Highlights:
Meeting Raphael
Trucha ( the Trout fish)
Amazing. Breathtaking view of Lago Titicaca and the surrounding islands
Solo travel: this was the first time I travelled alone. I definitely felt a greater sense of responsibility and learnt to trust myself and the decisions I made more.
Lowlights:
None
People:
Raphael AKA Rafo: Bolivian, long hair, soft face, very friendly, loves rock music, plays the piano and the guitar. I met him in the bus on the way to Copocabana, which happened to be filled with all his uncles family and friends that where attending the wedding.
Nicole: Bolivian girl, Rafo’s new cousin (by marriage), thick glasses, very sweet.
Carlos: elderly Spanish man, very spiritual and intelligent, travelling through South America for years to get closer to Pachu Mama (Mother Earth). We chatted for hours at the top of Horca del Inca ( a hill in Copocabana).
Fabio: Italian, long wavy hair, met him on the boat to Copacabana and spent half a day with him on the tour to Isla de la Lunar.
Jordan: I ran into her again (met her in Cochambamba) at a restaurant in Copacabana on the day I arrived.
Juliana & Martin: I met these guys back in Corumba in Brazil and managed to knock into them again on Isla de Sol. The story of how Martin took a boat across from Europe to South America still amused me. He was afraid of planes and hence had to boat his way around the world,
Places:
Isla de Sol (Southern Part)
Escalera del Inca: Beautiful Inca ruin staircase, however not so wonderful to walk up with a 13kg backpack. The staircase was steep and went on forever.
Phala Khasa: This was the hotel that Raphael and his family stayed at for the wedding. It was very fancy and had a restaurant. The family would make a fire outside every night which everyone would sit around and chat.
Isla de Sol (Northern Part)
Museum Isla de Sol: the museum contained artifacts from Marka Pampa (the sunken city). It was interesting but very small.
Chincana complex: An hour hike, across a beach and up to the Chincana complex was quite strenuous given that I did it with my 13kg backpack but I managed. The hike was accompanied by a Spanish guide who stopped us every now and again to explain the surroundings. There were breathtaking views and very interesting ruins in the Chincana complex and along the way.
Isla de la Lunar: I took a boat out at 10:00 in the morning to the island. I did a tour hour guided tour of the island. The island was tiny (you could walk from one side, over the top to the other side in 30 minutes at max). The guided tour in Spanish was not the most interesting, there was not much to really see or explain. The island had an extremely small population of inhabitants. We were also taken to some ruins, where we saw an ancient ceremony being performed. I wasn’t massively impressed by the island, it didn’t have much more to offer than Isla de Sol.
Copocabana
Cathedral: a Moorish style cathedral with blue Portuguese-style ceramic tiles. It was a very grand church, however I think I felt all churched out at the time and wasn’t really up for seeing more churches.
Cerro Calvario: a 30 min hike up a hill which had the 14 stations of the cross along the way. I got there about an hour before sunset and watched the sun set with a beer and some trance music. The sunset was spectacular, I would go as far as saying it was the best one I saw yet in South America. The sunset across the bay was picturesque. I was just blown away by the beauty of the silhouettes of the boats on the lake.
Horca del Inca: this was another hill on the opposite end of town from Cerro Calvario. I hiked up the trail in about half an hour and met Carlos at the top. I sat down with him and had a very spiritual 2 hour conversation about many topics.
Activity:
Attending Raphael’s uncle’s wedding activities: I had become fairly close to the whole family after meeting them all on the bus. I had supper (pizza) with all of them on one evening and attended the wedding reception the next day. They were all a very friendly bunch and I got along with them very well. At the wedding reception we sipped on wine and whiskey whilst listening to some Bolivian music that was played off a Hi-Fi. We watched the sunset and took some cool pictures together. We then gathered up some wood and made a fire and gathered around to participate in more wine and whiskey.
Road block: the bus trip from Copacabana to La Paz had a road block, due to striking miners so our driver took this crazy detour on a dirt road. It felt like the bus was going to tip over at times and the route was very dodgy but we made it through just fine.
Shaved my beard off after growing it for almost 2 months. It took me almost an hour, first had to use a scissors to trim and then a blunt razor.
Foods:
Trucha: The Trout in Copacabana and the surrounding islands was spectacular, It was so fresh and delicious and was super cheap as well,
Pizza: The pizza on Isla de Sol was reasonably good but was very expensive
La Orilla: had a lovely Chilli con Carne here. The Mexican food in Copacabana was all good, I had eaten a burrito the previous night at another Mexican restaurant as well.
El Condor & The Eagle Cafe: lovely quaint Irish restaurant, had a useful book written by other travellers that gave useful tips of what to do and what not to do whilst travelling in South America. I had an awesome Chai Masala Tea and some fluffy well-spiced eggs on melt-in-your-mouth Irish bread. I returned the next day to have the same eggs and French-pressed coffee. The owner, an Irishman and his Bolivian wife were very friendly and I talked them for hours on the day before I left Copacabana.
