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Published: August 6th 2007
In the shadow of the cross
The people in Copa' take their religion very seriously. So much so that their willing to stagger up the huge hill every day to place stones on each cross they pass. With all this exercise you have to wander why all the woman are so "rotund"Country number 10 was one we were both looking forward to - hoping it would have the same charm as Peru without all the "bloody Inca Trailers" and touristy add-ons - so after an early start we boarded a bus whose maiden journey had probably been in about 1978 and headed off to Bolivia.
The border crossing was typically unorganised and bizarre - Peruvian officials wearing 'Anti Droga' uniforms "stormed" our bus and searched every bag on board, no doubt hoping to keep all Peru's precious drugs within their own country and not shared with Bolivia. We then got our passports stamped in a mud hut before walking the 200 metres through 'no mans land' where we lost an hour of lives and arrived a little confused in Bolivia.
After more passport stamping in a much jollier hut with loud music and policeman sucking lollipops, we met up with our bus and followed the shore of the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca until we reached our destination - the small lakeside town of Copacabana.
Some Lake Titicaca facts -
1. It has a really silly name
2. 65% of it belongs to Peru - the other 35%
All Bar One, Inca division
Like the ones back home except stone instead of wooden benches and none of those stainless steel gas heater things 3. It is home to massive mutant trout that grace the menu of every restuarant in Copa´
4. It is 4 times the size of Luxembourg !!!
This last fact means that Copacabana has more of a seaside feel to it - although the distant sound of a marching band, fat women in bowler hats and a main street packed with handicrafts meant we saw little initial difference between here and neighbouring Peru.
We are quite used to the altitude by now even in the Antiplano region that surrounds Lake Titicaca (minimum 3,800 metres above sea level) apart from the odd dizzy spell and a constant supply of dried blood up our noses (???) we are experiencing few side effects, although the one thing that amazes me when you are this high up is there is always something to climb.
On our first day in Copacabana we attacked the hill with Vered an Israeli who had been on our recent Amantani tour. Vered is lovely, very softly spoken and eats 10 tomatoes a day at dinner to save on costs !?! she is also partial to avocados but limits her intake of these to 1 a
My new best friend
This is Yolisa, who served me my beer after the 12km trek. We later went back and she let me help her with her homework - which was writing the number 2 all over a blank page.... even I could manage that day as they are more expensive.
After admiring the views 400m above Copacabana we returned to town to grab a beer and catch the sunset. Here we were introduced to, I'm guessing, the 30th beer of the trip - Inca Pilsner - which has a single wonky label and comes in half litre bottles that look as if they have been stored in a dusty cellar for the past 5 years - pretty nice though.
Another new country meant another new currency, this time the Boliviano with its dirty and ripped notes, many of which we were warned were fakes. After converting some dollars we had brought from Peru we had a nice dinner and headed to Copacabana's trendy Artwaaba bar to sample the 80p mojitos that were advertised on a flyer we had been handed earlier that day.
Copacabana has a strange hippy set that don't look traditionally Bolivian - most are bare footed and have dreadlocks and after handing one of them 50 bolivianos to pay for our drinks he took it below the bar before returning it to my sight claiming it was a fake. It wasn't apparently the sellotape holding it together that
The roof of the world
Don Ricardos "pig shed" with Lake Titicaca and the 4 mile high Illampu mountains in the background was the problem - but the fact that when held up to the light the two faces on the note didn't match up. I was pretty sure at this point that Bolivian Bob Marley had switched my good note note for a dud and protested this fact with all the bravado that 3 Mojitos can bring.
The arguement escalated until a girl with a pirates eye patch and 3 more locals (2 more Bob Marleys and a Dr Dre) got involved and I realised I was vastly outnumbered. I then shook the bartenders hand and in my slightly drunken state said "the same" instead of "sorry"("Lo mismo" instead of "Lo siento") and walked out of the bar waving goodbye whilst shouting "Hola" to the crowd that had gathered to watch.
By the time we got back to our hostel Carla was in stitches and I was slightly annoyed/embarrassed/p$ssed and if it wasn't for the fact that I was able to palm of the shifty fifty to a little girl selling water the following morning I may have never gotten over the whole episode!
We had booked two nights on an island off the "coast" of Copacabana and
Room with a view
Sunday the 3rd of June begins through the window of the "penthouse suites" at Don Ricardo spent the day before leaving with Verad the tomatoe girl watching the local priest bless a line of taxis with holy water outside the impressive cathedral and spending 5 minutes verifying every note we were handed as change from local shopkeepers, travel agents and restaurants.
Isla Del Sol
Just a short distance off shore from Copacabana lies a small island famed in Inca history as the birthplace of the Sun. Yet another slow boat deposited us at the island's southern tip where we paid little Rodriguez to direct us to our pre-booked accommodation and nearly died as we tried to keep close to him up the 500 or so Inca steps carved into the mountainside. Carla was actually nearly sick and my throat felt like it halved in diametre so when we finally arrived at our hostel we could barely talk never mind thank our little island tour guide.
Casa Don Ricardo was somewhere we had read about - a 5 room oasis owned by an Argentinian activist with the best views on the island. We weren't disappointed! Basic....a little, but stylish and set in one of the most beautiful settings of our whole trip
WOW !!!!!!
Sunset over Titicaca as seen from Copacabana - with our own private room and veranda overlooking the lake and towering snowcapped mountains beyond.
Our South American journey had been hectic, busy and frantic to this point - but as we sat in the sunshine overlooking the lake I felt my whole body relax and my batteries start to recharge. With no roads, cars, internet or English spoken and some of the friendliest people of our trip (most of whom spend all day walking around smiling and directing small herds of donkeys, llamas, sheep and pigs to nowhere in particular) I instantly fell in love with the place and just kicked back and took it all in.
After settling into Don Ricardo we sat with an American girl - Megan - drinking my new favourite altitude brew Moña tea (freshly picked from a nearby wall) and were later joined by an Aussie named Paul. After all watching the sunset over a few Inca Pilsners, we walked to a nearby mud hut "restaurant" lit only by candles and a huge open fire - over which our freshly caught Lake Titcaca trout was cooked right under our noses. After a great meal we found our way back to
Casa Don Ricardo
Basic but stylish and with the near neighbours including 10 piglets, 2 Llamas and a noisy donkey Don Ricardo with the light from a wind up torch and a million crystal clear stars - retiring early in preparation for an early start to catch the sunrise.
At 6.30am we wrapped up warm and although the window in our room gave a clear view we sat on deckchairs on our veranda watching the sunrise from behind mountains over 4 miles high. The silence was only broken by the large array of animals that inhabit the island and when a cockerel crowed, a pig farted, a donkey had a fit and a llama sneezed etc...etc... but what a great way to start a day - literally on top of the world.
There's very little to do on the island except relax or trek the ridge which is an Inca pathway the full 5-6km length of the island heading north to the ruins that lay claim to be the actual birthplace of the sun. After deciding we could relax on all the bus journeys we will have over the next couple of months we headed out early after breakfast with Megan in tow for what our guidebook told us would be an 8 hour return trek. Megan is
Same to you love !!!
One of Bolivias fat women in a bowler hat lets me know exactly how she feels about posing for a photo lovely and in true keeping with her Californian homeland is "super nice!". So super nice in fact that throughout the whole trek she insisted on saying "Hola, buenos tardes" to everything we passed including llamas, piglets and donkeys???
The going was tough, especially at altitude and although the ruins were, well "ruined" the scenery and views were out of this world - it truly is a magical place and worthy of its title as birthplace of the Sun. We actually managed the 12km round trip in 6 hours including lunch and a variety of stops where Megan would talk to cows and we would practice our Spanish with the local ruddy cheeked children.
We finished off a truly memorable stay with another meal at our favourite mud hut and a last walk back to Don Ricardo beneath the milky way. We then watched as the huge moon seemed to rise from the lake and illuminate the aptly named Isla De Lunar with a deep red glow.
As I write we are aboard our return "slow boat" to Copacabana - before moving onward to La Paz, Bolivia's capital tomorrow. The boat is packed and the combination of heat,
Endless horizons
Looking out over Lake Titicaca is like like looking out to sea altitude, engine fumes, smelly travellers, crates of beer bottles and fat women in bowler hats is starting to p$ss me off....but it's been worth it!!
Paz
MandC
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Lynne
non-member comment
Ripoff
Well you have not done to bad all the different countrys you have been to and you haven't been ripped off so blatantly as that before, how much was it worth ,if he does that to everyone he will soon be able to retire. They say it is the petrol stations that does it here with your credit cards