Bolivia - current affairs & travel plans

Since I'm on my way to Bolivia - via Lago Titicaca - I thought you'd deserve a bit of background information on what's happening there and what I'm planning to see:

• Deutschlandfunk features "Gespaltene Anden-Republik" - German text - German audio (18m27s)


• The Economist titles "Divided we rule" - English text


• L'Express writes "Bolivie: la région la plus riche vote son autonomie" - French text


• Le Monde cringes "En Bolivie, Evo Morales joue son va-tout dans un référendum sur son mandat" - French text


• El Pais warns "'Empate catastrófico' y derrota de todos" - Spanish text

Right, I'm out of languages and you're probably out of patience, so here are my plans for the next weeks:

I've headed out from Cusco to Puno on Lago Titicaca - by panoramic train for a whopping 140 USD - and am now planning on island-hopping across to Bolivia. A short 3-day trek along the shore of the lake would be great, but since temperatures drop down to -8ºC at night, neither my tent, nor longjohns, nor my sleeping bag would be much help.

Next, Im either heading to La Paz or down to the jungle close to the Peruvian border to stay in an Ecolodge for a few days and get a rest from all the mountains.

The Salar de Uyuni is definitely on my radar, as is at least one more trek through the mountains. Problem so far: I've not found anyone to come along with me. But then again I've no detailed plans for the rest of Bolivia so far and I'm ashamed to admit I've yet to look at most of the section on Bolivia in my Lonely Planet.