On Wednesday morning, we had booked our tickets for the boat across to Isla del Sol. We boarded the boat at half 8 and ascended the stairs to the top so we had a great view for the crossing. It took about 2 hours to get to the north of the island from where we would hike to the south.

After getting off the boat, we followed the hordes in the direction of the Inca ruins in the north of the island. We were charged 15 Bs each for the privilege which seemed pretty reasonable. After getting some pictures of the ruins and enjoying the scenery, we then started to head south where we would be staying for the night. The hike was pretty strenuous and took about 3 hours in total. Walking up hills at 4,000m is not much fun but again the scenery was excellent which slightly distracted us from our complete breathlessness. We made it to Yumani, which is the village in the south, and immediately started looking for somewhere to sleep for the night. We had read about a good place on trip advisor and luckily we managed to find it pretty quickly. We think it was called Inti Wasi Lodges which consisted of 4 cabins overlooking Lake Titicaca. The views from the lodges were spectacular but a bit more on this later.

After a quick rest, we were famishing after our trek so headed for something to eat at one of the numerous restaurants. We also wanted to catch the sunset while we ate and managed to get a table with an English couple we had met on the boat earlier in the day. After a well earned beer and some excellent food, we watched the sunset and the surrounding thunderstorms before going back to the room. Here, we watched as the thunderstorms closed in and the whole sky was lit up every few seconds by the lightning. It was pretty spectacular although Beth had gone to sleep as she had a bad head. We were woke up a couple of times during the night with thunder, lightning, heavy rain and wind but the accommodation was really comfortable and we enjoyed the night on Isla del Sol.

After breakfast, we were packed an down at the port for 9.15am to ensure we could get a ticket for the 10.30am boat back to Copacabana. We bought out tickets and sat and watched the lake whilst we waited for our boat. It then suddenly dawned on me that I couldn't find our Lonely Planet South America book. After checking the bags, we realised that we must have left it in the room. Now we had quite a serious dilemma; the book is massively helpful in travelling between places an when you are starting out in a new place but the steps up to the village are ridiculously steep. If ever a place needed a stairlift!!! After much toing and froing in my mind I decided to go back to the room to see if I could find it. After darting up the stairs and finding our room, luckily the book was still there and I was able to make it back in time for the boat.

So after getting back to Copacabana, we picked our bags up from our previous hotel as we had allowed ourselves a treat by booking into Hostal Las Olas. We had booked a private apartment which, after travelling for 7 weeks in South America, blew our tiny little minds when we checked in. The room had a queen size bed, kitchen, hammocks, a fireplace and amazing views over Lake Titicaca. We got settled and went to book out next bus to Cusco and to book a hostel as the wifi was down in the whole of the town due to the previous nights storm. After purchasing some beers, wine and a pizza, we went back to the room to watch the sunset and sit and overlook the lake. Luckily for us, there were more storms over the lake and we sat with the lights off, the fire burning with some beer and wine and watched as the storms surrounded us. Some of the fork lightning was spectacular!!! It is definitely the best place we have stayed and probably the best night we have had so far!!! Lake Titicaca is truly spectacular. It's hard to describe its vastness and it really does feel like a sea rather than a lake. I'm reliably informed that its the worlds highest navigable lake and you can certainly feel that whenever you try to walk anywhere. It's 170km by 70 km which would probably stretch from Newcastle to Leeds an across to Carlisle at home.

So we are saying goodbye to Bolivia after almost a month and we have both really enjoyed it. First and foremost, some of the scenery in the country is absolutely amazing. From the salt flats, to the Death Road to Lake Titicaca, we have loved pretty much every minute of the country. La Paz is interesting for a few days and Sucre is a really nice city. The infrastructure is not the greatest but a lot of the time it adds to the fun of your journey and you just have to laugh and go with it. We loved Argentina but I would have to say that Bolivia out points it due to the sheer beauty of the place. The fact that we have been able to eat out every night on our budget has also been a big plus. Overall, we are sad to be saying goodbye to Bolivia but looking forward to Peru and the challenges it will bring.