At the Copa, Copacabana

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After spending all day Sunday traveling from Southern Bolivia up to Uyuni, then taking the overnight bus to La Paz we decided to spend some more time in a vehicle and took a bus the same morning to Copacabana. The plan was to thaw out a bit and see Lake Titicaca and the Isla del Sol. The trip to Copacabana was especially enjoyable both for the sunshine and because we descended below the tree line for the first time in several days. It´s amazing how comforting it is to see a tree after not seeing one for a while.

We were very excited to be in Copacabana for the warmer temperatures and the hope of a hot shower. Another one of those things that we took for granted, but after 4 days without hot water, we were really looking forward to the luxuries of a nice hotel. Copacabana, turned out to fulfull all of our hopes with lots of sunshine, great food, and a great place to stay.

On our first evening, we decided to climb to the of a large hill to watch the sunset. It was a rather strenuous ordeal, but we were rewarded with a beautiful 360 view of Lake Titicaca as the sun was setting. After sunset we headed to the La Cupola, a small German run hotel that is known for good food. We had heard their fondue was especially good so we decided to try it. Turned out to be quite tasty but a strange experience to be eating swiss fondue, in a german run hotel in Bolivia.

The next day we had arranged for a full day guided tour of the Isla del Sol, the island in Lake Titicaca where according to Incan legend, their entire civilization began. Now, we have both been fairly anti-guide with all of our travels thus far. However, much our travels to date have been to see natural wonders where solitude is much more valuable then information. With some skepticism, we went ahead with the tour and found it to be very informative. Our group consisted or Premi and I, a young Swedish couple and our guide, Mario.

Mario was gave us a lot of great information about the Lake and the Incan civilization. Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world...it is located at 12,500 ft above sea level and is also the largest lake in South America. The name is a Spanish approximation of the original Incan Quechua name, Titi-karka which means Rock Puma. This rock is located on Isla del Sol and is a huge rock formation that looks vaguely like a puma, but apparently looked much more like one when decorated in gold as it had been in Incan times. Overall, our trip to Copacabana and Isla del Sol was really enjoyable and a nice change in scenery from the cold barren Bolivian altiplano where the Salar de Uyuni was. Next we are off to Cusco to meet our host family and start our Spanish Program!

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Photos

The beach at Copacabana
Cerro Calvaria is the big hill in the background which we climbed to watch the sunset

Comments

[George]

Great photos!
Now I wish I had gone to Lake Titicaca. Me encantan las fotos...¡qué lindo!