Copacabana

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El Niño left Cusco to return to London and Monia and Kiki went on to Bolivia.
The Bolivians celebrate their Independence day on the 6th of August and have a 3 day fiesta in Copacabana which was to be our first stop. All the hostels seemed to be booked up, so Monia thought of the great idea to contact Señor Miguel in Puno to see if he had any contacts in Copacabana. Señorita Cristina called him and indeed he did sort us out with a hotel, good old Señor Miguel.
We took a night bus and arrived at the border in the early morning of the 6th of August. Because of the fiesta, there were long queues and we were asked to get off the bus and walk across the border. It was so far, and our luggage was so heavy, especially at such an altitude. Lots of people were walking along the road and we felt like part of an exodus. Two German guys who were on the same bus had found a man with a carriage, so we shared with them and that way managed to survive the walk.
And you´ll never guess who was waiting for us at the border. Señor Miguel! There he was, ready to escort us to the hotel. Monia worried that he might wanna join us and hang out at the fiesta... but she needn´t have worried.
Our bus tickets included the final ride to Copacabana on the Bolivian side. The lady in charge was a nut case and had difficulties getting a bus to take us with all our luggage but finally we got one, but then of course we had a flat tyre... Eventually however we did make it to Copacabana and our hotel... We said our good byes to Señor Miguel who asked us to recommend him to anyone coming to Peru and we do. Cuz even though he comes across as a bit dodgy, and he´s a bit over anxious and tends to go on and on and on, he is probably the most reliable person we met in Peru. So for anyone going to the Lake Titicaca region, Señor Miguel can be reached on [e-mail].
About Copacabana... What can we say. It was a little bit of a disappointment to be honest. First of all we were not feeling well at all still recovering from our colds following the Machu Picchu weather... Second of all, as it was fiesta time, it was really crowded and everything was overpriced. Thirdly, we spent three days there, during two of which the weather was crap. We wanted to visit the famous Isla del Sol where the Incas apparently believe that the sun was born, but we felt too ill and besides, it was raining... so we left it.
On the second day Kiki was properly ill with a fever. Monia went out to get some food and asked Kiki if she wanted anything. Kiki said some soup would be nice if they do take away, and to her amusement Monia returned a little while later carefully carrying a bowl of soup straight from the restaurant. She had paid the guy a deposit to ensure that she would bring the bowl back.
After 3 days we had enough of Copacabana and decided to move on to La Paz.

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