Two Days On Titicacca

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Invited to find accomidation with our new friends we trudged through the muddy unpaved streets of Copacabana. This is a small and ramshackle place nestleing in a steep cove and surrounded by rocky peaks.

It was cold when we arrived and the place did not seem to offer us much. We found a very nice hostal with clean rooms and hot water and all at a very cheap price. After breakfast (under a pound) Eddie and I went on a wander. Passing through what can only be described as the rubbish dump quarter of town, complete with feral dogs, pigs, scruffy kids and even a bull tied to the burntout remainds of an upturned car we stumbled onto the beach. However we found that we had come around the back of one of the tow peaks that flank Copacabana and so were seemingly cut off from the town. Unphased we tried to pick a way along the rocky coastline around the base of the cliffs that seperated us from our goal of a cool beer on the lake front. This turned out to be great fun as we climbed over boulders and discovered snakeing paths which evnetually led us back into the cove of Copacabana where we did enjoy a nice cool beer.

Later that day, with our new friends we set out to climb the peak to the north of Copacabana called Cerro Calvario, the west face of which forms the cliffs Eddie and I had negotiated ealier. The climb was a little punishing but totally worth it was we reached the sumit just before sunset. Cerro Calvario's cliff top provides absolutley unreal views of Lake Titicacca.

The water is a saphire blue and so calm its almost eeire. The sky was a dramtic mix of cloud and darking blue sky without a hint of smog or haze. The sunset was spectacular. Eddie, this guy Tim and I began to decend the cliffs via a tricky donkey path. This was really fun but time was ticking as the sunset brings pitch darkness really fast.

The next day eleven of us set out for the 8.30 boat to Isla Del Sol. The ride took about 1 hour 45 minutes and covered a trully beautiful stretch of water with mountainous horizons. We landed on the north of the island in a tidy settlement that must awit the daily arrival of the boats with glee. We spent about half an hour buying some snacks from a local shop before we set out fot the inland ridge that runs the length of the island.

The climb up to the ridge was a little punishing but it took us through some cool and serene pine woods as well as giving us some good views of the bay. Out on the ridge the sun played its part but so too did the refreshing winds that blow across the lake. There are no roads and there is no traffic on Isla Del Sol gving it a fantastically archaic feel, like visting a place untouched by the changes of the last two hundred years.

Occasionaly we would pass by a simple mudbrick farmstead or an ancient looking Aymara woman with her flock of sheep but aside from these and the panoramic views of the island and the lake beyond there was nothing- just what we were looking for.

The walk along the ridge is about 8 or 9 km and we covered it in about 2 hours 30 minutes. After a slow luch in the village on the southeren end of the island we sat up on the open deck and sailed back to Copacabana with a fresh wind in our faces. We were getting on really well with our travelling buddies and there were some good laughs añong the way.

That night we stumbled accross a really authentic jazz bar run by a VERY excentric fltue player who may have been French or Columbian or something like that. It was an unexpected way to spend a night on the shore of Lake Titicacca but really worth it. Woke up with soe limbs and a sore head, ready for the journey to La Paz.

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