Going To Isla Del Sol

After see­ing full buses of grin­gos head­ing to Copaca­bana, Bolivia, I think it is safe to say the place changed quite a lot since we were there in 2002. New hotels, high-rise build­ings by the lake, tour oper­a­tors and casa de cam­bio every­where con­firmed my first impres­sion. The world has dis­cov­ered Lake Titicaca.

The scenery was beau­ti­ful. The huge lake, 3,800 meters above sea level. The clouds, so low, us, so high that we feel we can touch the sky. The burn­ing hot sun dur­ing the day and the chilly nights. The local dish, trouts, huge fishes cooked with lemon and tomatoes.

But Copaca­bana also has a darker side. Money, money, money. Con­ve­nience stores import Pringles and US choco­lates instead of sell­ing local del­i­ca­cies, and it has a price. No ATM, but each res­i­dent can change US dol­lars, Euro, Yen, at what­ever rate they feel like set­ting — it´s not like we have the choice. Locals aren´t exactly friendly either: they take the money and run. Of course, this is Bolivia and every­thing is still pretty cheap for us. It´s mostly the atti­tude I dislike.

Nev­er­mind.

On our sec­ond day, we took a boat to Isla Del Sol, once of the islands of the lake. We left early in the morn­ing and there was a beau­ti­ful deep blue sky, the lake was clear and the sun was hot. The boat was over­packed: we sat on the roof and enjoyed the ride.

There isn´t much in Isla Del Sol. Mostly a big climb to the top of the island for a bet­ter view of Lake Tit­i­caca. But climb­ing at such a high alti­tude isn´t easy. I felt like I was 100 years old, out of breath every five minute, sweaty and light-headed. It took us over an hour to reach the top, but boy, the view!

We took the boat back with a bunch of Argen­tin­ian back­pack­ers, who played gui­tare drink­ing mate de coca. The clouds behind us, head­ing to the shore as fast as the boat would allow it (packed, once again), pass­ing float­ing vil­lages and bare land.

Worth the alti­tude sickness.

At The Market

Play­ing Foot Table On The Beach

Boli­vian Teeshirts

Col­or­ful Bus

Lit­tle Restau­rants On The Shore

Going Fish­ing In Isla Del Sol

Boats On The Lake

Climb­ing Isla Del Sol…

Lit­tle Girl In Isla Del Sol

Wav­ing…

Float­ing Village

From Isla Del Sol

Finally On Top Of The Island!

Sun­set On The Lake

Related arti­cles:

1. Perú To Bolivia
2. Meech Lake
3. The Rideau Canal
4. Bei­hai Park (北海公园)
5. The Pink Lake