Uros, Copocabana and the Isla del Sol

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Last time I was in an internet cafe, two days ago, my Bolivian computer wouldn´t support my blog entry page, so perhaps I´ve been a little slow with this most recent update. But what´s your excuse, eh?! You, with your high-speed broadband at work at home, the bulk of you. There were no messages for me when I logged on this evening. Zilcho. Rien. Nada. Most unimpressive. Well, you´re getting the less funny version of the last few days, that´s for sure. That hilarious story with the raving shoelace seller, one-legged cat and 2 litre bottle of Inca Cola? It goes to the grave with me...

So I was about to go to some potentially interesting islands. They were tip top, they really were. My guidebook was quite sniffy, criticising the kiddies for asking for money when you take a picture of them, and the adults for selling ceramics which they couldn´t possibly have made living on an island made of reeds. But I bought a pot thing and double-tipped the sprogs, for I was so impressed. If you can imagine, an island made of reeds. Lots of islands, in fact, and if two families living on the same island fall out, they just chop the island in half and float apart. You can get in a reed boat as well, with a scary reed face at the prow, and nip over to see the neighbours. We went at sundown, and the other-wordliness of it all was super relaxing, so you just felt happy to be there.

Lake Titicaca - major topic of my much-forgotten first year archaeology at Cambridge - is wonderful. Enormous and salty so you have to keep reminding yourself you´re not at the seaside. You have two choices as to why the lake is salty. Either, some pre-Inca girl got very upset about something (her dad wouldn´t let her get married or was forcing her to or I don´t know) and so she cried it. Or, it´s something to do the rocks round here.

The loo on the bus from Puno to Copocabana is worth mentioning. Not only did the guy shout down the bus to tell me I was only allowed to wee, which I didn´t initially understand so he had to say it over and over, but the cubicle had the most enormous window, with no blind, and you just had to hope no-one drove past in the other direction while you rushed. What´s going on there?

Cococabana is very sweet. You can hire a pedalo and buy fresh trout (you can´t buy much else, actually) on the beach. The other night, I came back to my hotel room (which costs 2 pounds twenty including breakfast and hot shower) and watched the sun set over the lake from my window.

Then the day after we walked around the peninsula and chartered a boat to the Isla del Sol, stayed somewhere very pretty, and ate trout. I´ve always been fascinated by islands. Today, we walked the ridge of the island, in couldn´t-ask-for-better weather. Just missed the ferry home, so had to pay a man to take us the two hour trip back to Cococabana in his chuggy little boat with three other English people. After the boat stalled for about time number three, with us right out in the rough lake, our smiles at jokes about exactly how much food everyone was carrying became forced. Wet and cold when we safely got in, I´ve since showered and am now planning what kind of pizza to have tonight. Trout, probably.

Bound for the capital tomorrow, which holds the promise of a new camera.

PS. I´m not genuinely upset about the lack of messages. Please no-one feel obliged.

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Comments

[andi]

Resolved to make a Point
No more messages from me then, Elizabeth, if that is your real name.