The restaurant was just still open by the time we arrived at our hotel, La Cupula, and the food turned out to be good!

We slept well and awoke to a blue sky and a warm breeze. Ed went off to explore in his pyjamas, armed with a camera. He returned raving about the exquisite views of the beach and the alpacas that were roaming freely around the small private gardens of the hotel. A slow, lazy breakfast with a view on the lake followed, with gallons of coffee and a blissful feeling of having no specific agenda.

Copacabana is one of the most popular Bolivian resorts on Lake Titicaca and attracts lots of locals on holiday and tourists looking to explore the famous islands on the Bolivian side of the lake. In particular, Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) and Isla de la Luna (Island of the moon) – named as such since they are supposedly the respective birthplaces of the sun and the moon and have always been worshiped by the locals.

We had planned a couple of nights in La Cupula to relax before heading to Isla del Sol, so, aside from organising our boat trip for the next day, the only things on the agenda of the day were catching up on the blog (Lolo), the 6 Nations rugby and Southampton vs. Chelsea (both Ed) – luckily all of those could be accommodated from the comfort of one of the many garden hammocks.

After lunch, we explored the beach, marveling the largest fleet of peddle boats we’d ever witnessed. There were also plastic tubes where people would get in and run like hamsters on the lake. We didn’t partake. Instead, we took the advice of our German host to climb the steep hill behind the hotel and take in the sunset at the top.

All hopes of a quiet, romantic half-hour at the top were shattered when we arrived to find a large Bolivian religious tour group of around 50 people. Fortunately, they kept us amused with their chanting, singing, praying and when they threw paper airplanes off the top at sunset (into the wind – rookies!). Views were amazing and Ed got crazy (artfully inspired) with the camera.

The next morning we wandered down to the cathedral to witness the strange local custom of car baptisms. We’d been told that people would travel for miles around in order to have their cars (new, old and falling apart) blessed by the local priest. No doubt the purpose of which was to prevent accidents and bring the family great fortune.

All of the cars would form a queue and whilst the families waited for the priest they would all furiously decorate their cars with all sorts of flowers and tat helpfully being sold by the smart salespeople stationed by the entrance to the cathedral. The priest would then arrive with a bucket (of holy water?) and a mop and would proceed to splash the car.

Ceremony and photo-session over, the delighted family would pop the corks on a few bottles of fizzy wine, douse the car (not good for the paint work I hear) and then let off a few packs of bangers. Once the smoke cleared, they’d typically all bundle off into the church to say a quick prayer.

The spectacle was fascinating, although, cynical Ed (clearly grumpy from not having had any breakfast) had suggested that better fortune on the roads might be best achieved from safer driving, not dousing cars with fizzy wine. He continued to sit eagerly awaiting a post-baptism crash. Fortunately for the families involved, we did not see one!

Early afternoon we boarded a little passenger ferry for the 2.5-hour crossing to the south of Isla del Sol. We were welcomed by searing heat and arrived at the bottom of a very long, steep set of stone steps. Armed with our guidebooks, we decided to venture and find our hotel according to the map.

After 1.5 hours of walking, we were a bit concerned not to find anything and asked a local farmer and his donkeys for directions. We found out that the Lonely Planet map was terribly wrong and we had taken an enormous detour around a very steep mountain! Ed still wants to write them a strongly worded letter! Anyways, the landscape was absolutely beautiful, which sort of made up for it.

We arrived at our hotel, Palla Khasa, having negotiated an amazing deal with the owner as it was low season and we were basically his only guests. It was probably the most luxurious hotel of the area and the biggest room we had stayed in to date, offering glorious panoramic views.

Tired, hungry but eager to explore, we wandered back to Yumani and the southern tip of the island to catch the sunset and have dinner. En route we bumped into some Dutch friends, who we’d seen numerous times on our travels and had managed to speak to briefly in Sucre. It appeared that our itineraries were very similar, so we agreed to have dinner together in Copacabana, the following night.

That night we awoke to the most dramatic thunderstorms. It seemed that the entire perimeter of Lake Titicaca was under attack, with flashes of lightening all along the shores. Not long afterwards the storms had advanced and we were directly underneath the action. We didn’t sleep well that night!

The next morning we set-off on a mission to walk the length of the island, to the Ruinas de Chinkana (about 3 hours), before turning back along the east coast in order to catch a midday boat back to Copacabana. The weather was kind and views magnificent. We landed back in Copacabana early afternoon and checked ourselves back into La Cupula. Our room was better than before, with tons of light a small balcony and elevated views of the beach. Bliss.

Finally, that evening, after many brief encounters, we managed to spend some time with Wouter and Wyneke, a Dutch couple that had clearly been stalking us for the past couple of months! Fuelled with plenty of wine (we were also celebrating an engagement and several pregnancies), we hit if off right away and agreed to meet up in Cuzco, our next destination.

The final day L suggested we go on a little hike since our bus to Cuzco did not leave until the evening. We took a taxi to Yampupata, which sat right at the end of the spit of land, directly opposite Isla del Sol.

From there we got hopelessly lost as we tried to navigate our way back to Copacabana in the scorching heat. 19km and some glorious scenery later, we shuffled, tired and weary back into Copacabana.

Fortunately, just before our arrival we happened across one of the most inspiring gastronomic experiences of our trip to date, a little pontoon on the lake, with an old woman and a net full of trucha (trout). We were the only customers and were greeted warmly.

She took her net, plunged it through some gaps in the pontoon and pulled out two enormous trout, which she promptly threw into a bucket. Whilst they were flapping about she asked how we’d like them cooked, “a la plancha” (grilled) we replied. “Diez minutos” (ten minutes), she replied and pointed us in the direction of a lonely table, where we took refuge under an umbrella. The trout were delicious and the experience most gratifying!

Just about every overnight bus journey to date we’ve managed to find some sushi to take for our dinner. This time was no exception and directly next door to the bus agency was a little shushi restaurant. We stocked-up and boarded the bus, relaxed and reflecting on what had been a really fun four days.

Next stop: Cuzco and the Inca trail to Machu Picchu

Highlights:

• La Cupula, a haven of hammocks, little gardens, good food, , great views, friendly staff and alpacas!
• Luna del Sol (no thanks to Lonely Planet!)
• Our 19km hike from Yampupata to Copacabana; despite getting hopelessly lost the scenery was often breathtaking and perfect training for the Inca trail

 

Gastro highlights:

• Eating the freshest of fresh trout on a private pontoon on Lake Titicaca