Copacabana, Bolivia - 17-18 October

We left Cusco on Nueve Continental and were assured by the agent who sold us the ticket that the bus was going through Copacabana in Bolivia to La Paz so we had a good rest on the bus that night knowing that we would wake up only having to cross the border and then would be dropped safely in Copacabana. Wrong!

The great border crossing from Peru to Bolivia

We were rudely awoken at about 6:30 in the morning and those going to Copacabana were told to get off the bus. We were then loaded into a mini bus and taken to the Peru border and unceremoniously dumped without any information. So we needed to cross the border ourselves and find our own way from the Bolivian border to Copacabana. First we needed to get our Bolivian visa which cost 360 Bolivianos (Bs) and no, we were not allowed to pay in US dollars!!?? Not too much fuss later we had our visas and there was a minibus to Copacabana only costing Bs3 (about $0.40) so not the end of the world.


Copacabana is on Lake Titicaca, which is beautiful, but I think we expected a bit much from Copacabana itself. The town is a little run down and not too much to see. There are many small boats on the lake that create a rather pretty picture, but the waterfront is covered with litter and there are about 200 swan shaped pedalos sitting idle, on the shore. We expected more of a beach and there is nothing of the sort!

View of Copacabana from Lake Titicaca

The Copacabana "waterfront"

A view down the main street in Copacabana

We had not booked accommodation in Copacabana so we went to a few places before we settled on the Utama hotel on the hill. We headed out to find ourselves some food and after a great cup of coffee (and finding out the time was an hour later than we thought) we decided to order almeurzos (meal of the day, usually 3 courses), but the food was terrible! Tess hardly ate any of her food and she had ordered spag bolonaise for her main, now that gives you some idea of how bad the food was! The rest of the day was rather chilled and we slept most of it away.

The view from our hostel on Isla del Sol

In the morning we were a lot more productive and we organised a trip to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). This was a pleasant hour and a half boat trip across the lake that is very scenic and picturesque. We arrived there without a reservation and only the few hostels in the guide book to choose from. Puerto del Sol was our choice and the guidebook simply said that it was at the top of the hill overlooking the village. We thought this would be a short walk a little way up the mountain. So we started up the stairs towards the village and at each corner the village seem to stretch further and further! Finally we reached the crest of the hill and saw the hostel, very basic and VERY cheap (our cheapest night yet!).

We got ourselves a few drinks, introduced ourselves to the quartet of Kiwis staying there that evening too, and settled in to watch the sun set. It was magnificient across the lake. We got on really well with the Kiwis and went for dinner with them and would end up travelling with them for the next week.






The next morning we had some breakfast and then headed back on the boat to Copacabana expecting to catch the bus to La Paz that afternoon. When we got back we asked around the town for bus tickets to La Paz, but there was a strike happening and the road between Copacabana and La Paz was closed, so there were no buses heading directly to La Paz. We teamed up with 2 of the Kiwis we'd met (Michael and Ellen) and a Frenchman, Leo, who the Kiwis had convinced to come to La Paz to watch the Rugby World Cup final. We were left with 2 options to get to La Paz:

1) The safe option: head by bus back to the Peru border and then go via another town, cross back into Bolivia and head to La Paz. Since we had a visa and we were not sure whether we were going to have to pay for another visa we did not take this option. Intead we took:

2) The not so safe option: catch a taxi to the blockade, walk 6kms with our full backpacks (they weigh about 18kgs each), we had day packs as well and some snacks and water to keep us going (it all weighs a lot!). We would then have to walk through the protesters and hopefully catch another taxi on the other side to a small town and cross the lake on a ferry and then catch a minibus all the way to La Paz.

Us, just about to start our hike across the roadblock

Pretty much on my lap and breastfeeding

Well, all in all, it went pretty well. We had no trouble with any of the protesters and we only had to walk about 4 of the 6kms until we got picked up by a minibus who took us to the next town. We then caught a ferry that I was pretty scared was not going to make it to the other side due to some pretty strong winds and waves on the lake, but we made it there ok. We then caught a minibus destined for La Paz. Due to the seats being rather cramped, I decided to sit in front with Leo expecting a little more legroom. Little did I know that a mother and a baby piled into the bus at the last moment and proceeded to sit on the ledge behind the driver's seat (pretty much on my lap). Just in case that was not enough, she then proceeded to pop out her boob and breastfeed on my lap, a little inappropriate to me, but Tessa thought it was hilarious. Tess didn't exactly have a easy ride either, some grandmother sat next to her wearing traditional dress, but smelling like a homeless person, not exactly pleasant! A rather uncomfortable trip and 2 hours later we made it to Adventure Brew in La Paz.