Thursday, May 7, 2009

The conveyor belt of Isla del Sol

The island of the sun and the birth place of the Inca creation myth, where the eye´s of the puma can be seen in the sacred rock during summer solstice and where it is believed that the sun was born. It would appear that mysticism does not come for free.
  • Return trip to the island: 20Bs
  • Entry ticket for the museum (that I didn´t go in but still had to pay) and for the sacred rock: 5bs
  • Check point to make sure you had your ticket.
  • Tip for the non-english speaking guide who picked us up ambling around said sacred rock: 5bs
  • Entry to the middle part of the island, and to visit the village that we didn´t visit: 5bs
  • Checkpoint to make sure that you had your second ticket (and another 5bs for the poor girl we were with who had lost hers)
  • Ticket required to leave from the south side of the island: 5bs

I´m sure not all of that was in the small print when I signed up.


On the trail...

A few days ago I left La Paz heading for the clear blue allure of lake Titicaca. On the day I left I swung by one of the myriad of tour group operaters to pick up my free "I rode the world´s most dangerous road and survived!" t-shirt. I then went to the markets and bought a llama wool hoody (orange) and from another shop a few streets down some handwoven llama´s wool socks. I then got on a bus where everyone else there had probably needed an international flight to get there and sat for four hours taking pictures of the pretty scenery through the window.

I might go and get "gringo" tatooed to by forehead just in case there´s anyone left in any doubt.