Even though I said that our little trip to the Titicaca Lake ended with a beautiful sunrise (see last entry), that was a bit of a lie. we still had one night and one breakfast before we would actually head back to La Paz. We woke up rather early to pack up our things and check out. We learned from our previouse mistake of deciding what to do first-shower or breakfast. This time, we did it right: Shower, breakfast, pack up things, and off we go. This way, our towels could drie at least a bit before being stuffed in a too small backpack.
"We started the day with another great cup of coffee (in the same restaurant as the previous day)"
"We left Copacabana around 9.30am and arrived in La Paz around 1.00pm"
The way back seemed so much shorter than when we drove to Copacabana. Both Sissi agreed on checking in at the same hotel where wee had stayed before, so we dropped off our things to head to El Alto -one of the poorest suburbs in all of Bolivia. You have to imagine La Paz like a city in a pot. La Paz spreadsout on the walls and bottom of the pot. El Alto lies on the edge of the pot, on the rim, so to speak. Just that around the pot, on the hight of the rim, everything is flat.
In El Alto, there is a huge feria (flee market) every Thursday and Sunday. We left all of our belongings in the hotel, took just a bit of money and jackets (because it's always colder in El Alto) and went to the feria. Taking a minibus and getting out at the foot of very steep stairs, we followed a crowd of people climbing up to the feria. Since I didn't take my camera, I can only describe the amazing view we had climbing up the stairs. not only could we see a slim, rough-stoned staircase lined by little stands and colorful fabrics to protect the venders from the powerful sun, but we also had an amazing view of La Paz directly below us and the mountains in the distance. The sun was shining and we could see all the little houses, partially finished, and in an extreme contrast, beautiful mountains with snow glittering on their tops. The contrast of the natural beauty of the mountains and the man made beauty of the city somehow joined together into something even more beautiful, breathtaking.
Fom the feria, we only saw a tiny snippet.
" A bit like the feria Cumavi, we literally saw everything from doors to electronic junk to fake perfume, clothing, and cell phones from china. And-not to forget-food."
I also found a beautiful old film camera, but it would not be of any use to me in Bolivia, and back at home I have my film camera......still, I really loved that camera.
After about 4 hours of walking around, both Sissi and I were exhausted and drove back down to our hotel.
"I bought "hair saloon scissors" and cut off all my split ends, or t least most of them. 2nd successful haircut a la Lena in Bolivia :)"
Since we were really tired, we did not do much more that night.
"Day 5, Tiwanaku, 20/12/2013, Friday"
After a long night's sleep, we woke up to a cold morning. Our day's plan was to drive to Tiwanaku. But first...A comeeerrr! ( food :D) We went to the little market (see entry 1) and ate an Empanada with cheese and a drink called Api. here is a recipie with the ingredients, even though I am pretty sure that ours did not have pineapple.
Ingredients (Serves 8)
2 cups ground purple corn (also called purple corn flour as seen in this photo)15 cups of water
1/4 pineapple, chopped (don't drain)
2 sticks of cinnamon
2 whole cloves
Rind from one orange, finely grated
Sugar to taste
http://www.boliviabella.com/api-morado.html
"We wanted to visit the Inca ruins of Tiwanaku, about 2h away from La Paz. However, we didn't know that the entrance fee was 80Bs which we didn't have. Because we were already at the ruins, we decided to walk around the little town a bit until our minibus left for La Paz."
"It seemed like the town was deserted; there were only few people that we met. Not even many tourists wandered around the town.
"When we were almost sick and tired of waking around (there was not much to see and it was chilly), we saw a llama. I went up to it slowly, at first a bit afraid that the llama would spit at me. Then I shook off my unease and the llama approached me. It nudged my cheek with its nostril. I didn't dare move. It was such an amazing experience - the llama's soft fur on my cheek. I could even feel it's breath. it felt like a warm kiss.
I was kissed by a llama! :)"
Just as we were about to drive home, big black clouds gathered in the sky. It was absolutely stunning.
The rest of the evening we spent with our fellow volunteers, talking and drinking too much Cuba Libre :D
"Day 6, La Paz, 21/12/2013, Saturday"
We ended our journey with a nice stroll through the artesian part of La Paz.
By the time our flota left, I was more than ready to go back home to the warm, humid, sticky Santa Cruz, to sleep in my bed and play with Poppy.
