09/03 Took off from Copacabana under sunny skies. The road climbed up out of Copacabana all the way to 14,000 feet before it leveled out a bit. Traffic was very light and the road was in excellent condition. There were no villages or anything next to the road but the lake offered plenty of great views.
The peninsula ends at a little town called San Pedro de Tiquina where you have to catch a ride across the Estrecho de Tiquina in order to continue on. There are boats for people and boats for vehicles so I followed a van onto one of the flat bottom car transports and held on for the ride across. It took about 10 minutes and cost B10. “Normally” I pay double the passenger rate, B1.50 according to Lonely Planet, so of course I got screwed but it beats swimming.
I could have kept going on the other side but there was another big hill waiting for me and since it wasn’t going anywhere I figured I’d hang out for the night. Found a place to stay on the main road across from the big market building. The next day was uneventful. I stayed in a very dusty town called Comunidad Kollke Amaya at the only place in town. It got cold last night. It was 40 F in my room in the morning.
Drivers in Bolivia don’t seem to be as exuberant when it comes to slamming on their horn which I’m liking a lot. Hope it stays that way. I’m going to have to be careful not to carry bills larger than B20 ($2.89 US) . Getting change for anything bigger is very difficult given the economic situation. Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America with the per capita income being $4,800 per year (only Honduras and Nicaragua are lower). 30% of the population of 10.1 million live in poverty (less than $2 a day).
Riding into La Paz was a mess but mostly because I rode past where I wanted to turn (street signs are good people). Riding back meant going up hill on the sidewalk because the streets were all one-way or went through tunnels which wouldn’t have been a good idea. 2.3 million people live in the La Paz metropolitan area which means mucho traffic (and smog which I haven’t seen for a long time). In fact it was so crazy and the roads are so bad for riding that I think I’m going to take a cab from the hotel to the outskirts of the city. It’ll save me a ride back up the canyon and probably a lot of aggravation. I was only going to stay here until Sunday but the banks are all closed and I need these B100′s changed.
Update: I just read that tomorrow is National Pedestrian Day. No motor vehicle traffic, except for a few vehicles with special authorization, will be allowed on the streets between 9am and 6pm. I love it!
Entries (RSS)