Copacabana, a small coastal town near the border with Peru, is the launching point for visiting the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca and its main island, Isla del Sol. Besides the fresh trout sold in lakeside restaurants, Copacabana was little more than a touristy stop-over.
The highest navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca has cold, clear waters. Clouds seem to barely hang above its surface but somehow find a way to rise over the snow capped mountains spanning the horizon. Isla del Sol, an hour boat ride from Copa, was used by the Incas for religious ceremonies celebrating the Sun God. At this altitude the sun shines hard and during the walk on the Inca trail which crosses the island, encounters with gringos with bright red, sunburned faces is all too common.
We settled for the night on the northern part of the island which has little infrastructure. It was peaceful and quiet with only one restaurant open for dinner and a handful and Argentinians trying to sell freshly baked snacks on the beach. We've grown accustomed to this nuisance encountered in many popular South American vacation spots and we much prefer to encourage the local population than to buy from lingering Argentinians. Most Inca ruins sit on the Northern tip of the island but its recommended to take a guide because the ruins, apart from the large Inca table and fortress, are hard to identify since there is not much information on site.
With no roads or cars the island is an ideal peaceful getaway. We wished we could have spent more time there, preferably on the southern tip which features a better choice of accommodation and restaurants. This was our last destination in Bolivia, after a great three month stay we had to say goodby to a diverse, unique and sometimes complicated country which we've nevertheless grown to appreciate very much.
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