14.10.2013Copacabana – Bienvenido a Bolivia!

After a great time in Peru we decided to move on and cross the border to Bolivia. We took the bus from Puno, Peru to Copacabana, Bolivia. The border had to be crossed by foot and first we had to get the Peruvian Police and exit stamps…

Than we walked over to Bolivia to get our entry stamps:

Fortunately we could leave our backpacks in the bus and didn’t have to get them inspected at the border. Our bus waited for us on the Bolivian side to continue on to Copacabana which is only about 10 minutes from the border.

Copacabana (3841 m) is the most important Bolivian town on the shore of Lake Titicaca. The town is known for its famous Basilica, home of the Virgin of Copacabana, its trout, and its idyllic atmosphere. Built between mount Calvario and mount Niño Calvario, the town has approximately 6000 inhabitants. After checking in at our hostel we explored Copacabana by foot.

The view from our hostel room:

We first walked to the shore of Lake Titicaca where it was very windy and cold:

Here an overview of the different puffed corn types they sell everywhere in the streets…

We visited the famous Basilica but unfortunately we couldn’t see the Virgin of Copacabana, because it was closed for maintenance:

And finally we tried our first Bolivian beer, which tastes quite good and is served in large 0.65 liter bottles:

After it had snowed (!) over night in the mountains surrounding the town we started our shivering boat trip to the Isla del Sol.

Looking towards our destination the weather seemed to get nicer and thus we were hopeful that we would have a great day crossing the famous island by foot:

On the two hour boat trip to the Isla del Sol we passed by some smaller islands:

Once we arrived on the Isla del Sol we started to hike across the island from the north to the south end.
After passing by an idyllic beach…

…we had to gain some elevation to get to the top of the mountain range, that stretches across the island:

We passed locals…

and different animals:

until we got to the first overlook:

After some more walking we arrived at the northern tip of the island where we saw one of the first Inca sites, the Rock of the Puma:

A little further along the way we saw Inca ruins with a beautiful view over Lake Titicaca:

From this northern tip of the island we continued to head south:

A woman selling self made products on the side of the path. Tini couldn’t resist to buy a nice piece of jewelry made of stone:

We continued south along the path at a height of around 4000 m:

We passed different check-points, that mark the border between the communities. Of course each community collects a fee for using their paths, so we had to pay several Bolivianos 🙂
By the way the abbreviation for Bolivianos is Bs…

One of the colorful red cactus blossoms from along the way:

Along the next part of the way we met a really dirty pig crossing our path; with its earth-colored skin it had a very good camouflage 🙂

Although the sky looked dark and cloudy, we were lucky that it didn’t rain. The chilly wind was quite welcome because the ups and downs on the path were a bit strenuous at this altitude:

At the southern part of the Isla del Sol we passed some local children:

A donkey caravan carrying supplies from the port to the village:

The view into the bay of Yumani, where our boat would leave back to Copacabana:

An old woman passing her time by knitting:

After that three hour hike we enjoyed a cold beer and a nice view from the sunny terrace over the harbor:

Luckily the short rain shower waited until we got on the boat and headed back to Copacabana:

And as soon as we arrived in Copacabana the sun welcomed us again 🙂

In the evening we went to a local restaurant near the shore.

As an entree we shared nachos with five delicious sauces:

Andi had the restaurants famous Chili:

And Tini had a filled trout which was freshly fished from the lake:

As a dessert we shared pancakes with chocolate ice 🙂

After an extensive breakfast with pancakes, scrambled eggs, a fruit salad, …

With a half day left before heading to La Paz we climbed mount Calvario to enjoy the view over the city.

On the top there were a lot of holy shrines, to which the people pilger to make small offerings, light some candles and pray.

In the afternoon we took the bus to La Paz and had quite an adventurous ride…