Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Copacabana, Bolivia :)

My first stop in Bolivia was at Copacabana, and it was freezing cold.

I know it seems very romantic, and I can see in some people eyes already some spakling lights and arousing cliché. But no this is not the same Copacabana, this is the one close to the Lake Titicaca, the one at 4000 meters high, where days are around 10ºC, and night below 0ºC.

But the most important thing is not how cold the place was, but how great the place was. It is a small town squized between 2 hills and a nice rounded sand beach on the lake. The sun starts usually to warm the maté de coca around 6 AM and go to bed at 6PM eveyday. I stayed there for a night and did at the same time a quick jump to "Isla del Sol". This is the place where all began for the Inka religion. I have to say, that if I did not checked the weather forcast before going there, I would have stayed at least a night or so; but the stormy icone that I saw on my screen make me feel dizzy and reluctant to fight again, against mother nature (Pacha Mama in Inka).

Anyway I walked around the island for a couple of hour, just enough to appreciate the light and some insular laid-back attitude. I stayed in Copacabana, in the nicest hotel for US$ 5 the night. The view in the morning was probably the best morning view I had in a long time, I could see the sun shining behind the hill and spotting the first few boats in the bay, while in the back the biggest storm ever was grounding and sounding like the end of the world. And all of this at 4000 meters on the lake Titicaca.


I lost my cap in the island (maybe I gave it back to the Inka as an gift), time for shopping then :)






Here is the picture of the Lake and Copa.
The beach and the scenery sounds idylic, but I have to say that it is 5 degres Celcius outside and no bikini is allowed unless you still wear your winter jacket