Day 296 Isla Del Sol 27 November 2012

Today we embarked for a beautiful 4 hour hike along Isla del Sol, the origin of the Inca civilization and according to the legends the birthplace of the sun and moon. After a 90 minute boat ride we arrived at the northern part of the island to visit the museum and admired the remains of the Inca settlements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we literally had to hurry to walk the remaining 3 hours to catch our boat back from the southern part of the island! We only made it with 15 minutes to spare! The views along the way were truly magnificent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 295 Copacabana on the Shore of Lake Titicaca 26 November 2012

We took the early morning bus to Copacabana on the shore of Lago Titicaca, the world’s highest giant lake, 3812 m/12,500 ft. On the way we had to disembark to cross the water in a little ferry, while the bus had its own way of getting across.

In Copacabana we found our hostel with a great view of the lake, walked around a bit, had some great trout for lunch.

 

We also visited the Cathedral.

In the evening we walked along the shore and found excellent Mexican food for dinner.

 

Day 294 A Pause in La Paz 25 November 2012

We opted against mountain biking down the most dangerous road in the world, and relaxed the day away walking through town.

 

We had some delicious ice cream and then headed for the cinema where we saw Monster*in Paris - an animation film in Spanish.

 

Day 293 La Paz 24 November 2012

We arrived in the morning in La Paz, Bolivia’s biggest city. A bit tired of our trip, we took it easy today and walked around the neighborhood, taking us to the witches market where they sell dried dead llamas and charms for all kinds of purposes.

 

 

 

Day 292 Dinosaurs in Sucre 23 November 2012

Today we walked around town a bit more, had an excellent lunch at a restaurant affiliated with the Alliance Française, and then took the Dinobus to Parque Cretacico, where 800 dinosaur footprints were discovered about 25 years ago, by workers of a cement factory. The factory responsibly set up a viewing platform and museum. Scientists explain that the ‘wall’ used to border a lake before seismic activity and that the change between wet and dry seasons preserved the footprints in the limestone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the evening we took the night bus to La Paz, our first with a fully reclining seat. Also the baggage loading was special, it was dropped down by rope from the bus company office one floor above.

 

Day 291 Happy Thanksgiving from Bolivia! 22 November 2012

We took a four hour bus ride from Potosi to Sucre from the new bus terminal in Potosi. When we arrived (a lot earlier than we thought since when we went to book the bus ticket they were sold out until 5pm) we walked around town. Sucre is known as the 'white city' as all the city center buildings are kept in the colonial white color.

 

 

 

 

In the evening we Skyped home to both set of parents. Then we went out to celebrate Thanksgiving in style – watching a movie (Taken*2) at the Bolivian theater ($7 for the both of us) and eating popcorn and sprite for dinner.

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In the spirit of the holiday (even though Martijn thinks this is ‘very’ American) here’s a short list of what we are thankful for

-this amazing trip around the world

-each other and our relationship

-email, the SPOT and Skype

-our family, friends and blog readers!

Day 290 Hostel Lockdown 21 November 2012

Today was census day in Bolivia, which occurs once every 10 years. We were lucky to experience it!

We woke up at 9am and Martijn went to get both of our tickets for breakfast. He came back to the room with only one and told Ana that her breakfast was being held hostage until she filled in a National Census form for Bolivia, like he had just done.

   

We knew it was census day and we would have to be locked in the hostel (anybody walking on the streets would be arrested by the military police) but we did not know we would actually be counted for the census. We answered questions such as name, age, country we live in, marriage status, languages, education level, and why we are in Bolivia. Later in the day we heard that we could go out of the hostel with our passport ready to be shown to military police. As we were considering this option a truck full of military police drove by the hostel and we quickly decided on staying in.

Day 289 Silver Mines in Potosi 20 November 2012

After a relaxing morning and a lunch of llama meat we booked an afternoon tour to the silver mines of Potosi.

Silver, lead and zinc are mined but copper is also found here. Before our tour into the mine we bought gifts for the proud miners and saw how the ore is processed.

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the mines, Martijn helped push a cart about 20 feet and it felt very heavy. The walk through the mines was also very difficult especially for Martijn who is about twice the height of the average miner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited El Tio, and drank 96% alcohol in his honor. The miner offer 96% alcohol so that El Tio can bless them with 96% pure silver.

 

 

 

 

Once we made it out we were treated to a once in a lifetime experience- lighting, holding and watching dynamite explode.

 

 

Ana had to go to the bathroom from the beginning of the tour, which lasted 2 hours walking hunched over in the mines. When the dynamite exploded, her fight or flight response made her body completely forget about the urge to go to the bathroom (which was getting to the point of cramping) and instead it made her yell loudly, and jump about 3 feet in the air (hence the blurry photo). About 15 minutes after the explosion, when Ana felt safe again, the urge to go was back with a vengeance. Ana had an amazing out of the textbook experience of a biological phenomena (to the point where bodily functions shut down) she had always studied but never experienced as textbook examples deal with tigers in the jungle. As a side note Martijn wants to make it clear that it was Ana’s yell that scared him, not the dynamite exploding! Sure.

Our 2.5 km route through the mountain to the other side.

For dinner we had street food at a local stand that was serving milanesa of chicken sandwiches with french-fries. For dessert we headed to a café we were told about and had a slice of banana cake and a submarine- a piece of chocolate praline in hot milk.