Copacabana to La Paz.
I´m back from Copacabana early. I had a bit of a disappointing sightseeing experience but the scenery and all the Bolivians I met along the way made up for it. The other day I took the bus to Lake Titicaca -- yea, that´s the name alright -- to visit the Isla del Sol, the place where the Incas believe the sun was born. Three and a half hours of hiking led to a sad bunch of rocks stacked up into a bunch of flimsy walls. Apparently they haven´t conserved the site too well.
But as I digress, it wasn´t the site that made the trip. I got insanely lost in the beginning because I couldn´t find the trail. I ended up through backyard farms, dry streams, and donkey and llama playgrounds, dodging sheep and all types of poop everywhere. With the high altitude, it wasn´t the best thing to be lost, but I ended up walking through little villages, which probably wouldn´t have happened had I known where I was going. Kids came up to me, asked me where I was from, what my name was and if I had any caramelo, which is what they call candy here.
An hour way through, I made my way alongside the beach. I turned the corner and a little girl with three of her schoolmates asked if I had any sweets. I said No, but I have some crackers if you want some. I handed each a dry cracker. Then, the next thing I know, a group of 5 little kids ran up to me. They had seen me giving a free handout, so of course, I obliged and gave them some as well. Then I looked up. A group of 30 (I promise, it was 30!) 6 year olds were running at full pace down the beach toward me. Before I could react, they were all on me, dirty, teeny hands reaching up at the crackers, which I was holding high above my head like a ransom. All I could see were hands, no faces. They were pushing each other so hard, and for what again? My tasteless wheat crackers. I gave out as many as I could. Some kids took two, and the other kids shamelessly told on them. In the end I couldn´t give all the crackers away because I still had two more hours to go on my hike and knew I would badly need sustenance along the way. I had to run like hell away from them because the mob of shorties weren´t taking no for an answer. As I was running, I noticed pigs everywhere on the beach. Small, black fatties chomping at sand. In that instant, I couldn´t help but think I was Piggy from Lord of the Flies. And appropriately enough, I passed a dead, headless pig beached ashore, dark bugs on it...
I also met a Bolivian girl on the way with what turned out to be not her sister but her 1-year-old daughter. She was only 19 and I asked her about her life, if it was hard, if she wanted more kids, if she liked it on the island. She had a sad face and I tried to get her to smile a few times and was successful. But yes, her life is hard, no, she in no way wanted more kids (so it sounds like she might have had her baby out of familial obligation), and she lived with her family of 10. She was gorgeous too, as all the indigineous Bolivians are -- really pretty dark skin, long, shiny hair tied into two braids down her back, Asian eyes, round faces and a small, flat nose. She left me at the crossroad to her house and the correct trail.
And theré´s no transition I can make into this, but I will say it anyway. I am getting so good at the squat-pee. Today was a little of a mess-up because I ended up peeing on my pant leg a bit, but I think by the end of this trip I will have thighs of steel.
Also, who would´ve thunk it, but I had one of the best pizzas ever on Isla del Sol. And Pringles taste so good when you haven´t had them in forever. Just a bit of home is making me happy. And I admit I´m getting a bit lonely, even though I´m meeting so many people. I see friends and couples traveling together and I feel a twinge of jealousy sometimes. I got all mush on the way back to La Paz. I´m back at the Israeli hostel, where it´s only groups of pals trekking together. I´m happy to be around them, really, because they´re a great self-deprecating bunch, which reminds me of you guys. They´ve also taught me to never take something at face value -- really. The last group gladly shared their story of how they bargained for TWO hours for a mountain biking experience down the World´s Most Dangerous Road. Note that things are so cheap here that they probably saved only a dollar in the end, but still. The Israelis also know where all the best places are. The way they put it, they´re like the mafia. If one Israeli hates your place, all the other Israelis will hear about it and never give you their business. And here in South America, that´s death! I was this close to buying fleece too, which I don´t need. It´s so cheap in La Paz -- 7 bucks for a jacket. All the Israelis come to La Paz for the jungle tour, the dangerous road and friggin´ fleece. They thought it was the craziest thing for me to give up the opportunity to buy fleece for all my friends and family and ship it back via boat. I hope I don´t regret this later.
But as I digress, it wasn´t the site that made the trip. I got insanely lost in the beginning because I couldn´t find the trail. I ended up through backyard farms, dry streams, and donkey and llama playgrounds, dodging sheep and all types of poop everywhere. With the high altitude, it wasn´t the best thing to be lost, but I ended up walking through little villages, which probably wouldn´t have happened had I known where I was going. Kids came up to me, asked me where I was from, what my name was and if I had any caramelo, which is what they call candy here.
An hour way through, I made my way alongside the beach. I turned the corner and a little girl with three of her schoolmates asked if I had any sweets. I said No, but I have some crackers if you want some. I handed each a dry cracker. Then, the next thing I know, a group of 5 little kids ran up to me. They had seen me giving a free handout, so of course, I obliged and gave them some as well. Then I looked up. A group of 30 (I promise, it was 30!) 6 year olds were running at full pace down the beach toward me. Before I could react, they were all on me, dirty, teeny hands reaching up at the crackers, which I was holding high above my head like a ransom. All I could see were hands, no faces. They were pushing each other so hard, and for what again? My tasteless wheat crackers. I gave out as many as I could. Some kids took two, and the other kids shamelessly told on them. In the end I couldn´t give all the crackers away because I still had two more hours to go on my hike and knew I would badly need sustenance along the way. I had to run like hell away from them because the mob of shorties weren´t taking no for an answer. As I was running, I noticed pigs everywhere on the beach. Small, black fatties chomping at sand. In that instant, I couldn´t help but think I was Piggy from Lord of the Flies. And appropriately enough, I passed a dead, headless pig beached ashore, dark bugs on it...
I also met a Bolivian girl on the way with what turned out to be not her sister but her 1-year-old daughter. She was only 19 and I asked her about her life, if it was hard, if she wanted more kids, if she liked it on the island. She had a sad face and I tried to get her to smile a few times and was successful. But yes, her life is hard, no, she in no way wanted more kids (so it sounds like she might have had her baby out of familial obligation), and she lived with her family of 10. She was gorgeous too, as all the indigineous Bolivians are -- really pretty dark skin, long, shiny hair tied into two braids down her back, Asian eyes, round faces and a small, flat nose. She left me at the crossroad to her house and the correct trail.
And theré´s no transition I can make into this, but I will say it anyway. I am getting so good at the squat-pee. Today was a little of a mess-up because I ended up peeing on my pant leg a bit, but I think by the end of this trip I will have thighs of steel.
Also, who would´ve thunk it, but I had one of the best pizzas ever on Isla del Sol. And Pringles taste so good when you haven´t had them in forever. Just a bit of home is making me happy. And I admit I´m getting a bit lonely, even though I´m meeting so many people. I see friends and couples traveling together and I feel a twinge of jealousy sometimes. I got all mush on the way back to La Paz. I´m back at the Israeli hostel, where it´s only groups of pals trekking together. I´m happy to be around them, really, because they´re a great self-deprecating bunch, which reminds me of you guys. They´ve also taught me to never take something at face value -- really. The last group gladly shared their story of how they bargained for TWO hours for a mountain biking experience down the World´s Most Dangerous Road. Note that things are so cheap here that they probably saved only a dollar in the end, but still. The Israelis also know where all the best places are. The way they put it, they´re like the mafia. If one Israeli hates your place, all the other Israelis will hear about it and never give you their business. And here in South America, that´s death! I was this close to buying fleece too, which I don´t need. It´s so cheap in La Paz -- 7 bucks for a jacket. All the Israelis come to La Paz for the jungle tour, the dangerous road and friggin´ fleece. They thought it was the craziest thing for me to give up the opportunity to buy fleece for all my friends and family and ship it back via boat. I hope I don´t regret this later.
posted by Chocolat at 1:30 PM
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