Lake Titicaca and Back

I have fallen behind on reporting back on our weekend trips, so here come a few posts for trips that took place over the past month.

Date of trip: 19-20 September 2009

We were told that Lake Titicaca is a magical place. A place where the energy is simply different. We set out, curious to see what we would find. But first things first: the trip there.

There are many buses and minibuses that leave for Copacabana, the town on the shores of Lake Titicaca, from La Paz. We opted for a somewhat more comfortable and relatively expensive option (well, the roundtrip ticket came out to $18) – the tourist bus. The tourist bus is just as it sounds – a bus that carries tourists to Copacabana. (A very different feel from the regular buses, which take locals and their bundles of belongings and goods. And perhaps we will opt for that option next time.) Most of our co-passengers snoozed all the way to Titicaca, but we were pretty excited about the scenery. The bus left La Paz and climbed up to El Alto. We made our way through the traffic- and market-filled streets, even passing an open-air market for furniture (yes, wardrobes, desks, beauty stands, and the like). El Alto, as you may have read in a previous post is like an anthill – teeming with activity. And only on this trip did I realize how HUGE the city is. It stretches out for kilometers, given that there are no natural barriers. There is just the flat Altiplano that stretches as far as the eye can see. As such, it is mostly a ride on a flat, straight road, with dry fields whizzing past and mountains peeking out over the horizon. Pretty uneventful until we got to the Strait of Tiquina. Here things got interesting. At its narrowest point, the strait is only 850m (2600 ft) wide but there is no bridge. To continue to Copacabana you have to make it across in a boat. What happens to the bus you may ask? Well, it makes it across on a raft. So, we got off the bus and got into a line for the boats to make it across. (As a side note, here Milos made a friend - a little kid who stood behind him and had a distorted understanding of personal space. And we are not talking about the US concept of personal space, which is quite generous. But even according to our concept of personal space, this kid was overstepping all boundaries. At one point, he simply hugged Milos’s leg. I laughed. Milos didn’t find it so funny.) But onto the boats. While we were waiting in line, our bus made it onto a raft and slowly made its way across the strait. Ah, the suspense of watching a big bus bobbing on the waves and not knowing whether it may tip over the next minute, taking with it most of your belongings (we kept our valuables on us, so that gave us some peace of mind). In the end, all ended well. Both the bus and the passengers made it across safely. And why shouldn’t we have? After all, this “trip” is repeated hundreds of times each day. The locals of course were not fazed. That’s when you realize you are slightly jaded in your Western ways. On the other side of the strait sits Bolivia’s navy base. That’s right. The Bolivians are all prepared for the moment they get their access to the sea back. They even have a monument in Tiquina commemorating this hope.

The rest of the ride to Copacabana was pretty uneventful. Copacabana itself is a small place – the “center” is a cross-section of a few streets – and, as we learned, quite dusty. For some reason I had pictured a town on a lake to be overgrown with luscious vegetation. Don’t ask me why I harbored such thoughts. After all, Copacabana is at an altitude of almost 4000 m (12000 ft), at which little vegetation grows, and it is currently the dry season. I guess it was something about the association with water that immediately made me think of green. 

There are a few things to know about Copacabana:

1. The trout (trucha) is excellent – no matter how it’s cooked or where. And, believe me, there is no escaping it. It is sold everywhere.
2. The coffee is terrible. For anyone who might be traveling there: buy yourself mate (herbal tea) instead.
3. For amazing chocolate fondue, visit the restaurant at Hotel La Cupula. You will not regret it.
4. Don’t underestimate the climb up to El Calvario (one of the hills surrounding Copacabana) and a popular hike. It took us a while to get up there. As has become the norm, I was out of breath in 5 minutes. But the views of the lake are incredible. You forget it’s a lake and think of it as an ocean – water stretching as far as the eye can see. We walked up to watch the sunset, but it was overcast. However, we were lucky. Just as we turned around to leave, the sun peeked out from under the clouds, just before setting “behind” the lake. Up there, the energy is different. It’s only you, the cliffs, and the lake. Nature rules.

 We didn’t make it out to the islands this time, which we were told is the most spectacular part about visiting Titicaca, as we didn’t have enough time and didn’t want to rush it. But next time we are definitely going at least to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) and maybe even Isla de la Luna (Island of the Moon). After all, Copacabana is only three hours away from La Paz. And then it’s another 1.5-2 hrs to Isla del Sol. Hopefully, before the rainy season starts.