Summery 2012/3/11-22: 1. Bolivia is a small country with every kind of landscape, except ocean (which was occupied by Chile). Beautiful, cheap (except for beer), friendly.
2. Uyuni salt flat is a must. But my favorites are: Lago Colorado, rooftop of San Felipe de Nery in Sucre. What I'd like to visit in the future is Noel Kempff Mercado park east of Santa Cruz (expensive, and not sure if it can live up to its reputation of out-worldness) and maybe a jungle tour in Madidi park out of Rurrenabaque (not sure if it's better than in Peru/Ecuador/Brazil).
3. Bolivia is the dirties country on this trip: people toss trash everywhere; many vehicles emits deadly exhaust. So avoid big cities!
5. My favorite town is Copacabana. Small, beautiful setting, pleasantly cool climate yet sunny.
3/11-13 Uyuni Salar Tour
3/11 Sunday. Cloudy - snow.Waiting for the 7:40 pick up for Uyuni salt flats tour by Atacama Mystica - recommended by the receptionist, one of the many who peddle the same itinerary. Total 11 people today, so 2 Toyota Landcruisers. I was lucky to sit in the jeep of 51.
Chilean border control is just outside of the town. Finished by 8:30. We were offered apple juice and chocolate cookies. 50 minutes to Bolivian border control, I'm the only one didn't get an entry stamp here. Need to buy a $135 visa in Uyuni. Now waiting for the jeep from Bolivia, while having breakfast: hot tea/coffee, banana, bread, bologna, cheese. Almost at 11:00, we and our bags piled onto the 2 jeeps and headed into Eduardo Avaroa national reserve. The park office isn't far. B150, B3 or C300 toilet.
Laguna Blanca ~11:25, borax. Quite pretty.
Laguna Verde ~11:00, copper, arsenic. 5900m volcano.The so-called Dali valley ~12:45, ~20 boulders in the sand far from the road.
Lago Poques? ~1pm. Almost everyone soaked in the hot tub at the waterfront. I walked into the lake a bit on the white muddy bottom to take photos of the few flamingos. The water temperature quickly drops to normal.~2:30 geyser fields. But nothing is sprouting. Elevation ~5000m here and around the natual jacuzzi.
Turn clock backwards for 1 hour for the proper Bolivia time. 1 hour later arrived at a refugio ~4360m high within 1km of Lago Colorado. At 3pm, lunch (sausage, mash potato, tomato, cucumber). 5pm, tea + crackers. 7pm, dinner (thin veggie soup, papa frita + onion + sausage). ~4pm, it started to rain and quickly turned into hail and snow. First snow for the 2 Portuguese girls, who were exited and taking photos. very soon they initialized making fire in the empty stove. 2 books, teabag covers, brochures, maps all burnt. No hot drink after dinner. All went to bed, I with all my clothes on. No light no heat. The 2 toilet and 1 sink was very busy for a while: 11 of us + 6 of another group.Sandra read a trivia game with a flashlight, the rest 4 tried to answer from our bed. This lasted for an hour, during which, Afra threw up.
3/12 Monday. Cold.
Woke up in a white world. Foggy too. 7:30 breakfast2. Waited for the weather to clear up. By now both Scott and Sandra were sick, but Afra was back to normal.
9:00 start for Lago Colorado: rusty red, snow patches on the green grass at water's edge. Many flamingos. Absolutely beautiful. Dropping of vicuna. Still too cloudy to see the nearby mountain peaks. On a sunny day, this place must be stunningly colorful. We left ~10:00.
~10:30 The stone tree and a few others similar but not as dramatic, in the middle of sand desert. A strange toilet with 2 compartments.
~11:30 Laguna Honda. Lunch by the water. The 2 following lakes: Chearcota, Hedionda are so underwhelming, most of us didn't even got off the vehicle.Valley of Rocks ~3:30pm. Good place to look for pee spot.
Overnight at Alota. B10 for hot shower. Electricity 7-9pm? Rained at times.
3/13 Tuesday. Salar de Uyuni
Don't understand why we had to get up so early. 6:00 breakfast with one candlelight. Left after 7:00. I didn't take a pill last night, figured that we were out of danger, now wasn't feeling so well. So kept up my drug.
Right outside of the town, there were some small fields now in bloom. At on point, the dirt road was so muddy that our jeep slipped. The land became flatter and boring as we went north.
~9:30 reached a train junk yard 2km shy of Uyuni. Trash too. It appears that all around the town of Uyuni is garbage, denser when closer to the town. Filled up another piece of paper at the agency's office. Waited for a short while for police' ok.
The giant salt flat is not far from the town. Parked on the inundated salt bed. With the water now, it looked more like a lake. Some flamingos. Reflection. Very pretty. Lunch: Milanese of chicken, pasta, boiled potato, cooked/canned carrot + green bean, watermelon. We stayed here for ~1.5 hours, taking silly optical illusion photos. But the reflection would ruin the effect.Back to Uyuni ~2:30 after a shopping stop. Almost everything was closed, including immigration office, which I had to go later to fill up another form, and pay $135. They insisted on Boliviano first. After some pleading and inspection of my crispy new notes, they finally accepted my $. Changed my Chilean Pesos3, visited the post office, had a B18 coca beer with my group. They all decided to go to Sucre.
I waited for my 10:15pm train 4 to Tupiza. At the train station, I met a young couple from Britain, who was robbed by armed men in Ecuadorian Amazon region. Total 4 boats, 22 tourists. Of course, no one continued their trip, having to go back to town and file police report. Luckily, Ecuador government compensated them with a free trip to the Galapagos Islands.
2012/4/14-17 Tupiza, Potosi, Sucre
3/14 Wednesday. Overcast. TupizaThe train stopped at Atocha ~midnight, the lady next to me got off. At least 2 unscheduled stops, each lasted over an hour, no explanation. Arrived at Tupiza ~7:30 instead of 4:00. Got to see some nice scenery along the track. Narrow valley, not much water in the riverbed. Green grass, red hills. Tupiza's bus and train stations are 5-10 minutes walk from the town center.
Bought a 3 hour horse ride trip5 to Puerta del Diable (had time to walk about), Valle de Los Machos (no stop), Canyon del Inca (a very narrow canyon with a small creek). This is my first and probably last horseback riding. I fell twice because my 3 year old horse wanted to eat grass under some branches at the hight of my chest.Ate on the 2nd floor of the market. Took a shower at the hostel/agency. Too bad, not much hot water.
~4pm, I walked to the town of Palala. Just 10 minutes north of the tourist area, still in the city, it feels quite different: no more gringos. Women selling chicha, various stores catering to local population. Palala is 3km out of town along the train track most of the time, then walked left between two walls. Better setting here: much closer to the red cliffs. Took a frequent bus back to Tupiza for B1. The buses are recycled from other uses. One had Japanese Kanji of a central store of funeral equipment. Ate, napped for an hour in the travel agency/hostel's empty breakfast room before heading over to the bus terminal for my 9pm bus to Potosi. B30.3/15 Thursday. 3-12°C, PotosÃ
Arrived at Potosi terminal ~3:30. Everything was closed including the terminal, even though 4 buses pulled in at about the same time. Cold. At 4:00, door opens, but washrooms are still closed until 6:00. B1. When it was light enough, I took a taxi to La Cosana6, booked a room, dumped my bags. The historical center has many fancy church facades with locked doors. Lots of colonial buildings. Silver money of the old days. 
Just 1.5 blocks away is the main plaza, another 3 blocks is the market, where I had all meals. ATM didn't charge me a fee. A few pained zebras on street crossings.
9:00 mine tour7 to the Rosario mine. An exhausting experience. Dusty and muddy. At least a third of the walk I had to bend if not on my knees. It's a working mine. Just like it was 400 years ago. Technology doesn't seem to have improved, while the ore has diminished. Now seems anyone who pays a use fee can come and dig. One guy we talked to worked here since late 70s. He said even in the early 80s he could find silver deposit of 80% purity. now only 3%. but still thousands work here every day. Whenever a cart is pushed by, we had to hurry up or back to a place with enough space to clear the way. Every time that happened, I had to rest for 5 minutes to catch breath. It's at ~4350m!Back to hotel to shower the dust off. First hot shower in 5 days. Washed clothes. By the time I was ready to go out again, it was pouring. Rain continued to the early evening, when I headed out to eat. The town in street lights has a different charm. Read hostel's copy of Lonely Planet South America, an old version, and used the slow wifi, before retiring to my cold and damp room.
3/16 Friday. Cloudy with sun.
Casa de Moneda. B40. Guided tour only. Almost 2 hours. Not bad. I started with a Spanish guide, later switched to a private English tour. Mint history, hand tools, steam belts, electrical tools. Various coins, machines, lots of paintings by local artists in the 17-18th century. Now, Bolivia's coins and notes are made in at least 3 other countries. 1pm bus to Sucre. B15. B2 terminal use fee / departure tax. However the taxi to the new bus terminal cost B10 instead of B7 when I arrived. Low season, plenty seats left. ~3 hours, quite a scenic ride. However in and out of the cities are garbage dumps. Disgusting.
Sucre, the capital of Bolivia, in name only. The supreme court remains here, but the legislative seat is in La Paz. Vastly sprawling. Every hill close by is topped with houses and trash under it. Found a single room across street from the market entrance for B25. I couldn't believe my ears when she quote me the price. Well, I don't recommend it. At least it's easy to eat and buy fruit8. Market here is bigger, but closes (6pm) much earlier than in Potosi (8pm).Basilica San Francisco has a complicated ceiling, ornate gilded altar piece. Cathedral is only open Thursday and Sunday morning for mass. However the religious museum next to the cathedral is open M-F, which you can get into the cathedral. The tourism office I found is on the second floor of a shopping complex. Now armed with a map, I walked to a few churches, none was open, other then the previously mentioned Basilica San Francisco, and Iglesia Santa Monica whose interior isn't interesting.
The main square Plaza 25 de Mayo is full of people. Manicured parterre. Very pleasant, surround by beautiful buildings.
3/17 Saturday. Cloudy - sunny. Sucre.
Museum of Libertad. B15 for foreigners. Guided tours in Spanish only. Low season, not enough tourists to merit an English guide. Used to be a Jesuit church. Later part of university Xavier. Independence was declared and signed here. Now a copy is in a glass case. Bergano's flag too, faded. 
Noon (also 9:30, 14:30) to Cal Orck'o. Return at 2pm. I only saw one company Sauro Tours doing this in front of the cathedral: transportation B17 for foreigners. B12 for locals. Parque Cretacico is more for kids: models of various dinosaurs, copy of a giant skeleton, a kid only play room. B30 for foreigners, B5 for camera. To be honest, there us no nerd to pay either if you don't care to see the models. Just walk up the slope, stop in front of the ticket office. The platform here is good enough to see the prints on the wall across the ditch. When you are in the park, you have benches and telescope to view the same wall, and watch part of an American dinosaur documentary dubbed and subtitled in Spanish.Back at the plaza, bought La Paz bus ticket for B150 at Joy Ride travel agency, who over charged me B15 and at the same time cost the bus company B25.
Bolivia Park next to the supreme court. The tiny Eiffel tower isn't worth climbing. I didn't even bother to take a single photo. Being Saturday, plenty people, lots of stalls selling cakes, jewelry, toys.
The cemetery west of town is an okay stop. Many people came and changes flowers. Water faucets every block. There are boys carry ladders for those slots high up. I saw an old woman in typical petty skirt peeing right by the main walkway, and partly on her own feet. Don't know who she was visiting. I bought a relleno (fried mash potato with an egg inside) outside of the cemetery gate, watching a funeral procession going in.
The best B10 I spent is for the rooftop of San Felipe de Nery. Enter via the school next door. The view is splendid. The white walls and towers. The interior of the church is plain, unlike its serious exterior.Mico A to bus terminal: B1.5. It's just 2km. 7:30 cama bus to La Paz. B2.5 terminal use fee. Comfortable but old bus. Toilet has no water. Heat on high, thick blanket, no food or drink.
2012/4/18-20 around La Paz
3/18 Sunday. Overcast. CoroicoArrived at La Paz ~7:30. nothing seems open. I walked to plaza San Francisco and beyond. All closed, not because it was too early，but because it was Sunday. Did see the Sunday mass at San Francisco, quite a nice stone interior.
Back to the bus terminal trying to go to Coroico. But none of the long distance buses do that route. Had to catch a minibus to the suburb of Villa Fatima, then hop on another minibus to Coroico. Paid B25 and waited for the bus to fill up. Scenery during the first half of an hour outside the mannheim of the city is outstanding. Snow capped granite peaks, steep grassy slopes later become green, little waterfalls, a couple of clouds hung low on the other side of the precipice. Later, too foggy to see much. Coroico is on a green hill among green hills, but dry. Sunny and warm during the day, ~20° cool at night. Because it's a small town, and all this vegetation, the air is finally breathable.
Coroico town square has not much to offer, as any other small streets. It's all ups and downs. Just getting to the plaza from the bus station is tiring, even though it's close. Paid the first hostel I saw by the plaza. B70 gets me a single room with 3 small tables and 2 chairs, view of the green hills. The Hostel has no kitchen, no breakfast, no Internet, no English. Shouldn't be called a hostel. Its restaurant is closed. But it has a good size pool, a large deck. All rooms seem to have the same good view. Cheery and airy. I had lunch for B10 with a large bowl of soup, and chicken Milanese and salad over rice as the secondo. I skipped the raw ingredients, just in case. Instead, bought 3 small oranges for B1 and 3 Roma tomatoes for B1.5 to eat back in my room. Dinner on this Sunday was harder to find. Most shops were closed when I set out shortly after 6pm. Ate some fried chicken over corn and potatoes for B12. The guy on the next table got more and better chicken pieces than I did. Picked up a Pacena beer on the way back: B8.5.A relaxing day. Did some washing, and my clothes dried quickly under the sun.
3/19 Monday. Sunny, warm. La Paz.
After a proper breakfast next door, headed down to the terminal. B1 fee. B15 in a 14 seater. Luggage on top. I was #13, so didn't wait too long. Back to Villa Fatima ~12. Caught a bus to Plaza San Francisco, dumped my bag at the first lodging I asked (up 2 flights of stairs), B30+B5 for shower. It's difficult to catch a bus to the cemetery. ~10 went by fully loaded. Cemetery is another bus center. Unfortunately, I was told that Tiwanaku bus only leaves in the morning. Defeated, I ate lunch, and wait for a bus back. Not having a map or knowing the area, I waited for a long time (many other buses also go to or close to where I wanted, but I couldn't tell unless it's written on the bus). Got off at Plaza Murillo. A small square. Lots of pigeons, and lots of kids feeding them. 
Legislative building occupies a whole side, next is the president's home (in the same bright yellow) and the Cathedral (nice stainless windows, cold). Next door, Museum if Arts was closed on Mondays.
Walked to Plaza San Francisco (the buses probably would be slower, due to the constant congestion. Today, there was also some demonstration, a few roads were blocked), checked out market Lanzo, and the endless street vendors. Bought a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice for B3, some fruit and soy milk. Temperature dropped quickly after sun down.3/20 Tuesday. To Copacabana.
Tried again for Tiwanaku, a pre Inca ruin, and failed. Roads were blocked. Nothing could get in or out of the city. Waited in the bus for over 2 hours, and abandoned the trip. Had to pay the poor driver and then walked downhill to catch another bus back to the cemetery. All other ~10 passengers stayed on. Back to the 2-Febrero office where I left my backpack. They were playing cards, since their bus couldn't go out either. But they claimed that the 3pm bus to Copacabana will go without problem. Not even 11:00 yet. Used an Internet cafe (B2/hr) for 1.5 hours. No wifi that I can find. Google's Blogger refused to log me in. Lots of public toilets here: B1. Lots of venders and lunch places. A 600ml bottle of water is B3.5. A set lunch consists of a small bread, spicy dipping sauce (I never tried), a big bowl of soup (rice or pasta, a piece of meat on bone, a potato, sprinkled with cilantro), secondo is either chicken or steak on rice or corn (usually too salty, and cooked to death) and diced tomato and lettuce or onion, desert is usually jello. I always liked the soup. By the time I finished lunch, there were at least a dozen kids and their backpacks congregated on the floor outside of the bus office, and people in the office were watching news, and told me maybe or may not be able to leave at 6pm. I picked up my bag, and ready to find a place to crash for tonight. Just at this time a bus pulled in. They left at 8:30 and managed to circumvent the blockades for an extra hour. Needless to say, I and everyone else eagerly signed up on this 6 de Junio bus. Smaller, no overhead bins, all luggage on top, more expensive: B25. 2 got on without seats.
The road to Copacabana is reasonably scenic after getting out of the city and on to the grassy plateau. Distant snow capped mountains. Half of the journey is along Lake Titicaca. In the town of Tiquina, we had to get on a ferry, or rather a wooden pontoon. Out of the ~50 on the shore, we managed to get on one with a slight motor problem. Most passengers got off the bus to take a yacht cross. I, understanding nothing, stayed on the bus with 2 other people.
Arrived at Copacabana ~5:15, 4 hours. Paid for 2 nights at 2 different places. The first is cheap. B20! The owner of a small store eagerly showed me the rooms upstairs. Shared toilet. But turned out I was the only one stayed here. The second one looks and is much nicer. Colonial. B50 got me a room with 2 beds and ensuite bath + good breakfast. It's airy and sunny. If it were not for my flights next Wednesday, I'd be happy to stay here for a couple more days. It's small enough that car exhaust is not a problem. It's pretty here and there are a few simple ruins within walking distance.
Bought boat ticket to the Sun and Moon islands for tomorrow. Ran into Sandra in front of Colonial. She and Mark were just about to depart for Cusco. There was a blockage here too! A different bus had to be arranged on the other side of the blockage. They had to walk with their luggage across to the other bus. After saying goodbye to them, I had lake trout for dinner, contemplating when to go to Puno, and what to do there. Too many options. Too many operators.
3/21. Wednesday. Clouds. Lake Titicaca.
Crudely fashioned double deck boat. 3 were sailing today at 8:30. Lots of boats moored at the beach for busier season. There are reed made boats, big catamarans (can cross the lake to Peru). Lake looks pretty clean. Huge. Enough waves to drive me to downstairs. At 10:00, dropped half of the passengers at the north side of Isla del Sol, Challapampa. This maybe a better option than going to Isla de la Luna. Because, the sacred Inca sites are on the northern tip (Rock of the Puma, or Titi Kharka, and Inca Table). It leaves enough time to walk to the south end (4 hours) to catch the boat back to town.
Landed on Isla de la Luna ~10:50. It's a very small island, easy to walk from one end to the other. About 5 houses next to the small harbor, and one big, out of place house on the top. The other side has a harbor and a few boats, some fishing contrapment too. B10 to enter. Inak Uyu (temple of the virgins) is fenced in, a few sheep were tied to the fence. A ruin with flowers growing in the stones, but the center lawn was recently mowed. A few ladies sell necklaces made if decorated pebbles, little llama, almost all useless. I walked to the top and continued right on the ridge long enough to be alone. My morning coca tea needed a place to go. Lots of sheep, a couple of llamas. 12:30 depart.
Isla del Sol is much bigger. To walk the length, needs ~4 hours. We landed at the south end, Yumani, ~1:25pm. Half of the passenger stayed at the small port for lunch. I walked up Inca Stairs along the Inca Spring. It looks clean. I tasted a bit of the spring water close to the top end. All along, women and kids sell trinkets and alpaca products. There are quite a few llama and donkey here. No alpaca. I continued up trying to get to Temple Pilcocaina. Unfortunately, took a wrong turn (should turn left). By the time I was on the correct trail, I was short of time. But I did walked far enough to see the ruin. It should be about 3km one way. Quite a few accommodation and restaurant choices. Some high up on the hill. But I don't see the appeal of staying overnight here. I would feel guilty to take a shower or flush toilet. Everything, especially water has to be carried up. If you want to contribute to the local Amayan people, buy stuff from them, or stay lower. Prices here is of course higher than on the mainland. Example: a 500ml bottle coke is B10, beer B15. The island is almost entirely terraced, but not all cultivated. I did see twice men working in the fields. Back on the boat, met 4 people who walked here from the north. The north has the sanctuary where Inca god was born. My short walks (1.5 hours on each island) were scenic, but gets redundant quickly. Even though the temperature was very pleasant, ~17° I sweat quickly: there isn't a single tree taller than my chest. 
Only bushes or grass. Very dry here. 3:30pm depart. ~1 hour later, stopped for 10 minutes at 2 tiny floating squares, permanently attached to land by walkways. On the returning boat, met Afra and Scott who spent 2 nights on the island and loved it. Back in town ~5:25pm.
Cerro Calvarlo can be seen from the town of Copacabana. After saying goodbye to Afra and Scott who were heading to Arequipa, I walked the short but steep trail up north in time for sunset. Took me 40 minutes from the hotel up, huffing and puffing all the way, and 20 minutes down. I'm not made for this altitude. The view is splendid. This is a pilgrim trail for the Virgin of Copacabana. People bring flowers, a cross at every turn, some laden with pebbles. On the top, more plaques, candles. Despite of being a sacred trail, litter and graffiti is everywhere. Even the trash cans are covered with markings.Finally found a wifi spot, where I can upload this blog. Had trout here. Restaurant Alex Pacho's set menu is a good deal. B20. Bought a sweater for B85.
3/22. Thursday. To Peru.
Checked out the famous cathedral. No photo is allowed inside. Beautiful building and carved doors. Adorned and gilded alter. The virgin is behind a veil.9:00 bus to Peru. B30. Doesn't matter who you bought tickets from, only one bus was going. 15 minutes late depart trying to sign up more passengers.
Notes
