Her name was Lola...

  Copacabana, La Paz, Bolivia
Sunday, June 14, 2009

So it turned out that the lady who sold us the bus ticket in Cusco was a liar! she said the bus was direct from Cusco to Copacabana but we realised that was a croc of shit when we were thrown off the bus in Puno at 6 in the morning. I was not happy having to change buses but at the same time, the bus was SO COLD, i mean absolutely freezing, the coldest bus ever; and so i was keen to get off!! 

After we got off the bus it was a total mission  to find out which bus we had to get on next, but we made it in the end after a long COLD wait!  It turns out that we were really lucky in the end, because these blockades between Cusco and Copacabana turned out to be a nightmare and continued for weeks. One girl who we did the inca trail with was trapped in Cusco cos she cudnt get a bus to Bolivia for weeks! We also heard that some other people had to get off the bus at the blockade, take all their stuff and walk for 15 miles in the middle of the night - big rucksacks on back and everything! So, our bus was delayed because of them, but that was all, so it was very lucky in the end.

Anyway, we arrived in Copacabana, our first experience of Bolivia and found a hostal with a double room, ensuite with cable TV for 50 bolivanos - about 5 pound!! very happy!! but then we saw the shower...we had been warned about the Bolivian "shower of death" which is an electric shower, wired up from the lightbulb!! doesnt look safe at all, but we were assured it was and we lived to tell the tale. im just glad to be in Argentina as i write this, where the showers are the usual safe ones!!

Death by Shower

So; the whole point of going to copacabana was to see lake titicaca, the largest high altitude body of water in the world. so after the bus and the shower of death we bought tickets for a boat the next day across the lake to the Isla del Sol - one of many islands on the lake. Copacabana is at a ridiculous high 3800meters  so at night it was FREEZING. we had to layer up, and there were about 15 blankets on our bed and it was just about enough! But we survived and the next day we woke up early and went to the Isla del Sol. There is not much on the island, but the views are spectaular. We walked from the north of the island to the south which took about 3 hours and then we got the boat back to Copacabana for another cold night.

Nice Views

Doesnt it look nice

Nice views again