01/02/2012 - hiking 6088 meters up Huanya Potosi - Day 1

Having organized this trip yesterday I was well excited to get things started. The group of 9 of us met at the Loki hostel around the corner from the hostel where I was staying, I quickly munched down some bread and jam for breakfast  that they served for free for their guests and later made our way to the office where the tour began.
The tour operator wasnt all that organized as they had to gear us up in the tiny office with most of the equipment and clothing we were going to be using for the next 3 days; after a considerable amount of faffing about we were on our way to the base of Huanya potosi.
In an old, creaky, cheaply built home where we would be sleeping for the evening we ate lunch (chicken and rice - no surprise there) and geared up for some trekking towards the glacier where we were taught how to walk on the surface of it with our ice pick and clip on metal spikes that mounted to the bottom of our boots.
After a strenuous and exhausting climb up the glacier we reached a point where we stopped and had to climb a wall of ice. Wielding 2 ice picks we were asked to try and scale this wall, it really wasnt as easy as it looked as the altitude at 5000 meters with less oxygen in the air made this activity rather difficult.
I managed to make it up as did most of the other people in the group but I had to take a considerable rest for at least 20 minutes just to catch my breath after scaling down.
Hiking back to we're we were staying for the evening was a relief as we were all so exhausted, here we munched down a hearty meal, played some cards and all crashed out before 9:30.
The next 2 days are going to be soul tearing as we have to hike, climb and possibly crawl to 6088 - the summit of Huanya Potosi.

29/01/2012 – Cycling Death Road!!!

The whole day was packed full of adrenaline and an unforgettable experience. The first section of road was asphalt then joining Death Road, a name unforgettable as cliff drops fell at some points 300 meters down with many memorials of people who died on this road. This is the same road that I and a group of others hopped on bicycles and road the road to the base. My god was it fun. My front tire wasn't exactly aligned straight but no matter it couldn't stop me from smiling all the way down. There were many stories of tourists dying on this road

Unfortunately i didnt bring my camera for the cycle and the shots taken from our guide were burnt to a disc but it is now too scratched up to be recognised in any disc drive.

This trip in itself certainly was one of my personal highlights of south america, it was incredibly good fun and in a heartbeat ill do it again.

27/01/2012 - 31/01/2012 Hazy Memories in Bolivia’s Capital

My time during this time in La Paz has been hazy and for the most part i really didnt do much other than drink and smoke, not making it home to the wee hours of the morning after checking out Route 36 -  a bar well know amongst party-going backpackers coming to the city, what happens in this chilled out bar is illegal due to the drugs that are offered hence why the bar constantly relocates around the city to keep the business running.

i had some fun times here

Random selection of shots taken around La Paz during this time.

26/01/2012 - Australia day

It was another early morning start to get back to the mainland to catch our bus to la Paz. Unfortunately w

e only got to see the south part of the island and i only saw very little because i felt so shitty. We were hoping to get an early boat back but we had to hang around until the boat filled up before it departed leaving us waiting for a couple of hours, those few extra hours of sleep would have done me well.  Arriving back in Capacabana I finally put some food in my stomach eating some sandwiches and then just hung around town until our bus left.  Now, I'm never really grumpy but after the shitshow of organization getting people onto the bus I was pissed off, really pissed off, the annoying Argentinians who filled the majority of the buses headed to La Paz did not have any common sense when loading their luggage, they pushed in front along with the buses being over booked it was a nightmare.  Finally after all the shit we got moving towards La Paz where I slept my frustration away.  Arriving in La Paz we immediately headed for one of the main party hostels, an irish run place with over 100 beds, it wasnt the cheapest place about town but seeing as it was australia day I wanted to celebrate and have a good time – and It was the bar was rammed and I ran into many people who I met in Cuzco and around Peru.

25/01/2012

Last night was fun but having to get up early for a boat over to Isla Del Sol that we had organized yesterday was a little painful.
The views of Lake Titicaca and the surrounding mountain scenery were great especially when the group of us including a Romanian guy named Rads who joined us on the hike to one of the peaks of Isla del Sol.
Here, despite the weather being overcast I got quite sunburnt and suffered for the rest of the day having a mix between sunstroke and altitude sickness.
I spent all afternoon and most of the night wrapped up in blankets trying to keep warm and sipping water to keep my fluid levels up. I was incapacitated unable to eat for the longest time.

Around Isla del Sol

24/01/2012

Yesterday when walking around the streets of Copacabana I looked into getting a bus to La Paz as I would need to return this direction to cross back over the border to Peru to catch my flight meaning I could see the sights around the area including the main island when I returned.
So today when I was about to board a bus I ran into Fiona and Nicole who I hung out with for a day in Cuzco, both cool girls who were travelling with the most stereotypical American guy I had met in a while named daniel. Because I bumped into them I decided to stay another night and check out the festival that they told me about that I would have missed out on if I had left.
After the four of us tried the trout on the lake shore which wasn't the best ive eaten we went to the festival where the stands sold miniature versions of everything from tiny cars to small houses and miniaturized money; the way this works is that when you purchase the small items and some flower petals you then get blessed by... um, some guy who throws vinager and these petals over you, blows smoke around your body thus giving you hope and luck towards the bigger and real things of the little things purchased.
It was a cool experience where I got some great shots of the people getting blessed.
After a late afternoon nap we went for a meal in a interestingly decorated restaurant with a bunch of people who had met Nicole and Fiona over the last couple of days.
It was a cold and rainy night out ending up in a small bar where I smuggled in a small bottle of coffee cognac that I bought for cheap at an outside liquor store

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23/01/2012 How many countries have I been to now?

That's a question I am always asked and i really have no idea how many countries I have step foot in, I suppose I should make a list - later though.
Anyways after saying goodbye to the family who ran the backpacking place in Puno I hopped on a mini bus to the boarder town of Yunguago. Here I was crossing the border over to Bolivia, this being the last country I'll be hitting up in south America before heading back to Canada in 5 weeks.
There wasn't much to do in the towns either side of the boarder other get the stamps and so when I got that done I boarded another cramped minibus and went to Copacabana - a tourist town located on the edge of Titikaca lake and also an essential stop to go the lake island named isla del sol.
Arriving here you can see how unbelievably touristy it is with tourists flyering for bars and clubs with restaurants lining the main street selling western food at western prices.
I found a cheap place to eat where I had a chili-off competition with a local kid where I managed to score more food by drinking a cup full of chili sauce, was it worth it? I'll tell you tomorrow when I have to use the toilet but I'm sure my digestive system will be able to deal with it.
I walked around town for a short while looking for a somewhat touristy hostel where I could meet some other Westerners to mingle with but only could find hostals (opposed to 'hostels' that cater for backpackers and out of country travellers) offering single and double rooms, I did find a hotel right on the lake front for 25 bolivianos ($3.50) for a single room where for pretty much the entire afternoon hid away from talking to anyone, doing this hoping to save my energy for the nightlife.
Getting ready to go out it started raining at which point I just gave up and went back to bed eating cookies and oranges for dinner. Actually when I said "getting ready to go out" I didn't even attempt it, I just wanted to be lazy for another night.