Adios Peru Hola Bolivia

Well after surviving the Inca Trail and a day on Lake Titicaca we decided to cross the border into Bolivia. So far I must say I really enjoy Bolivia, it´s a bit less touristy than Peru and about half the price. But I´ll back up a bit. After returning to Cusco we took a bus down to Puno a town on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. From there we took a day trip out to the Uros floating islands which are islands made by the Uros people out of tortta reeds. The are actually floating and walking around them was a weird sensation. Theres about 50 of the islands in total each housing a few people. Tourism is the life blood of these communities, so it was a little cheesy at times, but still interesting. After that we went to Taquile a real island out in the lake. It was a scenic island with an interesting culture slightly less affected by tourism. After that we bused across the border and into La Paz. La Paz is a very busy city, but we´ve enjoyed having two relaxing days here. There are tons of markets and and since today is Bolivia Day there have been tons of parades and celebrations. La Paz feels more like a city where real people actually live then other places we´ve been. And because it´s so cheap here we´ve enjoyed some really nice meals. Today we went for an adventurous climb up a mountain that was over 17,000ft. We cheated a bit and took a bus most of the way. Our bus was a bit sketch with super squeaky breaks on a really steep narrow dirt road. At one point it got stuck and we all had to get off, but we made it. The hike itself was dizzingly high and even though we´ve been at high altitude for a while we were both short of breath and laboring to the top. Tomorrow we´re leaving this alititude behind and taking a 15 seater plane down to the jungle town of Rurrenabaque.


One of the houses on the floating islands



Looking over Lake Titicaca from Taquile Island


Me being attacked by pigeons in La Paz thanks to Derrick and his bird seed


We´re on top of the world!