Adventures in an ´82 Land Cruiser

Sunset from the train on the way to Uyuni, Bolivia

When traveling internationally, certain skills are learnend quickly. For example, we rarely return in the same form of transportation that we arrive in. On a day trip, we might take a collectivo (minibus) and taxi to get somewhere, and then return on a large bus. A great excercise in letting go, we just figure out how to get somewhere and then the method of return presents itself depending on various factors such as time of day, money and amount of people traveling. Other international travel skills have prooven difficult for us to acquire. Namely, never go with the first offer on the table. Whether considering a taxi ride or a three day trip through the Salar de Uyuni (salt flats of Uyuni), it´s better to shop around.
Both skills were ignored on this excursion - we returned in the same vehicle we left in, and we went with the first offer that came our way . We spent over 24 hours in a beat up ´82 Toyota Land Cruiser that made our butts hurt and knees sore. What an adventure!

Juliet snagged our group of three (our friend Shanti, Josh and I) the moment we got off the train late at night. Her price was consistent with what we´d read in the guide book, so we agreed to go with her tour agency the following day. As about two dozen new or newer Land Cruisers prepared to leave, we eagerly awaited ours. The last to arrive, our jalopy pulled up and we cringed. It all seems a bit funny now, but driving through extremely treacherous dusty roads with windows that don´t roll up was not the most enjoyable of experiences.

Our first stop was at a train grave yard. All the trains that stopped working throughout the 1940s were deposited here. The grafitti on the side of one read "experienced mechanic needed".

Our next stop was the salt flat. Over 4,00o square feet, this prehistoric dried up lake bed is located at the crest of the Andes and contains over 10 billion tons of salt. The salt is very hard, shortening our afternoon yoga practice because it hurt our hands!

We stayed the night in a hostal made entirely of salt! We met some great musicians from Argentina and had a lovely open mic night full of accordian, fiddle, guitar and flute. Below is the dining area of our hotel. The walls, floor, chairs and tables are made entirely of salt. Even our mattresses sat atop salt frames!

The following day was filled with short stops at various lakes, rock formations and parks. Pink flamingoes migrate to the lakes near the salar, but we only saw a few because winter had almost arrived.

Our last night on the tour was freezing! Everyone in our group of five slept with all clothes on, and several blankets each. We awoke before dawn and headed for a hot spring. It was so fabulous we decided to skip a two hour trip to another lake and soak instead. Feeling quite refreshed, we loaded once more into the trusty Land Cruiser (which had only broken down once on the trip) for the seven hour drive back to Uyuni.

A Peek At La Paz

La Paz at a distance, taken from Valle de las Animas

We didn´t have much strength when we arrived in the world´s highest captial city (12,00 feet), but we did have a contact of a Bolivian family who has ties to St. Louis. Michelle, a wonderfully kind woman from St. Louis had given us Paul´s name before she took over for Za at Scholastic. She mentioned he owns and operates a veggetarian resturaunt and has apartments for rent. We found the location of the resturaunt on our first morning, and celebrated its name, NamásTé, by having our first of many ´almuerzos´. A set lunch with four courses, this eatery knows veggetarian delights. For only 15 Bolivianos (just over $2.00), we broke our Isla del Sol fast happliy. We met Paul after filling up on lunch, and he showed us his only available apartment. After feeling the wonderful energy of NamasTé, and securing a time to teach yoga at the resturaunt, we decided to stay for two weeks. We were delighted as we unpacked our bags and settled into the spacious two bedroom apartment. As we stacked the two week´s supply of toilett paper in the bathroom, we felt satisfied and relived that we were going to stay a while.

NamásTé resturaunt is part of a four story apartment complex, built by Paul´s father sixty years ago. The family lived in St. Louis for 26 years, and one brother still lives there. Gonz, one of Paul´s brothers is a painter. His work fills NamásTé and several other spots in the city. Below is his mural on the Prado, the main street that runs through the heart of the city.



We loved walking up and down the Prado during our stay. Below are coca leaf readers telling fortunes during the Sunday artisan´s fair.

NamásTé also hosts musical concerts over the lunch hour. We learned about the insturment below, the hang, when our new friend Andrea gave a concert. This Austrian born invention sounds melodic and peaceful, and looks like a space ship or inverted steel drum. Its player, also from Austria, has one of the most beautiful voices we´ve ever heard. Later in the week, Za also played a concert over the lunch hour with her violin.

We heard La Paz is famous for guitar making, and felt inspired by Andrea´s (and her boyfriend Bruno´s) music. Josh negotiated a good price on his new travel guitar during the first few days of our stay.

Yoga classes drew four to six students three days a week, and our time was filled with music and friends. We went to see Los Fabulosos Cadillacs with our friends, and about 11,000 other excited people.



Our friend Ceciilia, whom we met in Cusco and caught up with in her home town just south of La Paz, showed us Valle de la Luna. Also a yoga teacher, we enjoyed taking her class and learning how to make home made raw chocolate at her house. The view behind her house is below, quite stunning!

Just shy of a full moon, we walked around Valley of the Moon until we couldn´t see our hand in front of our face.

We made lasting connections in La Paz, and were very sad to leave such a wonderful spot. Paul´s family opened their home, resturuant and hearts for us and for this we are so greatfull. Thanks to everyone who showed us this brilliant city.

Valle de las Animas

We took a day trip to Valle de las Animas with four of our travel buddies. The climb was intense, but worth it! At first, we had to climb through a deep crevasse. Walking between two huge mountians, with only a few feet on either side, was an excercise in overcomming claustrophobia. The rocks were loose and Za had to breathe deeply and remind herself not to look up several times.



Upon exiting the crevasse, another vast expanse of mountain unfolded. We couldn´t belive how much futher we had to go.



Our group halfway up.

Almost there!

We´ve never seen rock formations quite like this! Za had hoped we could take another route down. After seeing the sharp drop off, she knew there were no other alternatives.

We had sandwiches at the summitt and oggled at the distant capital. As the sun began to set, we played music with our cold fingers. What a perfect day!

Lake Titicaca and bad fish

Machu Picchu is a hard act to follow, but we had our sights on heading straight to Bolivia after the wonderful excursion. We were told Isla del Sol, nestled in Lake Titicaca, was not to be missed. From Cusco, we took a rickety "direct" bus to Copacabana. After the freezing over night ride, we awoke to a man alerting us to get off the bus in order to make the border crossing. Reluctantly, we squeezed onto a minibus and began to fill out paperwork. As Americans, Josh and I had to pay $130.00 to get into Bolivia (Israelis and US citizens are the only ones who have to pay to enter). During the hectic crossing, I started to develop signs of girardia, a nasty parasite which gives you wicked sulphur tasting burps and horrid diarrhea, and Josh injured his back by lifting his backpack in a hurry. We were a sorry site by the time we reached Copacabana. We decided to press on and take the hour and a half boat ride to Isla del Sol after Josh received some reflexology and brief massage from a rather crazy woman in town.Calcium bentonite clay saved me once again, as the boat had no bathroom. The boat docked on the south part of the island, and we proceeded to climb up the side of the mountain to find lodging. It was all I could do to take a few steps, then rest on a rock (avoiding copious amounts of poop scattered about everywhere) to catch my breath. I kept thinking if we could just get to the center of town I could get my bearings and feel better. There is no center, however, just more steps and winding paths. Josh took off with a teenage boy to find a hostal as I sat trying to get my burps to calm down. We finally found ourselves in a lovely hostal overlooking the Peruvian side of the lake.
Isla del Sol is the birthplace of the Incan empire. The people on the island speak Aymara and some Spanish. Electricity came to the island six years ago, and the tourists came with it. Water on the south island is a big issue, so when we asked the hostal owner if we could do a bit of laundry, he told us to go down to the beach. So down the other side of the mountain we went. The steep rocky path took an hour to descend.
Josh relaxing after a vigorous yoga practice to help his back heal. The laundry dried in the strong sun in about two hours.
The restaurants on the island serve two dishes : trout, quinoa soup. and pizza. We treated ourselves to pizza on our second night. I played some fiddle for the proprietors while we waited for our food to arrive. It is hard to play when your fingers won't warm up. The island is very cold at night.
The infrastructure on the island is not very developed, and many of the locals we encountered didn't seem very excited about our presence. Most people I saw seemed totally bewildered that we were there. They have no point of reference to relate to us, and it is quite puzzling to them, I'm sure, that we have the resources to come to their country and spend the same amount of money on a meal as they may spend all week. We were told routinely not to use any water where we were staying, and obtaining something as simple as hot water seemed to inconvenience and annoy. On our fourth day, we decided to head to the north island, where we heard we could stay right on the coast.
Our new spot, the Pacha Mama, was right on the beach and we immediately started to feel better about the island. We spent the afternoon on the beach playing frisbee with the local kids and watching them catch trout in the lake. The process was quite amazing to watch, as the kids circled up and splashed the fish into the net. Their excitement was incredible when the came up with a huge load of fish to take home for dinner.



Josh gave yoga lessons to some curious boys.

After a lovely hike, we went out for trout, as this is the only thing semi-vegetarian available option on the north part of the island. Josh's trout was undercooked, and he contracted a wicked case of food born illness. He spent the next day and a half in bed or in the bathroom. It was not a very fun way to spend our last two days on the island. We left Isla del Sol bewildered and weary, similar to how we felt when we arrived. I think we may have had a better experience sans digestive issues, but we made the best of it.
After siphoning gasoline by mouth to start the boat, our captain navigated the entire ride back to Copacabana with his foot. We played chess and fiddle with friends and looked forward to La Paz.