Copacabana & Isla del Sol
Well we’ve just returned from a three day trip to Copacabana & Isla del Sol. What a stunning place it is! After the hustle and bustle of La Paz, Copacabana made a pleasant change with its quiet streets and beach.
For those that don’t already know Copacabana is on the shores of Lake Titicaca, which is supposed to be the highest navigable lake in the world. You cannot see land on the horizon so it gives the impression of being a sea, although it does feel weird to be standing on what appears the sea shore and just shy of 4000m
The trip to Copacabana was fairly straight forward with the bus picking us up from the hostel. The highlight was the small ferry crossing on route where we had to leave the bus which was put on a small barge and make our way across on smaller motor boats. It was quite surreal watching the coach being taken across the 2-300m stretch of water on a flimsy barge, more so when you realised all our kit was on top of it.
The drive from the ferry to Copacabana was very reminiscent of the North West of Scotland, with dramatic landscape dropping into deep blue water. The only minor difference was the parched landscape, oh and the lama’s !
We spent the night in Copacabana before catching a ferry to the north of Isla del Sol. The original plan had been to trek along the coastline before taking the short ferry hop to the island but the team had decided they would rather walk the length of the island. Something I was very happy about as Lonely Planet rave on about how great it is.
The boat trip to the island took around 2 hours, with more dramatic view including a number of 6000m plus summits on the sky line.
We trekked the length of the island through numerous villages, with the large snow capped peaks always in view. It was breath taking. The altitude and the heat was taking its toll on the younger members of the team and it took all of our efforts to get them to the south of the island before dark. We arrived at the the cliff just above the southern harbour just before sun down and found the most perfect of campsites with views across Lake Titicaca to the mountains beyond. I pitched my tent with the door towards this in anticipation of the perfect view from my bed in the morning.
And I was not disappointed. Words cannot describe the scene with the sun rising behind the distant mountains and streaming the miles across the lake before catching the boats in the harbour below. Truly breathtaking.
This morning we caught the first ferry back to Copacabana. Well when I say first it was actually the second. Maz and I had a blazing row, not easy when I don’t speak Spanish - thank god Maz does - with a boat owner who had sold us a ticket for 17 people on the understanding he had 14 life jackets, to only produce 5 when it came to the crunch. After much shouting by Maz and I we eventually got a refund and went with a neighboring boat. This then produced a row between the boat owners but eventually we got back to Copacabana and caught the bus back to La Paz.
Tomorrow we are off to start the Yunga Cruz trek. This is a 4 day trek some 6 hours drive south of La Paz which passes over a high pass of 4500m. This will be a real test for the team but one they are really looking forward to.
More when we get back. Apologies for the lack of pictures at the moment but I am yet to find and Internet connection with a USB port. As soon as a find one I’ll upload.
Bye for now!
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