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After the jungle, San Pedro, and Worlds Most Dangerous Road, time was running out, we needed to get to Cusco in Peru for the festival of the Sun (Intiraymi), which is there Winter Solstice. But we still had so much to do. So it was a quick dash to Copacabana to visit Lake Titicaca, the worlds highest navigable lake.
To get to Lake Titicaca we went on a ferry.... but not the conventional kind that you might think. we demounted the bus and took a boat across whilst our coach literally rode across on a plank of wood with a small motor.... only in South America.
From Copacabana we took a boat to Isla Del Sol (Island of the Sun). We had limited time there so we were all fully prepared and motivated that as soon as we would arrive we'd take a 3 hour hike to the other side of the island to visit the Inca ruins just in time for sun set, until we realised that actually we were still really high and altitude made it all the more difficult to do anything. Like even carrying our backpacks up the steps to the hostel. As there's no
road on the island, so no transport, we had no other option but......... to hire 3 little boys to do it for us. I'd like to say its worse than it sounds but its not, we paid 3 13 yr old boys to cary our bags. Our packpacks were bigger than them, it was actually ridiculous, but what were we to do princesses that we are, we were even struggling with our small bags.
The sunset was nice, actually a little dissapointing considering the island is named after the sun. So we thought we'd give it another shot in the moring, so we woke up before the crack of dawn, to walk to the top and watched a spectacular sunrise over a chain of snow topped mountains in the distance. True Isla Del Sol style. However Amy and Lolly nearly missed it. In true Lolly style she dropped her glasses on route up, so they both went back, whislt the rest of us powered through to get to the top. Time was passing and the sunrise wasn't going to wait, we were getting worried where they might be. Then in the distance two, very out of breathe looking figures
starting to appear. "Where have you been" we asked. Lolly managed to drop her glasses vertually outside the hostel (plonka), so went all the way back down, and then they climbed up the rest of the way. This might not sound weird, but when you know that the island has set paths that make walking up to the top a bit of a breeze, you have to wonder how the bloody hell they took a route that involved climbing. Literally throwing jumpers and bags first then climbing on all fours, one hoysting the other up. How do they get in these situations!
We then took the boat back to Copacabana where we stayed for a night, which is just a nice chilled out bohemian town that most people go to to get out of the smog and messy drunkun nights of La Paz. And then left for Peru in the morning.
Festival of the Sun
Not knowing what to expect we rose early and walked to the plaza, where hundreds of people were starting to conglomerate. The atmosphere was really starting to build up. We watched the procession and apparently the slaughtering of the lama (not that
The Sunset
At the top of the Island with the Ausie boys we were travelling with for a bit. Josh, Jimmy and Heath. we saw that through the sea of heads). There was so much colour in the costums, and the procession was very well corriagraphed. I'd say.... fun day out for all the family.
There were rumours of a trance rave later in the evening which everyone seemed to be getting quite excited about. During the day we had walked up into the hills following the procession, to a vast amount of space perfect for a trance rave. You can imagine what we were all picturing. When I say that was a slight disappointment, I might be underestimating my words. Trance rave.... more like 15 yr old disco. It was in someones back garden and they'd actually managed to get away with charging all these gullible travelers to enter. What a let down. But its not like there's a shortage of places to go out in Cusco, so the night redeemed itself in the end, not that it mattered as the festival was well worth the rush to get to Cusco.
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