bolivian Carnival. We watched a really short video, that demonstrated the dances and the costumes at the carnival. I actually think that it could give Rio a run for its money!!!
The next room, showed the art of offerings made by shaman's during their ceremonies. It displayed a lot of the little miniature figurines, all of which are used by people as a wish list of what they would like in their life.
There were skulls, and weapons, and medical operating tools, all demonstrating the intelligence of the indigenous people thousands of years ago!!
As we finished at the cultural centre, it was now time to pass the llamas and alpacas on our way back down to the catamaran.
As we arrived, instead of jumping on to the catamaran, we were ushered straight on to a large reed boat, used by the indigenous people. Although, I'm thinking that the outboard motor powering the boat may not be an original component. Although, it did make the life of the 2 guys 'rowing' the boat just that little bit easier.
We 'rowed' our way about 15 mins to the next pier, and was shadowed by the large catamaran behind us. Once docked, we all disembarked the reed vessel, and jumped on the catamaran, where our lunch was ready for us.
As we ate our lunch, the boat set sail for home. It was going to take 3 hours to sail to the port side town of Chua.
Full from lunch, I made my way to the top deck, where I enjoyed the warmth of the sun and watched as we again sailed along the water. In the distance, I could see the glacier topped mountains, breaking through the low lying clouds that attempted to blanket them.
I played with Ariel, and chatted with some of my fellow travellers. It's always great to hear other peoples travel stories, where they have been, and finding out the next place on their bucket list!!
The time went fast, and I soon found myself watching as the sun began to lower in the sky!! The chill hit the air again, as the strength of the sun was no longer a match for the icy breeze that was coming off the lake.
It was 6pm, when we finally arrived at the port of Chua. We all disembarked the boat, and made our way on to the waiting bus. This trip was not as lonely as this mornings bus trip, as it was now filled to capacity. I was joined by a young Dutch Tour Director on the journey home. We chatted all the way home, and I found my self super jealous that being a tour director is only a part time job for him, as the rest of the time he writes Scandinavian Travel Guides!! What a cool dream job!! He gets paid to travel!!
He gave me lots of hot tips for my free day in La Paz tomorrow, however highly unlikely I will probably follow through with any of them. He also told me about the vigilante culture that Bolivian's have. He pointed out all of the dummies hanging from light posts, and the writing on the walls, indicating that if you steel anything from the street side vendors, they will essentially string you up!! Hmmmm, well they can't say that they weren't warned, as these dummies were everywhere!!
The 2 hour bus trip back to La Paz flew by, and I was soon saying good bye to my seat buddy, and boarding another smaller van that would take me back to my hotel.
I arrived back to my room at about 8.30, and was super stoked to get some messages from home!!
I soon realised that tonight I would not be kept awake by the k*** from next door with his music, but rather from the crowds going mental at the national soccer arena, located 100m away from my hotel!! Although, I can definitely cope with the arena noise so much more easily than k*** heads music!! It's actually quite soothing!!