Beginning Bolivia in Copacabana and La Paz

After an awesome ride from Puno to Copacabana with Bolivia Hop for an easy border crossing, I found myself in the third country of the trip. Left my stuff at my hostel and took the boat to Isla del Sol. The short walk across the south end of the island was very pretty on the way up...

And a great view at the highest point....

Then another boat ride back to Copacabana. Which looks beautiful from the water...

And also looks fantastic at sunset...

I had a quiet night in a hostel room to myself! And a long sleep because yes, altitude still hates me. There wasn't much else to see in Copacabana, but I found some great food the next day and walked around the main streets and shops before catching the bus to La Paz.
I was sad that part of that bus ride was in the dark because it was so beautiful at first, even with the picture quality you get from a bus window you can tell!

I was dropped off right at my hostel in La Paz and fortunately on time, we didn't encounter any of the blockades that are frequently present around the city. I enjoyed a few drinks at the hostel bar, with fellow Canadian, Jeff from Calgary, a great opportunity to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving!
Next morning I joined two girls from England, Grace and Charlotte, to ride a couple of the city cable cars. While being great for giving tourists awesome views of the city, the cable cars are actually largely used by locals for transportation, like a metro in the air! And they really do give amazing views!

We did a round trip on 2/3 of the cities cars, the yellow and green lines. (The third being red, making up the three Bolivian colours!)

After returning to the hostel for some quick food, we joined the other people from the hostel heading to the football match. World Cup qualification game of Bolivia vs. Ecuador. With our faces appropriately painted, we enjoyed cheering for Bolivia, who lead 2-0 at half time, but ended up finishing with a 2-2 tie.

It was a really fun game! And very fitting that I attended my first professional football match in South America.

After the walk back to the hostel, Jeff, Charlotte, Grace and I had a delicious dinner at an adorable cafe that reminded me of something out of Alice in Wonderland, multiple floors that kept getting bigger as we went up. Then a few more drinks together at the hostel bar.

Next day in La Paz I joined a walking tour recommended highly by other people at the hostel. And recommended with good reason! It was really fun and really informative. We walked to San Pedro square and learned about San Pedro Prison (seriously guys, google it, it's crazy, like it's own society, with homes, jobs, rules, paid entry etc. A city within the city!). Then local Rodriguez market for a discussion of Aymaran traditions and onto the Witches market. Where they have llama fetuses, both with and without hair, used for rituals along with other items, coca, wine, liquor, sugar. Rituals for money, business, health, construction etc. They also have potions for love, for good relationships, and a Bolivian viagra potion. While tempting to try, I'll have to take the locals word on their effects as I didn't make any purchases of my own! Lastly, we heard about a supposed urban myth about human sacrifices for large construction projects, where a live person is buried in the concrete (usually an alcoholic or drug addict that's been found who has no family) as an offering to Pachamama (Mother Earth). Supposed urban myth because it doesn't happen anymore but skeletons have been found in torn down buildings. So there's that.
We also went to the beautiful San Francisco Square...

And then had delicious fruit juices, fruit salads, and papas rellenas,
(seriously delicious deep fried potato meat pouches) at an indoor market.
Last place was the main square, Plaza Murillo, location of the parliament and Presidential Palace...

With the 'Clock of the South' in reverse on the Congress building..

We were given a brief political history of Bolivia, stories of presidents in La Paz, times of constant coups and civil unrest leading up to the current president, Evo Morales, his interesting personality, recent slow economic improvement and movement towards socialism. It was an amazingly informative walking tour and has piqued my interest in the history of Bolivia.. I will definitely be doing some more reading!
A few more La Paz views before the tour concluded...

I had supper with a couple from New Zealand that I met on the tour and then I headed to the bus station for the night ride to Sucre. Doesn't feel like there's been enough days since my last night bus but I just can't deny the convenience of combined transportation and accommodation! And being able to go on a day where there's no strikes! I'd met multiple people at the hostel who had been stuck extra days unable to get to Sucre or Copacabana due to strikes, or had issues with blockades, so I will continue to take my event free transportation without complaint!