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Heaven and Hell… Let’s Do Hell First

Thursday, May 24th, 2007

For this post I will just say that Lake Titicaca was Heaven and totally blew me away.  But then I had one horrible day yesterday and I need to just get that one out of the way before I tell you in another post about the kayaking adventure.  The plan yesterday at 7:00 AM as it had been for a month was to go to the train station in Puno and take a ten hour train ride through the altiplano to Cusco, check in at a very nice small inn that I had looked at three months ago and eat a nice dinner at the attached restaurant.  Sounds like a pretty simple day where little could happen.  Or so I thought.  Looking back on the day this morning, I suppose I deserved what I got because I was flying so high on Tuesday after my visit to Heaven that I probably needed a good reality check…

[read on]

Lake Titicaca

Saturday, May 19th, 2007

This lake is quite beautiful and I am enjoying my stay.  Copacabana in Bolivia was pretty boring and it was Bolivia so…  Copacabana had a few gringo (and folks from other Latin American countries) hippies selling jewelry and other art.  I saw the same in La Paz.  I am not quite sure why someone would choose to sell their products in Bolivia given the prices are much lower.  Actually, I know exactly why they are there – cheap living and drugs.  Even stranger than the economic nonsense is that they make the same products that the indigenous artisans make.  So, they are basically stealing the local product designs and screwing over the poor by competing against them.  That’s free market for you, but I wonder if any of this dawns on them?  Probably not their intention if they could think straight.  The other odd thing is the number of rat nest hairdos – I’m sorry, but dreadlocks on white men look absolutely ridiculous… and grotesque.

[read on]

Got a Feeling Inside Can’t Explain

Thursday, May 17th, 2007
I wish I could explain why there are places that I just don't like and places that I love.  All I can say is that it is from deep inside.  Some places just set off alarms in me that there ... [Continue reading this entry]

Shoeshine Boys and Finger Puppets

Thursday, May 17th, 2007
Something that everyone seems to find disturbing in La Paz is the shoeshine boys with masks over their faces.  I had two theories: 1) they are from the jungle area and are cold in La Paz or 2) they are ... [Continue reading this entry]

Different Country, Different Day, Different Attitude

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
I am so happy to be out of Bolivia and back to Peru.  A three hour drive including the time to get through immigration and it seems like I have entered a new world.  Puno doesn't have a great reputation, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Bolivia… Being All it Can Be

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

I have been here for twenty-four days.  I was enjoying Bolivia in Uyuni, Potosi and Sucre, but soon after arriving in La Paz the charm of this country was basically gone.  I soon started to learn that the people here ... [Continue reading this entry]

It´s a Jungle Out There

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
I went to the Bolivia jungle area northeast of La Paz with high hopes. I was going to visit Madidi National Park which National Geographic proclaimed as the most bio-diverse place on earth. I had read the horror ... [Continue reading this entry]

Two Jungles

Friday, May 4th, 2007

I spent the morning busy in La Paz with the main activity being a trip to the post office. Another adventure in postal world. Bolivia might be a bit crazy and haphazard, but I think the Bolivians are ... [Continue reading this entry]

When the Cars Disappear… Protest!

Friday, May 4th, 2007
The airplane ride from Sucre to La Paz was the first one I had since arriving in Cordoba, Argentina weeks ago.  I was tired of the roads and to fly over the Andes for $69 seemed like a deal.  I ... [Continue reading this entry]

Tale of Two Cities

Friday, May 4th, 2007

You won't find two more different cities on earth as Potosi and Sucre and considering they are only 150 kilometers apart in the same country this is very strange. Potosi is dominated by Cerro Rico - historically, physically and ... [Continue reading this entry]