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Published: July 19th 2008
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Copacabana
Taken from our boat as we set out on the way to isla de sol Buenos Noches!
I finally have some downtime in Lima. Liz left tonight, and I look forward to a rest after 2 weeks of constant travel! I will be staying in Lima at Loki Hostel once again, for tonight and Saturday night. I plan on getting some Laundry done tomorrow, as well as making some progress on the planning of the second leg of my trip.
So the past few days have been nonstop. After spending 2 nights and 3 days in La Paz, we booked a fare on a local bus for 15 bolivianos and headed to Copacabana (on the bolivian side of lake titicaca). We got out of the taxi and were immediately overcome by a couple of frantic peruvians trying to get us on the bus to copacabana in time. We paid our fare as they quickly strapped our bags to the roof of the bus. We hurredly got on the bus assuming it was about to leave... it left 30 minutes later. We were the only gringos on the bus, haha. The local kids were infatuated by liz´s blonde hair (or blanco as they called it), and they tirelessly tugged it throughout the entire ride. We
gave them a fruit roll up. The bus ride took about 4 hours. We left at 16:45, which got us to the fringe of the lake just in time for sundown. It was really cool to see the stark contrast of the yellow fields of the altiplano mixed with the deep blue color of Titicaca. After a couple hours of driving, the bus came to a hault in the darkness. Turns out, there is no immediate road between La Paz and Copacabana, and we had to take an entirely inefficient ferry across it. Everyone got out of the bus and headed for a tiny motor boat which immediately set off into the dark lake. We became nervous when we heard someone scuffling around on the roof of the boat, but it turned out to be a man whose job was to hold the light for the boat... shocking, but not surprising. We watched as our boat pulled onto a rickity little platform of a boat, which was barely large enough for the boat to fit, let alone stay afloat while it crossed the lake. It was an extremely chilly boat ride across the lake, as liz and I made such
One last look at La Paz
Attempted to tkae this one from the bus a hasty departure that we forgot to unpack warm clothes to wear.
We made it to Copacabana at about 21:00, where we deboarded and set out in the midst of a bustling market. We went to several hostels and were unable to find space. We were cold, hungry, and tired... and were relieved to find a nice cheap place for 15 bs! (less than $2 a person). It was pretty modest, with cardboard like beds, but we were happy to have a roof to sleep under. Turns out it was full because of some concert or something that was in town for the weekend. I slept like a rock that night after dining on pizza and beer, by candlelight. By the next morning, the phrase ´you get was you pay for´ took on a whole new meaning. Liz informed me that she was awoken the previous night by a girls bloodcurdeling screams. She had wandered into the courtyard, and taken into the office of the hostel and picked up by an ambulance a few minutes later. I slept through it all 😊.
The next morning we headed out to Isla de Sol... the birthplace of the sun in
On the boat
We got to sit on the top deck. It was scenic... and cold. Incan culture. We left at 8:30, and were excited that the boatride to the island only cost 20 bs. Patience is a virtue, and it is the aspect of South American culture that I have been struggling with. Whether it´s busrides cross country, 2 hour meals, or a painfully slow boatride... I´ve dealt with it all! After 2 hours of chugging across the lake, we arrived at the north end of the island. We did a treck across the island, and had to pay a total of 20bs at 3 different checkpoints throughout of 3 hour hike. They charged 10 to get into the north end, 5 to get into the south end, and 5 to get into the port where the boat was waiting! It wasn´t long after I bought my first ticket that a burst of wind took the ticket out of my hand and blew it about 10 feet into the lake. We rushed back and tried to explain what happened to the ticket salesman through a tactful game of charades. He said he understood, but he couldnt give us another... and suggested we tell/reinact the story at every ticket checkpoint. Yeesh. We finally were able to
Burros on the Beach
Liz hates donkeys. The baby is cute. translate the story from Hay un problema accompanied by a series of actions of the wind (thanks liz) to ¡La boleta es en el lago!
The island was awesome, mainly for the breathtaking views of the vast lake rather than the ruins. The lake is unbelievably blue, and glimmered in the sun. It looked like a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket (can you name the song?). The mountain range behind it made it that much more spectacular. The hike was comparable to a 14er, as it was extremely steep, at a high elevation. We saw burros, alpacas, sheep, all lazily grazing on terreces, or being herded down to the shore to drink from the icy lake. We finished about an hour before the boat took off, and decided to dine on Trucha (trout) at an outdoor cafe with a priceless view. We both passed out on the ride back on the boat. We checked into a new hostel that night, had hot showers, ate some more trout at a bob marley esque restaurant, and slept soundly (without any screaming). The power was out the next morning so we couldn´t work on the internet to reserve a hostel
Lake Titicaca
Taken from Isla de Sol. Azul! in Arequipa for that night, and we had to postpone our laundry. Oh well. The locals seemed laid back about it, apparently it happens quite often. We finally were able to depart on the bus at 13:00 for 3 hours to Puno, and catch the connecting bus to Arequipa (6 hrs).
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