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Published: July 21st 2006
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11th June- 15th June
Arrived In copacabana...beautiful scenery, bordering the tranquil and spiritual Lake Titicaca. The town just had an awesome vibe right from the start. It was therefore not surprising to find it filled with hippies making beads and wristbands and other forms of hand-made jewelery! stayed in a hostel called hostel Emperador, with the sweetest Bolivan woman that you can meet....pity she loves to talk to herself!
It is a small town , centred around a beautiful cathedral, where tourist everyday line the streets outside to witness the blessing of the autocar! yes it is as funny as it sounds- the priest would walk to the car, using flowers he would dip it in holy watre and spray it over the car. then they open up a bottle of champagne or beer and spray it all over the car and engine!!! then they pay their thanks to the priest and give him money!
Walked up to the nearby Cerro (mountain) and witnessed one of my most memorable sunsets over Lake Titicaca...there was just an invisible attracrion to this place!
After watching the outstanding soccer win By the Australians over Japan (aussie aussie aussie!), we took
view of Copacabana
not the copacanbana from the Barry Manilow song!!! but awesome atmosphere! a boat out to the south of Isla De Sol- where ancient Inca sites lay, and was the birthplace for the sungod that was crucial to Inca beliefs! we stayed at the top of the island with views out over sunset and sunrise! it seems that Bolivians love to have festivals, and we were lucky enough to witness another carnival on the island devoted to a different saint. involved drinking, dancing and praying. They gave us this drink that was almost pure 100% alcohol...only given in sips due to its potency!
Walked the mountain route to the north early the next morning after witnessing the sunrise from isla Del Sol! had to be done! passed by traditional villages, beautiful coastline, to finally arrive at the inca site of the North...which thinking are insignificant passed by them... it was only when we arrived to the end of the island, that we turned back realising that the broken down houses and the picnic looking rock were in fact it!
travelling in a group of 7 can give u freedom, so we hired a private boat all the way back to Copacabana! and crossed the borders into Peru that evening and
isla flotantes
floating islands made from reeds! stayed in Puno.
I had not felt hassled in the whole time in Boliva as i had in my one day in Peru!!! people haggling for tours or hostels as soon as you got off the bus!
wednesday morning wake up early to catch the Ferry to Isla Foltantes- the floating islands! no kidding. these islands consist of reeds anchored to the waters below! as the island sunk, more reeds were placed on top...i still cant figue out if they uprooted their houses each time! powered by solar power, these isolated islands had sattelite television!!!
We seemed to attract bad luck- our boat fails to make the distance and have to wait another 1.5hours for another. Then the clearly blind captain drives right into a land of reeds! 1 hour later and they fail to even budge one metre. it took a boat returning to pull us out of this predicament!
arrived at Isla Amanati, where we were greeted by host families that took us into their homes, fed us, and joined us in the festives of the night. Our lovely host, Felamina, lent us ponchos and colourful beanies and took us to the local club, where other
equally clad tourist were pulled up one by one to dance.
I must say- for such a colourful people, Bolvians and Perivians fail to have variety in their dances! the dances are repetitive and lack skill...so it was quite pleasing for those tourists out there with two left feet!
Visisted Isla Taquile the next day, walking up to its main square...a picture out of a western movie. strangely however, it was filled with many men knitting! it turns out that the island is known for its men who knit very tightly woven clothing (scarves, beanies, etc). It becomes an almost rights of passage that every child learns the art! The views from the top were disappointing after the long hike up- why do viewpoints always involve strenuous walks up hills! especially when u are oxygen deprived at high altitudes!
getting back to Puno, we soon boarded an overnight bus to Cuzco...since buenos aires, everything has been leading up to the next partyin in Cuzco!
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