Copacabana and Lake Titicaca

Who said the buses in Bolivia were just chicken coups? Luxury can exist here and the El Dorado bus from Sucre to La Paz was our best yet in South America. With only three wide, fully reclining seats making up the width of the bus we slept better than in some hostel beds. By early morning we arrived in La Paz and said goodbye to Pete who was staying there. We we´re soon off further north on the 8am local bus to Copacabana and Lake Titicaca. The bus takes about 3.5 hours, including the highlight of the journey, a ferry crossing. Well simply things hey. All of us on board got off the bus as it drove onto a large wooden barge, along with a couple of cars and sheep. We all hopped on a speedboat and crossed seperately watching our bus, and bags, precariously bob along.

Copacabana sits beside Lake Titicaca and although it has a touristy bitterness it isn´t too bad a place. Time here was short however and dictated by there being no ATM. We checked into the hostel called La Cupula which was gorgeous, clean and overlooked the the town and bay. It was so nice in fact that we decided to stay for an extra night. We would have to change rooms and pay a little more which was fine, but the hostel actually had some trouble getting previous occupants out, resulting in our room being upgraded to a holiday cottage with private kitchen and bathroom - cashback! For the first time in Bolivia the weather really warmed up and the sun shone. On our third day we decided to get up early and catch the boat to the Isla de Sol, one of Lake Titicaca´s inca settlement islands. After a jam-packed two hour ride we arrived at the northern port and eventually arrived in time for a cafe con leche. The island is split into three communities and like everywhere in Bolivia everyone wants their piece of the cake. Consequently you´re supposed to pay a toll as you walk between the north, central and southern zones. The northern section is denfinately the more touristy as here lies the ruins of the Inca sacrifical sights. The island is stunning, and as you walk along the stone pathway from the north to the south the sun highlights the crop terraces built up by the Incas. We reached the southern end of the isle in about 3 hours but felt shattered due to the altitude. We found a bed for the night in a small hostel for 25 bolivianos (two pounds fifty!) and that night the temperature dropped. A hale storm insued and our tin roof amplified the giant balls of ice throughout the night. Tucked up under layers of blankets we woke to another beautifully clear but crisp morning over looking Lake Titicaca.

That morning we caught the early boat back to the mainland and jumped on the bus back to La Paz (avoiding the more expensive `Tourist Bus` that the tour operators on the highstreet try and sell you). By the afternoon we were arriving in La Paz amd immediately thrown into the hustle and bustle of this crazy, wintery and mountainous city.