After leaving Copacabana, our bus had to take a ferry across the channel that connects the northern and southern parts of Lake Titicaca. The ride was 4 hours total, but was broken up nicely by the crossing.
Before decending into La Paz, the bus briefly stopped so we could snap a few pictures:
La Paz is a very busy, urban place. The streets are jammed with cars, taxis, and micros (mini-busses), and the sidewalks are a mixture of well dressed business people with combed hair, women selling fruit and bread, shoe shiners, and beggars. There are lots of tour agencies, camping stores, banks, money exchanges, and plazas in the area we stayed in. However, a long walk through less touristy areas gave us an excellent view into the average day of a middle class Bolivian living in La Paz.
Many traditionally dressed women wear top hats in Bolivia and Peru.
Pigeons ruled Plaza Murillo (above), and there were many local people feeding the birds who were completely surrounded by and covered in them. We found the lack of bird poo fairly surprising. There must have been a nightly cleaning, as Plaza Murillo is directly in front of the Presidential Palace (below) and the Cathedral.
View of the Sopocachi district from the bridge. (Bridge on map)(below)
Toward the end of our walk it started raining, and we happened upon a pool hall in the Sopocachi District where we took shelter for an hour or so:
When we got back I called up therm-a-rest on skype, emailed them this picture (below) of the mattress that failed the first time I used it, and they agreed to send me a new one to our airbnb host in Salvador, Brazil! I'm really happy I will have a functioning air bed for Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile because those countries are far more expensive than Peru and Bolivia, and we plan to camp more often. Yay companies that treat customers well!
One funny thing I haven't mentioned yet is an experience we had at our hostel. Marcela researched before we arrived in La Paz and found the cheapest option possible ($6/p/n), and upon arriving we set out walking toward Plaza San Pedro, the nearest landmark. When we arrived, the owner said her only vacancy was a room on the top floor (stairs only, ker-wah) that had 3 twin beds. We really didn't feel like walking and looking for another hostel, so after viewing the room we accepted, to her surprise. We put our backpacks in the room and went out to explore the city before it got dark. When we returned, the key to the room turned and turned but didn't unlock the door. Eventually they ended up breaking the window to get in, which we found funny. The next day we had a guy there installing a new lock and window. We didn't mind though, as we were entertained, sheltered, and it didn't cost much.
Our short stay in La Paz came to a conclusion at the bus station. It was pretty so I took a quick picture.
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Oruro, Bolivia
Our journey to Oruro was uneventful, as was our general stay in Oruro. We only took one picture of a parade we happened to come across, but decided we would just lump Oruro, Bolivia onto the end of this post because there isn't much to tell. It was really just us breaking the journey to Uyuni into two sections, dealing with a hotel room that smelled like it had been recently fumigated, buying bus tickets, and playing cards in the plaza. Oh, and it was Marcela's birthday, so we went out for a nice dinner.
We crafted a birthday cake out of a chocolate covered macaroon and a match. haha.
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