Her name was Lolaaaaaa, she was a showgiiiiirl... Ok whatever, you may have recognised Barry Manilow (I know I have an amazing voice) and his song Copacabana, but obviously he did not mean the one in Bolivia... (although Bolvia is south of Havana, as the song says!)
But let me start with the journey from Cusco to Copacabana... scheduled to be 10 hours (overnight bus of course!). When I got there, my place was taken by 2 other guys, but after calling several people it appeared that my seat number was changed in the last minute, so I got another seat. That was good news, as one guy did not have this chance, and he was saying he did not want to sleep on the street, so .... he finally traveled in the bag area. The thing is that there were already a few blankets there, all set as if it is not the first time this happens... Terrible!
At 6am, i.e. 7.5 hours after we left, the guy wakes me up and says I have to get off for Copacabana, although my ticket said ´direct service´. 6 other people were in the same situation, all Argentinians (so hard to understand, such a slang Spanish!). Anyways, we took a minivan which stopped several times to take some locals on the road, it was a bit like these minibuses in Asia, so actually good fun... We arrived at the border and the guy said he cannot cross, we need to walk to cross and get a minivan on the other side. Then another woman arrives and advises us that we need to get a stamp from Peruvian authorities first (otherwise you pay a fine, clever!), but they open at 7.30am.... Waiting, getting the first stamp, second stamp, walking across to the other side, and finally Boliovian authorities let us in... Another 15min minivan journey and we were in Bolivia!
Copacabana is a nice little resort, directly located on Titicaca Lake, perhaps a bit too tourist-ready as lonely planet says. Bolivians definitely seem to be poorer than Peruvians (although Peruvians are already not the richest!), and cheap accomodation is offered everywhere for 3 pounds with shared bathroom... The specialty of the city is the rainbow trout from Titicaca Lake, I had one at the market I was the only tourist, that was really nice! This couple of Bolivians started chatting with me, but I cannot speak more than 5 minutes in Spanish, after which I get a bit confused usually! :)
The highlight of the city is the cathedral, which is apparently a location for pilgrims. Everyday at 10.30am and 2pm, people queue with their cars in front of the church to have them blessed with holy water (I am not joking to ensure you did not fall asleep while reading this!). This is really funny: cars are decorated with flowers and ornements, the priest comes and spreads holy water on the cars and its owners, sometimes smoked carbon is also used. Then the celebration begins, throwing flower petals, confettis, and ´petards´ explose! There were only 20 cars queuing this morning, but apparently at weekends it is madness!! |
Photos Bolivie
Carnets de voyage Bolivie
Vidéos Bolivie
Carte Bolivie
Guide de voyage Bolivie
Santé Bolivie
Billets d'avion Bolivie
