Bolivia 2008 #2 - Bolivia Files: A short trip out - all roads lead to Lake Titicaca (3 buses, 2 ferries)

Butch Cassidy: Bolivia .

 

Sundance Kid: What's Bolivia ?

 

Butch Cassidy: Bolivia . That's a country, stupid! In Central or South America , one or the other.

 

Isla del Sol slide show: http://s269.photobucket.com/albums/jj42/jennie_toner/Bolivia%20Files/?action=view&current=fa5fa70d.pbw

Lake Titicaca slide show: http://s269.photobucket.com/albums/jj42/jennie_toner/Bolivia%20Files/?action=view&current=19430478.pbw

Copacabana slide show: http://s269.photobucket.com/albums/jj42/jennie_toner/Bolivia%20Files/?action=view&current=a86ac406.pbw

 

Although our adventures in La Paz were myriad, from city markets to 4th of July marathons, it was time to get out of the city.

 

Our next adventure, we decided, would be to Lake Titicaca slightly higher than La Paz at 3,800 meters -12,500 feet (birthplace of the Incan empire) and the Isla del Sol ( Island of the Sun). The Isla del Sol (population 2,500) is commonly believed to have been the site of the birth of the sun god for the Aymara and Incan empires, and has ruins which include altars designed especially for animal and human sacrifice (oh yeah).

 

We got up early in the morning and caught a taxi to the bus terminal, a screaming, smoggy maze of buses, cars and stand owners selling tissues, water and gum. Mini-bus ticket hawkers lined up outside the buses yelling the names of the cities they were headed towards. We approached a woman selling tickets for “Copacabana, Copacabana, Copacabana!” (A city on the edge of Lake Titicaca and water taxi hub).

 

After everyone got on the bus, our seatmates began yelling “Vamos!” (Let’s Go!) and “Pon la pelicula!” (Put on the movie!). This continued for about 10 minutes until the bus finally rolled out of the station.

 

About an hour into the trip, the bus pulled over to the side of the road. Not only was there a flat tire, but (of course) they didn’t have a spare (why would they). We decided to hedge our bets, grabbed our bags and ran up the road to flag down the next vehicle coming by. Luckily, a bus came along soon… and after a total of 3 buses and one water ferry, we made it into Copacabana and bought one last water ferry ticket for La Isla del Sol. We headed down to the beach for a fresh caught grilled trout (head still on).

 

From the beach we could see the Bolivian Navy’s headquarters. Bolivia is land-locked due to an unfortunate loss of its coastline to Chile during the War of the Pacific in the late 19th century. Never the country to be thwarted by something so minor, Bolivia moved its navy to Lake Titicaca (22,000 square miles) and painted a large sign on the side of the building stating the equivalent of “The Sea is ours, it belongs to us, and we will have it back.” Priceless.

 

Finally, we caught our water ferry and made it to the Isla del Sol. After paying our fee to disembark, our fee to walk up the hill, then our fee to walk to the other side of the hill and after successfully dodging the teenage hostel brokers who accompanied us up the hillside, we made it to the other side of the island. With no cars on the island, the only roads were rocky pathways and the sounds we encountered were the braying of donkeys and the laughing of teenage cholitas (girls who dress in indigenous costume).

 

We hiked around for a bit and finally chose a hostel overlooking the bay. The teenage girl running the hostel, Mari, got us a room overlooking the ocean and we headed off to scout out beer and food before the impending sunset. Once the lights went out on the island, one by one, it was only the stars which filled the sky and lit the deck outside the room.

 

All was quiet until 4 a.m. when Mari and her roving bunch of teenage friends decided to wake up, turn on the radio and begin singing. After a polite request for silence, all was quiet until at least 7 a.m. when the donkeys woke up and started braying, and a lone trumpet player, who could be heard all over the island, began their morning practice, which consisted of 3 notes, over and over.

 

We hiked back down the other side of the hill, caught the water taxi and headed back to Copacabana. Just 1 bus and 2 water taxis later, we were back to La Paz , and planning our next trip. The Jungle!!! More on that soon.