Potosi, Bolivia – August 10th – 12th, 2017

Yet another bus ride down and we had arrived in Potosi where we started by wandering for 20 minutes (all uphill) trying to locate our AirBnB. We eventually met the owners who showed us around a real American style apartment equipped with a full kitchen! Woohoo!

In addition to being one of the highest cities in the world at 13,420 ft (4090 m), Potosi is well-known for the nearby Cerro de Potosi (aka Cerro Rico – Rich Mountain) – a mountain which has been mined (in atrocious conditions) for silver and other precious metals since the mid-1500’s. An astounding estimated 8 million slaves and workers have died throughout the mine’s history. Although we had conflicting feelings about supporting tourism in an active mine with continued deplorable conditions, curiosity got the better of us and after settling in at the AirBnB we went out to attempt to book a tour with an organization that supported miners and their families. Although the first place we tried was owned by an ex-miner, we came into an awkward situation when he aggressively told us to keep our minds open and not push our beliefs of feminism on him or the people of Bolivia. Funny thing was that we never said anything remotely touching on the subject of feminism, we were only asking if he had a tour available the next day. Offended and more than a little downtrodden about my gender’s obvious inadequacies (it is taking everything I have not to get into a full blown rant here), we moved on and eventually settled on a different tour company.

Pictures from around Potosi.

Cerro de Potosi.

We met our tour the next morning, got geared up, bought some “gifts” for the miners, and drove to the opening of the mine. The options for “gifts” included dynamite, detonators for said dynamite, 96% alcohol (the drink of choice in the mine), tobacco/coca/orange cigarettes (the smoke of choice in the mine), or coca leaves (the chew of choice in the mine). The mine tour lasted a few shocking hours. It is hard to put into words the conditions - dark confined spaces often too small to stand upright, very poor air quality, and visible asbestos leaching out of the wet walls of the caverns. It is no wonder that every corner is marked by shrines to Tio, the devil that rules the mountain and the mines. Justifiably so, superstitions (including women underground being bad luck) and drug/alcohol abuse seem to be the coping mechanism used by the workers. Fair to say we were glad for the experience, but even more glad to see the light of day again afterwards.

Preparing to go into the mine.

Cerro de Potosi y Tio.

Back at the apartment we set on a quest to cook black beans at high elevation - It took over 6 hours. After relaxing, chatting with Anita (the AirBnB owner who was nice enough to buy and drop off our bus tickets), and eating mostly cooked black bean burritos, we turned in for the night. The next morning, we departed on the bus to Sucre: our last stop in Bolivia. 

Tupiza, Bolivia – August 7th – 10th, 2017

Sweet sweet showers! Tupiza was amazing, don’t get me wrong, but one of the highlights of Tupiza was the shower at Hostal Butch Cassidy. In addition to the awesome name, the hot water was flowing and the staff was on top of things. Within a few hours of our arrival they took our laundry to be washed, set us up with horseback riding tours for the next day, and in secret (at my request) ordered Andy a massive tres leches cake from a local bakery for his birthday the following day – all while we were enjoying scrubbing off the filth from the previous 5-day jeep tour.  

On Andy’s big day he was spoiled with a birthday card signed by our whole soccer team back in Seattle courtesy of Lisa and an external battery pack from Brandon! We have the BEST friends! From the hotel, he got a bottle of wine to celebrate, and from his wife (yours truly) he got my presence for his whole life and a cake… in all seriousness, I got him nothing. In my defense, living out of a backpack does not lend itself well to material possessions so I went with the gift of epic experiences.

After breakfast, the crew took off for horse trekking in the desert-scape surrounding Tupiza. The variety of landscapes in Bolivia is astounding – over the past week, we experienced jungle, salt-flats, high altitude wasteland, geothermal and volcanic activity, river-lands, and finally wild wild west desert. After arriving at the stables, the guide instructed us to deck ourselves out in western wear – chaps, cowboy hats, and bandannas (which turned out to be clutch against the dust). Now cowboys and cowgirls, we mounted our steeds and rode off into the sunset (well not that last part – it was mid-morning and some of us had never ridden a horse before). The ride was spectacular!... although we quickly learned that riding a horse for multiple hours is less than comfortable. We visited Canon del Duende, Los Machos, Canon del Inco, and Puerta del Diablo. Even in the desert, the scenery was diverse! Back at the hotel and a handful of birthday calls later, we made our way to an Italian place in town for dinner. Cake, cards, and craft Bolivian beers before bed rounded out the day.

Horse trekking around Tupiza.

Desert landscape.

More pictures of horse trekking and desert... you get the idea. 

The next morning, we said goodbye to our friends. Our time with Brandon and Lisa was truly one of the most memorable parts of the entire trip. It was sad to see them go. After a good cry, we got to work planning, logging, blogging, backing up photos, and binge watching Game of Thrones. After a jam packed Peru and Bolivia, it felt good to sit around and do nothing for a day. In the evening, we dragged ourselves away from the computer to buy bus tickets. Perhaps it was the less than subliminal messaging from the bus ticket ladies who continuously screamed “Potosi, Potosi, Potosi, Potosiiiiiiiiiiii,” but we decided to go to Potosi.

After a long delay standing on the street corner wondering if we had missed the bus or were in the wrong place, our chariot arrived and we were on our way. In good news, the long wait gave us time to scope out a worthy recipient for the mini soccer ball we had purchased as a sand flats prop. The young boy we gave it to had been shyly working on the streets selling cool-aid-esque drinks. When we gave him the ball, he stared at it for several minutes before a massive grin developed on his face. For the hour after, he did not play with the ball, but instead neglected his selling duties, to hold and stare happily at it. It felt good to do something nice, but his reaction was also a bit gut wrenching. Moments like that make you truly remember how lucky you are. We could all do a better job of appreciating and cherishing what we have.

Birthday, goodbye, and spreading the joy of "football"

Jeep Tour in a Land Cruiser, Bolivia – August 2nd – 7th, 2017

The 5-day jeep tour through western Bolivia was indisputably one of the highlights of the entire trip! Our journey began in Uyuni. As is the case when we arrived in almost any new city, we began by being ripped off at the airport for a $10, 5-min. taxi ride (yes, yes, you’re thinking – not terrible from the airport: well, keep in mind that this equates to about their average daily income – made in 5 minutes. Where can I find a job like that?!). We then settled into the hotel and were instantly faced with a problem that would plague our trip … It was FREEEEEZING! Not just outside, but inside too. Arguably it was colder inside. We mentioned this to the hotel owner and he graciously installed a giant propane heater, made for outdoor use, in our little room. Carbon monoxide poisoning anyone? We were too afraid of going to sleep and not waking up that we turned it off and gritted out the night in extra layers.

Uyuni's wonderful indoor heating and interesting tourist headgear

The next morning, after an appetizing stale breakfast, we met our driver and guide, Luis Alberto, and his wife and the chef, Noemi. Although Noemi was quite shy, we had a great time joking around and practicing our Spanish with Luis (He did not speak any English). My conversations with him were mostly him laughing at me – I’m not sure why. The first stop in our journey was the Railroad Museum, which was really just a junkyard for old trains. We had a blast exploring and playing on all the train shells – Andy for academic reasons, Brandon for the unique graffiti, and Lisa and I because it was an adult playground! Before leaving we attempted a jumping photo, the failed attempts were hilarious!

Train jumping. Luckily, my face-plant was just out of the camera's view. We also spared Lisa the embarrassment of posting the first series of photos - oh the terror of jumping off a 2-3 foot platform onto flat ground.

Turns out train graveyards are pretty cool!

After prying ourselves away from the least popular attraction on the trip, we stopped at an artisan market (aka tourist trap) where we stocked up on some warmer clothes before driving to the Salar de Uyuni (famous salt flats in Bolivia)!!!! It was astounding – the texture of the salt, the pure white color, the vastness, the flatness, none of us had ever seen anything like it! While Naomi made lunch at the Hotel de Sal at the Dakar Monument (Salt hotel at the Dakar car racing monument), we went out onto the sand flats, played soccer, and attempted some play-on-depth photos. It turns out these photos are much harder than we expected – fail. 

Just a few of our salt flat photos. The "Flags of Many Nations" at the Dakar Monument did not include a US flag. Going out on a limb and assuming that our missing flag and the hassle at the border crossing are related...

After lunch, we drove through the endless expanse to Incahuasi (house of Inca) which was a small hill rising out of the salt flats populated with lots and lots of cacti and featuring an incredible view from the top! Did you know that there is such a thing as cactus wood?! Mind blown! Next stop was a deserted spot in the salt for picture fun! With all of his experience, Luis was quite the photographer, so we handed over our cameras and spent several hours coming up with creative hilarious photos and one epic video (not shown are the 5+ outtakes which were highly unsuccessful for various reasons). Our last stop for the night was another deserted location to watch the sun go down. So beautiful, but also very cold so while Andy, Brandon, and Lisa toughed it out, I hung with Luis and Noemi in the car and watched from the window. The hotel for the night was incredible! It was made entirely of salt! Unfortunately, we were doing the traditional route in reverse, so what we did not realize at the time was that this was a HUGE step up from the places we were slated to stay for the next 3-nights.  

The vastness and the flatness

The textures (and views) at Incahuasi were stellar!

Oh hey! More staple salt flat tourist photos! (note: we still don't care that everyone does these, they're hilarious!)

Sunset on the salt flats was alien and ethereal.

On the 2^nd day of the tour, we visited a bunch of names of places that would mean nothing to you – and honestly nothing to me anymore 10 months later as I write this post. The takeaway message is that Bolivia is astoundingly beautiful and diverse. We visited lagoons brimming with flamingos (my favorite of which being Laguna Colorado – not just for the name), crazy rock formations, and viewpoints for some incredible scenery. In the late afternoon, Andy’s health took a turn for the worse. After arriving at the hotel, he spent the rest of the evening in fitful fever induced sleep with stomach pains and a symptom we were very familiar with at this point: nausea.

Surprisingly, for such a desolate place, there is a ton of wildlife in the area. A viscacha is shown in the top left, flamingos in the top right, and llamas in the center (which are admittedly not wild - the ear tassels are a dead giveaway). 

So many flamingos! Don't worry, there are more pictures of them below also 😊

Our lunch spot on the second day was awesome!

Laguna Colorado - one of the top highlights of the whole trip!

The next morning, Andy’s symptoms were worse, but he dragged himself away from the bathroom and we continued on our way. We stopped at a geyser area where Luis balanced a full bottle of water in a steam vent! Standing on top of the active hydrothermal area may have been the only time I was warm for the entire trip – well there and at the hot springs that we visited later in the day. We also stopped at several more small salt flats and lagunas, each unique from the rest. Unfortunately, as the day progressed, so did Andy’s symptoms. By the time we arrived at the town where we would spend the night, he was desperate for medical attention. Luckily, there was a small clinic in town. The doctor(??) administered a few intravenous shots, told Andy he was too skinny and had a weak stomach, and told me that I look like a model. He was pretty great. Overall, we were impressed by the knowledge and sterile equipment at the clinic (not that the clinic itself was sterile, but at least the needle was new). As a side note to this scary experience, it again highlighted our need to brush up on medical terms in Spanish. Besides gleaning that Andy had a stomach infection, his actually diagnosis and what shots were administered remains a mystery. Whatever the shots were, they worked because 4-hours of sleep later, Andy felt well enough to have some soup and get beat at cards before turning in for our coldest night on the tour. Andy’s fever at least served the purpose of making him feel warm while the rest of us froze.

The thermal activity was a nice surprise to see at 15,000+ft!

Just a couple of the countless other lagunas that we saw, along with a borax mine, emus, and a sick Andy, snug as a bug in a rug.

Andy’s recovery was nothing short of miraculous. The next day, we woke up at 4am and climbed Uturunku volcano up to 19,725 ft. Andy ascended the mountain like a champ, while Lisa made it to her typical 17,000 ft elevation and lost her breakfast (also like a champ). The true champion though was our 70-year old guide that has climbed the mountain over 600 times in the last 5-years (sometimes 2x/day) and whooped all of us. The human powered ascent was actually only about 2,200 feet of walking since we drove from about 14,000 to 17,594ft and climbed the rest of the way. The view from the top was spectacular and we all surprised ourselves at how manageable climbing to 20,000 ft is when you’ve been sleeping at or around 14,000 feet for the past couple weeks. Unfortunately, our guide chose to take the most direct route off the volcano. I will concede that sliding down an active landslide is faster, but is it safer? Back at the hotel before noon, we emptied our shoes of the sand we had accumulated, packed our stuff, and were on our way. During the drive, we played Cheers Governor with Luis, which was hilarious since he was especially bad at it. In the early evening, we arrived at Rio San Pablo where we stayed at Luis and Noemi’s house. We did some sink laundry, indulged in a veggie lasagna and wine, and went to bed early.

Even with two sick people, Uturunku proved to be an amazing day hike!

Our descent was quite terrifying and beautiful. Then we saw "sexy llamas" (vicuna) and ruins later in the day.

We woke up to cake the next morning! Noemi had baked a cake for Andy’s birthday! On the final leg of the trip, we explored Ciudad Encantada where a massive amount of sedimentary rock has eroded to form millions of spires and hidden caves. After a few more viewpoints and many many many MANY llamas, we arrived in the desert city of Tupiza. It had been a memorable trip, but shower-free since La Paz, we were more than ready for the comforts of city life! It’s not that our hotels didn’t have showers, it’s just that taking a shower with cold water when it’s in the 30’s at best was not an option.

Luis and Noemi's home and the incredible sedimentary formations at Ciudad Encantada.

La Paz, Bolivia – July 31st – August 2nd, 2017

We did not make it far on the bus to La Paz, when we came to a body of water and were asked to get out and pay a passenger ferry to take us across. While we putzed across the river, our bus boarded a barge… or rather a floating piece of wood. The overland/water experience to La Paz was pretty unique, especially considering that much of our travel, after the bus barge, was on dirt back-roads to the capital city… not sure what that was about.

The overwater portion of the trip to La Paz.

 As I am sure you have read if you have kept up with the blog, by this point in the trip, Andy and I had zero tolerance for getting ripped off by taxis. Rather than pay the extra dollar or two, we forced Lisa and Brandon to walk in the direction of the guesthouse rather than feed into the taxi driver scam-fest. Apparently though, the guesthouse was a LONG way away and it took a ridiculously long time to find a ride. We waited for an Uber for over 15 minutes. We could see him stuck in traffic up ahead, then he flipped a b*tch and canceled our ride…. Not cool. It took quite a bit longer after that to flag a taxi – perhaps it wasn’t worth the extra few dollars, but it’s the principle of the matter!

Now at the guesthouse which featured freezing cold rooms, we scrambled to research mountain bike companies with availability to bring us on the Death Road the following morning. We managed to find one and hustled to make it to the shop in time to try on gear before they closed. At the time we weren’t sure if it was worth the stress, but (spoiler alert) boy was it ever! The Death Road ended up being one of the highlights of the entire trip! Before returning to catch some shut eye, we visited the witch’s market where we saw an abundance of mummified llama fetuses – yup, didn’t you know, they are good luck!

Road safety zebras, Andy the king, mummified fetuses, and shamans.

The next morning, we caught a taxi at 5am to Xtreme Downhill where we met our guide, Max, and a handful of other adventure-seeking tourists. A few hours later we were at a mountain summit, geared up, gawking at the scenery, and ready for the 30-mile ride downhill on the notorious North Yungus Road, aptly nicknamed the Death Road due to the 200-300 deaths per year which occurred up until 1996 when a new route was completed. To say the road is treacherous would be an understatement: 3000ft high cliffs, rainy weather, landslides, and 10ft single-lane hairpin turns combined with traffic in both directions and crowded buses with wheel bases larger than the road resulted in quite the cluster… and we complain about pot holes? Now, the road is mostly deserted, apart from mountain bikers and a few cars, and the vegetation has swallowed most of the evidence left behind from the thousands of accidents that occurred here (back in the 90’s you could see abandoned cars which had plummeted over the cliffs).  Even on a mountain bike the road was a bit nerve wracking at times, but the scenery was SPECTACULAR! The pictures do not come close to doing it justice.

Mountain biking the Death Road.

We spent the next day in La Paz being tourists of the capital city. First things first though, was to get Andy a sim card. Although ridiculously cheap (less than $5 for a card and GB of data), the process ended up being painstakingly slow. The first sim card was not functional and the kiosk worker did not know how to give us a new sim because of the registration requirements – even in Bolivia technology backfires. At least Lisa, Brandon, and I had the pleasure of watching a sting operation on unregistered taxi drivers (sweet sweet taxi driver revenge). Finally ready to go, we spent the day utilizing the public cable car system to peruse the sprawling city. I couldn’t exactly tell you where we went (lots of parks and views), but I do distinctly remember the fortune teller that we visited on El Alto. A shaman with no teeth (making his Spanish impossible to understand) invited us into his sheet metal shack where he read us our fortunes by throwing cocoa leaves in the air. Although most of what he said was more of a Spanish mumble, he repeatedly gave us the thumbs up and said, “tranquilo” so we figure we are going to have a pretty calm future. He also foretold that Andy and I are having twins this year (we were horrified, that doesn’t seem calm at all). After a full day of walking around, we collected our stuff, and made our way to the airport. La Paz… check.    

The progression of Andy's sim card debacle and views from the cable car.

More views from around La Paz. We also found these incredible cheesy pastries which Lisa is shown enjoying in the bottom left photo. 

Lake Titicaca, Bolivia – July 29th – 31st, 2017

The overland border crossing from Peru to Bolivia was undisputedly the most nerve-racking of the entire trip. While leaving Peru was easy - just a quick stamp at Peruvian immigration, entry into Bolivia did not go as smoothly. Thanks to a grudge against the US government (likely justified), US citizens are subjected to a ridiculously strict and grossly overpriced visas upon entry. While everyone else on our bus breezed through, we were forced to find a hidden separate building for US citizens where we had to fork over a stack of paperwork to a grumpy border official. Apparently, the multiple passport photos, printed day by day itinerary, hotel reservations for the entire trip, bank and credit card statements, and departure flight confirmation were not quite enough, resulting in us scrambling to find a photo copier to make additional copies. By the time we made it back with the copies, a group of unicorns (I mean other Americans) were also waiting for the same irritable official – who had apparently turned them away as well. Unlucky for them, their delay resulted in them missing their bus. They were not the friendliest…  With our paperwork in order, the border official unenthusiastically took our $165 each ($160 with a $5 bribe) and gave us our visas, yet not before hassling Brandon and Lisa for more crisp US $denaro$. So stressful…   

En route to Bolivia. Also, crossing the border between Bolivia and Peru were about a billion eggs.

Relieved, we eventually made it to Copacabana, where we settled into a beautiful hotel overlooking the city. Copacabana is a tourist destination for not only westerners, but South Americans too. Since it was the Peruvian new year, the Peruvians were there is droves, mostly, it seemed, to get their cars blessed. The streets were at a stand-still, flooded with decorated cars and hopeful Peruvians buying mini-versions of their possession wishes (houses, cars, etc.) and getting their fortunes told by a shaman melting metal… don’t ask, we didn’t get it either, but it was great people watching.

Our hotel, equip with spectacular views, alpaca, cat therapy, and clean sheets. 

Photos from around Copacabana, including the confused decor at a Bolivan Mexican restaurant adorned with leopard print and Styrofoam seats. 

Sunset at Cerro Calvario overlooking the city.

The following day, we caught a boat for a day trip to the nearby islands. After an hour exploring the ruins at the Palace of the Virgins of the Sun and enjoying the views from Isla de la Luna, Lisa took a dip in Lake Titicaca! Seeing as neither the air or water temperatures were even remotely warm, many tourists, including us, thought she was crazy – yet, to be fair, she is the only person I know that can say she swam in Lake Titicaca.

Day trip to Isla de la Luna and Isla del Sol.

Highlights from around the islands.

Back on the boat, we continued on to Isla del Sol. Unfortunately, half of the island was closed due to islander strife, but we were still able to visit the south end and given that both the island and the views of the distant snow-capped mountains were absolutely stunning beautiful, we deemed it well worth the trip. While walking around, our “English-speaking” boat guide did his best to share some of the highlights. After listening to a few rounds of Spanish, followed by an English translation, it became clear that his Spanish was significantly easier to understand than his English. For example, instead of saying, “Inca Spring,” he repeatedly said, “Inca Sperm,”… hilarious, but then again, I feel him, people laughed at my Spanish frequently and I never knew why. Even funnier than botched translations, was the Inca Spring itself. Conquistadors thought the spring was a fountain of youth with three “springs” signifying the sins of laziness, lying, and stealing. The word, “spring” was put in quotation marks because a nearby pump station appeared to actually feed the “spring” and the lying faucet wasn’t working, making that sin acceptable for the time-being (or so we surmised). Regardless, many locals and Peruvian tourists were drinking from and bathing in the Inca Sperm.

After a very long slow boat ride, we eventually arrived back in Copacabana, where we chowed down on delicious Italian food and wine (oh, the benefits of a tourist town), before calling it a night. The next morning, we wandered around the small city, where we witnessed a few car blessings and visited the cathedral before boarding a bus to La Paz.        

Superstitions in Copacabana. 

Lake Titicaca, Peru – July 24th – 29th, 2017

For the 4th morning in a row, we awoke before 4am to once again board a bus.  On our way to Puno, after a brief break for coca tea, we stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the massive and gorgeous Laguna Lagunillas. After pulling ourselves away from the dumbfounding beauty, we continued on to Puno. We checked in at our AirBnB (which would be our recurring base while exploring the Peru side of Lake Titicaca) with the super helpful host, Rebelhino, and began roaming around Puno. Based on some negative feedback from fellow travelers, we had very low expectations for Puno, but it turned out to be quite a comfortable and nice place to explore markets and eat decent grub. Knowing we would be sending back some gifts and souvenirs with Matt, we went on a mission to find one of those ubiquitous zipper plastic box bags that we had seen everywhere in Asia and South America. After some diversions for delicious cornbread and other snacks, we finally found the bag for a decent price at a local market. We continued roaming, stopping to buy an advance bus ticket to the airport for Matt and trying to find worthwhile gifts. We had dinner at La Casa del Corregidor, which was our favorite restaurant in Puno with many beer and cocktail offerings and delicious food (plus a glorious propane heater to warm our continuously freezing bones!).

Our bus travel to Puno, including Laguna Lagunillas, the second bus driver's rest quarters, and a teacher's strike in Puno.

Some of the sights around Puno, Te Amo Peru!

Markets are always such an interesting way to explore another culture.

The next morning we packed our bags and caught a boat to Luquina Chico. Turns out, we had of course booked ourselves on the slowest boat on the lake – that’s what we get for trying to save a couple bucks! The boat stopped at one of the infamous Uros floating islands – tourist trap or not, we learned how the amazing floating patches of reeds are built, climbed a sketchy lookout tower, and met some very friendly locals. The sensation of walking on the floating reeds was really strange, it felt like walking on a thick trampoline. We finally lumbered our way over to Luquina Chico where we were deposited on the shore and met our homestay host. Regretfully, we can’t remember his name (Matt did though - it was Albano), but his son, Alexis, is imprinted into our minds as the cutest child on the planet. What an adorable and fully functional 2 year old! While his parents worked very hard in the fields, tending to the goats, and raising a newborn, Alexis contented himself by following in their shadow and playing with sticks. Then, at mealtime, he would carefully drink his tea from a nearly overflowing mug like a full-grown human! We spent the day playing with Alexis, peeling chuño (naturally freeze-dried/nearly rotten potatoes), and walking around the town with the host. After a beautiful overlook of the lake, the host ushered us back to the house to prepare for an anniversary party for the local school! Conveniently, he had local Aymara clothes for us to wear to the celebration. When we arrived at the school, there were several large groups of tourists dressed in the same garb and it was obvious this wasn’t a special one-off celebration as we were led to believe (more likely than misleading information, we misunderstood, seeing as all the communication was in Spanish), but rather a common touristy get-together. It wasn’t bad though, the locals performed a dance with local music and then all of the tourists did the same dance as best as they could, it was actually a lot of fun!

The Uros floating islands - so cool! Glad we survived the lookout tower...

One of the highlights of our Peru trip - our homestay in Luquina Chico

We were happy to see we weren't the only crappy dancers!

The next morning we sadly had to say goodbye to Matt. We gave him some big hugs and the arranged taxi picked him up at the homestay. We spent the rest of the morning helping the family grandmother shepherd the goats out to the fields, relaxing and reading in the sun, and playing with Alexis. While Dani took a nap, I helped the host beat the living crap out of piles of bean stalks with sticks to separate the beans from the pods. It was very satisfying in a lumberjack kind of way. After lunch, we packed up our things and walked down to the dock with our fingers crossed that our boat back to Puno would remember to pick us up (it’s possible we have PTSD after being left on the island in Thailand). After a nervous hour, finally the boat came and picked us up. Of course, the return boat was super slow, but the gentle roll, engine noise, high altitude, and beautiful weather made it easy to relax and drift off into naps.

Relaxing with the animals in Luquina Chico

That night, back at our AirBnB in Puno, we awaited our next visitors – Lisa and Brandon! However, it turned out their flight from Lima to Juliaca was overbooked and they were bumped to the first flight the next morning. This meant we would miss the boat to Amantani, an island where we had a reservation for the following night. So, that evening we scrambled, and with the help of our AirBnB host, we put together a plan to meet up with Lisa and Brandon on a spit of land closer to Amantani where, supposedly, there were other boats to the island. Crisis averted, or so we thought…

The next morning, we caught a colectivo from Puno to Capachica – where Lisa and Brandon would met us. There was a joyous reunion, and all was good – phase one accomplished! Then, we were told to take another colectivo to Llachon which was further down the spit of land and towards Amantani. So, we took this second colectivo, were deposited in Llachon, and proceeded to roam around this completely empty neighborhood searching for the boats to Amantani. After an hour or so of roaming, we made a couple calls, asked some locals, and discovered we were given the wrong information – the boats apparently left from Chifron (on the other side of Capachica)! Okay. After a scary confrontation with a very angry dog, we walked along the road hoping a colectivo or taxi would pass – it was a 16km walk to Chifron, so we had our fingers firmly crossed. Eventually, an angelic taxi passed and brought us to Chifron where, thankfully, the boat to Amantani came and picked us up. Surprisingly, this boat was even slower than the Puno-based boats (how is that possible?!), but we finally arrived to Amantani, phase two accomplished! We walked up the steep hill to our hotel, settled in, had some lunch, and relaxed while absorbing the completely jaw-dropping views of Lake Titicaca. We managed to peel our butts off of the chairs and walk around the island a bit, hoping to get more good views and maybe even play some soccer with locals. We found a few kids playing at a field in the town, but they weren’t very friendly and actually tried to charge us to play with them! Not what we had in mind… probably for the best though since the 12,000 ft. elevation may have gotten the better of us. Instead, we continued up the hill and nearly made it to the top of Pachatata where there was an ancient temple, but the coming darkness forced us to retreat to the hotel. After dinner, we tried to teach a card game to Lisa, Brandon, and two cousins from Lima – this turned out to be challenging going back and forth between English and Spanish, but we managed and had a blast!

Isla Amantani - relaxing and beautiful

The next day we caught our slow boat to Taquile Island. There was some interesting quality music playing in the town square while some school festival was building up, but we abandoned the crowds and roamed around through various neighborhoods and hills. Eventually we stopped for lunch and then raced down this enormous and steep hill to catch our boat back to Puno. Back in Puno, we settled in at our AirBnB once again and printed off a bunch of documentation that we apparently needed for the next day’s transit into Bolivia. Of course, we took Lisa and Brandon to dinner at our favorite restaurant, played cards, and returned to our AirBnB for more packing (again).

Isla Taquile - also relaxing and beautiful