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Published: October 22nd 2008
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Hola again!!
We got the bus to Copacabana, which is a small town nestled between 2 hills on the southern side of Lake Titicaca, on Sunday morning which took about 4 hours, including crossing the lake on bus by driving on to what can only be described as a big plank of wood with a motor on it! I was convinced we were going to fall in but we didnt! :o) We found a nice little hostel in Copacabana with a view of the lake, although not for much longer as they are building bigger hotels everywhere blocking out the poor little hostels! We spent the afternoon having lunch and wandering around the lake and the little town! Copacabana is very touristy but very cute all the same!
The next morning we got the 8:30am boat over to Isla de la Sol which took nearly 2 hours - the weather was perfect though and the scenery was amazing! The water was sooo blue, mountains everywhere and you could even see the snow-capped Andes in the distance! When we arrived we had a BIG climb to the top of the mountain (made even more difficult at 3820m plus!) where all
the hostels were and found a cheap hostel with a lovely view over the lake! We then spent the rest of the morning on the terrace next door, having breakfast, learning Spanish and getting a bit sunburnt! Then we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the island and chatting! That evening we had a yummy fish dinner before bumping into an English guy, Richard, who I met in Cartagena in Colombia, and then again in Quito, which was really funny! Spent the evening chatting to him and had breakfast together the next morning! Small world! :o) That night we slept with the curtains open so we could see the sunrise in the morning, and oh my goodness i have NEVER seen so many stars in my whole life... it was amazing! You could see the milky way, ryans belt... everything! And we both woke up in time to see the sunrise too although i was too tired to get out of bed to take pictures so just took a few photos from bed, which obviously arent quite as impressive! :o)
Lake Titicaca really was amazing though!! People say its the highest navigable lake in the world but
thats not true (Peru and Chile have higher water bodies) but I think its the biggest highest lake! Its more than 230km long and 92km wide, straddling Peru and Bolivia! There are lots of islands on the lake, including the famous floating islands which you can see from the Peruvian side, however, everyone says (including Marieke who has now done both) that Lake Titicaca is so much more beautiful from the Bolivian side and less swarming with tourists! Isla de Sol, where we stayed, is the legendary Inca creation site and birthplace of the sun in Inca mythology! It has a population of 5000 and is dotted with lots of little villages all around the island!
That morning we then got the boat back to Copacabana and the bus back to La Paz! Unforunately we had to get the tourist bus back as it was quicker than the local bus and we had to catch our bus from La Paz to the Salt Flats (Salar de Uyuni) at 7pm! We ended up getting back an hour later than we were supposed to as a French and American couples spent FOREVER arguing over who got the panoramic seats at the
front of the bus, both convinced they had paid extra for them and then the traffic was really bad! We ended up having to sprint up to the top of La Paz where our hostel was to pick up our bags and then get a taxi to the bus station! We arrived at the hostel practically dying.... only to be told that the bus was leaving the next day (today!) instead because of the hundreds of thousands of people who are on strike here! :o( So hopefully we are off tonight if the buses are running!! In a bit of a rush because we want to have dinner (priorities!! hehe!) so will add a few photos and then love you and leave you!!!
Thanks to all of you who email... i LOVE getting your emails and if i havent replied recently then i PROMISE i will soon.... my blogs just always turn into big books and then i have no more time in the internet cafe! :o(
Lots and lots of love and hugs, Lisa xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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