October 8th 2015
We arrive in Copacabana, Bolivia’s Titicacan paradise, just an hour or so before sunset and find ourselves a simple but functional hotel at Sol de America for 20 Bolivianos each, from there we don’t wait, instead heading straight down through the very touristy but pleasant and pretty streets of Copacabana towards the lake shore. One thing’s for sure, the center of copabanana exists solely for tourism, but somehow it maintains a fairly pleasant aura. We take a less busy street down to the lake and pass by one of the most interesting hotels I’ve seen in a while, complete with the resident guard Llamas.
Getting down to the lake we are struck by just how beautiful the sapphire blue waters are as the light starts to fade from the sky. We walk down to the centre of town alongside the lake and find a giant anchor, providing a perfect focus points for the incredible colours of the sunset.
We eventually end up eating dinner at one of the touristy restaurants on the waterfront though it’s not too terrible price wise and the food is fine, then we book our boat to Island de Sol for the next day. We choose to leave at 1 pm but there are also regular departures around 830 A.M for those unable to spend at least one night on the island. We take a one way ticket to the north side of the island which costs 25 Bolivianos (4.5 CAD) and takes about 2.5 hours. To go to the southern end of the island, which is more populated and touristy with rumours of wifi available costs 20 BL and takes about 2 hours. All of these can be booked at just about any agency in town, where you can also usually leave your big bags if you so desire.
The next morning we wake up early and do a better job exploring the town of Copacabana. The first stop is the central church, where a friendly old Bolivian Lady sells me a candle for my mother just outside the church, neglecting to mention there’s no where in the church to light a candle. Clever Clever.
From the church we head down the main gringo drag past countless artesian shops all holding mostly the same thing, and even more restaurants with people offering all variety of lunch specials. The anchor looks different but equally beautiful in the full daylight. we wander out past the anchor along the lakeside, appreciating the countless swan boats and one very voracious humping dog. We started to feel bad for the female, since he’d just hump her anywhere at all.
After enjoying a nice fresh homemade ice cream, Sara buying a bracelet and us stocking up on some snacks for the island, we head down to the boat launch and climb aboard the top of the ship, where it can be a little cold and you definitely need sun protection, but it’s endlessly better for the views. Sadly our boat doesn’t leave anywhere close to on time and we watch all the others leave before our captain finally arrives near two pm bringing the gas with him. Luckily I do my best to never be in too much of a rush when travelling, since it often proves a recipe for disaster. On another bright side a man I know from Passing through on my way to Santa Cruz stops by with his delicious Lentil burgers with a spicy asian Mayo. I buy 5 and I think my enthusiasm sells about 5 more for him to others on the boat. Needless to say he’s a happy man. We’re all raring to go to the island where the sun was born according to ancient mythology, and we’re all covered in sunscreen just in case.
We finally set off around two and I’m instantly glad I’ve sat up top,even if the wind is a little biting and also serves to make the passage a little rough. Still the views of the lake are worth it.
As we speed out onto the worlds highest navigable lake we come through a narrow passageway of smaller Islands, and huge snow capped mountains emerge in the distance on our right, making the already impressive view, just all around ludicrous.
We pull into a tiny little settlement halfway up the island and let off some locals before continuing along to Challapampa the town on the northern end of Isla de Sol where we’ll be spending the night. As we drift into the bay I manage a few nice shots of a local fisherman with those same impressive mountains in the background.
We come aboard and Sara ducks into the bathroom (2 bolivianos) while I pay our entry into the community (10 BS) and say no thank you to the various children gathered around the dock offering places to stay. We want to wander around and have a look first. That said the pigs and donkeys all around the small beach where we’ve landed give the place a very quaint feel.
After a short walk and meeting up with friends we first met up with in Sucre we find a private room with shared bathroom for 25 Bolivianos each (4.50 CAD) in a house run by a friendly family with a nice garden. The beds aren’t the most comfortable but I’ve undoubtedly slept on worse. 25 seems the standard rate, with places with private bathrooms closer to the port sometimes charging up to 40 per person. We’re pleased with our place and while the outlet in our room does not work, the family happily lets sara recharge her battery in the kitchen.
Once we’re settled in we leave a few things behind and decide to go check out the nicer beach, and maybe even see if we can find a nice place to watch the sunset. The beach itself is pleasant enough, with beautiful views of the lake and some lake glass, smoothed enough to pass as sea glass washed up on the beach. The water is crisp and cold but not cold enough to keep me out, though even the ducks look at me oddly as I plunge into the worlds tallest Navigable Lake.
I dry off in the fading Sun and Sara searches for more glass, before we decide to at least try an ascent to the other edge of the island where the sunset will be infinitely more visible. It looks like a terribly steep climb for someone who is suddenly not feeling at his best. (Maybe 4 lentil burgers wasn’t the best lunch/dinner plan). We walk up the cobblestone path past the beach and past locals and donkeys alike as we start our ascent up through the hills of isla de sol.
As we continue up the hill some locals ask us to show our 10 soles entrance ticket to the community, which is nota problem and we flash it and carry on through the farming outskirts of the tiny village. Sara quickly observes how it feels like the shire, and for the first time I agree with someone saying that. Surrounded by greenery, farm animals and friendly faces on this hilly terrain it wouldn’t feel far out of place to turn a corner and stumble upon Bag End.
We continue up past the outskirts and into the true nature of the island, the climb not getting easier but the views getting better and better, as we head out further north unto the far tip of the island, climbing up along precarious paths and then back down a ways to get a clearer view of the sunset.
We reach the last plateau and both appreciate how one of the islands in lake Titicaca looks like a pile of poo, reaching the end of the rough hewn trail just in time as the sun sinks low in the sky, splaying bright oranges, yellows and reds across the canvas of the sky. It’s incredibly beautiful and enough to make me look up from sucking wind to appreciate nature’s painting.
I love my new camera but the one issue shared on this one and the older nikon is that the dusk down mode pulls out way too many purples and blues. Still, while not highly realistic, these shots snapped just prior to the impressive sun set scene above, are worth sharing too.
The sun disappearing quickly and the trail easy enough to lose in the encroaching darkness we have to head back a lot faster than I would have liked to. At nearly 4000 meters, it’s hard to move uphill let alone fast, but we manage it, only losing the trail once and finding it again quickly enough, getting back to the cobblestone path which leads to town before the last light of the dying sun has left the sky. We head back to town and head to sleep skipping any real dinner knowing we have a much longer walk in store for us tomorrow, as we cross the entire island to the southern side on our ay back to Copacabana.
