In South America, peñas are or (are supposed to be) bars or restaurants where people get together to play traditional folkloric music, eat, drink and be merry. Intrigued, we first attempted to go to a peña in Arequipa, Peru. However, the one listed in the Lonely Planet just didn’t exist. We asked a couple of locals if they knew where it was. They didn’t. One of them looked it up on his iphone and found the Lonely Planet entry and sent…
Arrival La Paz is quite literally breathtaking. At an elevation of between 3,200m and 4,100m above sea level, even a leisurely stroll around the city centre can leave you feeling short of breath. Most people arrive into La Paz from El Alto, which is actually another city in itself, growing fast into the flat plains above the capital. The view of La Paz as you travel into the city from ,El Alto, is incredible. The cable cars are a…
The beautiful Isla del Sol The Isla del Sol is another island on Lake Titicaca, but is reached from the Bolivian side (see previous post on our visit to Puno in Peru). We had been told that the island was a ‘must see’ in Bolivia and so we left Peru behind, crossed the border and made our way to Copacabana. Bye bye Peru! Hello Bolivia! Hmmm let’s hope this doesn’t take too long! The small town made me feel even…