Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Adios Peru, Hello Bolivia


And the score is.... La Paz water district with 2 points, Brig´s stomach with 0 points. La Paz water district took a quick lead yesterday morning by omitting to boil Brig´s coffee water for 3 whole minutes. After a house call from a Bolivian Dr. Roy Patty Jose Salazar (the more names, the more qualified?), it looks like Brig´s stomach might triumph. Lets give it seven days and 2 pills every 8 hours to determine the final outcome.

Crossing the border into Bolivia was a cinch. We had about 6 bicycle pedaling rickshaw drivers fighting over our business to take us to the frontera. Too bad the man we hired ended up having us pedal for half of the time. Copacabana, a small town on Lake Titticacca, awaited us with delicious food, drinks, views and expat hippies who found the sun and the slow pace of life too enticing to ever leave.

After a day of hiking from Copacabana to the little town of Yampupata, we hired an indigenous woman (and her two children) to paddle us across to the beautiful island of Isla Del Sol. (Don´t worry we all took turns with the paddle). The next day was a bus ride to La Paz. The only unusual part of this trip was when we pulled up to the shores of the lake and the bus stopped. The driver announced that we should all get off the bus, buy a ferry ticket, and meet him and the bus at the plaza on the other side of the lake. We laughed as the bus was precariously ferried accross. Hey, I guess its cheaper than building a bridge! La Paz is gorgeous, with adobe houses clinging to the cliff sides and plunging down into the valley and city center. I better get back to my patient, but I will keep you up to date on the score as the game unfolds.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

maybe you should be a writer. seriously. keep up the good work and tell brig that a) this is the first of many stomach issues that he will have and b) at least he's probably lost the weight that he's gained post-retiring from la bicicleta.

Chris Bowman said...

Got the link to your blog from Tania, and I've been reading about your travels with great interest. What a great adventure! I can relate to the stomach issues, too, as most everyone experiences the same thing when visiting here in Baja. Safe travels to you both.