Lake Titicaca is one of those places you hear about (and snigger at the name as a kid) but never think you'll go. On the border of Peru and Bolivia, it's the highest navigable lake in the world and has an overall average depth of 107 metres. It's only a short 3 hour bus ride from La Paz to Copacabana, the main Bolivian town on the shores of Lake Titicaca. We arrived in the early evening so found a place to stay then walked around town and had some cheap eats. It's only a small town but there were still street markets and food and plenty of people around. That's what we love about South America - the constant activity on the streets and abundance of street food. Why pay $10-$15 for a meal when you can pay $3 and be just as satisfied?
We were up early the next morning to get a ferry across to Isla del Sol where we planned on staying for a couple of days to chill out and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. It was supposed to take about 1.5 hours to cross to the island, however we appeared to just cruise on past. We ended up at Isla de la Luna which was another hour further on, and somewhere we hadn't actually intended to go. Oh well, it didn't cost any extra so we had an hour to spend on land. I had a dodgy stomach so didn't make the hike up the hill, but Kurt went and took some photos of the panoramic views. There are also ruins of an Incan nunnery but they were on another side. Then we backtracked to where we actually wanted to go.
Isla del Sol is one of the lake's largest islands with pretty harsh terrain - it's a very rocky and hilly island. There are no motor vehicles or paved roads on the island and even a bicycle is pretty useless (although we did see one keen young girl trying to prove otherwise). The main economic activity of the families living on the island is farming, with fishing and tourism adding to this. We soon discovered just how hilly it is when we got off the ferry and had to walk uphill to find a place to stay. Now, any uphill hike with a 17kg backpack on your back and a 5kg day bag on your front is hard work, but throw in the fact that you're doing this at an altitude of 4000m and it gets really bloody hard. So after about an hour of struggling uphill, we found a place that had a pretty good view across the lake. And we weren't even at the top but is was far enough for me. After dumping our shit and catching our breath we trudged on up to the top of the island to find some lunch. One of the only places open had an outside area with beautiful views out over the other side of the lake. A pretty good reward for all that hard work. After a well-deserved afternoon nap and chill out time, we went back up to the top to watch the sunset and eat dinner at a restaurant nestled in the trees that had been recommended by friends. It was a small vegetarian place with no electricity, and the owner was also the chef and waiter. He had 3 options so we chose the fresh trout baked in foil with wine and herbs, served with veges and quinoa, and a vege pizza. It was the best pizza we've had anywhere and the trout was pretty damn good too. We also tried a local drink of warm red wine with pisco liquor. It wasn't a cheap meal but it was awesome food and an unbeatable setting, so we were happy.
The next day we took it easy and went for a short walk up to a lookout, then across to the point of the island. It was beautiful weather and it was so nice to get away from all the usual noises of towns and cities. The loudest thing on the island was a donkey, so it really was an escape from the real world for a few days.
The day before we left we decided to make the big hike over to the southern end of the island and back again in one day. We set out at about 8:30am and took the path that goes over the top of the island and ends at the pre-incan ruins on the south side. This took us about 3 hours then we decided to head back on the path around the eastern side of the island to get a different view. After arguing with an asshole 'gatekeeper' who tried to charge us money to walk further (not a chance buddy), we had a few more hours of walking to get back to the north side. It was a beautiful walk, but all the up and down was a bit of a bloody effort at 4000m. We made it back to the north at about 2:30pm and had a well-deserved lunch before treating ourselves to a rest/nap. We ended our final night with a bottle of red wine outside under the stars with the reflection of the moon on the lake. I know, we have a hard life sometimes.
Going downhill the next morning to get the ferry back to Copacabana was a whole lot easier than going up, and thankfully this time we didn't have an unexpected detour. That night we had a couple of bottles of cheap and cheerful vodka ($3 for 1 litre) and had an impromptu party with some other guys who were staying in our hotel. Apparently we were rather noisy but no-one came to tell us to shut up - yet another difference to home.
Surprisingly not too hungover the next morning (probably still drunk), we hopped on a bus to cross the border to Peru. Thanks for having us Bolivia, it's been a blast.
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