Copacabana and Lake Titicaca

After La Paz, I headed to Copacabana. There are a lot of backpackers here. The city is on the shore of Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world, on the border with Peru.

I had heard about a hostel, Mariela’s, from a backpacker in La Paz. When I found it, it turned out to be under renovation. The hostel is covered in graffiti that guests are open to leave when they stay in the hostel. 

Despite being under renovation, there were still a few guests and the owners made room for me.

There’s a lovely lookout point on top of a hill, calvario, that overlooks the city and the lake.

At the top of Calvario, people can burn money and visit and talk to shamans who do blessings. 

Two days later I headed to Isla del sol. I started on the north side. There’s a beach with lots of backpackers camping out. There’s lots of pigs, donkeys, and cows running free, as well as tied up, kind of sad.

In the distance there are snowcapped mountains.

The first night there, I made friends with my neighbor beach campers. That night we stayed up singing Chilean songs. The night climaxed when the whole lot of campers on the beach joined in, in a large band of people singing and dancing on the beach till the wee hours.

I headed out to see the ruins and some nice views on the north side. That night I walked with some friends I’d met on the beach a bit south to another beach.

The next day I met 2 lovely Uruguayan girls. We had an interesting chat about the akashic records and unveiled some issues I was glad to bring to surface. Later that night, I woke up, restless, unable to sleep. By some crazy force, I was possessed to free a sad donkey I had seen tied up on the beach. His limited walking area was all trampled and nothing but mud.

The next day, I took a boat to the south side of the island. I saw that the donkey had been caught and tied back up again L

The south side was incredible. In the entrance to the village on the south side, there is a long staircase, next to a cascade. The village is at the top of the mountain. It is full of hostels and restaurants with spectacular views.

The next day I headed out to isla del luna. There are some ruins there and a tiny village. I had a look around on the mountain top, in the center of the island and got to see sheep and llamas. I camped out on the beach all to my own.