After La Paz, we caught a relatively short bus ride to Lake Titicaca which is one of the highest altitude lakes in the world. It's huge and sits on the border between Bolivia and Peru. We stayed in Copacabana (the original one, whose name was later stolen by the Brazilian beach) and took a day excursion to Isla del Sol, an island in the middle of the lake. It is called Isla del Sol because it is one of the sites of the Incan sun creation myth.
This trip was another one of my favorite things we did during South America, so be sure to take in all the pictures below! The people who live on Isla del Sol live a remarkably primitive lifestyle that doesn't seem to have changed much since the days of the Incas.
Our bus crossed a portion of the lake by ferry. First we all got off and road a little boat across, while our bus was carried over on a barge. We were nervous it would sink with everything we owned in the cargo underneath!
See the bus on the barge?
Our lake taxi
Incan king, Manco Kapac (I believe) greeting us on the shore
We sat on top of this boat for about 2-3 hours on the way across the lake to Isla del Sol
Isla del Sol
Bluebonnets!
All the other tourists went to visit the site of the original sun creation myth then were driven by boat around to the bottom of the island where we were due to meet for lunch. We opted to hike to the bottom of the island, a relatively arduous trail at such a high altitude, but SO worth the view!
Beautiful farm land, dotted with peasants houses. They do not have electricity or running water, and very rarely take a boat to Copacabana on the mainland to sell their crops and shop.
Chanchito (piggy)
This little girl (Ruta Maria I think) chased us down and offered to lead us to the village on the other side of the island if we would give her some candy.
This guy demanded we pay him when he caught us taking pictures of his family's llamas. We gave our change to his older brother and he was highly offended. He followed us for about 10 minutes before we shook him off.
Lunch on the hillside
Boats made entirely from reeds
Waiting for the ferry back to the mainland
Touristy floating islands made from dried reeds
The cathedral in Copacabana, definitely an overwhelming structure on this otherwise sleepy lakeside town
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