Copacabana, Bolivia

We arrived in Copacabana after a short 3-hr bus ride from La Paz which included an unexpected channel crossing of Lake Titicaca. Passengers were given the option of crossing with the bus on an old rickety wooden ferry, or crossing on wooden motorboats for an additional fee of4 Bolivianos (US$1). After seeing how low the busses sunk the pontoons we were both very happy to cough up the $1 alternative crossing fee.

Copacabana is a small town on the southern shores of Lake Titicaca that is a frequent stop on the South American Gringo Trail as it's the main overland gateway between Peru and Bolivia. There's not much to do in Copacabana other than spending a night on the Isla del Sol which is a sacred Incan site thought to be the birthplace of the sun. It is also the birthplace of the famed Pringle-swap trick whereby a hungry tourist purchases a small tube of Pringles from a nice Quechua lady, only to find a bit later that she has long ago eaten the Pringles and replaced them with flavourless Bolivian potato chips. Well-played Quechua lady, well-played...

I had food poisoning for the duration of our stay in Copacabana/Isla del Sol which required me to keep within explosion distance of a toilet at all times. This made the 1.5hr ferry ride to Isla del Sol perhaps the most dangerous game of Colon Roulette I've ever played. Luckily no casualties on the way there or on the way back.

The only other highlight from our time in Copacabana was Charlotte being propositioned outside our hostel restaurant by a 45-year old Chilean man who looked like an older and more weathered Captain Jack Sparrow. Much to my delight she turned him down, and so the two of us set sail for Arequipa, Peru the following day. (Charlotte and I that is, no Captain Jack).