Copa, Copacabana...

I made it!
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Same name, different country. Copacabana is the riviera of Bolivia and we definitely made the most of it, soaking up the sun and chilling out as much as we could before hitting the road again.

After deciding to spend up big and splurge on the most expensive hostal in town we weren't disappointed! La Cupula was spectacular! It had it all - great rooms, hot showers, a fantastic restaurant, spectacular water views, even hammocks!!

We ended up spending four days in Copacabana, mostly spent sleeping, eating, reading and then sleeping again (it was a bit of a mini Harris holiday). The eating part was especially great. We ate at the hostal restaurant breakfast, lunch and dinner! The meals were huge and they even had signs up saying that all the fruit and vegetables were 'disinfected' - needless to say Emma took full advantage!

Sunset over Lake Titicaca
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The local speciality is Lake Titicaca trout which they catch straight from Lake Titicaca below the restaurant. I'm not a huge fish fan but this was beautiful, not as good a JKH's smoked trout on top of Mt Koszie, but up there!

We did manage to drag ourselves away from the hostal for one day though when we took a day trip to the Isla De Sol (Island of the Sun) which is where the Incas believed the sun was born. The island is inhabited by around five thousand villagers, mostly farmers who still farm the island in the old fashioned way (no tractors around here) as well as people running hostals and restaurants, as you can stay there overnight if you want.

La Catedral
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The three and half hour trek from the north to the south of the island is spectacular. Along with the Inca ruins that are scattered across the island you also get to soak up some of the most awe inspiring views of Lake Titicaca and the surrounding islands, some of which look like they have been photo-shopped into the landscape set against the turquoise blue waters of the lake.

Believe it or not Em and I are actually getting into this trekking thing and really enjoyed the stroll along the island. We're even thinking of taking it up when we get home, anyone interested?

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The town of Copacabana itself is also very charming, it's a pretty touristy town with lots of stalls and markets and plenty of cafes and restaurants to eat in (not that we needed them). The other main attraction was to climb to the top of Cerro Calvario to watch the sunset over Lake Titicaca. It's a great atmosphere when you reach the summit (at 3966 metres!!) and are greeted by all the other gringos enjoying a cooling ale while the sun sets.The Cerro is mostly used by pilgrams as there are stations of the cross set all the way along to the summit, but they don't seem to mind the outsiders enjoying it either.

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The other thing which Copacabana is famous for is the blessing of the cars which happens twice daily at the Catedral. Locals and villagers from surrounding areas bring their cars, trucks etc to the Catedral to be blessed to provide them with safe travels and long life for the vehicle (cheaper than a mechanic). When it's in full swing it's supposed be pretty amazing, unfortunately Emma and I missed it most days (too busy lazing around in the hammocks) and the only day we did see it there was only one truck being blessed, which seemed to involve a bunch of guys with a crate of beer standing around the truck which was adorned with lots of religious looking trinkets and tributes... that's my kind of blessing!

Summit of Cerro Calvario
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This life of luxury couldn't last for ever though and we now have to hit the road again back to Peru where we will make our way to Machu Picchu! At the risk of having an overdose of Inca info we're catching the 'Inka Express' to Cusco, which goes past all the Inca sites on the way. It's supposed to be Inka-redible!!

Adios Amigos!