Bye Bye Peru, Hello Bolivia

The marathon bus trip from Puerto Maldonado to Copacabana in Bolivia took a slow 21hours. The trip included the bus getting stuck in the back road mud, mid-night stops at strange and vibrant Peruvian mountain villages, two bus transfers in Juliaca and Puna and a gain in altitude of around 3500m.

Bye Bye Peru

When we eventually arrived in Bolivia after our Peruvian exit stamps, we ran into customs trouble. The officials at the Yunguyo border crossing had not seen a Visa issued in South Africa and took a good 45 minutes to realise that the date of issue was not, in fact, the date of validity for the Visa. After much debating, phone calls and gesticulating we breathed a sigh of relief as as entry into Bolivia was permitted. And much to Bronwyn´s disgust they didn´t even check our Yellow Fever vaccination cards!

The offending Visa!

Our bus driver looked very happy to see us back on board and we thought the other passengers where going to burst into applause after the delay. A short trip later we found ourselves in the town of Copacabana. Bronwyn just about kissed the ground after braving the 21 hours of motion sickness and swore never to climb on a bus again!

Views Of Lago Titicaca from the bus.

Copocabana is a quaint lakeside town that serves as the entry and exit for the Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna. While it doesn´t have very much to offer itself - the restaurants are pretty standard (apart from the very relaxed El Condor Coffee Shop which boasted fresh milk and the best chocolate cake on the continent) and all serve rice and trout for lunch and supper while the artisan shops all sport the same merchandise - it gave us a couple of days to acclimatise to the altitude (Lago Titicaca sits at a staggering 3800m, it is the highest navigable lake in the world) and to catch up with the long overdue blog.

Copacabana from the top of the hill.