Serenity to La Paz

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From Copacabana we took a boat over to a nearby island in Lake Titicaca - Isla del Sol. The cramped tourist boat took us one and half hours over the water and we were greeted on the island by dozens of young boys, touting accomidation. All of the hostels on this island are found up a steep hill so it´s vital to take one of the lads up on their offer. The hill is so steep and the altitude so high, I can´t manage to carry my big bag up the hill - my heart and lungs refusing to keep up.

When we arrive at the top, the view is astounding. The huge lake appears to be an ocean all around us, snow topped mountains in the distance. That gives you a good idea of how high we are - the snowy mountains appear to be the same height...

Our hostel is by far the most basic so far, certainly no chance of a wash here. The view out of the window is amazing. We head out for a suprisingly good pizza in a tiny restaurant before returning to our room before a huge storm sets in. The evening is spent watching the fork lightning illuminate the lake as the rain hammers against our window.

The following morning, after waiting for the rain to clear, we head out on a trek across the island to some Incan ruins. It turns into a beautiful day and we walk for hours in the sun until it´s time to hop on the boat back to Copacabana where we spend one more night before heading to La Paz.

It´s a short journey to the capital, but the difference in surroundings couldn´t be more obvious. As you approach the city, the streets become full of street sellers, shoe shiners on dusty pavements. The first view over the city is amazing. The city lies in a valley, its suburbs sprawling up the moutains.

We find a hostel pretty quickly, just out of the centre of the main strip. It appears to be an old hospital, or atleast the beds and decor of the room certainly are. We have four beds in the room, three occupied by us and one is most certainly haunted.

La Paz is such a lively, vibrant city. Everywhere you look there is something giong on - markets, parades, music... The narrow streets can get claustrophobic as they are jam packed with stalls selling literally anything and everything. It´s very cheap on the whole and we have had some great meals out.

Today the other boys have gone to bike "The Most Dangerous Road In The World" which I decided to give a miss. So I´ve been exploring the city, watching the huge processions of school children in brightly coloured uniforms, playing instruments. Speaking of instruments, we have all now purchased one. Guitar, harmonica (me) and ukelele type thing... What an awful racket we can make!!

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