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| Coming into Caja Cachi |
As we had planned this route from La Paz, we knew we were going to have to do something different at the border crossing. The way we wanted to go along the Ruta De Los Tres Cordilleras did not have any border crossing stations. To solve this, we planned on doing what the bike packers had done originally - go off trail to Puerto Acosta and get our passports stamped. Then to go into Tilali, Peru and get our passport stamped in before we're actually in the country. It sounds kind of confusing and overwhelming. In the end it wasn't too much hassle. Here's the story:
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The border office in
Puerto Acosta, Bolivia |
We made our way from Sorata up and over the mountain passes to the small town of Caja Cachi. From Caja Cachi we took some local transport, winding our way down out of the mountains and along Lake Titicaca into the border town of Puerto Acosta. We spent the evening finding lodging (there are only two hostels in town, and I wouldn't recommend either), eating, and talking about how to explain our plan to the Border Guards. The next day we shopped to resupply for our next stretch and then made our way down to the Border Station on the edge of town.
Unfortunately, we had just missed the border station's morning window, and he was out to lunch for the next two hours or so. The guards next door lifting and lowering the road block were quite nice. Fidgit talked with them in hopes that they would put a good word in when it came time to explain our situation to the border guard. I think her schmoozing worked, because the guy ushered us into the office after his return and stamped our passports after minimal questioning. He then asked us many questions about our journey and even helped us find a ride to Tilali, Peru that evening by asking each passing vehicle if they could take us!
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| The border guard had a wall of visitors, and added us! |
We bounced along the dirt road to Tilali, and the driver waited for us on the outskirts of town as we walked a couple of kilometers into the square. The border guard in Peru was very nice, and even gave us some information on his hometown of Cusco. We then went back to the waiting driver, and headed back to Bolivia.
When we got back to the hostel, we both breathed a sigh of relief knowing that we wouldn't have to go through the border hassle again for a while - Peru is our last country before returning to the U.S. to wait out the rainy season.
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| Lake Titicaca from the Peruvian border |
The next day, we got on another van and headed back to Caja Cachi. We then headed toward the actual area of the Bolivia/Peru border we were going to cross.
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| Border office in Tilali, Peru |
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| Happy to be done with passport stamps! |
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Main square in Puerto Acosta, Bolivia. They
were having a Sunday Feria |
