Tiesto Concert in La Paz

My second night in La Paz I went from drinking beer in a Jacuzzi to rushing around the streets of La Paz looking for the stadium which was hosting the Tiesto concert.
I had left Copacabana with one of the English girls leaving the other two, to their homeless travelling Argentinean beach party. I was at my fill of dread locks, the smell of marijuana, macramé jewellery and bongo drums. Our first night in La Paz wasn’t the greatest in a dirty hostel with an 11:00pm curfew, so not expectable. We shelled out some extra bolivianos for huge beds, a private bath, breakfast, internet, happy hour and a Jacuzzi. I was informed by some Aussies that Tiesto was having a concert that night and when the English girls met up with me I downed my beer jumped out of the Jacuzzi and was off on a mission. We needed to find the concert grounds and touts selling tickets on the street as the hostal's suuply had sold out. It turned out to be a mission indeed after we arrived at the wrong stadium and the directions weren’t so clear from randoms on the street. I stopped a sports car blaring music thinking he would have to know where it is. He gave us the name of the place and we were off running again. Holding out the hope we could still get tickets.
The smell of street meat on coal fires and the presence of police told us we were close. Rounding a corner we saw the sign and a massive crowd waiting to get in. Who knew Tiesto had such a following in Bolivia. Each of us split up looking for ticket touts and the best deal. I found a group of young Bolivian guys selling tickets for 150 Bolivianos which was a good deal. We had some concerns about if they were fake but, bought them anyway. Then the sight of the line winding down the street and through a neighbourhood took us back and we were at the end of it. At least we had our tickets and were for sure getting in. We felt better about the legitimacy of the tickets after being in the line with the guys who we bought them from. They were all around 20 years old and students. They charged us a bit more than the asking price but it worked out in the end because they feed us an endless supply of wine in the line and beer inside. It seemed bottles of wine magically came out of the darkness.
Having skipped dinner I had to buy some of the fragrant street meat with potatoes which was put in a bag for me to take away. As we were allowed to enter the grounds and had to walk for ages to get to the actual gate, I had to run to catch up holding my meat in a bag, the Bolivian boys laughed at me as I yelled, “Tengo carne en una bolsa!”
A huge stage was in front of us and the lights of La Paz surrounded us, it was an impressive scene. An Argentinean DJ got the crowd started with some great mixes but they went wild when he mixed Got a Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. Then after much chanting Tiesto came out with a spectacle of lights and visuals. Girls were up on guy’s shoulders; arms up in the air and bodies didn’t stop moving until he was finished. The time flew by and I didn’t realize it was close to 1:00am when Tiesto mixed his final song. The energy was amazing and I couldn’t stop smiling. It truly was a once in a life time experience.

Copacabana: Police Party and Procession

We were relieved and happy to be in Copacabana after the border crossing episode. It’s quite an interesting town with a hippy traveller vibe. Loads of travelling artesian Argentineans work in the restaurants sell their jewellery or just play bongos on the street.
After a nice meal and wine we headed back to the hostel exhausted but along the way we came across a concert which turned out to be for the police. It was the day of the virgin of Copacabana who is also the patron of the police. We stood watching the music and dangerous display of fireworks spaying the crowd but were soon in a circle dancing with Bolivian men. A hot alcohol called Te con Te was being passed around as well as bottles of a mystery liquor similar to aguadiente. Every 2 minutes we were yelling salud! Then Baile! Baile! Sante! Sante! These guys were completely insane and I couldn’t stop laughing. More alcohol was being passed as well as bags of coca leaves. In between the bands the heads of police did little skits which were hilarious. Later on men came with trays of chicken sandwiches and all of these treats were free. We danced until 1:00am then the grand finale of fireworks was set off. It was a completely random first night in Bolivia.
Our first morning didn’t let down either. We went to find the procession and discovered all the drunken men we were partying with last night were police officers. As they marched past us they yelled out, “Sasha! Sasha!” For some reason they only remembered her name. We followed the procession to the lake where the virgin was being put on a boat and people were getting on other boats to follow her around Lake Titicaca. Not wanting to miss an opportunity I told our new police friends I wanted to get on a boat as well so we boarded one yelling, “Follow that virgin!” We were the only tourists in the boat procession and some of the only few who weren’t police aboard. I just kept thinking back to the guy who told me that Copacabana wasn’t that great. It just goes to show everyone can have a completely different experience in the same place. So if you are sent on going somewhere listen to yourself not other people’s opinions and you may have an amazing crazy time.

Border Crossings: Peru - Bolivia

A friend and avid traveller once told me one of his favourite things about travelling is walking across borders. With just a few steps you enter a whole different world. At the time though I didn’t quite understand him, I had worked for an airline and flew everywhere.

Since my first border walk across at the Taba Ilat border to enter Israel I have collected many stamps and fought my way through the hectic furry that comes with crossing a border, the guys on bikes trying to rip you off, people trying to sell you a tourist form that is actually free, money exchangers following you. Although it can be frustrating and sometimes stressful I have come to appreciate what my friend was talking about. Past all the nonsense and with a few steps is a different country, an unknown place yet to be discovered, sometimes a different language, different landscape or the differences could be subtle, the vendors on the buses are yelling out gaseosas instead of refrescos.

Then there was the Peru – Bolivia border crossing. I decided to leave with the English girls for Bolivia. Another traveller in the hostel asked when our bus was leaving and what company we were going with, a traveller with a plan. Our idea was just to show up and hop on the next bus. Everything seemed to go smoothly in the beginning; we got onto a bus to Puno right away. Once in Puno everyone told us we didn’t have enough time to get to the border. It was 3:00pm and the border closed at 6:00pm. I figured they were lying; we could easily get the local transport and get there. The girls were too worried because they figured I was older and more travelled therefore knew what I was doing, little did they know even though I have been doing this for years I still fumbled my way through. We found a collective bus that was supposed to take us to the border. I was starting to worry when I looked down at my IPod and saw that it was 5:20pm. We got dropped at road crossing and as soon as we got off we were being harassed by a taxi driver. He was trying to promise to take us to the border direct on his bus for 5 soles each, which is ridiculous. I was trying to talk to another bus driver and the girls with him yelling in my ear. I turned around and Shushed him while Sasha yelled, “No es un bus es un taxi!!” I made an executive decision to take the collective bus for 1 sole. As soon as I got on the bus I felt 4 more soles might have been worth it to guarantee our arrival at the border on time. We were in a panic realizing the bus drivers here are not at all like the crazy ones in Lima. A bus with the name Kevin over took us. Why weren’t we on Kevin?! Time was running out and we made it to the dodgy border town by 6:00pm but the actual border was still a taxi ride away. I was determined to make it across no matter what. I mean there isn’t a wall separating the two countries, we could just made a run for it and be illegal in Bolivia. We had to run from one plaza to another to actually get a taxi. Katie suggested just staying in the border town but I was determined to get across. We got mixed messages about when the border closes and our new taxi driver told us it was still open. A little light of hope but Sasha wasn’t convinced. I think our hearts stopped pounding when we saw it open and a tourist bus pulling through. We just slipped by as we got our exit stamps leaving a giant statue of Cusquena beer and Peru behind. As we entered Bolivia the gates closed behind us.