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Sun setting
Fantastic view while sitting waiting for my trucha & chips....garlic trout yum!! After arriving in the early hours of the morning in La Paz I went about my business....first stop the market for a bite of brekky....the delicious fruit-salads & then Alexanders for the mega rich & big hot chocolate. Ready to face the world!! After I´d things sorted in La Paz I headed to Copacabana. It´s a small little tourist town about 4 hours from La Paz on the border of one of the largest lakes in South America....that is those that are at high altitude.....situated at about 3800m above sea-level. Lago Titicaca. It is absolutely massive.....like a sea & very blue. And has the best trout around......they too are massive & if you you hit the market at the beach-front you´ll get a a nice piece of fish, mashed with garlic...ummm.....chips, rice & salad for 18 Bolivianos...about 1 euro 50. So tasty!!
I only spent a night in Copa.....enough time to feel the cold that always descends on places situated in the altitudes & buy a local llama sweater......it´s probably my first touristy thing to buy but well worth the investment....even if space is hard come by in the rucksack.....a bit more squeezing & rolling of clothes & BOBs your
uncle, all will fit!
The next day I walked the 17km to Yampupata to take a boat to Isla del Sol. I´m well used to walking at this stage but come the end of the walk I was wrecked....the legs were ready for bed & that doesn´t happen often. It was the altitude. I´d been at sea-level again for about a week so wasn´t accustomed to it yet. I was fortunate enough to meet 2 local men along the road so the journey didn´t seem long as we chatted......one of the men was an old farmer on his high nelly...radio on the carrier for a bit of entertainment as he cycled from one farm to the other. The other man was part of a group of locals that were building a floating island on the lake´s edge.....as a tourist attraction similiar to those found on the Peruvian side of the lake. So conversation was interesting....tyhe island should be built in the next month or 2...he asked me to tell people in Ireland so I feel I have honoured his request.
When I got to Yampupata there were 2 men there, in what was otherwise a very tranquil marina.
I paid one of them to row me across to Isla del Sol which took about 50 minutes. I felt like lady-muc as the young lad rowed me across the lake, my legs dangling in the water to wash off the dust from the journey there. On arrival, there are about 200 steps or thereabouts called Escalera del Inca....never counted them but do remember the torture it was to climb them after the day of walking.....the gasping on the steps as the kids ahead of me hounded me to go to a hostel of their choice....so they would get a little pocket-money. I stopped at the first one I met. No more steps please!
The southern end of Isla del Sol is much more developed than the northern side. There are hostels & restaurants everywhere but in saying that, there weren´t too many tourists about when I was there so it was nice & relaxing. That first night there was such a treat as I sat in a tiny restaurant by candle-light....(this particular one had no electricity) & watched a beautiful sunset. I felt like I deserved to be there after the journey & it was well worth it....the
scenery to Yampupata is fantastic & all the better when you meet some locals to chat to & the island itself is beautiful too. That night I met some Argentinians who were musicians & so back at the hostel they played some traditional music. It was nice.
The following day I went to see the ruins in the southern part of the island & then continued on to the northern end. Around this time of the year, there are loads of religious festivals on which combine catholic & Inca beliefs. So having seen the ruins in the northern end I arrived to a village of people on their merry way to complete intoxification.....the women swaying from side-to-side as they dance to the marching band, their skirts & petticoats floating up as they twirl around. The men were equally kitted out for the occasion wearing funnny silver outfits making them look like life-sized accordians. The costumes were impressive. Their capacity to drink copious amounts of alcohol while dancing & still remain standing at the end was even more impressive. They would give an Irishman a run for his money!
The following day was a day of relaxation. I went
back to Copacabana but it literally took all day as the boat moved so slow...I reckon my paddle-boy would have got me there faster. Anyway I wasn´t fit for walking anymore from the blisters I´d accumulated over the few days so it was no harm. When I got back to Copa I jumped on the next bus out of Bolivia bound for Puño in Peru, on the other side of the Lake Titicaca....my visa was just about up so it was time to move on. The trip to Isla del Sol was a highlight & it was a nice way to finish off Bolivia....it´s really rewarding when you can do things like that independently because by & large, you meet nicer people along the way & don´t tend to bump into as many gringoes following the same trail. I don´t have anything against other tourists but often if you do tours you get lumped into groups with whom you have nothing in common....for me this is the biggest form of torture of all.....me of little patience becomes very frustrated very quickly. And I´m not the best at concealing how I feel.....Grace can vouch for that!! So being the maker of
your own journey is much more enjoyable.
Goodbye to Bolivia....goodbye to street-shakes that cost little-to-nothing, ladies on the street in big skirts, plaited hair & bowler hats & finally a farewell to grotty buses with unpredictable & unsavoury toilet-stops & all those smells that harass the senses. Thank God I haven´t the nose of a dog....apparently they´ve a great sense of smell!! After nearly a month, I can say that Bolivia is definitely worth a visit if you´re on this side of the world. Different culture, varied landscape & welcoming people....it ticks all my boxes.
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