"According to Incan lore, after a great flood, the god Viracocha arose from Lake Titicaca to create the world. He commanded the sun (Inti), moon (Mama Kilya) and stars to rise, then went to Tiahuanaco to create the first human beings, Mallku Kapac and Mama Ocllo. These first humans, the "Inca Adam and Eve," were formed from stone and brought to life by Viracocha, who commanded them to go out and populate the world. Thus Lake Titicaca is the birthplace of the Incas, whose spirits return to their origin in the lake upon death." (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/bolivia/lake-titicaca)
It was definitely a magical trip.
Soraya (my roommate) and I got on the last minivan to Copacaban around 6:30 pm on friday. We made it to El Alto where we waited for one person for about a half an hour, typical bolivian. Then we sat in traffic in el alto for awhile, until our driver cut another van off and hit him. the driver got out and searched for us. we he found us, some words were exchanged and it ended in our driver giving him 30 bolivianos (less than 5 dollars). finally on our way. we made it to copacabana at about 10:15. It was eerily quiet. we checked out one really cheap place to stay, one really expensive place to stay and one middle place to stay. we went for the middle of the road room, 50 bolivianos each, actually pretty expensive.
we put down our stuff and went to search for food and drinks. It was oddly quiet, I thought there would be tourists around! we found the main drag and the 3 places our guide books told us about. we had a drink and some hot sandwiches at the first bar. I think it was just about alll of the tourist in town, all 8 of them.
then we went to a bar we passed for salsa music. it was full of hippies who were sort of living in there. a lot of chileans who were working there temporarily. We got to practice our spanish and salsa dance!
the next morning we had breakfast on a beautiful patio near the lake, it was awesome, fresh papaya juice, bread and butter and jam, and a fried egg and steak and french fries and salad and coffee. good start. then we went to try to get a boat to Isla del sol, except the next one wasnt until 4! we bought our tickets and went to look for some fruit and snacks for the hikes. after walking in circles we finally found the fruit market. we payed a hefty "gringo" price for our madrins, mangos, apples and bananas. we also got some Saltenas for the road. went down to the water, sat in some cute beach chairs and drank beer looking at the water.
the boat ride was beautiful, the lake is just endless. it took about 2 and 1/2 hours to get to the north side of the island.
We hopped off and went in search of a place to stay. after wandering around we looked at a place right on the sandy beach. for 20 bolivianos each (less than 3 dollars) we had a 2nd story room with a window overlooking the amazing lake and beach. SOLD. we put down our stuff and went out for a hike.
Pigs, and cows, and donkeys and alpaca and dogs and cats all over!
the town was so quaint and authentic and traditional.
we got to the ruin right before sunset. some rock where they apparently made human sacrifices. The best was an ancient labyrinth! we sat in the middle and ate some mandarins, then explored! some wrong turns to dead ends, some tunnels to a new set of turns. strangely we saw some people (obviously bolivians) setting up camp on the ruins.
As we headed back to town, i looked up and saw THE biggest most beautiful full moon of my entire life. i started to cry. i just couldnt help it! for those who know me, you know i love the moon, and at that moment i felt its powerful presence and beauty.
dinner in a weird hut like thingy, food wasnt great but the family who ran it was. drank a bottle of wine and looked at the moon over the lake.
up early the next morning and headed to the other side of the mountain. The whole time we just couldnt get over how damn big this lake is. beautiful walk with lunch on the top of a little hill at a picnic bench. when we got to the other side we stopped for a jar of fresh lemonade at a restaurant on one of the cliffs. a hummingbird just completed the unbelievable picture we were in. then we went down to the main town and hung out on the grass for our boat. \
back at copacabana we had time for a quick meal and onto a bus. I forgot to mention this before but to get to La Paz you have to get across a small part of the lake on a "ferry" and by that i mean a wooden raft. Somehow they get huge tour busses across the water on these measly wooden rafts.
anyways, it was amazing. cant wait until soraya can put up pictures!
