Celebrating Eight Years of Marriage “Bolivian Style”

Bolivia – Copacabana, Lake Titicaca

This week was marked by two major events: our eight year wedding anniversary (yay!) and Pat’s food poisoning (boo!). Unfortunately, these events happened concurrently on July 7th. We spent the first half of the week in Copacabana and the second half in La Paz. We ended up spending an extra day in Copacabana for a few reasons: 1) Pat was still sick and needed rest, 2) we had the best hotel room of the entire trip for a great price, and ultimately 3) they canceled our bus (due to the Pope’s visit in La Paz they closed all the roads). Pat is finally feeling better and was able to tour the sights of La Paz.

1. Go

Bus – 342 km. From Copacabana to La Paz.
Boat – 2 km. During the bus ride from Copa to La Paz, we had to de-board our bus while it crossed the water on a barge and we crossed on a little boat. Strange but true.

Bolivia – Lake Titicaca crossing

Cable car – 15 km. La Paz is starting to build a network for cable cars to cover the city. Currently they have three built, but plan to build six more. Since we went on a weekend, most of the other riders were just riding it for the views like us, but during the week people probably use it for commuting.

Bolivia – La Paz – Cable Car

Foot – 94,000 steps in 7 days (approx. 47 miles)

2. See

This week was pretty low key since Pat was sick, but Lindsey made it out a few times. Copacabana sits right on the edge of Lake Titicaca. The shore is line with paddle boats, foosball tables, and trout stands. Lindsey hiked the hill north of town for a good view of the city.

Bolivia – Copacabana, Lake Titicaca

Bolivia – Copacabana, Lake Titicaca – Trout stalls

Bolivia – Copacabana, Lake Titicaca – Lakeside activities

Copacabana had a huge Moorish style church in the center and a great hike up a hill north of town. Drivers go to the church to get their new cars or buses blessed. There are a dozen stands out front selling flowers, streamers, sparkly top hats, and champagne (or just sparkling something) for the occasion. People deck out their vehicles, park them in front, then go in to make a donation to the church. When the come back out, they spray champagne all over the vehicle.

Bolivia – Copacabana, Lake Titicaca

La Paz is a great city for wandering (as long as you keep your wits about you). There are markets everywhere and lively squares, perfect for people watching. More than once we would grab a snack and sit on a bench to watch the action. La Paz is picturesque city. The main road runs along the bottom of a steep valley while the city stretches up the valley walls on either side. In general, the lower neighborhoods are better.

Bolivia – La Paz

Bolivia – La Paz – Cathedral

Bolivia – La Paz

Eventually, we visited a few small museums along Jaen street, the only surviving colonial street. We also enjoyed the various markets, most notably the black market and the witches market. In the black market, you can find anything from tires to food to clothing. The witches market had lots of candles, spices, and dried llama fetuses… yup, you can read that again if you’d like… dried llama fetuses. They don’t intentionally kill pregnant llamas, but if one is accidentally slaughtered for food, then they save and dry the fetus. People buy them to bury under the cornerstone of a new building as an offering to Pachamama (mother earth).

Bolivia – La Paz – Jaen Street

Bolivia – La Paz – Witches Market

3. Eat

Pat did not eat much this week, and the smell of food made him feel nauseous, so Lindsey found some great street food to eat quickly while wandering around town – mostly salteñas. Once Pat felt better, these became a daily morning snack.

4. Drink

Nothing new or exciting for drinks this week. Pat had as much coca tea as he could stomach, along with sprite and peach juice.

5. Sleep

We splurged for a nicer room for our anniversary. It was a stand alone suite with a kitchenette and a skylight. We stayed for one night before Pat got sick and ended up staying two more nights. Even though it was only $40 USD per night, it was still one of our more expensive hotels.

Bolivia – Copacabana, Lake Titicaca – La Cupula

In La Paz, we stayed at Arthy’s Guesthouse. We were nervous since it was on a really busy street, but our room faced the inside and it was surprisingly quiet. They also had a kitchen for our use, which we used to make familiar foods while Pat was still recovering from food poisoning.

6. Move

Since Pat was either ill or recovering all week, we had a pretty easy week. Lindsey went on some nice hikes to viewpoints in both Copacabana and La Paz, but didn’t want to leave for too long.

Check out Pat’s CADENCE Week 6 post for details about this week.