La Paz y el Lago Titicaca 2

Scroll Down to read the rest of day 3, I added more!!!!!!!!!!

"Day 2, Copacabana, 12/17/2013, Tuesday"
Sisi and me had made plans the night before to get up rather early to leave for Copacabana (4000m above sea level), a small town on the shore of Lake Titicaca. We wanted to leave around 10, so we got up at 8:30. We ate breakfast and packed up our things.
"Great breakfast in a market hall similar to Los Pozos' Mercado Morderno - sandwich de palta (avocado) con cafe a 6 Bs."
Then we took a "mini bus" to the cemetery all the way at the top of the city. It took us ages to get there because of the traffic which gave me a chance to take some really nice pictures.
"Amazing view from the cemetery, just wow. Houses then mountains." (Everywhere).
The journey to Copacabana was rather long in a small bus; two and a half to three hours. But the things we saw along the way did make up for the fact that the bus was uncomfortable. As we drove away from the city, the landscape got a bit greener and more natural. Also, the sun started shining, which was a nice surprise, as we had left La Paz in a rainy mess.
"Cholitas (the women in the Altiplano are called Cholas, in the Oriente (Santa Cruz area) are called Cambas) herding llamas, sheep, goats, and pigs. In the middle of nowhere."
I will admit that the first view of Lake Titicaca that I go was rather...disappointing. I guess I am quite spoilt through Lake Michigan, so I was expecting more of the first view (see picture on right) but as we drove on, the lake just got more and more beautiful.
Once we arrived in Copacabana, we walked through the town for a bit before finding a cozy, cheap hotel and dropping off our luggage. We then went to explore the town some more.

One thing I really want to note here is that the church in Copacabana is THE most beautiful church I have ever visited. And I have been to relatively many churches, and I am not sure how religious I am.
The church is completely white from the outside, with just colored little caps on the church towers. On the inside, the church is also white with the exceptions of the ceilings, that are painted in bright colors; yellow, blue, turquoise. The front of the church (where the altar is) is completely covered in gold (and, although I usually don't like it when churches are so fancy) it just felt so special to stand in front of something so amazing.

 We continued our journey through Copacabana and decided to climb up a hill to the"Horca del Inca".
"Breathtaking (again, literally) hike up to the Horca del Inca in Copacabana; the view absolutly stunning."
We could see all of Copacabana from up there, the lake an endless blue without end, and mountains on either side of us. Also, the rocks on the hill itself were incredibly interesting.

 After climbing back down, Sissi and I decided to chill in the little harbor for a bit until the sun went down. Even though the atmosphere was more than amazing - the sound of the water relaxed me immediately - , we regretted our decision to not have taken another jacket and sweater with us from the hotel because the wind was unbelievably cold. 
"(...) A few freezing but relaxing minutes by the lake; the sound of the water just calming and reviving."
The rest of the evening was rather calm, we went to bed around 9, both exhausted and happy. 

"A sunset absolutely gorgeous."

"Dinner consisting of tomato soup and coca tea (against the altitude sickness) in a cozy little cafe."

"The best thing: bread from La Paz (Marraqueta) got us through the day."

"Day 3, Isla del Sol, 18/12/2013, Wednesday"
The plan for this day was to take a ship over to the Isla del Sol. Compared to everything I had seen before, the Isla del Sol was about 10 times more beautiful. I really enjoyed our hike from the north of the island to the south of the island. I wrote relatively much into my journal that day, so that I will only fill in details :)

"Oh my God, such good breakfast! Espresso, actual espresso (normally you only get instant coffee in Bolivia) and hot oatmeal with bananas; to die for. The evening was cold. The night, too. Now on our way to the Isla del Sol, a boat trip of ca. 2 h (from Copacabana). It's incredible how deep-blue the lake is and the sun isn't even shining. (Yet)."

Luckily, the sun did come out after a while so that, when Sissi and I climbed up onto the top of the boat on a shaky little ladder, we did not freeze sitting in the fresh morning air. Regardless, we kept our hats on.  The lake got even bluer as the sun came out. Indescribable, really. The pictures just about capture the beauty.

"The lake just got bluer and bluer, a big sheet of blue form one shore to the horizon."

 "On the island, the beach looked just like in a movie; blue water, white sand, and colorful boats."

"We started climbing up the mountain, (or hill, rather, that felt like a mountain through the altitude - 4028m above sea level) Once we got to the main Inca (I think) temple, our guide told us (a story) (something along the lines of this:

"Fíjense en los dos huecos en ese piedra o muro. Hay dos. El hueco mas abajo esta cerrado, no hay salida. El hueco mas arriba si tiene salida al cielo. Hay una leyenda antigua que en la época oscura el sol nació en el hueco mas arriba. De allá, el sol salio del hueco y ilumino todo el mundo. Se dice, que la luna se quedara en el hueco mas abajo y por eso no recibió tanta luz del sol. Por esa razón la luna no brilla tan fuerte."

"Take a good look at the stone wall (picture above with the red circle that says "hueco" or hole"). There are two holes one above and one below. The upper hole is open on top (although you can't see it well on the photo; therefore the circle), the bottom hole is closed, like a normal hole. An old legend says that the sun was born in the upper hole. from there it escaped through the tunnel into the sky and illuminated the whole world. The old legend says that the moon was born in the bottom hole and stayed there. Therefore the light of the sun did not reach the moon and today the moon only shines dimly at night."

"After the tour of the ruins we had a bit of time to explore. Sissi and I decided to take a minute and let the atmosphere of the place sink in. We looked at the lake and beyond the stonewall; just a white beach and the sound of the waves. Beautiful."
 
"Before I forget: on the Isla del Sol we received a special herb against the altitude sickness  called coa." 

"There were eucalyptus trees on the island. How did they get there? I have not the slightest idea"
"Without a bit of chaos there's no adventure, right?"

When we booked our boat tickets, the lady in the ticket office told us that we could either stay on the north half of the island where the boat would drop us off or walk 11 km (about 7 miles) to the south 
of the island and then catch a boat from the company to take us back to Copacabana.
Because Sissi and me wanted to see the island and do some exercise (hehehehe), we decided to walk. The captain of the first boat scribbled something on out ticket - the harbor we had to go to - in the middle of the island, or rather in between the southern and northern harbor. Of course, we dismissed what he had written and just followed our fellow boat companions that were also walking to the south of the island. It was beautiful to walk on the crest of the mountains of the island, seeing the lake at times on one side, at times on the other, and often on both sides. Anyway, we did not know that we had to pay tax to be on the island and for a tour guide. In the end we did not have enough money to pay the tax. Luckily, we had met a super nice American girl who had also been volunteering in Bolivia. She covered for us without even asking.
But the real trouble came later. When we got to the south of the island with about 20 minutes left before our boat should have left, we were told that we were first of all in the wrong place and second of all that our boat had already left. Luckily, we saw a boat from our company in the harbor - or so we thought. Our companions had arrived a bit earlier than we had. They told us that the Capitan of the boat wanted  10 Bs on top of what we had already payed. And Sissi and I had no money.
In the end we debated with him and with the lady in the box office. She also said that it was not right to pay extra. Since we were 9 people, all with the same problem, we ended up not paying.

Once we got back to Copacabana exhausted but happy, we payed back our American friend.
 And then...........

"We went swimming in the highest lake in the world. The Titicaca Lake. Not too many people can say that."

"We ended our Copacabana trip with a nice and delicious dinner - trout and a slice of lemon pie. The sunset was again, beautiful, we missed the actual thing but did see the last few minutes of light. It seemed like the sky were on fire."