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Bolivia - Lago Titicaca - Copacabana & Isla del Sol26 Oct 2005
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Iglesia de Copacabana
Niños paseando por Copacabana
Anciana de Copacabana
Aski churatam!
We travelled from on shore of the Titicaca to another, from the Peruvian side to the Bolivian side, an overland border-crossing that has been the easiest so far. We reached Copacabana, another little town with a lot of charm. We walked around town talking to its people, visiting its huge cathedral (where holy water was free and people actually took it home in bottles), walked around its numerous popcorn stands (they are so big in size here!) and all the way to Baño del Inca passing by the most rural villages we've seen in a long time. Last but not least, we climbed up to Cerro Calvario, quite a steep walk considering the altitude of Copacabana (3800m), where the different episodes of the Passion of Christ are represented as you ascend to the very top where it is possible to enjoy one of the most stunning sunsets over Lake Titicaca.
The following day, together with our friend Zoran (from Slovenia), we took a boat to Isla del Sol, a gorgeous island in the Titicaca, where we spent a night in complete isolation in the remote town of Challapampa in a beautiful family-run hostel with the cutest children running around all day long. We walked around the island admirind its beauty and coping quite well with the lack of oxygen due to its altitude. We visited the Chincana Ruins and the Rock of Puma that looks like the face of Viracocha, where a man offered to marry us with an Aymará ritual (whichi is the language people speak over here). There are many legends about Isla del Sol. The Sun itself and the first Incas are said to have been born here. The water of Lake Titicaca is VERY cold, but we had to have a bath and so we did. The island itself is such a beautiful and relaxing place... with cliffs and beaches and people walking around with their donkeys, pigs, sheep and cows from one side of the island to the other. We walked from north to south (three hours) and catched a boat back to Copacabana from the south the following day, from another small town called Yumani. And believe me, we were sorry to leave this magical place behing, but it was the time for another abrupt contrast, from remote Isla del Sol to crowded La Paz.
See you all there then!
Idoia & Mikel.
