At the Copa..Copacabana..

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So yeah when we last left it we were leaving Cuzco the next day... We´ll spare you the details of more sickness but suffice to say it´s happened but we´re ok!...

Left Cuzco Saturday 25th. 8 hours to Puno. Hotel.

Left Puno Sunday 26th. 3hours down Western coast of Lago Titicaca.

Arrived at Bolivian border Sunday a.m. Was a bit of an experience, certainly doesn´t compare to the sour-faced jobsworthies at Heathrow immigration... Tumbled off the bus and stumbled towards a house / hut to get our ´exit´stamps for Peru. No signs, no checks, just a chain across the road.

After crossing the border (which crosses the lake with Peru on the West and Bolivia on the East ish) the bus carried on to Copacabana where we stayed for 3 days.

Copacabana is just a small ´resort´in a bay on Lake Titicaca and we found it a welcome change from Cuzco with far less hassle, touts, gringos etc etc.

Explored Copa for a few days, took a canoe out on the lake, enjoyed some lake-fish and generally relaxed....(Besides the hiking!)

On Tuesday we took a boat to the Isla Del Sol which lies a couple of miles off the ´mainland´and is home to nothing much apart from some ruins, sheep & llamas and some great views. The islands are 15km north to south and we took a boat to the north and did the walk to the south over the day.

Yesterday we left Copa for La Paz (3hours.) Was a bit of a shock to find out decentish hotels are quite ellusive but after a few hours wandering around we took the bull by the horns and checked ourselves into the ´Presidente´5star badboy and have a great room with all the necessities such as jacuzzi and massive T.V, 2 bathrooms (one each) and a conference suite (just what we need)!! All for the price of a B&B at home. LOL! Oh yeah they´ve also got a buffet all you can eat breakfast which we (Chris) are/is using to full advantage. Apparently its the highest 5 star hotel in the world....

Anyway, will probably stay here for a few days (doing the death road bike ride on saturday hopefully) and then heading into the Jungle.

Over and out.
(xxxxxxxxxxxxx)

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Photos

Bolivian Immigration
Fill in the card (as the bus bumps along it´s easier than it sounds)...

(In)migration
Chaos as buses unload and everyone gets the necessary stamps on the Peru side... Bye Bye Peru

The border at Kasani
The chain is where Peru finishes, the arch seemed to be where Bolivia started. We walked between the two then got back on the bus.

Copacabana
Humming the tune of the same name we got off the bus... It´s fair to say Copacabana is ´developing´ and the fact that it doesn´t have a bank or ATM did us no favours!

Lake Titicaca Bolivian Side
Just behind us was our hotel. Was great to watch the sunset with a few beers.

Copacabana Bay
Copacabana bay at sunset. We climbed the ´mountain´in the background the next day.

Cathedral
We had a quick look around the cathedral. When we got back to the exit, we had to do a sneaky diversion to avoid the beggars (sad as it is!)

Trucha
On the lakefront there are loads of little shacks selling trout from the lake...It tastes grrreat (despite still having the head etc which was quickly fed to the local dogs)

Copacabana Bay
We climbed the hill / mountain overlooking the bay. Copacabana itself is really small and quite chilled out and ´bo-ho´with lots of (what we have started to call) "Uber Travellers" with their dreadlocks, noserings and pyjama bottoms. We have not got that far yet!

See, still normal.....
Well, I have bought a "hoja de coca no es un droga" t-shirt ("coca leaves are not a drug") but it was more out of necessity than to make a statement... Some of the locals seemed to find it amusing though.

Flowers
In the background is the Isla Del Sol (see later pics) about 2 hours away by (very slow and sick-inducing) boat.

Bolivian Navy
Funny, considering Bolivia is land-locked. Still, if you need your boat pulling out of the water, you know who to call.

Should it make this much smoke?
We were reassured when our boat driver looked puzzlingly at the engines as they started... (which he drove with his feet)

Ruins on Isla Del Sol
We walked 15ks or so from the north to the south of the islands. There are quite a few ruins (inca and otherwise) along the way.

Rachel before the sunstroke
Well the walk itself was hard work. Breathtaking (literally) at 4000m+ ASL. We thought we were lucky with the weather until Rach got ill...(again) I swear it was the hat.

Scenery
Yeah we must have about 100 ´desktop´ images now. The photos dont really do the view justice.

10second timer...
So its a bit wonky! the camera was balanced on a rock and it took ages to set up....

"Can I have one?"
At one point I thought Rachel was going to trade me in...

Teamwork
We FINALLY arrived at the south of the Islas after a long walk to get the boat back. The villagers were building a new jetty. Men carried the big rocks, the women filled their back-sack/material full of smaller stones from the beach...

We´ve been had!
Exhausted. Sat at the end of a jetty waiting for the boat... vunerable. Approached by 4-5 cute girls who gave us the hard sell who insisted on platting Rach´s hair and selling us some stones! We were sucked in and parted with some cash...

To battle!
We have discovered that the toilets here don´t have much pressure (and they dont like paper either...) The solution? A bent-out coat hanger and a bit of elbow grease of course! The worst thing was it wasn´t even my sh*t....(!!!!!)

Comments

[Mark]

Cleaning toilets
Great to see you both looking so well, despite the illness - great photos, can we see the toilet cleaning saga continue when you get home chris!

[mom]

Some more great shots. I'd be a bit careful eating the trout not a good recommendation if parts of it are fed to the local dogs!! Watch out for the sun stroke Rach and you can give Hayley some tips when you get home about having your hair plaited! Take care lots of luv mom xx

[hannah]

hey guys, sounds like ur having an ace time, sorry to hear uve been ill though!me an james r off 2 budapest tomorrow for his birthday trip,should be amazing! just spoke 2 g.ma an grandfather who asked me to send their love and best wishes etc and who r very sorry to hear uve been ill! they also said they'd write soon! take care and keep in touch xxxxxxx

[anonymous]

last time i tried to leave a comment it didn't work, so lets see...love catchin up on what ur doing, the fotos are fab! so jealous, apart from all the sickness! - hope ur better now! was great to chat on my bday rach - hope u really make the most and enjoy ur last month or so out there can't wait to hear all ur stories! xxxx becci xxxx

[Emily]

wow!!
Oh my god! you look like you're having the best time! sickness aside what an experience! i'm so jealous Rach and miss you terribly. Come home soon please. Keep sending the photos love seeing hw you're getting on. love you very much. xx ems xx