Attitude at Altitude

Wow, it's been a long time!  Thanks again to those who have been pushing me to update.  We've been back from winter vacation for just over two weeks now, but I'm just now getting some free time to share my experiences over the last month.  So if you're game, stick around for these 5 posts (I'll put up one a day to keep you on the edge of your seat) and you'll know all kinds of fun things.

Jon and Barry, great friends from high school, were along every step of the way.  We had some great adventures!  Here's a map to follow along.

Everything started on Sunday the 7th.  The three of us headed up to Valle Nevado (translation: snowy valley) to ski and snowboard for two days.  Those little buildings in the middle of the picture are the hotel complex.  We got a great deal and had a great time.  Valle is a little more fancy than El Colorado, and the snow and runs tend to be better.

Easily our favorite run.  Way over the ridge and far beyond the last lift, this is every rider's dream.  Just wide open dry powder gently sloping down, and there was no one else anywhere in sight.  That's me at the bottom of the picture with my arms up.  The scenery was incredible and I could never do it justice with a camera.  This was one of the most unique experiences I've ever had snowboarding--it just felt like we were in the middle of the mountains, miles away from any sort of civilization.  It was special.

After seeing the Santiago sights for a day, we flew to La Paz, Bolivia on Wednesday along with Laura, Ryan, and Sarah.  This was our first view of the city.  It's built high up (way high up--approaching 12,000 feet) on a series of very steep hills.  The airport is on the rim of this huge bowl which is surrounded by beautiful mountains.

Our first afternoon in Bolivia was spent checking out the various markets around the city center.  We encountered lots of interesting religious traditions including this one: they buy and bury a dried llama fetus below the cornerstone of their houses for good luck.  They also are very into herbal remedies and brew said remedies in huge pots in the markets.  The culture here was fascinating.

Remember those beautiful mountains?  Here's one of them rising above the valley.  Not a bad view at all.

Our one night out in La Paz began with dinner (around $2 US--so cheap) at a small restaurant above a city plaza.  We then walked to a bar filled with cool antiques.

This is where we tasted our first coca tea.  The altitude affected us all a little differently, and thank goodness no one really got altitude sickness but we all had a little headache or fever at some point or another.  The coca tea really did help and I made a point of having at least 3 cups a day.  With a little sugar it's actually quite good.

After the antiques bar we walked to a city lookout that gave a 360 degree view of La Paz.  The city lit up at night reminded me so much of Quito.  It was beautiful.

Thursday was our first of many early mornings.  We were picked up at our hostel by our private van and guide to see the Tiwanaku ruins.  This civilization existed sometime between 1000 BC and 1000 AD then disappeared off the face of the map.  The Incas took lots of their architecture and religious customs evidenced in several of their own constructions.  Here is the group in front of the main temple which has only been maybe 20% uncovered.

The sun gate, easily the most famous Tiwanaku piece.  In its original position, it lined up with the temple entrance in the picture above and on the day of the solstice the sun rose directly through both gates.  Impressive planning.

The big god in the center is the creater of the sun and the earth.  The sides are filled with pictures of the condor god, guarder of all things in the sky.

After Tiwanaku we drove to Copacabana, right on the shore of Lake Titicaca, known as the highest navigable lake in the world.  It's also huge.  This was our first view of the lake.

Copacabana beach.  The views here were stunning.

It wouldn't be a true South American trip without trying some sort of rare delicacy, so here's Jon trying cow hearts.  We were told the sauce makes all the difference.  They were actually pretty good.

Friday morning we caught a ferry to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun), the biggest island on Titicaca.  There is a well established village on the island and it's obvious the Incas hailed this as an important place.  Jon, Barry, and I saw it as a great opportunity to go swimming.  Chalk one more South American lake up for me.  For the record, this one was cold, but not as cold as Torres del Paine or Quilotoa.

The Incas did a lot of terracing on the steep hills all over their empire.  The terraces were used to have level farmland and to prevent erosion.  Or, if you're into hypothesizing, maybe they were all giants and they used the terraces as steps.

Speaking of giants, the Incas believed these were footprints of the gods etched into the rock.  We matched them up to Laura's footprint.

There are mysterious springs coming out of the sides of the island.  This one was found at the center of an Inca labyrinth and was quite possibly the inspiration for the fountain of youth.  We washed with the water, so we'll see what happens.

The labyrinth was fun to run around.  Nothing that really required solving but lots of cool rooms and impressive planning on the hillside.

This hike was pretty intense.  There were very steep ascents and even steeper descents.  We really felt the altitude today--you would take a deep breath and the air just wasn't there.  We took our time and all made it through just in time to catch a ferry back to Copacabana.

The three Edina grads at the highest point of the hike.  What a beautiful spot.  The color of the lake was fantastic.

We were a little nervous about catching our bus to cross the border so since Jon Barry and I got back a little earlier we grabbed everyone's bag and met the others at the bus.  We were pretty overloaded and Ryan decided a picture was in order.  Logistics were a little stressful at times but almost everything worked out as planned--stay tuned for the "almost" part.

The border crossing at Kasani was pretty close to Copacabana (on the South shore of the lake) then we continued on to Puno where we stayed the night.

Bolivia was a very interesting country and I would definitely like to go back to spend more time there.  We missed out on big hits like the world's most dangerous road and the Uyuni Salt Flats.  I would not rule out another trip to Bolivia in the coming months!

I caught Barry with the Peru entrance sign.  Lots of great shenanigans to come, watch tomorrow for another post!