We arrived at Copacabana around 5.30pm – just in time to see a spectacular sunset. Copacabana is a small town in northern Bolivia, nestled on the edge of Lake Titicaca, the highest (3850m) navigable lake in the world – the lake is huge (58,000 square kilometers). We arrived at our beautiful, and funky little hostel called Los Olas. It was perched on the hillside with amazing views of the lake.
Both Deryn and I struggled once again with the altitude and hence did not do a lot for the first couple of days. We explored the village on the first day and did very little else. We did bump into a couple of fellow Kiwi nomads from Wellington (Graeme and Julie) on the first night while waiting for dinner so ended up sharing a table. It was was a real pleasure. As was the cost of the meal – things certainly are cheaper in Bolivia.
On the second day I managed to find a local bar that was showing the second leg of the Leeds Derby promotion semi. I really wish I hadn’t. At least I did not have to share my misery with anyone as the bar was completely empty. By the end of the day we had enough energy to climb the hill behind the village to watch the sunset – spectacular. Although we were a bit premature in descending the hill as the colours continue to look incredible a good 30 minutes after the sun had gone down.
We bumped into a couple of Brits earlier in the day (Ian and Nikki) who recognized us from Humahuaca in northern Argentina. Nikki said she recognized my face but I suspect it was my t-shirt which I remember her commenting on at the time. We met up for dinner and had a very pleasant couple of hours swapping nomad stories. They had been traveling for 4 years blogging, mixing up back-packing with house sitting. This house sitting definitely sounds like something to explore further. https://www.aboveusonlyskies.com
Day 3 we got up early (ish) and caught the local boat out to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). Apparently the birthplace of the first Inca. We clambered aboard the boat for a 80 minute journey to the island – its wasn’t that far, its just that the boat travelled at a slow walk in order to preserve fuel.
We jumped off at an old Inca ruin and then after a bit of a climb walked along an elevated path that took us to the main village on the south of the island called Yumani. We then took a path along the top which took us close to the northern part of the Island – we were not allowed to enter as there was an ongoing dispute between the north and the south and tourists were banned from entering. A Korean tourist was killed last year after wondering into the north. The island was beautiful – very rural but dry. We were amazed at the number of eucalyptus trees, which I guess goes with dry!
We then climbed to the Cerro Palla Khasa, the highest point on the island at 4065m. The views from an abandoned house were amazing. We wandered back into the village for a lovely meal overlooking the vast expanse of Lake Titicaca. There were a few fun and games getting back on the boat to Copacabana before the mind numbing crawl back to port. We met a couple of young Brazilians who were biking around Bolivia who gave us some tips where to go in La Paz. Deryn and I kicked on a wee bit that night after having a couple of fantastic Pisco Sours over our Thai meal.
We grabbed a bus the next morning to La Paz – 35 Bolivianos ($A7) for a 3.5 hour journey. The drive across the peninsula was spectacular. Snow capped mountains and lake everywhere. We had to jump of the bus and catch a small boat across the lake at Tiquina – the bus went on a separate tiny ferry. Once in La Paz – the city looked incredible, can’t wait to get back there – we grabbed a quick feed before catching a taxi to the airport and our flight to Rurrenabaque, a tiny town on the Beni river where we were going to head into the wilds. The 35 minutes flight over the mountains in a small 30 seater plane was great. Rurrenabaque was both very warm and only 270m above sea level – bliss.
We caught a tuktuk to our hostel El Curichal Hostel, at which we only lasted the night before moving to the much more comfortable Hotel Maya de la Amazonia. Once again a lesson learnt that it does not pay to go too cheap (US$25 for a double room with en-suite). I’m the fussy one, not Deryn mind. We spent a couple of days chilling in the village before heading off on our Pampas adventure.
And finally, to finish with a donkey and a pig, rather than a dog!
