Between La Paz and Lake Titicaca

Highlights

Copacabana: the main town by the lakeshore, it combines ancestral rites with pizzas and rowing boats. Virgin of Copacabana cars blessings, lakeshore weddings, believers climbing a hill on their knees and desiccated llamas fetuses can all be found here.

Tiquina: the straits dividing the lake in two, offer awesome views of the Andean mountains and fresh trout from its lake farms. The impressive Illimani, the huge mountain defining La Paz' views, is seen here floating on the lake.

Tito Yupanqui: a hidden village between Tiquina and Copacabana, it offers unspoiled looks of the Titicaca shoreline. Huge eucalyptuses shade local bushes and wild flowers; the deep blue Titicaca gives some contrast to the flood of greens and browns.

Feria de El Alto: the largest market in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, it offers an unforgettable insight on the meaning of poverty. The market is less than an hour from central La Paz and can be reached during the stay at La Paz.

Desaguadero: at the southern tip of the Titicaca Lake, this town offers a comfortable opportunity for a visa run and a fascinating market.

Tips

A visit to the Andean Plateau should be planned taking in account that the body would need to acclimatize to the altitude. In the first days you should drink a lot of water and do moderated, controlled walks without climbing any further. The tap water is not recommended; even the locals prefer filtered water bottles. The delay is lucky in a sense, because it will allow enjoying better the sights.
Beware of the strong radiation: wear a hat and sunglasses at all times, even if it is clouded.

Security is a big concern while in Bolivia; do not take your valuables with you unless it is imperative and take care of your belongings at all times. There are three favorite tricks of the local thieves. The first is two people kneeling behind you and searching your pockets while a third one steps on you from the front. The second is a dropped wallet or bag with money; don't touch anything that does not belong to you. The third trap consists of a local woman with a tourist's guide on her hands and asking for directions; move away as fast as possible.

Traveling

Traveling in Bolivia is not easy. Few cities are connected by paved roads, and the few that exist are narrow and dangerous; the wild drivers don't make things easier. Hiring a car in such conditions is not recommended unless a local friend will drive you around; thus, the buses are the best option around.

An award winning backpack should include sweaters and T-shirts; at such an altitude you will sweat while sitting under the sun and freeze after moving a few meters to the shadow.

The tourists' trips arranged from Sagarnaga Street by the central Franciscan Church provide handy solution for touring the Titicaca Lake; however, the minivans leaving from the Central Cemetery are much more convenient. Any minivan or bus from the central avenue marked "Cementerio" leads there, but it is possible to walk there, it is just a twenty minutes walk from the San Francisco Church.

If crossing to or from Peru, it is cheaper to buy a ticket just to the border, to cross the frontier and then to continue with local transport.

Many years ago, when La Paz was a lonely city, an airport was constructed on the plateau above it and people began settling around it; years later, a new city was born out of the new neighborhoods, it was named El Alto. The limit between the cities is the dramatic rim separating the high plateau from the broken terrain leading to the lower valleys in the northern and eastern sides of the La Paz Department. Topographical singularities create wonderful sights; here, looking from the plateau toward La Paz, the sunset looks like an advancing dark line covering the buildings below.

Both cities are of the same size and the newer one hosts what the Guinness records' book considers being the largest market in the world. All along the plateau's edge, for several kilometers, an incredible variety of trash is on sale every Thursday and Sunday, from early in the morning until the late afternoon. Used plastic bottles, old newspapers, rusty parts of unidentified machines, 78rpm records, used electric cables and pirated movies are some of the items for sale here; prices begin at ten cents of Boliviano, roughly one cent of a dollar and end at around twenty thousand dollars for the new minivans.
The weirdest stall I found was one selling reassembled old laptops. Respecting the customs of this trash-market, the precious machines were placed above a meter-high pile of scavenged computers. The proud owner assured me that he doesn't bring his best models to the market.

At the market edges, Sahumerio ceremonies can be witnessed. In them, Brujos (witches) attempt to expel daemons from the innocent crowds with the help of smoke. Pictures of them should be taken from far away with the help of a good zoom.

Arriving there:

From central La Paz take any minivan (2 Bolivian Bolivianos) or bus (1 BOB) marked "La Ceja" or "Plaza Ballivian". The central section of the market connects these two main locations in El Alto.

Security:

Don't go alone and don't take valuable things with you. Take turns with the camera: while one takes photographs, the second should watch out for the safety of the photographer. Even a used camera is worth many times the total value of most stalls.

Food:

The food sold in the market is not safe; the same rule applies for the food sold at the shops surrounding the market. Soda drinks are not recommended, unless they belong to international companies. Local drinks are tampered by the sellers; a sign of that is the different amount of drink in the sealed local products.

Recommended trajectory:

The central part of the market runs from La Ceja to Plaza Ballivian along the rails, which will guide you safely within the chaos. If you arrived at La Ceja, the Ballivian is at your right when you are looking away from the rim. Avoid the other areas, because the streets are not well marked and returning to La Ceja may get difficult.

Sunset:

Plan to stay until the late evening and search for a good view of La Paz from the rim; few sunsets in the planet can provide such a view. The clear atmosphere of the altitude ensures excellent photographing conditions almost every day.

Some opportunities are too good to miss, and the invitation I got to visit Cantuyo, a tiny village 33km away from the Charaña border between Bolivia and Chile, seemed to be one of those. The border cross serve mainly big trucks bringing goods to Bolivia from Iquique, Chile, hence the public transport to the area is very poor. With that warning and detailed information of the way, I left La Paz at the first hours of the morning. I took one of the many minivans reaching La Ceja, the main connection point between La Paz and its twin city El Alto. At 6am the place was empty and I immediately took another minivan, the most popular version of mass transport within Bolivia, to the Villa Adela junction. This last place serves as the improvised terminal for buses traveling to the rural areas of La Paz. The bus to Charaña leaves from there at 6:45 every day and a seat costs 6BOB, roughly 75 cents of a dollar. Two of the other passengers traveled with parrots on their shoulders.

The decrepit bus left on time and less than half an hour later we reached Viacha on a paved road; afterwards, until the Chilean border, it's a dirt road. At 8:30 we reached Cantuyo. The ticket's checker forgot to tell me at the bus stop and instead they dropped me at a secondary access to the village, called "the bridge," despite the total dryness of the surroundings and the lack of any structure justifying the name. From there I had a short walk to the village.

Most of the few houses in the village are arranged around a tiny central plaza, the streets are unpaved and unnamed; there isn't even a grocery store. Overall, there are two hundred families leaving in three non-contiguous communities. There aren't any regular phones and to use the cellular ones, people climb to the nearest hill. In a prominent place was the church I was searching, Iglesia del Nazareno Cantuyo, which hosts a very special school. Trying to reinstate the traditional Aymara indigenous people teaching methods, they have constructed a stones' school. All the teaching accessories are made of local rocks and most of the classes are in the Aymara language. The other point of interest within the village is an inactive 'estuco' quarry and its oven. This material is used for the coating of the adobe houses.

I was told that the bus returns from the border cross at 14:45; thus, twenty minutes before the time I walked back to the dirt road. At the expected time, the bus appeared, surrounded by a cloud of dust; I picked up my daypack only to see it pass without stopping: it was completely full. The village had no guesthouses and staying there overnight wasn't an option, thus I began walking toward La Paz, through the dusty road. My only companions were occasional llamas and for a while I played with the idea of riding one, but their tendency to spit chewed grass at the eyes and mouths of potential aggressors kept me behaving well. A couple of hours later, a truck took me to the already near Botijlaca junction. Botijlaca is a tiny village next to a shallow river without a bridge; all vehicles get wet while crossing it. At a shop selling snacks, I was told that a bus to La Paz was about to pass, arriving from Comanche. Thirty minutes and two cokes later, a bus surrounded by a cloud of dirt appeared from the expected direction. Determined to catch it, I picked up my daypack and walked to the middle of the road, blocking it. Fortunately, the bus stopped, and I even got a sitting place among a platoon of soldiers in their way home. Fifteen minutes later with a flat tire. The llamas around were smiling at me.

Even long visas reach their end; visa runs are an inevitable part of a traveler's life.

From La Paz, the easiest option is a short trip to Desaguadero, a town placed at the southern tip of the Titicaca Lake, from where it gets drained through the tiny Desaguadero River. The name itself, meaning drainage, hints to the place function. There, the Bolivian and Peruvian immigrations sit at opposite shores, separated by a very short bridge.

Reaching the place is easy. If leaving from central La Paz, then the first step is to reach the Central Cemetery; an easy twenty minutes walk from the central avenue or a short trip by any minivan marked "Cementerio." Once there, look for the Kollasuyo Avenue, it is the main street climbing away from the cemetery. The first street turning from it to the right is the Jose Maria Asin Street; the minivans to Desaguadero patiently wait for passengers along it. They leave from the early morning to the late afternoon as soon as they manage to fill their seats. The prices change along the day, according to the demand, and can be anything between seven to fifteen Bolivian Bolivianos. After beginning the way, the driver gives around a passengers' list, which one is supposes to fill and sign.

The town of Laja appears at the left side, seventeen kilometers after leaving El Alto, La Paz twin city on the plateau. Laja was the original site of La Paz, but nowadays its fame is derived from its breads. There, is the first stop at a tollgate where the passengers' list is inspected by the authorities.

Half an hour later, Tiwanaku appears at the right side. The ruins are not visible from the road, but an inspired gate, built in the old fashion, gives a hint. Unfortunately, the site practices an ugly form of discrimination, the locals enter almost for free, while tourists are requested to pay above ten dollars as an entry fee; that happens despite the fact that tourists pay all the other taxes locals do. Fortunately, there is an exact replica of the main temple in one of La Paz plazas, next to the main soccer stadium, so that there is no real need to stop here.

Less than an hour later is Guaqui (Goo-aa-kee), from where the first sights of the Lake Titicaca are available. In the far past, that was a port to where goods from Peru arrived; afterwards, they were transported through a train to the other parts of the country. Nowadays, you can only spot the old railway since the other activities have been discontinued. There is an obligatory stop at a military checkpoint here and if not requested otherwise, the authorities will put a checkout stamp in the passport. If going just to take a look at the place, tell them so. After the checkpoint it is a short way to the border.

Deep blue waters surrounded by totora, a kind of cane, captivate the eyes. The lake spills into some small pools full of green plants called "lentejillas" and algae; the pools attract pigs and ducks. Asian samlors wait along the streets to help passengers with their luggage. At 3810m above the sea level, the lake is lower than El Alto and a bit higher than the central cemetery of La Paz.

All the ways in Desaguadero lead to the small bridge crossing to the Peruvian side of the town. On its both sides are the respective immigration offices. If you are only renovating your Bolivian visa, do not take valuables; immigrations officers in both sides are notorious for requesting "small gifts" in order to allow you keeping your belongings. A friend of mine, who got in such a situation, played the fool. He took a photograph he took a few days before, signed it and told the officers that that was his gift. The unexpected approach was worth a smile and a stamp in the passport.

Once in Peru, there are several options. The Peruvian side of the town still looks pretty much as Bolivia, the restaurants serve the same food and the architectural style is similar. Ceviche (a marinated fresh fish), pejerrey (a fish from the lake served grilled) and cordero (lamb meat served with rice and chuño potatoes) are the main dishes offered at prices around one dollar each.

The hotels in the Peruvian side are better, hence, if not eager to return to La Paz with the new visa, it is better to stay in this side. Simple rooms with toilets cost between ten to thirty Peruvian Soles. Note that Peru is one hour behind Bolivia. If you have time for an explorative trip, then the next town is Puno, a couple of hours north along the lake; once there, there are connections to the rest of the country.

It makes sense to travel in one of the market days, Tuesday and Fridays. The attendance is so massive on this days, that the locals begin their travel the night before, to be able to catch the best places in the market.

Bolivians claim that the original Copacabana is theirs, and that the name was derived from an old Aymara name meaning "point of clouds." Rio de Janeiro's counterpart was, according to them, a Brazilian recognition of the place's holiness; the Titicaca Lake is considered sacred in the Quechua and Aymara cultures. Located by the shores of the Titicaca Lake, it offers excellent views of it. The Catholic Church transformed the place into a pilgrimage center, and, in the season, brave believers walk from La Paz to Copacabana and then climb a hill watching over the lake on their knees.

Copacabana has one of the best (... and only) developed tourism infrastructures in Bolivia; that together with the video-restaurants and rice dishes may transfer you for a few moments to Asian landscapes. However, the lake, its main attraction, will soon break the spell and cast one of its own. Rowing and paddle boats are available for one dollar per hour, sailboats for double of that and motorboats for seven dollars an hour. According to the Aymara and Quechua traditions, men were created at the nearby Isla del Sol, the sun island, which can be reached for three dollars. It offers great views of the Andean mountains and should not be missed. More complex tours, including the Isla de la Luna, the Moon Island, can be arranged as well.

Since the lake is considered sacred, several ceremonies take place on its shores. The Catholic Church, by the center, is the place where drivers from all over the country bring their new vehicle for a blessing. The Virgen de Copacabana statue is within the church and the blessing is performed with water from the lake. Weddings are performed by the shore.

6 de Agosto Street is the local counterpart of La Paz' Sagarnaga Street; all the shops selling souvenirs are concentrated here. Prices are usually high and the merchandise is of low quality, especially the clothes. The best place to eat is the night market, from 6pm it offers a good variety of food at excellent prices, the fresh trout from the lake is highly recommended. Pizzas, hamburgers and the like are available at the many tourists' restaurants.

Reaching the town:

Minivans to Copacabana leave from the street in front of La Paz Central Cemetery main entrance. Prices can change wildly, but it should be possible to get a place for two dollars. Buses to Copacabana from Puno, on the Peruvian side of the lake, cost two dollars. Watch out for your luggage, and if possible, take it with you inside the vehicle. There are immigration's posts of both Bolivia and Peru nearby the town; buses do the way during the day.

Tiquina:

Tiquina Straits must be crossed before reaching Copacabana from La Paz. The straits are the limit between the northern and southern parts of the lake and offer an awesome look of the Illimani Mountain; if looking toward the southeast from the middle of the straights, the mountain appears to float over the lake. The locals oppose the construction of a bridge, for fear of loosing the jobs created by the ferry's service. The town of Tiquina is divided in two by the straits; San Pablo de Tiquina is the closest to La Paz and San Pedro de Tiquina is the one on the Copacabana's side. The restaurant next to the gas station in San Pedro, by the pier, offers excellent trout fresh from the lake. The trout is a newcomer to the lake and is grown in specialized farms next to Tiquina.

Tito Yupanqui

If traveling with a rented car, it is worthwhile doing the way from Tiquina to Copacabana trough the old road passing through the village of Tito Yupanqui. The village sits on the border with Peru and you can cross the limit to the other country for a short look. The lakeshore here is unspoiled and the local flora is untouched. The Titicaca looks and smells from here as a Mediterranean landscape, tiny paths lead through the scattered bushes and wild flowers; the deep blue Titicaca feeds them all and keeps us smiling.