Copacobana and the Island of the Sun

And so my bus left Loki at 8am last Thursday morning and I got my last view of La Paz across the frozen tundra like expanse of El Alto before departing the city all together. A mere three hours later I was on the edge of Lake Titikaka standing in the picturesque town of Copa (see right) and sorting out a boat to take me across so that I could spent the night on the Inca- ruin rich Isla Del Sol. Job done and a mere hour later I boarded a boat across to the island. On the hour and a hlaf journey across I met a group of american teenagers who were travelling together in a massive group of 18, which was having the predictable effect of making them all hate each other. When I fist saw them they were sat in a circle on the beach in Copa taking it in turns to hold a burning branch (a la every american teen film you've ever seen) and telling each other everything the other members of the group had done to annoy them... hilarious to over hear, "and this morning Hillary used my hair gel and (getting higher pitched with each syllable) DIDNT. EVEN. ASK!!". However. the girls all turned out to be lovely, and I have nothing but sympathy for their situation, for as a solo traveller I can all too easily appreciate the restraints travelling with even one other person might put upon you, let alone another 17!! The island was as beautiful as the guidebooks had promised, and with a long day of travelling behind me I mustered the energy to go and see the Inca steps (well... I'd already climbed up them without realising because I'm a bimbo, but I went back and saw them again and photographed them to make my visit official), and to hike to the top of the island to watch the sunset (see left) an absolute must on the Island of the Sun. After a delicious dinner of fish caught straight from the lake I then retired to my quarters to enjoy a double bed in a room to myself for the first time since leaving England. Sounds sad, but for me it was very exciting. I'd also got an extremely good price for the room, which I can now only assume was a direct result of the landlady feeling guilty about lying about the residence having a flushing toilet or hot shower.
The next day I was up to watch the sunrise (another must- see left again) and then decided to take a boat to the North of the Islands to see where the more impressive Inca Ruins were (you know, the ones you don't miss by accident while walking over them...) . For some reason I wasn't feeling my best when I got up that morning (actually hadn't been feeling great for a few days... more on that later) and was unsure whether or not to hike back from the North of the island having been informed by a local it would take me 3 hours. I decided to choose when I got there and hopped on a boat to the North about 10 am. The ruins in the North were an hours hike from the port, and well worth it (see right). Especially as my American friends were there and I muscled in on their tour for free. It turned out they had hiked from the South that morning and assured me the walk was a solid 4 hours hike. However by this stage I was feeling much better for all the fresh air, and decided I didn't want to miss the views and essential Isla Del Sol experience of the hike and made my way back via the path that crosses the isle. The hike actually took a little over an hour and a half (although I do walk fast and am acclimatised to the altitude so probably had an edge) and was well worth the effort as the views were beautiful. I made my way back to my hostel, collected my kit, made my way down the Inca Stairs (only a moron wouldn't notice they were CLEARLY Inca) and was back on a boat to Copa to arrive by six. I had decided to spend a night in the little seaside town, partly because I liked it, and partly because I didnt want to arrive in my next stop of Puno in the middle of the night. Wondering through the town I was highly delighted and entertained to find a sign on a little cafe that said 'Cheesecake', and for those of you that know the Llama song, and my love of it, will understand why I spent several minutes photographing said sign (I feel a video montage coming on). The cafe also had a sign in the window claiming to buy english books and as I had recently almost finished Harry Potter 5 (Unable to finish it I frustratingly discovered in Isla Del Sol- see photo below) I decided to swap the cafe the damaged book for a slice of the famous cheesecake. Now, after 3 months here, I really should have known better. Whenever South Americans try to do traditional dishes for westerners they are ALWAYS appauling (the amount of times I've been seduced into ordering Lasagne only to be appauled at the foul taste in my mouth suggests I have some kind of memory issue). The cheese cake was sadly no different. In fact not so much cheese cake as a cake with a vaguely cheesy flavour. Nevertheless it was an entertaining evening, and when I left Copa for Puno the next day it was with nothing but a positive impression of a friendly little Bolivian town.