Isla del Sol

I spent the last 2 days trekking around on Isla del Sol, an island in lake Titicaca. The lake looks like the ocean, its so huge! I really enjoyed being by the water, since thats the last water Ill see until I get to Buenos Aires in a couple of months. And the surrounding area is very Mediterranean-esque, except MUCH cheaper. Bolivia really is dirt cheap, a hotel room with a view, breakfast and dinner was less than $10. The island was full of small villages, and lots of donkeys, llamas and sheep running around. I started in the north end of the island, walked along white sand beaches then up onto a ridge where there were lots of old ruins and incredible views. The 4 hour trail led to the south end of the island where there were lots of hotels to choose from, as well as several young sort of helpful children trying to convince me to go to their respective hotel. I enjoyed the quiet and solitude after Cusco, which was definitely a much crazier place. The second day was spent wandering around, then taking a boat ride back to Copacabana for the evening. While wandering in the ruins I met a Danish guy and we went for dinner at one of the best Italian restaurants I have ever been to! I never thought I would eat such good lasagna in a tiny town in Bolivia. It was even somewhat local because the lasagna was made with local trout from the lake.

I was a bit sad to leave Copacabana today, small towns are really nice because you dont have to worry about safety, and they are easy to navigate as well. Now I’m in La Paz the capital of Bolivia, which is definitely a crazy South American city. Its a bit like Lima again, except less smog, and is very busy with people and cars, and vendors selling anything you could possibly imagine. Getting here was also another experience with organized chaos. I bought my ticket from the hotel desk, and then began to walk to the bus. Then the hotel guy told me I had to wait. So I waited 10 minutes at which point he picked up my bags and said ‘ok, now we can go’ and took me to the bus himself! Why I couldnt have just gone before I dont know. Then when crossing part of lake Titicaca the bus went on a really sketchy looking barge and the rest of us were taken across on a tiny little boat, watching the bus hoping that the barge didn’t sink to the bottom of the lake with all my possessions. Travelling in Bolivia will definitely be more of a challenge than Peru. Things can be cancelled on a whim and the country is prone to civil uprisings, of which there have been more of lately. While talking to some tour operators today they warned me to watch out for random demonstrations around the city. Apparently road blocks can also spring up, preventing any travel in and out of some cities. So I will have to leave lots of time for travelling around Bolivia.

Bolivia border crossing

I had read a lot about how a traveller in Bolivia should expect delays for no apparent reason, and that getting around would be a bit more of a challenge then in Peru, and I definitely had a taste of this today. Last night at 10pm I boarded my ´direct´ bus to Copacabana, Bolivia. Then at 7am this morning the bus was stopped by a massive traffic accident where two trucks had collided, spilt all the rice they were carrying and were blocking the road! It was quite the scene with everybody from nearby villages coming to look at the accident, and all the giant tour buses trying to get by on the sketchy road. After a 3 hour delay we made it through. Then a bit later in the middle of nowhere we are told that those of us going to Copacabana need to get off the bus and transfer to a small local bus. So much for my direct ticket. So we transfer buses, all the while the driver chatting to us in Spanish, none of which myself and the two Germans I was with understood. Then 15 minutes later, again in the middle of nowhere we are dropped by the side of the road and the driver points to an immigration sign up the road. We managed to get our Peru exit stamps, then walk down the road to cross the border into Bolivia where we got our entry stamps. While waiting in line for our entry stamps a taxi driver comes up to us who is apparently supposed to take us into Copacabana. Travel in South America is a highly organized form of disorganization, if that makes sense.

So 14 hours after leaving Cusco I arrived in Copacabana, Bolivia. A tiny lakeside town that you can walk the width of in 20 minutes or so. Mainly it is a jumping off point for trips to Isla del Sol, the supposed birthplace of the Incas, where I am going tomorrow. Its an alright town, with amazing views of lake Titicaca, and I am really looking forward to hiking on Isla del Sol.