La daabacay: 23.12.2023
Fortunately, the border control went smoothly. A small downside was the QR registration for importing goods into Bolivia. The bus company wanted the pre-registration. But we didn't have internet at that time.
Otherwise it was really easy. Stamp out Peru. 300 meters uphill to the border. Present your passport there, stamp it and show the QR code next to it in the building.
An hour later we were at the hostel and were able to reorganize ourselves. In the evening we take a nice walk into town and replenish our resources and have dinner.
But the horror began in the hotel around 10 p.m. 😱😱😱
A thunderstorm was coming. We could see it over the lake after dinner. Later our accommodation rocked. 2 days later we found out that lightning had struck a house away; I could also see this lightning through our window. I felt quite warm at the sight and shock.
After the heavy rain and thunderstorms at night, we couldn't sleep any longer. Collected our breakfast and missed the promised alpacas. The dogs were really cute. The nighttime barking was very annoying.
We decided to climb to the viewpoint over Copacabana. Met some nice Canadians and tried to reach the top. If we had said that there were always zigzags going up, we would probably have changed our minds. But fighting spirit and iron will got us to the top in just over an hour 🥵
The view was good. But nothing more. Once we got back down, we visited the beach. ok - unfortunately - as usual in South America - dirty - but cleaner than Puno...
We spent the afternoon in the hotel after the strenuous climb.
Quiet night - if you ignored the barking.
Off to breakfast after a warm shower.
There it was. There were two alpacas standing near breakfast as lawn mowers. Cool!
Today we're going to Moonisland and Sunisland
We booked the tour via a flyer. The meeting point was a bakery. Mega awesome empanadas! Rarely eaten so deliciously.
Here we met the guide, his 11 year old daughter, a Uruguayan and 3 Australians.
Funny group.
We were supposed to take the ferry (speed boat) to get to the island - which they didn't tell us - our ferry wasn't in the harbor but was an hour's drive somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
The speedboat turned out to be a boat with a roof and a normal engine. Well, it seems to be the speedboat variant here.
30 minutes later we arrived at Island of Moon.
Now the torture began. The Aussis were visibly annoyed and just wanted to see the temple, but had to climb 4 kilometers uphill. But they only had flip flops on 😂😱
When we reached the top, we had a beautiful view. Now it was a steep 2 kilometer descent to the temple complex. We felt sorry for the Uruguayan. She was about 150 cm tall and 30 kilos heavier than Freddy. She was clearly having problems. We - Laura and I - were praised for how well we managed everything at this altitude. We were and are pretty proud of ourselves.
After the temple complex, the Australians really went crazy. Jumped into the lake, something they hadn't done before, to see how warm it was. Something between 10 and 13 degrees. Now they were really awake. They had hardly had any sleep beforehand because they had just crossed the national border that night. They travel on motorcycles. From Colombia. Cool.
The boat now drove with us across the lake for an hour. I can't deny that I was feeling bad. There were heavy waves and I was happy to have land under my feet again. What we weren't told again - we have to go hiking and mountaineering.
Wow, that was exhausting. Australians flourished and became sarcastically funny and it became more and more fun to travel. Although the actual tour is not a travel highlight, it is one of the best days because of the funny dialogues and manner.
After the island we went back to Copacabana. Here we had the idea of eating together. It was really delicious in the restaurant. The Aussis suggested having a coffee with us in Lapaz or going to the cinema - but only in English 😂
We collapsed into bed at 10 p.m. broken.
Stand up. Have breakfast. Feed dog. Stroking the alpaca. Off to the bus company.
Drive to La Paz. Fear of the ferry crossing 😫
Finally in La Paz late in the afternoon and immediately annoyed.... Stands and crowds everywhere. And our hotel in the middle of this location oO
Did you know that llama fetuses are sold here 🤮🙈
But the market was good. At the end we had stored our luggage in the hotel and were able to visit this market in peace. Mega - Dragon Ball Everywhere 🥰💓
I like the people - most of the time anyway. We also had idiots with us on the bus.
But whatever.
Tomorrow is a new day ;)