DAY 160
Habemus vuelum! The bus fills up and we start heading to the airport... then turn around and head back to the office!!! We're already contemplating the same shit show as yesterday but it's only two idiot who could not show up in time for a 24h delayed flight... We don't leave on time but we make it to La Paz so it's good enough. Not time to linger in La Paz, we catch a bus to Copacabana. For the first time in Bolivia we use a local bus (not a tourist one). It's rougher clearly but still much better than any of the bus we had in Africa. The journey is not event-less with one exploded tire and an interesting ferry crossing.
It does look dangerous and we're happy not to be with the bus but in a small boat instead. In Copacabana we're back in altitude (3800m) and short of breath again. There's not much to see in town, it's almost only a launching pad to visit la isla del sol. But today and tomorrow happens to be the day of the virgin of Copacabana. So they have processions and events in and around the basilica. The church looks a bit like a mosque. It should not be so surprising because it dates back to the 16th century and was build by the Spanish; hence the Moorish influence in the style.
DAY 161
Shitty night again. It's a combo of altitude gain, bad mattress and cold... to stay consistent, the boat ride to Isla del Sol is shitty as well. First order of business there is to find an hotel for our overnight. For that you have to climb the steep hill and explore. There's no Internet on the island and little information about how to visit it online so we could not prepare much. With each passing minute, the place feels more and more like a tourist trap :/ Eventually we find something, clearly overpriced but it'll have to do. Trying to not dwell to much on that bad start, we head to the temple of the sun to check out what the lonely planet refers to as a "prominent ruin complex".
Disappointing is an understatement... it feels like we're back at Lalibela when we took that pricey and long expedition to see... not much. The place is expensive and uninteresting and so far, clearly not worth the hype that surrounds it. People here only want you to buy their product or book a room in their hotel. As soon as they understand you're not going to do either, they stop acknowledging you... To top it of, we're not even on the right side of the island to enjoy the sunset! The only thing positive of the day are the mountains surrounding the lake; they sure are gorgeous.
DAY 162
After all the yesterday's negativity and chain disappointments, we got a good night of sleep. Let's hope this starts a positive trend ;) We cheated yesterday too, we took some Diamox (altitude medicine), maybe that's why we slept better. Today we check out the north part of the island, the Lonely planet also has amazing things to say about it but it's harder to trust it after yesterday's fiasco. The flow of tourists today is still impressive, the hype might be self-sustained ;) It's a short boat ride to Challapampa, the village in the north. It already looks much better than the other one and it gets even better when we're greeted by a guide that explains our options and offer for those who wants to join a group tour of the area. There was no such thing in the south, just people selling stuff (I really didn't like our first experience on the island if you noticed ;) ).
Every bit of terrain is used for cultivation and like in the rest of the region, the only technique that makes it possible is terracing. In this difficult environment, they are able to grow quinoa (of course), potatoes, beans and corn. For the proteins, they have pork, lamas and fish from the lake obviously. The ruins on this island are pre-Inca, it's the same people that built Tiwanaku. But the Incas also have legends regarding this place. Here, the sun and the moon hid during the deluge and when they took off again, they left marks in the ground that can still be seen. Here also, the first Inca Kings (Manco Kapac and Mama Ocllo) were sent by the gods to found the Inca empire. To be sure, there are temples in and off the island. The water level varied over time so it should not surprising to have sunken temples as well. The one that can still be visited while staying dry is the palacio del sol; not big but a real maze.
Do you see a face on that stone?
The bar was low after the 1st day but the 2nd day was truly much much better than the first. The ride back to the mainland was bad but it was expected at least. To finish on a positive note, after all this, we now know the right way to visit the place should one still feel like doing it ;) Go the northern village (Challapampa) right away, don't stop at the southern one. Travel light, leave your main luggage in Copacabana and overnight in Challapampa. You can visit the area in the morning and hike back across the island to the first village to catch the boat.
DAY 163-4
We did very little during our two days off in Copacabana. a bit of shopping and 4 failed attempts at buying stamps. According to the official schedule, the post office was open these 2 days. We tried in twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon over the course of 2 days without luck. Of course no one knows were the person working there is but they assured us it was supposed to be open.