Titicaca and copacabana
Trip Start
May 07, 2009
1
15
26
Trip End
Sep 04, 2009
Copacabana, Bolivia
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Everyone says that the Bolivian side of lake Titicaca is the best, and I was really looking forward to getting to Copacabana and relaxing.
The bus from Cusco had us coming into Puno, on the Peruvian side of the lake at about 4.00am, where we were told that the connecting bus to Copacabana would leave in 3.5 hours. So upstairs we went to the café for an early morning omelette and then we waiting in the freezing cold for our bus to leave. Finally when we were on the road again it wasn't too long before we were at the border, completed the formalities and then unloading our backpacks from the belly of the bus, in Copacabana.
We walked into the first hotel we could find, luckily we scored with one that had cable tv and an ensuite. I was feeling the affects of the altitude so slept for a few hours while Milli walked around.
The next day was our half day trip to Isla Del Sol, the boat painstakingly crawling along, giving us only an hour to walk around the island before we had to return. Copacabana is a very small town, with lots of restaurants selling trout, while a nice place we were done with it after two nights and couldn't wait to get to La Paz.
The bus ride to La Paz was interesting - at once point we all had to disembark and get into old, decrepit boats to cross over the lake, while the bus was put onto a glorified wooden raft with a motor. Apparently they only started making people go on separate boats after a raft with a bus full of people capsized a few years ago.
Milli says:
We changed buses in Puno early in the morning and it was nice to see the sun rise over lake Titicaca. Then we were off again, winding around the lake to get to Bolivia. Went through immigration on both sides and then stopped 8kms later at Copacabana.
The bus dropped us on the edge of town and so with my neck we didn't walk too far until we stopped at a hostel. To be fair we didn't take the first one but it was soon after..
It turned out to be a good one, right near the busy street with market stalls, bars and restaurants, and the view from our window looked down to the lake which was gorgeous as the sun rose over it.
Shane was not so well so I went to get food, as the gatherer that I am. I ordered a pizza and then remembered friends telling us not to eat cheese in Bolivia. Damn.
Ate it and all was well, later went over the other side of town to look for a pharmacy as Shane was getting a cold - possibly due to wearing thongs and light clothing on the chilly bus ride down. The altitude makes it VERY cold in the shadows and at night, though the days are quite warm.
We went out for a wander at night, ate at a cosy warm place and also booked a half day tour to Isla del Sol on the lake.
The next morning we were up early and down to the lake, then proceeded to go on one of the longest and most boring boat rides. It didn't help that a group of girls was annoying and loud the whole way, and it didn't help that the boat was going very very VERY slowly.
But we finally made it to the island, only to find that we were running late and had 40 minutes to look around. I leapt up the steps in the hill but soon stopped as my lungs were screaming because of the altitude. Seeing a lake you think sea level because its water and sea is water and...maybe that's just me...but this lake is about 3400 meters above sea level. Its huge and makes me think of Lake Baikal, both are just beautiful. Anyway, dying on the steps up the hill and I couldn't go any further. I took some photos of donkeys just hanging around and some of the local wildflowers, but didn't have anymore time to even think about looking up the top of the hill and further over the island to the Incan ruins. Definitely should have done the overnight tour, disappointed.
Came back down and took some more photos of shaggy long haired donkeys (!?) and then we were back on a boat! This time we stopped on another corner of the island to see a ruined temple which was nice, though we didn't get out as the last time we did we were accosted for another payment that was NOT in the brochure. Bah.
The view from the island and back on the boat to Copacabana was amazing, with snow capped mountains on the horizon and a clear blue sky.
We came back, had lunch and napped in our hostel for the rest of the day!
The next morning we had a nice breakfast at an Aussie adorned restaurant and then took the bus to La Paz.
