March 15 & 14, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Very relaxing day. Breakfast in, lots of coffee and then to pool.
Happy hour.......found some cheezies and they will go well with the red wine!


March 13, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

It is so nice to be back into some warm weather, about 30 degrees and slightly humid. A drastic change from La Paz which is cool and very dry.

A very relaxing day. Off to grocery store around the corner and then relaxing by the pool. It is such a tough life.

Out for dinner at the local burger place. Nice as the waitress spoke very good English and she was a big help with the menu and also suggesting places to go while here. An early night tonight.

March 12, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

A fairly relaxing morning. Instead of the public ferry we ended up on a private boat to get back to Copacabana. Very nice. Lunch in Copacabana and then onto the bus to La Paz. 4 hours, most of which is getting through the city. We picked up our luggage at the hotel and off to the airport. We had a very nice flight to Santa Cruz except we arrived about 10 pm. Into hotel shortly after. A late night.


March 11, Isla del Sol (Sun Island), Bolivia

Up and on the ferry by 8.30 am. It was supposed to be a 1 1/2 hour ride but turned out to be a 2 1/2 hour ride. There were several stops along the way. A beautiful morning for a boat ride to the island. We arrived at the north end of the island and started to walk. There were several other boats full of people. And funny enough we saw the Hong Kong couple again on another boat. A beautiful sunny day....all day. The sun was hot but the air was still cool...maybe 20 degrees.

The total walk today was 12 km. Up and down hills....tough going at times due to the altitude...the air is thinner and you have to work harder. But the views are amazing. 

At times we could see Puno, Peru, the city we were in 5 years ago. I had no idea we were that close then! Many stops along the way for pictures and of course chatting with others. Ran into the couple from Ecuador we met last night in the restaurant.

Actually several times! The Incas were supposed to have settled here first. There is a ruin called the Sun Temple. Very simple square table with 12 stone chairs and 4 other stone chairs in a wider circle around the table. 12 for the months, and 4 for the seasons. There is also a labyrinth we ceremonies were held. The fascinating part here is there is a well that has water all year long. The area is close to the top of a mountain with no visible streams....an underground water source. How on earth did they find this.

Then continuing on..we stopped for lunch at the highest point. Great views. The total walk took about 5 hours. Slow but we did stop a lot. We arrived at hostel at about 4.30 to find Jayne and Charles (New Brunswick) sitting waiting for us. A beer, relax and chat about the day and then off to get ready fro dinner at 6.30. All very nice. Excellent meal of lake trout with vegetables rice and potato. Banana and chocolate syrup for desert!

Off to bed early...too much fresh air and exercise. The guide we have laughed a lot at us when she found out that we had hike to the dino prints and also had done the Death Road!





March 10, Copacabana, Bolivia

Up and at the hotel door at 6.45 am. Another early morning...but at least we got a coffee to go! But the bus was late.
We arrived in Copacabana about 12 noon. A long morning with a huge detour to get out of La Paz.

We had to catch a ferry across to the peninsula. Strange as the bus went on a barge with a 60 hp motor and we had to get into a small boat. Only about a 10 minute ride. Then back onto the bus. An interesting port.

Copacabana was cool as it had snowed the night before. There were still some snow on the sidewalk! And this is supposed to be the beach area of Bolivia.

This small city is on the shores of Lake Titicaca the worlds highest lake at about 3800 m above sea level....the reason for the snow. Very nice but also very touristic.

Checked into hotel and had a walk around the city, through the market and also the church. Lots of Arabic influence in the church even though it was built by the Spanish.....All the same period as the Arabic churches/monasteries built in Spain.

Then a hike up the Calvario, a climb to the top passing 14 stations. Beautiful views of the city and the lake.

Back down for happy hour. Great as a view over the lake and even though it had been cloudy all day the sun broke through for a very nice sunset! Also great as we ran into a couple from Hong Kong that were on the tour with us and the New Brunswick spent the afternoon with us..... slow separation from the group.
Then out for dinner at a local restaurant which was very good. A super day


March 9, La Paz, Bolivia

Relaxing day and did not do much other than plan the next few days.