I entered Bolivia, my tenth country on this trip, on this day. Bolivia has different requirements for citizens of the United States. 1. US citizens pay a $100.00 fee for a visa. 2. US citizens must have a certificate that indicates that you have had a vaccine for yellow fever. I was prepared for paying the fee for the visa but I did not have the vaccine certificate for yellow fever.
Exiting Peru was very easy and only took some 15 minutes. From the Peruvian border I rode some 100 yards to Bolivia. It was almost as easy for me to enter Bolivia. Getting the necessary documents for the GS took me no more than 15 minutes. I then proceeded to the immigration office. As soon as they realized I was a US citizen, they requested the $138.00 visa fee. This fee only applies to US citizens. As for the vaccine certificate, let’s just say that an additional $12.00 satisfied that matter.
After completing my border crossing I headed to the Village of Copacabana, located on the shores of Lago Titicaca. Copacabana was a nice small town with a beautiful church in the town square. There is a very nice beachfront where people sunbathe; however, no one seemed to go into the water. At an elevation of 13,000 feet, the water was too cold for swimming.
In the area there are two islands, the Island of the Sun and the Island of the Moon. They are very popular. Both islands have ancient histories that pre-dates the Incas. Today you can see a few small ruins among the hostels, restaurants, and the local vendors selling their crafts.
Local women work on their crafts Island of the sun