Crossing borders over land is always interesting. Go into this building, get a stamp, walk 100 metres, get another stamp, sometimes even a third, then get back on the bus. Much like moving cattle.
Stamp 1: Exiting Peru
Stamp 2: Entering Bolivia
And a pit stop in between, if neededShortly after crossing the border, we arrived in Copacabana- the gateway to the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. I sorted out my return ticket to Puno, grabbed a bite to eat and then had to head straight to the dock to catch the last boat over to Isla del Sol at 1:30 pm. There were about 3 boats all leaving at that time and it turns out that I picked the right one. Once we got out of the bay, the driver put down a second 40 hp motor and we “sped” ahead of the other boats. It still took well over an hour to arrive to the island, and I really had no idea what was waiting for me: a LOT of stairs heading up to Yumani, the main village on the south side of the island. A lot of stairs, high altitude, huge backpack, yeah- fun. It didn’t help that there were all of these little, well-acclimatized boys nipping at my heels asking to carry my bag and show me to a hostel.
Is there an escalator somewhere...?These were really the only few days of my trip that I had to figure out on the fly since before I was making trips from Lima and then everything was organized in Cusco. I didn’t have a guidebook so I took a few pictures of pages in Tim’s guidebook, but I still didn’t really have any concept of the size of this village or what to expect in terms of hostels. If I climb higher, do I get a better hostel, a better view? I passed one nice looking place, walked another 5 minutes and then just turned around and went back to it. Eighty bolivianos for the night, a private room, private bathroom. The conversion rate is about 6 or 7 bolivianos to $1 USD. Twelve dollars, I’ll take it. Yes, there were other rooms that cost about $3, but my budget isn’t that tight. I’ll leave those for the travellers who stretching out their funds for another 3 months and take my quiet room.
Despite sleeping well the night before I was still pretty sleepy. I took a short nap (in my nice quiet room) and then set out to climb the rest of the way up the island. Turns out I was on the east side of the island and had to climb to the top to catch the sunset. The hillside was already dotted with other people and I found a nice quiet spot for myself to sit and enjoy. Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy and the colours were somewhat dulled, but you still got a wonderful sense of being alive from being there, watching the orange and purple sky turn to dark. I grabbed some dinner (more trout) before retiring to my room for the evening.
The next morning I woke up at 8:30 am, which I think is the biggest sleep in I’ve experienced the whole time I’ve been in Peru. No taxi horns here, no one announcing that they’re selling things outside your window and definitely no car noise. Unfortunately, it was raining and I wasn’t able to set out walking until about 10 am, after catching breakfast downstairs.
The island was much quieter now than yesterday when the boats had dropped off about 150 people all at once. The majority of people had got back onto the boat to go back to Copacabana that night, or had continued onto the North end of the island. Who knows where everyone else was, but I only met local people on the paths for the next 4 hours that I spent walking around and sitting and enjoying the sites. There was a pretty amazing network of sometimes stone, sometimes dirt paths all over the island. Most had been well worn by local people moving their small herds of sheep, pigs or cows (or any combination of those animals!) or transporting things by mule. In the more populated areas, kids played on the paths or in the fields. I chatted with two small children named Karem and Arthuro for a while who were playing with their 6 month old llama named Domingo. The llama was about the same size as they were and it was almost like their pet dog as they rolled around in the grass with it. When you come across kids on the roads here they have only a few things to say to you, unless you ask otherwise: one is if you have caramelos (candies) and the other is if you want to take a picture of them (after which they expect a tip). I was trying to wrap my head around the concept that when these poor children see white people they only expect candy or money. And if you refuse, they quickly carry onto the next person. A few are more curious and ask where you’re from. I wonder if they have any idea where Canada is on a map- have they even ever seen a map…? It would be pretty facsinating to stay on one of these little islands for a while and get a better idea of what their lives are really like.
Two children watching over their muleHere are some other views around the island:
The llamas also get to enjoy the views
Potato fields
Tending the animals on the countryside
Stunning
Nuzzling mules
Return to Copacabana
After a wonderfully relaxing day wandering the island, I hopped the boat back to the mainland and Copacabana to spend the night there. I was pretty surprised to find that many of the hostels near the water were full. There was one a little higher up, but still overlooking the bay that turned out to be a good deal and very comfortable, so I settled on that for the night.
Leaving and looking back at La Isla del Sol
The Copacabana harbour
After a wonderfully relaxing day wandering the island, I hopped the boat back to the mainland and Copacabana to spend the night there. I was pretty surprised to find that many of the hostels near the water were full. There was one a little higher up, but still overlooking the bay that turned out to be a good deal and very comfortable, so I settled on that for the night.
Leaving and looking back at La Isla del Sol
The Copacabana harbour
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