Isla del Sol

I finally managed to escape La Paz and got on a bus to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca. La Paz gave me a nice send off with a dodgy belly so I was tired out the next day after an uncomfortable night in a fairly grimy Hospedaje (Copacabana was busy on Saturday night - took me quite a while to find somewhere with a room available). 

I summoned the energy to have a wander around the town in the morning however. The nearby Isla del Sol is the birthplace of the Incas and Copacabana is a popular Bolivian pilgrimage and tourist destination. The hilltop overlooking the town seemed to be the pilgrimage route so I wondered up to the top following tourists and cholitas, where there's a statue, shrines and a great view over Copacabana and the lake.

I got on a boat to Isla del Sol in the afternoon and spent a night in the peaceful and pretty little village of Challapampa, in the north of the island. 

There are a lot of Inca ruins dotted around the island, one of the most important up on the northern peninsula, complete with sacrificial table. I went for an explore in the evening, enjoying the sunset from the hilltop, and then followed the same route back in the morning before carrying on southwards to walk the length of the island. It's not very big and only takes about 4 hours. The island is beautiful, with rolling hills and somewhat Mediterranean feel to it, although it's at high altitude so much cooler. The view out to the east is what makes it special though: the lake framed by majestic snowy peaks and blue skies.

 

Sacrificial table

 

sunset over Challapampa

I had time for a small diversion down to the lakeside for a quick, achingly refreshing dip, before getting a boat from the much bigger town at the southern end of the island back to the mainland. I didn't spend much more time in Copacabana; I soon bade Bolivia a fond farewell and traveled through the night into Peru and on to Arequipa.