BOLIVIA! Mind the altitude

Ok so basically, Iguazu is getting shafted because I am so far behind on blogging. Maybe one day I'll come back to talk about it, but for now it's on to Bolivia! 

All about balance ;)

On Jan 15th the trip started in La Paz, the world's highest(in terms of altitude) capital. As soon as we got off the plane there was a noticeable difference, literally one flight of stairs makes you lightheaded and out of breath. Since it was Lewis' birthday on the 16th, we decided to splurge a little and stay in a 5 star hotel :) Not really true backpackers style, but whatever I'll take it. We already had to deal with adjusting to the altitude, so we really deserved those incredibly nice accommodations ;) We were in La Paz for two nights exploring the city before we headed to Uyuni and the Salt Flats.

To get to Uyuni, you have to take a 10 hour night bus. We had no idea how long we were going to be on that bus for, we heard 8-10 hours but also 12-14 during the rainy season. luckily we didn't hit too many problems and we made it in 11 hours. BUT that was the sketchiest bus I have ever been on. Panamericana, not the best company out there in Bolivia. It was kind of cool to be sitting next to locals, not cool to be crammed into seats with all their s*#& everywhere. These native bolivian women carry EVERYTHING in these pieces of cloth that they tie to their backs. It is actually pretty incredible to see the amount of stuff they can carry.

On to Uyuni, and we were all feeling the altitude. Lewis and Karen got legit sick, but I just felt a little under par the entire time. Headaches definitely made multiple appearances. The day we arrived, we literally passed out as soon as we got to the hostel. I got up and walked around a little after a 2 hour nap. the town of Uyuni is nothing special, but it's worth the trip just to go to the salt flats. We booked a one day tour because that is basically all we had time for. The next day, the 3 of us loaded into a Jeep with 4 other people to set off exploring. First stop, the train cemetery. Surprisingly cool. It was like a giant playground for adults. All these old trains that used to run to Uyuni were just left there abandoned and were completely rusted, ya know just sitting in the middle of the desert. The salt flat was the main attraction though. OMG! Literally just in awe of the absolutely massive salt plains, the biggest in the world mind you. Since it was rainy season, parts were flooded so the water created cool reflections of the surroundings, the majority however wasn't flooded and we were able to take copious amounts of pictures. I still can't get over how WHITE everything was. I took my sunglasses off for one second and was almost blinded by the brightness. Oh another cool things was that we got served ALPACA for lunch. This adorable little bolivian woman cooked it for us. Eating alpaca is definitely a mind game for me, you just can't think about the fact that you are eating one of those incredibly cute animals that have the softest fur in the world.

Salt Flats!

Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca

Copacabana and Lake Titicaca were the next destinations after Uyuni. That was quite a trip. We took the 10 hour overnight bus back to La Paz (with a much nicer company) then hopped right on another 4 hour bus to Copacabana. Nestled right on the shores of the lake, Copacabana is the cutest little town that totally reminded me of Catalina Island. This was the first place that we actually had a chance to relax a bit. We went down the shore and had some beers after doing some artisan shopping and town roaming. First of all, I knew  that Lake Titicaca is the world's highest navigable lake, I just wasn't expecting it to be SO big. Like, what? It was MASSIVE! We were driving around the edges of it for so long and I could never see the other side or had any clue where it ended. The waters were so incredibly blue as well. So pretty!

The main attraction in Copacabana is a trip to Isla del Sol, the Incan Creation myth Island, where the first Incans were essentially born out of the water. You have the option to stay the night on the island, but we didn't. I think that is my one regret of the trip so far. I totally fell in love with Isla del Sol. The day started by taking a 2 hour boat  journey. We were sitting on top in the open air, which was great until we went through a storm and got completely soaked. On the plus side, Isla del Sol was true to it's name and it was sunny when we arrived. the whole day was spent hiking the north and south sides of the island, stopping to catch our breath, and snapping photos every 2 seconds. So much natural beauty! The sun completely annihilated my skin, and everyone else's, but it was one of my favorite days of the trip. I'm definitely going back, definitely.

Relaxing with Karen and Lewis

After a 1 week mad rush through Bolivia, it was time for Peru! I'm currently sitting in my hostal in Lima writing about what happened 2, almost 3, weeks ago, but for now that's all I can do. My Peru travels will come at some point, it's surprisingly difficult to find time to blog.