Day 21- La Paz, Bolivia

The majority of last night and this morning were spent on a parked bus at the Chilean-Bolivian border. Once the border crossing office decided to open, we could finally move. We did the whole visa-stamping business, and said adios to Chile. Then we got in yet another line to re-enter Bolivia. They searched our bags and while standing there I realized that my foot was throbbing in pain. On the rest of the smelly bus ride I tried to elevate my foot a little, but it was so bumpy that didn't quite work out. Finally, we arrived in La Paz! We got a cab and made it to our next hostel, Loki Backpacker's. It was a huge 4 story place, and I learned it was a Victorian era hotel and theater that they had renovated. It was definitely a really eclectic and nice place.

Our room was trashed when we first got to it, so while we waited on the maid I tried to tend to my foot. Apparently the best cure for sea urchin wounds is to soak it in vinegar. I had no idea where I would find this though. I tried to just ignore it, and so John and I headed into town towards the Plaza San Francisco. Luckily he was being patient because my gimp version of walking was a bit slow. We basically just looked around and tried to get our bearings, making a quick stop at the Cathedral, and had an overly slow lunch at a tourist restaurant. After that, we wandered up the crowded, narrow cobblestone streets towards the mysterious Calle Linares, where the Mercado de Las Brujas (Witch's Market) is located.

We walked down the narrow street- it was a bit dark from the clouds, and that added to the mystical vibe. There, the local witches known as the yatiri, who dress in dark hats and carry coca pouches, sell their goods. In the past, the yatiri were healers who studied herbal remedies (many of them involving coca leaves) and who were seen as religious leaders. When the Spanish came they of course labeled these revered people as "witches". At first the street just seemed like another place filled with various trinkets for sale, but upon closer look I realized that the merchandise was a little different. In addition to the jewelry, ceramics, and Incan god pendants being sold, many of the old women were selling dried up llama fetuses and dried armadillos that were hanging from the ceilings. It was a bit grotesque to see, and when we entered a small shop the odd smell of their bodies took over. It might sound disgusting, but it was actually really interesting! We tried to haggle with the old woman in the shop, and successfully walked away with our hands full of some souvenirs (no llamas here!).

Apparently Bolivians believe if you burn a llama fetus, sacrifice it to the Pachamama (Mother Earth), and bury it under your house you will have good luck and prosperity. It is supposedly common for most Bolivian households to do this! In addition to these goods being sold, many people were selling odd talismans (owl feathers, toad legs), herbal remedies or "potions", unique jewelry amulets, and some places even had signs advertising spells for sale! I ended up buying a necklace that is the Incan sign for the sun, and also bought a ring for Christina. John and I also bought several small pendants that depicted different gods in the Incan religion, and that each symbolize something different. While some of the stands were obviously touristy and fake, there were a few you could tell were legitimate "witch" shops. They had signs for sorcery and fortune telling, and rather than selling t-shirts and rings they had gems, little potion bottles, and a variety of dried up animals. The yatiri are wary of having their photos taken, so we didn't get the chance to take all that many.

Another interesting tradition we saw while at the Witches Market was that many people were selling statues of a short, little fat guy. His name is Ekeko, and he is the god of material possessions. People will buy statues of him, put it in their homes, and hang miniature items on him to represent what they want. If you want financial success, put little dollars on him, or even a lottery ticket. Many people deck him out with chocolate, coca leaves, money, tickets, photos, etc. and for it to become "real" the statues have to be blessed by a yatiri. If Ekeko thinks you are too greedy, he will keep with the Aymara tradition of "all things in balance", and your wishes may not come true. Upon learning this, John of course bought an Ekeko statue.

We departed the Calle Jimenez and headed down hill towards the crowded and never-ending town of tent booths known as El Mercado Negro: The Black Market. There you can find cheap knock off designer items and pirated entertainment. The booths went on forever, and there were so many items for sale and so many people it felt a bit stressful. I didn't find very much I wanted, though I did buy a Spanish copy of the Twilight book! We continued to roam around the loud, crowded and chaotic streets towards a large outdoor food market known as Mercado Lanza. They had many fruits for sale, as well as some unidentifiable meats. After purchasing apple juice, made by smashing up apple slices and then serving it in a plastic bag with a straw stuck in it, we continued on (I thought the apple bag drink was funny, it was their version of a "to go" cup I guess). We passed a large crowd gathered around a man story-telling, and after walking through the local flower market, we attempted to find a place for dinner.

The restaurant choices in La Paz seemed a bit limited. We had a hard time finding places, and we ended up eating at Angelo Colonial- somewhere our guidebook recommended. The food was okay but the restaurant was a bit creepy. It was medieval themed, but it was really dark and full of antiques, plus we were the only customers. Walking up steep, narrow hills all day in the tiring altitudes of the world's highest capital city can really suck up all your energy, so we returned to Loki. Next to the hostel's doors I noticed there were 3 children sitting on a blanket- one was an infant. They were just there on the side of the street, no parent in sight. I had seen them earlier but didn't realize the sad reality that were likely homeless children, maybe waiting on their mom alone all day. It really upset me to see that. I later found out that there are an estimated 9,000 "street children" in the city. Charities have some homes set up, but the local government does nothing for them. Thinking about them, I counted my blessings, and it was time for bed.

Day 14- Copacabana - La Paz, Bolivia

At 7am we left our hostel; the owner and his wife said goodbye to us and the woman gave me this cute mini Peruvian style hat that said "Inka's Rest" on it. I thought it was a cute gesture. We headed to the bus station and boarded for our journey out of Peru. By some weird chance, the same group of Canadian students we chatted with on our bus in Cuzco were sitting in front of us! We talked to them and found out they were robbed in a restaurant in Puno and lost their wallets, cameras, passports, etc. A man placed his coat on their chair which was behind him, and when he got up to leave he picked up his coat and the bags too. They looked for him but no luck, he had left several minutes before they noticed.That would be so so awful! It reminded me to be extra vigilant about my belongings- as if I wasn't paranoid enough already!

Our bus was headed towards La Paz, the Bolivian capital. After a while we got off the buses at the Peruvian-Bolivian border and walked towards a long line that led to a building where you get your exit visa and passport stamp. Nothing was labeled so it was just a guess, but luckily we were right. Then, we walked under this little arch that symbolized we had left Peru and were now in Bolivia. We walked up a hill and basically just followed the crowds to figure out where to get our entry visas. We got in another line where you had to stand on concrete next to a 3 foot ditch. Due to my strong coordination skills I somehow slipped and my foot fell into the ditch. I twisted my ankle and it really hurt. It was later swollen and purple. Only me... haha. Then we got into another tiny building where our passports were stamped and our visas and yellow fever vaccination cards were checked. We left the building, hunted around for our bus for a bit, and then finally after the disorganized struggle known as "border crossing" we were ready to conquer Bolivia! If you don't know, Bolivia is considered the most isolated country in South America, and also its highest. The city of La Paz is the highest capital city in the world (12,000 feet above sea level). It is also the poorest and least developed country in South America, partially because it is landlocked due to some bad luck in wars over the years.

After an hour or so we arrived at the city of Copacabana. A random man got on the bus and said we had to buy "city entrance tickets" for 2 bolivianos. Everyone bought one. Then we got off the bus and I realized it was a scam because no one was checking for the tickets- they were totally unnecessary! We were then told we had an hour for lunch. The touristy city of Copacabana is located on the shores of Lake Titicaca. We walked down the road to the overlook of the lake- it was a pretty sight as the area is very scenic and the lake was specked with various colorful boats, but once we began walking around, we realized there was really nothing to do. It is always billed as a popular tourist destination and place to go, but beyond the fact that you can take a boat from there to the Isla del Sol, we're not sure why. It was extremely touristy, filled with street vendors and overpriced restaurants. The beach area was very littered and the hotels all seemed a bit rundown. We decided to go up towards the 16th century Catedral de Copacabana though, and we saw many people kneeling and intensely praying before a shrine to Mary. As we walked around we noticed many giant flower arrangements and various flower necklaces were being sold everywhere. Even the cars were decked out with flowers! Everyone around was buying loads of them, and I didn't know why. I later looked it up and realized it was because that day was the feast of our Lady of Copacabana, and since Bolivia is strongly Catholic, everyone was preparing to buy flowers in Mary's honor. It definitely made our walk very colorful!

We then got to a street filled with more vendors. Since I lost my sunglasses somewhere in Puno, I decided to buy cheap knock off shades. John got some aviators, and then I found a jewelry stand where I bought myself a cheap yet unique ring from a 10 year old boy. It was then time to walk back to our bus. We stood by it thinking we were going to get back on it, and then the workers started throwing our big backpacks out into the street. We found ours and assumed this meant we were changing buses. We tried to ask where the next bus we were supposed to get on was located. There was a lot of confusion, no clear instructions, and nobody really knew what to do or where to go. Frustrating! I did not want to be stranded in this town so I directly confronted the worker and he finally gave me a straight answer. We were completely changing bus companies apparently (way to tell us). Our new bus was at the top of a steep street, so we rapidly walked up there hoping to get on before the bus left us. Since the altitude there is so high, I was really struggling. Carrying the big backpack up a steep hill at high altitudes caused me to honestly have moments where I couldn't breathe. Sitting down on the next bus was a huge relief, as it was a very irritating ordeal trying to figure out what in the world was going on! (This was my first taste of the business practices of Bolivian bus companies, and if you think this is bad, it only gets worse in days to come).

Once we left, we drove through narrow mountainous roads hovering near the edge of cliffs until we got to another part of the lake. There was no bridge in sight. The bus stopped and they made us all get off and said something in Spanish about buying a ferry ticket and riding it across. John, the Canadians and I were a bit lost and just followed people who looked like they knew what to do. Once we figured it out we got on the little crowded ferry boat and rode to the other side of the river. We then waited for about 30 minutes for the bus to be ferried across too! Finally, we began the last leg of the journey towards La Paz. This final part was very bumpy, windy, uncomfortably close to cliffs, and thus slightly nerve-wracking. Somehow, we finally arrived. We were dropped off at the large bus terminal, and stepped out into the narrow and hilly streets.

Once there, we needed to find our company for the bus we had lined up to take us to Uyuni that night. It was called Todo Turismo, and we couldn't find it on our map. After some unsuccessful wandering I ended up asking la policia for help. We were directed to their office, which thankfully was nearby. The bus company was very professional and organized, and they offered to store our bags until our departure that night. We then began to walk around the city.

La Paz is hard to describe, but basically it is a bustling, busy city with tall buildings scattered around a very steep and hilly landscape. The sidewalks are cobblestone, narrow, and very packed. Vendors and loud honking cars are everywhere. It is very noisy and full of commotion, definitely a very urban setting. There are also several open-air markets in the plazas and squares in front of churches. Also, as there are no crosswalks, crossing streets is both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. It is like playing the game Frogger, and you are the frog. It is also interesting to see the contrasts. One minute you see a businesswoman in a suit chatting away on her phone while hopping into a cab, and you turn around and see an old woman in a colorful woven skirt knitting on the street corner where little barefoot children are playing. At one point during our walk I felt a tugging on my backpack and I turned to see an old lady trying to unzip it. Luckily my backpack was locked shut!

After we explored the area around the cathedral we came across a building offering tours of the Salt Flats. We went in and spoke with a nice English speaking man about our options. He offered a good price and an all inclusive trip, so we booked our 3 day tour! He told us we would have a guide who spoke basic English, and stay in a decently nice hotel for each night. We then had to get online there and cancel a hostel we had previously booked due to the schedule change. We also had to find a hostel in the city of Oruro, which was hard to do since no hostels there had websites and we didn't know when we'd get Internet access again. We then hunted around the city for an ATM because we had to change our remaining soles and dollars into the Bolivian currency, bolivianos. After a dinner on the go, we went back to the bus company's building.

At around 11pm that night, we boarded our "luxury bus" towards Uyuni. The bus was very nice indeed. It had TVs, its own introduction video which comically showed the bus in various settings with exciting music in the background, reclining seats, blankets and pillows, and free dinner and snacks. I was very happy about the comfort of the bus, yet it was a bit ironic because despite the fact the bus was amazing, the ride to Uyuni was extremely bumpy and crazy. We drove on non-existent roads, little stony paths, and did some off-roading as well. They changed the tires 2 times over the course of the night, and after a while I got used to the constant bouncing and hitting my head on the window.