Isla Del Sol

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The next day we headed back towards the Peruvian border for Copacabana and Lake Titicaca. The lake is the highest inhabited body of water in the world and by this time both of us were feeling the full effects at being at high altitude – headaches, lack of appetite, upset stomach, fatigue, etc. A few new friends from our hostel in La Paz were heading there too so we had a little tour group to get the bus and ferry to the Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). After checking in to whatever accommodation we could find, we set of on foot to explore the town of Yumani on the southern end of the island. Several places seemed closed and we wandered if it was just a bit of a sleepy town but then we heard a lively band and decided to follow our ears. We were rewarded by witnessing a wedding of locals who were of Aymara (indigenous) decent that had gathered from all over the island to celebrate. The women were dressed in glitzy versions of their traditional dress (full pleated skit, embroidered and tassled shawls, bowler hats) and the men were sporting suits and hats with money pinned to them, the bridal party was dancing to the live band while more guests arrived with gifts and cases of beer. When we arrived we could see 40 crates, each holding a dozen longnecks and this number greatly increased over the hour as we observed the festivities. Most of the beer crates were carried by the women on their backs who wrap large bundles in cloth then tie around their shoulders - some of them were even carrying 2 cases - a mean feat climbing up the hillside to the wedding on rocky paths at 4000m above sea level!

We decided not to overstay our welcome and (much to Paul’s dismay that we were walking away from the 12 wedding cakes) headed off to find if anyone on the island was still working and serving dinner. We did find one restaurant but it really did seem like these two teenage girls were the only workers at the time as we waited 2 hours for pasta and the local specialty, trout. But we chatted with our fellow travellers, tried a local wine that was surprisingly good and survived.

The following morning did not start well with the shower almost killing Paul when its hot water wiring set alight as he turned on the tap. Luckily, Paul hadn’t been standing under the water and the flame went out after 10 seconds but we decided to do the old splash-water-from-the-basin type of bathing instead! We got a local to drive us by boat to the northern end of the island where we would begin the walk, part of the original Inca trails to some ruins and along the ridge at the top of the mountain. It was a lovely temperature to be walking, even if we were slower than usual due to the thin air at altitude. The views over the lake were stunning, especially as the weather cleared. We got back to Yumani in time for a mid-afternoon ferry back to Copacabana on the mainland where we stayed another night before returning to La Paz for our connection to Uyuni and the salt flats.

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