We're at the Copa...Copacabana

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Day 330 Wednesday 5^th September

Well the bus was fairly uncomfortable but we were both able to get a few hours sleep. We stopped at 2.00am for a food and toilet stop and yes people got off to eat. I looked out the window to discover the toilet was the wall across the street so I decided to use the bus, but the door would not open and when I asked the assistant he pointed to the wall. I noticed a few women walking just around the corner into the dark with their toilet paper, thank goodness I was not busting and could hold on till La Paz. We reached La Paz at 7.15 and as soon as we arrived I ran off to find the toilets with Scott calling out hurry we need to get a connecting bus. La Paz has several bus terminals and the one we arrived at was fairly chaotic but we managed to get our follow on ticket to Copacabana without any dramas. The bus was supposed to leave at 8 and we were told to sit and wait, and when the time arrived we were given a real run around. We were walked down to another bus company office, which was closed and had to wait for someone to open up where after we gave our details were taken out to another company’s bus. In Bolivia all the bus companies have the same times to the same destinations and at first we thought how stupid, but they take turns doing the trips so bus company A may do Monday and B on Tuesday. Usually they just tell you which one to go to directly but here they sell the tickets then run you around, but it all works out in the end. The bus did not leave till 8.30am for the 3 hour journey which included having to get off the bus at San Pablo de Tiquina so the bus could be ferried across the water while the passengers had to buy tickets (1.50 BOBs) for a boat across. The bus then wound its way beside Lake Titicaca giving amazing views and then our first glimpse of Copacabana. We were dropped in the Main street which was only a short walk to the hotel Wendy Mar, it is a nice hotel and our room has a view of the Lake (note there is no WiFi and the breakfast is just OK, but this is not usual).

We went for a walk around and found a café for breakfast/lunch at about 1.00pm, the town is full of cafes all offering pretty much same-same in a rustic setting. We had heard some negative reports about the town but it does not seem that bad, yes there is a bad smell down at lake shore from drains coming from hotels that appear to run directly into the lake. Copacabana Beach in Rio is actually named after Copacabana in Bolivia, which is sort of funny because we certainly couldn’t see any similarities…it must have been either a bad mistake or a joke. As for Barry Manilow’s hit song….well like I said it must be either a bad mistake or a joke. It is like a lot of towns that boom from tourism without thought of infrastructure, but it is definitely not the worst we have seen and so far has a laid back vibe sometimes too laid back when you have to search for the waitress/owner to pay the bill.

We chose a pretty mediocre place for dinner, the restaurant Mankha Uta, and we should have walked out when the waiter asked if it was our first time in Bolivia and that 10%!t(MISSING)ip is what is required, hmm I see what the serve is like first. The meal was very ordinary and when we received the bill he gave us a separate piece of paper with the 10%!t(MISSING)ip all worked out it was all way too pushy for our liking and the first time we had copped it.



Day 331 Thursday 6^th September

Today was an easy day walking around we visited the Cathedral which is huge considering the size of the town (populated approximately 55,000). It has multiple domes and inside behind the main altar are stairs leading up to another chapel which contains the statue of Camarin de la Virgen de Candelaria carved by Francisco Yupanqui who was Emperor Inca Tupac Yupanqui grandson. The statue itself is like many other religious statues but it is an interesting piece of history and the superstition if it is removed from the cathedral Lake Titicaca will flood. As we left the cathedral the priest had just finished blessing newly purchased cars and a truck and the owners and relatives were spraying them with sparkling wine and confetti. We then walked through the small local markets nearby which was mainly local produce and food items brought into town.

The big adventure today was a boat ride to Islas Flotantes de Chani the floating islands that the Tourist Information lady had told us were smaller than the ones in Peru. We had not seen the floating reed islands in Peru because we had read some bad stories about the exploitation of the families living on them and the resentment of tourists visiting them. We weren’t sure about seeing them on this side but thought it may be less high volume tourism and a bit more casual. We brought our tickets at the lake and were on our way, there was only the two of us and thought it might have been more popular. It was a half hour boat ride and as we approached things did not look right as we could see we were heading to large wooden pontoon, and not a reed platform. As we approached the captain said we had an hour, we landed and Scott burst out laughing when he saw my face which was shock, disgust and disappointment. The wooden pontoon was covered in a loose layer of reeds and there were tables and chairs and a family selling drinks. The captain said we could take photos – of what, I just stood there with Scott laughing thinking “this is not a joke”. Eventually we brought a drink and sat there on the rocking pontoon with nothing to see, I started to see the humour that the Bolivians trying to be accommodating because people wanted to see floating reed islands had faked them up. We sat there about an hour while the captain had a beer with the man on the island, (it was only one and we kept an eye on that) and then putted slowly back to town. Well I discovered everything is available in Bolivia it just may not be what you expect.

At 5.30 we headed down to the shoreline to watch the sunset over Lake Titicaca, it was really beautiful and was only marred by the smell of raw effluent running down the “beach” into the lake. A thing we have discovered in our travels in South America is that when pouring beers at altitude you get huge heads, no matter how careful you are. It has something to do with atmospheric pressure or something like that, so when you see photos of us with beers that are more head than liquid you know why. We found a much better place to eat tonight at La Orilla and there was no big deal about the tip and when we did he was appreciative.



Day 332 Friday 7^th September

Checking out today but leaving our main bags behind for our return tomorrow. Today is another boat ride this time across to Isla del Sol it is here where the Incas started when Manco Capac and his sister-wife mystically appeared. We left at 8.30am and were dropped on the north side of the island at Cha’llapampa about 11.00am we grabbed a quick bite to eat and walked to the small museum to buy a ticket for 10 BOB to start the trek. It is a beautiful walk looking down at the shore line with the water crystal clear at the edge. We arrived at the Inca ruins of Chincana which is also called El Laberinto because of the small doorways and corridors, this is a small site and does not compare to other Inca ruins we have seen. The building is supposed to be a royal residence and yet the stonework is very primitive and more likely military or agricultural stonework. The site I guess is more about the spiritual significance of the area rather than the ruins, just surprised for such a significant religious spot for the Incas that there really aren’t many structures. Some things like the Mesa Ceremonica where sacrifices where preformed just did not look right or completely original who knows.

We continued to walk up along the ridge line and decided the reason to come here is the spectacular views and the Inca ruins are a little extra bonus. The walk goes up to about 4,000m and is a rocky path for about 8km with a halfway toll of 15 BOB each. It is truly a beautiful spot in the world and well worth the walk. We arrived at the south side about 400 metres from the small town of Yumani and stopped at the Palla Khasi Hotel and were shown a dorm room with 5 beds and were told we could have the whole room to ourselves. The room is nice but the views are why you stay here and the people running it are friendly, so it was a yes. We walked up to the garden café and got a cold drink and took in the view and then did some reading before dinner. The only downside we found to the hotel is the shower I only got 20 seconds of hot water and Scott got none, but we did not think we would get a shower as all the water is carried up to the town by donkeys, so to be considerate it was a very quick dip. The hotel has a good restaurant and a warm fire which at one stage the owner’s children about 3 and 5 thought they would help refuel and me calling out caliente (hot) and gently trying to manoeuvre the 3 year old away. I guess if they burn themselves they won’t do that again but it all worked out and no first aid was needed. After dinner we stayed out as long as we could bear in the cold looking at the stars before running into our room and into bed.



Day 333 Saturday 8^th September

The breakfast was a surprise scrambled eggs, warm fresh bread rolls and fresh juice and in a way we wished we had another night here. We were going to walk to the ruins of Pilko Kaina on this side of the island but couldn’t find the path or any signs leading to it, and this was probably one of the big problems with the island. We saw people walk past the path to the Northern ruins because there wasn’t a sign telling you what lay just beyond the ridge. We really didn’t mind paying all the fees to walk across the island but sure would have appreciated a couple of $5 signs showing us the way around. After a few fruitless attempts to work out how to get to the Pilko Kina ruins we opted to see them from the boat as we went back to Copacabana. On the way down to the boats we passed the Fuente del Inca the three spouted fountain, although one is not working. For the Incas the 3 streams represent their motto "Ama sua, Ama llulla and Ama khella" which means "Don't steal, don't lie and don't be lazy", I wonder which one has dried up.

The boat left at 10.15 instead of 10.30am the advertised time and was overloaded, but it was good to know that there were 2 life jackets on board if we sunk. Again we were a bit annoyed that they chose the smallest boat to take the biggest crowd back and we ended up with people standing for the 2 hour journey back to Copacabana. The ride back was agonisingly slow and a bit rough but the fumes from the motor were starting to make people feel ill, so we were all glad to see land.

Wandered back up to our hotel where we had left our bags and booked a room for the night. After rechecking in we went back into town for a bite to eat at a café that has WiFi so we could check our emails and book a hotel in La Paz. Shelley put in the award for the worst meal she has had in Bolivia at this café but at least we got to get some of our computer work done. Didn’t do much in the arvo other than looking over the shops some more and bludging back at the hotel. When we went to have a shower we discovered that we didn’t have hot water and when I complained to the manager he explained that the entire town was on a lower voltage this afternoon due to a power shortage. We were both pretty desperate for a shower but decided to head back into town dragging our smell with us. Really don’t know why we were too concerned about our own smell when the town’s sewer problem was worse. Once again we watched the sunset with a few drinks before getting another great feed at La Orilla restaurant.

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Photos

Copacabana
Sunset

Copacabana
Blessing of the cars

Copacabana
Cathedral

Copacabana
Front of Cathedral

Copacabana
Main Street

Copacabana
My Floating Island

Copacabana
If you can't beat them join them

Copacabana
Stop Laughing

Copacabana
Bars on the lake shore

Copacabana
No wonder my cereal is always stale

Isla del Sol
View on the walk

Isla del Sol
The Path

Isla del Sol
Is there a Puma shaped rock out there?

Isla del Sol
Chincana ruins

Isla del Sol
Mesa Ceremonica

Isla del Sol
Chincana

Isla del Sol
Halfway point

Isla del Sol
Night time on the Island

Isla del Sol
Baby donkey at the hotel

Isla del Sol
Fuente Del Inca

Isla del Sol
The donkey outside our room

Isla del Sol
On the way back to Copacabana

Comments

[traudy glasencnik]

Lovely views.
Once again the veiws are gorgeous and I've had some laughs also...poor Shelly, seems alittle strange that they keep getting away with the fake island thing??? Glad to hear you enjoyed the walk, it does look beautiful. As for the transporting of tourists, I dont think I'm a big fan of how they do it and what they do it in???? Always sounds some what dangerous. Be good xx