Río Desaguadero

The border crossing to Bolivia was relatively uneventful. We stayed the night before in Puno, located on Lake Titicaca, which, at 12,506 feet, is the world's biggest navigable body of water. It has 699 miles of shoreline.

Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in South America. There are a minimum number of paved roads, substandard housing abounds, and the cities are dirty with buildings of peeling paint, crumbling walls, and unsecure tin rooves. Graffiti everywhere.

More importantly, the country is in the middle of a political crisis. Recent presidential elections declared Evo Morales, the incumbent who forced a change to the Constitution to bypass term limits rules, the winner, amidst claims of massive election fraud. Protestors have taken to the streets creating roadblocks throughout much of the country.

This was not unknown to us. We've been following the news, keeping up with US Embassy updates, and had a discussion with the Bolivian consulate in Peru. We have changed our plans to omit many of the cities and sites we had on our itinerary, and are now focused on getting to Uyuni, where we pick up the Laguna Trail. The trail is completely off the beaten path, so hopefully it is not the focus of political protestors.Read more