Traveling from Cusco to La Paz via Lake Titicaca (Bolivia)

On January 4th, we set off from Cusco to La Paz. Little did I know that Bolivia would be the country that not only liked the least but also almost made me want to catch the next flight back to Germany.

But let's go back to January 4th, one day before my 30th birthday. Oh no.. we had booked a slightly more expensive bus for $60, the Bolivia Hop, which was supposed to take us to La Paz in 24 hours with two stops at Lake Titicaca. We had comfortable sleeper seats with a blanket, each of us had two seats to ourselves, so we slept first. At 5 a.m. we reached Puno on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. There we had breakfast at a restaurant that we had booked for a few dollars: scrambled eggs, tea, juice, bread rolls with jam. And I received my birthday present from Moni, a book with photos and entries from friends from home. I was so touched and happy! Then it was time to get back on the bus. A few hours later we reached the border with Bolivia. By then it was super hot. We all had to get off the bus, with our luggage, and walk across the border on foot. We had to stand in line for ages to get our passports stamped to exit Peru, and then again to get them stamped to enter Bolivia. All this with jackets and heavy backpacks. Phew, it was exhausting. Then we walked across the border to the next bus. It was a bit smaller and didn't have sleeper seats. Shortly afterwards, we stopped in Copacabana on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. We stopped there for about 5 hours. Moni and I had actually booked a 4-hour boat tour on the lake, but we canceled it. Moni had a migraine and we were both pretty tired from the bus ride. We got veggie burgers and then sat in a cozy cafe, had coffee with cake, and then went to a restaurant and had Pisco and Mojito in the sun for my birthday. Then we continued on to the bus. We had to get off once again, as both us and our bus were transported across the lake by boats. I was getting tired of the bus rides. Then they handed out water and popcorn, and a movie played on the bus. We finally arrived in La Paz around 10 p.m. When we arrived at our hostel, we had a beer at the hostel bar and then went to sleep. The next morning, after breakfast, we didn't feel so good. The breakfast wanted to leave our stomachs very quickly. We bought charcoal tablets at the pharmacy as a precaution and then took the cable cars (like ski lifts that could take you all over the city) to the market, which was higher up. La Paz is like a basin in the mountains, so the cable cars are really practical. Like a subway network, but in the air. There were different lines: black, white, red, orange, blue, etc. And at certain points, you could switch lines. There was EVERYTHING at the market. There were fruits and juices, vegetables, herbs, lots of knick-knacks from batteries to toys and clothing (even from the Naik brand), shoes, blankets and scarves, cosmetics, lots of car parts, screws, and much more.. We hardly saw any tourists at the market. It was quite crowded and I had the feeling that people were intentionally bumping into us and giving us unfriendly looks. We bought chocolate pudding and when we went to pay, the saleswoman silently turned away. We had to address her several times before we finally got our change. No sign of kindness here either. The people jostling us with their evil looks were starting to annoy us and the sun was scorching. But I still wanted to buy sunglasses. When I arrived at a stall, I picked one out. The seller completely ignored me. No 'Hola chica, como estas?' as we were used to hearing at the markets in Peru. Strange, don't they want to sell anything? I wondered. After asking for the price, I tried to negotiate for a short time, but when my offer was dismissed with a cool 'non', I gave up. Then, when I wanted to pay, I had to fight to get the attention of the vendor because he would have preferred to completely ignore me. We had enough of the market and took the cable car back. My impression of Bolivia: not very positive. The people were unfriendly and dismissive. Back at the hostel, I was tired. During the night, I started to have a fever and felt nauseous... Damn.. and on the next morning, I still felt bad. We were supposed to check out by noon, and in the evening, our night bus to Uyuni (Bolivia) was leaving. Luckily, Moni was able to book a late check-out for half the price of the room, so we could stay until 5 p.m. I slept the whole day. In the evening, I felt a bit better and we had a very luxurious night bus, the Todo Tourismo, with leather seats and plenty of space, so I could continue sleeping after dinner was served on the bus.