Bordering both Bolivia and Peru, Lake Titicaca lies in the Andes at 3,800m above sea level. Because I was interested to know, Google told me that Lake Titicaca is thirteen times the size of New Zealand's Lake Taupo.
On the Peruvian side there is a town called Puno, a base for visits to floating islands where different tribes live. I decided to travel with some of the Inca Trail crew for a few days so chose to miss the floating islands and only use Puno as a stopover between Cusco and Copacabana in Bolivia. Off the shores of hippy Copacabana there is Isla del Sol, the Island of the Sun. This is where we spent our first night in Bolivia.
It could have been a start of a budget horror movie. Seven friends arriving to a deserted island in the late afternoon, ill prepared for the dark clouds and lightening lurking in the distance. We had to get from the north of the island, where we had been dropped off, to the south port by 10am the next day so we decided to try and make it half way before it got dark.
Isla del Sol has no motor vehicles or paved roads and is home to about 800 farming families and 80 inca ruins so it was a tranquil and stunning walk to the village we were aiming for. We were overtaken by donkeys, sheep and piglets and thankfully the storms didn't catch us up.
On the Peruvian side there is a town called Puno, a base for visits to floating islands where different tribes live. I decided to travel with some of the Inca Trail crew for a few days so chose to miss the floating islands and only use Puno as a stopover between Cusco and Copacabana in Bolivia. Off the shores of hippy Copacabana there is Isla del Sol, the Island of the Sun. This is where we spent our first night in Bolivia.
It could have been a start of a budget horror movie. Seven friends arriving to a deserted island in the late afternoon, ill prepared for the dark clouds and lightening lurking in the distance. We had to get from the north of the island, where we had been dropped off, to the south port by 10am the next day so we decided to try and make it half way before it got dark.
Isla del Sol has no motor vehicles or paved roads and is home to about 800 farming families and 80 inca ruins so it was a tranquil and stunning walk to the village we were aiming for. We were overtaken by donkeys, sheep and piglets and thankfully the storms didn't catch us up.
Just before sunset we found a very basic hostel in a cute little bay. We were crammed into two rooms and the boys set about finding wood to start a bonfire while the girls found a tiny kiosk for wine and beer. And chocolate of course. After a few attempted ghost stories around the fire we were treated to an amazing dinner of fresh trout and spaghetti bolognaise by our hosts. All up this night cost us little over $10 each.
Maybe because we were channelling Wilfredo, our Inca Trail guide, we thought it would be a good idea to set out alarms early enough to watch the sunrise. We were disappointed when the sunrise was practically non existent, but a couple of hours later that was soon forgotten as we stumbled across the best brekkie in all the island (in our opinion). With full bellies we rolled down the last hill to catch the 10 o'clock ferry.
I loved our 18 hours on Isla del Sol, and it was the perfect start to Bolivia, a country that I now can't get enough of. Next stop La Paz. If we survive the bus journey.
Maybe because we were channelling Wilfredo, our Inca Trail guide, we thought it would be a good idea to set out alarms early enough to watch the sunrise. We were disappointed when the sunrise was practically non existent, but a couple of hours later that was soon forgotten as we stumbled across the best brekkie in all the island (in our opinion). With full bellies we rolled down the last hill to catch the 10 o'clock ferry.
I loved our 18 hours on Isla del Sol, and it was the perfect start to Bolivia, a country that I now can't get enough of. Next stop La Paz. If we survive the bus journey.