Cochabamba - City of Valleys

Main Plaza

Our stay in Cochabamba wasn't too adventurous, but made mellow by health constraints...
However when we first arrived, we enjoyed a sunny day in the local mercado. We experienced all the unique smells and flavors. Ivan got a watch (finally!), and Kristin found some stretch pants. We enjoyed some fresh smoothies (a daily fave), bought some local fruit, some Chilean Cabernet, and the questionable cheese wedge. The market was a bustling hub of activity and was the center of the towns commerce (we never once saw a supermarket or even a small grocery store). Later that evening, Ivan opened the wine with his leatherman (no easy feat! :) ) and we headed off to a spectacular music performance by a very famous Bolivian folk-music band called Savia Andina. The 6 man band amazed us with their guitar harmonies, cochanga strumming, and of course the beautiful zampona reed flute. The concert was 2 hours of some of the most amazing music we have ever heard (it made Los Lobos look like clumsy school girls). We bought their entire discography for $1.00 too! The crowd was also very much a part of the musical performance and were compelled to clap with the complex rhythms. Definitely our best night out for music or enrichment.

A beautiful boy in a beautiful theater!
The Zampona!

Unfortunately, the following day Ivan was bulldozed by a very nasty stomach flu (perhaps caused by the innocent looking cheese, or the spicy empanada...). So the next 3 days really weren't remarkable other than nurse Kristin babying the fallen giraffe, and way too much bad daytime TV. When we could venture out into the harsh daylight, we decided to take a trip up the gondola to jumbo-Jesus and enjoy the panoramic sunset. A plaque claimed its the largest in the world, but 2 Brazilians were adamant that the one in Rio is far bigger (Ivan agreed, since a cab driver that day said Bolivia is the only land-locked country in the world... Paraguay their neighbor is too, but erroneous!!). The enourmous statue was pretty cool, and was over 40 meters tall and took 7 years to construct. Their was a wedding at the top, and whole lot of entanlged couples. The sunset was incredible and silhouetted the city beautifully. Be prepared to see a whole lot of J-Dawg....he was our photo MAN




Other than that, not a whole lot has happened... Well, we did encounter a very rude and residentially challenged individual in the main plaza today who simply got up from the bench next to us (he had that one alll to himself...), stepped over to our bench and told us that he wanted to sleep there. After asking him what the difference between the two benches was, he told us he didn't want to look at us and commenced to lay down and started to stretch his feet out over Kristin. We got up and Ivan politely told him he was crazy, and in response we got an emphatic "come mierda!" A good laugh for the morning, and had quite a few locals gawking (I think they were more surprised by how calm we took it). Too much leaded gasoline exposure, maybe?


Tonight we are catching a cramped 10 hour bus ride to the beautiful town (and sort-of secondary capital--look it up, its convoluted) Sucre. The next blog should be about the Dinosaur footprints!!.

Cholitas wrestling: a locals Sunday family event !!

Last night, we joined our traveling and fellow Inka Trail friends, Mark and Laura for some tasteful Bolivian entertainment. A must see when in La Paz! The night started with an eventful taxi ride, Ivan, Laura and Kristin in back, the taxi driver, his wife and Mark crammed in front. After a block of driving the taxi driver realized he could not shift too well with his plump pumpkin wife sitting on top of the shifter....so he graciously threw her in the trunk for the 20 minute ride up the hill.

At the very top of the city, we stepped out into the muddy mayhem (of locals snacking on chicharrones and cars honking and zooming by) and into the rowdy arena with the wrestling ring in the center.

After a couple of snacks the speakers erupted with the Rocky theme song, "Eye of the Tiger" and the announcer jumped into arena to welcome the first contenders. The first match consisted of 4 luchadors all dressed in crazy costumes, spandex and masks (think movie: nacho libre). The first two (obviously to be favored by the crowd) were in more heroic costumes, while the second two had Slipknot music and black, dark and beaked masks. Flipping each other over their shoulders and flinging each other over the ropes, the heroic team was clearly winning, when suddenly the ref turned on them and team evil started to play dirty to win. The fight suddenly turned around and (though it looked fake until one of the members of team Awesome tackled an evil guy outside of the ring and the careened to the concrete floor) team Awesome won!! The unfortunate "evil" beaked man was definitely limping off of the arena floor...






The second fight was between a "Cholita," or a woman who was dressed in traditional country garb with a beautiful embroidered shawl, versus a fascist looking dictator in fatigues. The referee and the fascist quickly ganged-up on this woman, and she was soon being 'bloodied' on the arena. While we knew this was all theatrics, we were both mortified seeing a young girl completely convinced that this woman was being gang beaten by 2 men. Fortunately she 'won' the fight, but we're sure this girl was scarred for life. A shame so many people bring their sweet, young children to shows like this...

A doggy pile with the dictator in fatigues on bottom and the 2 gringos who jumped in the ring to "help" the cholita underneath her

The next fights were of a clown versus "Jenny de Dos Caras." This was hillarious because the clown would blow his whistle in unison to his movements (i.e while he was doing push ups, summer-salts, etc...) to make fun of Two Faced Jenny and challenge her to copy. The following fight was between two portly "Cholitas" who energetically battled it out. The show lasted for about 3 hrs and was more entertaining as the fights went on, the crowd riled up, music got louder and the costumes and theatrics increased!

Two faced Jenny got angry and smashed the fence down between the ring and the crowd. She chased her opponent into the crowd and smashed his head into the pilars...
Don't worry the blood is fake

All in all it was some interesting entertainment that we definitely won't need to experience anytime soon, but glad we were able to get a taste of "local family" Sunday entertainment in La Paz. (Note: don't bring children under the age of 12) After the show we grabbed some yummy thai food, a beer and ice cream sundaes with Mark and Laura and reflected on the crazy show.

Tomorrow we are leaving La Paz and on our way to Cochabamba. A small, quaint town east of La Paz, known for its art and music scene. Side note: Kristin is learning to play the Zampona, a hollow bamboo like flute, with two rows of reeds (7 and 8) that you blow over to make noise. Maybe a possible cafe performance in the future ;)

Downhill Riding in Bolivia!

Our Brave Group

On October 16th I signed up for a day of downhill mountain biking around the mountains of La Paz. Myself and 8 other brave riders geared up with Kona "Stinky" downhill bikes and body armor and hopped into the two vans that shuttled us up the steep hills just outside of the city. The 3 guides that accompanied us were very funny and good spirited, but perhaps a bit optimistic as to the obstacles the the average adventurer could handle. The first run they took us to was a "race course," which was a steep hillside flanked by cactus and spikey bushes. The steep loose terrain immediately claimed several other riders who slided out on the steep slopes. One girl crashed 20 yards into our very first run and dislocated her shoulder. Another guy (second time on a downhill bike) decided he could gap a river bed 3 meters wide; he did land it, but crashed into a waist high boulder and was flung 12 meters down the hill. After being rushed to the hospital we shuttled up the mountain for another run. The second run was actually very fun. It turns out the moutain was decorated with the namesake "muelas del diablo," or the devils teeth.

My Lucky Bike (only one who didn't fall!)

High above La Paz

As to why I am the only one without a full-face helmet isn't an act of heroism, but rather my unusual size. I blame my parents who genetically endowed me with a large head that not only doenst fit the average helmet size, but also has been greeted by door-jams and street signs :).


The second ride we went on was amazing!! We hopped back in the vans and drove 45 minutes up another steep mountainside. After 2 delicious sandwiches at the top we geared back up and started riding down the dirt road. Fortunately the guides decided to split us up into 2 groups and so the faster group was able to do several laps on the very fast single track. The terrain consisted of fast s-turns and rock gardens.

We started from the tippy top

After a full day of riding, the guides treated us to beer and pork sandwiches (not on the itinerary, but they were very friendly!). All in all, riding an unfamiliar and small 16 1/2 inch frame and new terrain, it was a very fun day and I satiated by bike-fix.

Copacabana y La Isla Del Sol

On October 11th we took the bus from Puno, Peru to Copacabana, Boliva. The bus ride was only 3.5 hours, and the border crossing was fairly smooth by South American standards. It was a bit frustrating to notice that we USA citizens were the only ones to pay an outrageous entry visa tax (135$ each for 90 days). It was interesting to see that Bolivians weren't particularly excited to have Americans in their country, but after doing a bit of research its very reasonable to understand why they hold animosity against us. Irregardless, most of the people have been very warm and polite.


October 12th, Ivan's birthday, was a day strictly for R&R. Unfortunately, Ivan was recovering from a serious case of PCSGIES or Post Ceviche Spontaneous Gastro Intestional Explosions Syondrome. Don't eat the lake trout raw, he learned. Other than that, it was nice to sit by the lake, have a romantic paddle around on a plastic swan boat, soak up some sunshine, and enjoy some of the local food and wine and of course spend this special day with my loving, sweet, Kristin. The highlight of the day was being surprised with birthday cards that Kristin had been collecting and holding on to since early September from family and friends. It felt like I was celebrating with all of you! It was such a special surprise to have the support and love of a classic birthday party, even though we are continents away.

Our hotel was the large pinkish one on the right. On the beach with a beautiful balcony to view the sunrise/sunset

October 13th we caught an early boat out to La Isla del Sol. The boat moved at an incredible slow pace, but the lake and surrounding scenery was spectacular. Unfortunately the 'gas' smelled like mixture of turpentine and dirty kerosene, so the fumes were a bit distracting, so we hung our heads out of a broken window at the front of the boat and caught the cool morning breeze.


The Island is only 9.6 x 5.6 km in area, but hiking on it had us huffing and puffing against the altitude (4200m). After a quick sandwich, we tagged along with a tour group to the 'sacred' Inka and pre-Inka ruins. The guide was very enthusiastic and seemingly knowledgeable, but the 'temple' was a series of terraced farms where it used to be, and the incredible sacred 'stone' was in the center of someone's backyard and barely in view from the trail. A bit enlivened in town when we bought the tickets...

burro y burro post burro lick

Farther up the hill we came to the sacrificial and astrological altar. Unfortunately the Spanish conquistadors had defaced most of it (and of course taken the huge gold cache) that been a cornerstone of Inkan wealth. The large stone altar was the supposed birthplace of the first 2 Inkas who started the Inkan empire (their garden of Eden, but with some serious conquering and subjugation being the result rather than original sin...). In January and August, many people make a pilgrimage from the port to this stone crawling on their knees. The site has is supposed to have the most religious significance out of the entire Inkan empire.



The hike from the northern side of the island to the southern was spectacular. The color of the water was deep blue, framed by the snow capped mountains, and of course the beautiful cloud-scapes. Hilariously, different checkpoints were set up by various villages who demanded money to cross on their road. We heard every excuse in the book as to where the money would go, and how we wouldn't make it back to the mainland if we didnt' pay... We fell for the first checkpoint, but ignored the second 2. A bit of a sad way to make a living, but there's enough gullible tourists to go around...



Today, October 14th, we took a bus for 30 bolivianos, or for a grand total of $4.35, down to La Paz. The city is enormous with 8 million people all jammed into this valley. Though its a much different pace than what we've seen so far, the city has a very nice vibe and energy to it. We are looking forward to exploring the city and surrounding areas in the next proceeding days. Another blog on the city to come soon...

Las Islas Flotantes - Floating Islands

Today we visited the Islas Flotantes de Uros. While this was seriously impacted by tourism, it was nonetheless incredible to witness in person. There are over 70 floating islands made of Totoro reeds. The whole lake has an estimated 37,000 hectares of totoro reeds. Each island's foundation is constructed with huge blocks of totoro roots, which are then stacked with countless amounts of dried and criss-crossed totoro reeds. The islands were about a meter or so off the water = many many reeds, and 3 meters deep. The islands are anchored and can last indefinitely as long as the 2-6 families continue to lay more reed flooring and foundation. Some of the islands are hundreds of years old.

A sighting of an itchy calf on our way to the islands

When we stepped off the boat, we were amazed at how springy and soft the reed floors were. Toddlers would carelessly fling themselves without any injury upon impact. The indigenous people on the island were incredibly friendly and open with their homes, lifestyles, and our questions. When we arrived on one of the islands, we were handed a "totori banana," which is the same reed mentioned before, except it is the white base of the stalk that is an edible fiber. We were only allowed a small bite, since its incredible fibrous properties forces a powerful "numero dos" (according to the locals.) We are already drafting out a new fad diet plan for gullible Americans.


We were lucky enough to visit 3 islands, with the second being our favorite by far. Most tourists only superficially visit one, but we were able to stay behind and catch another boat. This was very rewarding since we had an entire island to discover to ourselves. The children immediately took a liking to us, and in moments Kristin had a girls affectionately braiding her hair. Two slobbery toddlers were also passed around. Two mischevious girls grabbed the 2 unusual looking birds (which were being raised for food) and demonstrated just how mean the feathery demons were. Before we left, a girl generously gave Kristin a painted shell necklace as a "recuerdo."


Also on the islands was beautiful artesania that the women tirelessly make. We bought 2 table runners and a pillow case (all hand embroidered, of course), which were all made on the islands and have symbolism endemic to the floating islands.

Flamingos on the island!!

Even though it was inundated with other curious tourists, we were thrilled to have seen the beautiful and unusual floating islands. The people were by far the highlight of the trip, since they were so open and passionate about retaining their traditions and identity (albeit with a flare for entertaining tourists..)

Tomorrow we are off to Copacabana, Bolivia! Adios Peru, you have been a beautiful country.

Our ride back from the port to the Plaza de Armas. Muy Economico