Livin´ it up at the Trout Stand

Island of the Moon from Island of the Sun
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With visions of high school halftimes and small town parades dancing in our sleep deprived heads, we gratefully boarded a Bolivia bound bus with all of our documents in hand.  The ride to the boarder was short and hot, but the views over massive lake Titicaca were unforgettable.  The boarder crossing itself was uneventful.  A stamp here, a signature there, give that guy a piece of paper, and we were out of Peru.  As has become cusomary on all international bus trips, an exit stamp is immediately followed by a symbolic 200 yard walk across a thin but meaningful line to the next group of buildings marked "immigration".  It was here that things got slightly more interesting.  The line out the immigration office door was long, but a quick sweep by a Bolivian officer identified all the Americans and made it clear that we were not supposed to wait in line.  This was not a good thing.  We were lead into a back room where we filled out long forms full of useless information like our sign, favorite color and which hand we favored more, left or right.  Having completed that task, we moved to a special desk where we gave another officer our useless questionare and crisp envelope containing the essential documents.  Both items were filed carefully away in what might be described as a trash can before we moved on to more pressing business..."100 dollars please"..."Oh that´s right, I had almost forgotten"...And just like that, we had a check in every box and were graciously welcomed into Bolivia.

Feeling sunny
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Not far from the border is the lovely little oasis town of Copacabana.  Sitting at 12,700 feet and right on lake Titicaca, Copacabana is as close as you´ll come to a beach town in this part of the world.  As usual, we arrived just in time for another Carnaval celebration.  There were no marching bands in sight, however, and a general avoidance of the main square ensured that we stayed relatively dry and foam free.  With our ground rules well established, we were able to move on to more important things, namely, eating trout.

This is where it all began

A not so typical reed boat
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The liveliest spot in town is the beach front.  Teaming with swan boats and kayaks, the beach is also home to a long line of shaded trout restaurants.  Kiosk number 20 became our home away from home, serving up fresh trout criola on a bed of rice, french fries and salad, topped with vinegar and spicy salsa.  Simply delicious.

While it may be tempting to sit and eat trout all day, no visit to Copacabana is complete without a trip to Isla del Sol.  An hour by very slow boat from shore, the Island of the Sun has great historical meaning for the Inca.  This is considered to be the birthplace of the world.  It is here that Isla del Sol got together with nearby Isla de la Luna and, in the prevurbial "bedroom" of lake Titicaca, created Earth.  All gossip aside, Isla del Sol is an amazing, isolated place.  Its relatively few inhabitants still cultivate the ancient agricultural terraces of their Inca forefathers, while the island´s rolling hills command incredible views over the lake towards the snow capped Cordillera Real mountains.  There is, however, one important side note to visiting the island.  Before trying to catch a boat leaving at a specific time, it is necessary to make sure that your watch is set to Bolivia time, which, regardless of the negligable East-West movement coming from Peru, is an hour ahead.

Heaven in Kiosk #20
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After our island excursion, our time telling skills were honed and we managed to catch our bus to La Paz on the first try.

-Worth