Bolivia - land of the freezing cold

two of my best friends in Arequipa, Eli from Germany and Claudia from Peru

After a tearful goodbye in Arequipa, I left on a 5am bus headed for Puno, a town close to the boarder where I could hopefully catch a bus that would take me straight to Copacabana in Bolivia. Unfortunately I couldn't find a bus that did that, so I got to hop on a local ''combi'' to take me to the border. I was a little nervous because I had to have all my papers and forms ready for the Bolivian border patrol and it was my first border crossing all by my lonesome. It turned out to be quite easy, except I lost a sleeping bag on the way. Thats two sleeping bags in three years that Peru has claimed. oops

Copacabana was nice, it is right on the edge of Lake Titicaca. My hostel said it had lake views but when I arrived my tiny cell of a room didnt even have a window. There was also some weird green stuff on the wall that I was going to take a picture of for you, my friends and family, to see if you could figure out what it was, because I sure could not. But then I forgot. It will always be a mystery.

I took a boat out to the Isla del Sol my second day there and walked around the island for a few hours. Saw ruins and sacrificial stone tables. The sun was out in full force but I was still freezing! Copacabana is 12,500 ft above sea level, so it gets pretty cold there. Met more guys from the states who are cycling around South America. www.oneroadsouth.com.

Isla del Sol

An elaborate boat made out of reeds. Maybe they actually used it one day instead of it just being a tourist attraction. hopefully.

I went out to dinner at a little place that I picked because it had a space heater. (I have yet to stay in a hostel/hotel with any kind of heating. That might have something to do with the fact that I find $10 a night ridiculously expensive...) It was really tiny so when a couple came in to eat and there wasn't a table for them, the waiter just put them at the table with me. They were a really sweet gap year couple from southern England. We played jenga while we waited for our food and then they walked me home after the whole city lost power. The stars were incredible, though. I haven't seen the milky way that bright in a long long time. The power didn't come back on until 9am the next morning. crazy.

By the way, I am reading the Kite Runner right now, which is incredible. I also have Wuthering Heights waiting for me in my backpack and just found Nickled and Dimed at a book exchange. I've got some good reading ahead of me.

I arrived in La Paz on Wednesday, and I'm couch surfing (www.couchsurfing.com) with a guy from Australia who is living here. There are also two other girls staying with him, and we have been having a great time together. Couch surfing is great but it unfortunately makes you never want to leave the house. Yesterday was the bicentennial celebration of the independence of La Paz, so Wednesday night I met a bunch of couchsurfers downtown to watch the parade. Then we made our way up the hill (slooowly, La Paz is at almost 12,000 ft.) to watch a concert. It was interesting seeing people walk around with full bottles of liquor and see the traditional music on stage, but I was freezing and tired so I took off to meet my Irish friends at their hostel. It was great to see them again and we made plans to do a tour of the uyuni salt flats (sounds incredible... google it and look at the pictures) when they get back from the jungle next week.

A street in La Paz

I got really bad food poisoning on Wednesday and spent all day Thursday on the couch watching Six Feet Under. (such a great show!!) Thursday was a horrible day but I woke up feeling 100% better yesterday. We spent the day walking around the city, drinking coffee, eating $2 lunches and shopping. I bought a beauuuutiful jacket that I have been wearing ever since.

Now I'll head to Cochabamba tonight (hopefully will find Harry Potter playing at the cinema...) and then to a little town called Villa Tunari on the edge of the Amazon basin to warm up a little and visit my friend who is working at an animal refuge.

Love and miss you and want to hear from you!!