Puno, Peru to La Paz, Bolivia

4:09 PM Jenn Hughes 0 Comments

Andrea's perspective 

We survived the damn hike "that we had no idea that we were doing!" It still haunts me to this day (LOL!). We bought our tickets and we were on our way to Puno, Peru. I was excited to get there due to I heard great things about Lake Titicaca. The bus ride was during the day and we arrived safely at our hostel called the Cozy Hostel. It was a cute little hostel with a bunch of amenities! It had a printer, Wifi, laundry service, and most importantly we had our own beds again and our own bathroom! We spent the day exploring Puno and booked a tour through Jumbo tours to explore Lake Titicaca. Dinner that night was had a very cool view of the Plaza and there was even a parade going on for the local schools! The next day we started our tour on Lake Titicaca. I was quite nervous to be on a boat considering I get motion sickness very easily but this boat ride was a dream! We stopped at a little island called Islas Uros. When I say little I'm talking it could barely hold our tour group and the inhabitants who lived there. It was very cool to see how the native people live! We then made our way to a much bigger island called, "Taquile." The most I can take away from this island was that there was a lot of walking. Normally I would love to walk a lot but after surviving (and thriving!) in the Colca Canyon I was kind of over walking, especially with the altitude. The views from the island were very cool! It was amazing we were on a lake because it looked like the ocean! The day was sunny and bright and we had a nice lunch on top of the island. We then made our way back to Puno. 

When we got back to Puno we heard of a company called Bolivia Hop who help tourists cross over into Bolivia. We were very nervous about crossing the Bolivian borders due to hearing horror stories from other Americans who tried and were denied. We had read about the process and had all of the necessary paperwork (passport photo, $160 in USD, exit paperwork proving when we were leaving Bolivia, bank statement, amongst other papers) but we were still nervous about crossing. So when we heard about this company that helps provide services to people who want to cross we were intrigued! We researched some more and then decided to book! The next morning we were picked up by a man name, Walter. He helped us complete the paperwork and we watched "Zoolander," waiting in anticipation to cross. We finally made our way across the border and our new guide, Alejandro met us. He went over all of documentations with us Americans and assured us we were ok! And he was right! We all successfully crossed into Bolivia and the $49  Bolivia Hop charged us was totally worth it! And we all may or may not have had a huge dad crush on Alejandro too! He was very, very good looking and had an amazing accent. 

After we crossed into Bolivia we stopped at a town called Copacabana. It reminded me of a beach town and we were able to eat lunch and relax before our bus ride into La Paz. Bolivia Hop once again impressed us because on our way to La Paz we watched a movie (in english!) and we were provided popcorn and water! We arrived in La Paz at night and Bolivia Hop dropped us off at the doorsteps of our hostel, "Bunkie Hostel," yet another perk from Bolivia Hop! From the outside it looked like a haunted mansion from Casper, and the inside said the same. When we walked up the stairs and were greeted by our hostel host we were ready for bed! We shared a dorm room with three other girls. Now I believe that there are certain hostel etiquette that we all should follow. This said etiquette includes not being loud in the morning or talking at night when people are sleeping, right?! But unfortunately these girls must have not gotten the hostel etiquette manual before they left on their trip because they were loud at night and in the morning and when I say morning it was 7:30AM. Ugh, so long story short- not everyone is considerate- lesson learned!

The next day we explored La Paz and relaxed. Throughout this trip I have begun to realize that burn out is a real thing when you're traveling (not just at work and life!). It especially hit me on our way to La Paz, Bolivia. I was drained. I experienced the worst migraine on the bus ride to La Paz and was exhausted. I realized that I need to take time for myself to just relax because in the last week were hiking/trekking, getting up before the birds to catch buses, and walked miles around cities took a toll on me. There was a reason we had a delay in between our blog posts because we all felt the burn out! Luckily, we were able to relax in our hostel (with Wifi!) and catch up on the lack of sleep we were getting nights before!

Our second day in La Paz, we bought tickets for 6 bolivianos ($.87) to ride the Telefrico. It was totally worth it! It was a cable car that took us above La Paz. We were able to sit and watch the city from above! We realized at that exact moment that La Paz was HUGE!!! We then ate at a mexican restaurant, Kalikitas that had awesome reviews and the reviews held up! It was the best service and food we had experienced in a while. We then made our way back to our hostel and rented a bed for 60 Bolivianos for four hours to just chill and charge our phones before we caught ( you guessed it) another bus. We then made our way to the bus station Todo Tourismo and caught an overnight bus to Uyuni. See you all in a different town next!