Last night I decided to stay at a hostel about 15 minutes outside of town that I had heard great things about. I met a guy from Seattle while using the internet several days ago and he told me about it as he and his family (traveling with wife and 2 young kids) were staying there. It´s called Altai Oasis and I highly recommend it to anyone passing through Sorata.
Altai Oasis is a super cute little hostel that really is a small oasis in this area. There are several cabanas you can choose from, a little restaurant and bar, and all the ducks, cows, horses, dogs, and kitties you can play with! The owners are a Bolivian couple who are super friendly and full of information. They also happen to be pretty good cooks as well! I ate my first hamburger since I have been in South America there and it was quite tasty. I also met a guy from New Zealand, Derek, who has been traveling for a year and a half and is an avid climber like myself. I may have the opportunity to meet up with him in Arequipa, Peru and do some climbing.
As for today - I slept in, which was quite glorious. I had a great breakfast with fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, toast, and huevos. The coffee has a lot to be desired...they must export all the good coffee and only use instant coffee here based on my experience so far.
Today is my last day in Sorata so I decided to see the Gruta de San Pedro (San Pedro Cave). I walked 7 miles to get to the cave down a dirt road making one stop at Cafe Illampu to get a sandwich to go for lunch. The walk only took about an hour and a half and the view was really quite spectacular so I was glad I walked rather than take a taxi. I was able to see part of the Cordillera Real (mountain range) as well as many farm villages.
The cave itself was pretty neat. You can only walk about 480 meters (about 3/10ths of a mile) into the cave but I know the cave goes much further based on what I could see at the end. There is a large lake inside the cave that you used to be able to swim in but now the water source is being used in the small villages so you can only go on the lake via paddle boat. I decided to hike the little walk way along the lake instead of boat because it seemed like the best way to really see the cave. In Bolivia, there are 160 different species of murcielagos (bats) and 2 of those varieties live in the cave. I was able to see them fly around even though they are quite small.
I was able to catch a taxi back to Sorata for pretty cheap so I did that rather than walk in the sun for a couple hours. The taxi driver was totally crazy. He kept answering his cell phone and screaming into the phone in Spanish. He would then swerve to the side of the road, stop the car, and jump out screaming into the phone on the side of the road. We eventually picked up the guy he was screaming at further down the road. Who knows what it was all about but it was amusing to watch! I´m glad I made it to Sorata in one piece :)
My laundry is done and it´s time to shower and pack up for my bus adventure to Copacabana tomorrow. I heard about this really awesome place to stay so hopefully they have space when I get there!
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