Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl but not here
Trip Start
Mar 16, 2009
1
12
25
Trip End
May 29, 2009
Copacabana, Bolivia
Monday, April 20, 2009
I read that the Copacabana Mr Manilow referred to simply was a club in LA, nothing more. The original (and probably first use of the) name was here, at the north-western border of Bolivia with Peru. This small cosy town is famed for its Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world - with year round 10C tempartures (and the site of the rather puny Bolivian navy) and for being the site of the birth of the Inca Empire.
We made an early start from La Paz bus terminal to make our way on the short trip. In one last ditch attempt, I scoured various official checkpoints asking if my laptop / rucksack had been recovered. Of course it hadn't. The journey itself was amusing, but ultimately painful. The amusing part first: as we approached Copacabana itself, we had to disembark from our coaches and board a boat to cross part of Lake Titicaca. But so did the coach; bizarrely it was loaded onto a small barge that barely looked as if it was able to hold the coach. It seemed to defy the laws of physics as we watched our endangered coach come to meet us at the other side of the crossing! I'd found this journey rather unsettling, there were lots of twists and turns around mountains to get here, which don't normally bother me, but this time I felt queasy. I thought I'd be able to shek it off...
We had reserved a good hostel - Colonial, which was both good value, but also centrally located with its own eatery where we lunched. We only had two days here, and planned on a visit to Isla del Sol the next day, so sought out a taxi 'city tour' as soon as we were ready.
There are four sights in roughly four corners of the town which we visited. The first was the Islas Flotantes - where the Uros tribes of Bolivia historically lived. They migrated to the shores over 30 years ago, but these floating islands represent their original homes and living areas where they resided and caught fish, they were built to protect themselves from their aggressive Inca neighbours. They exist now solely for touristic purposes, and have a lifespan of only 5-7 years, as they are made of tortora reeds. We visited them on a boat made of the same.
Next stop - Horca del Inca; the depiction in rocks of the first Inca man and woman, bound by a horiztonal slab indicating equality. It has astronomical significance, particularly during the summer solstice, where the sun illuminates the entire site and casts the shadow of the depiction.
We then headed to Initkala - an ancient Inca site that was almost their seat of government, containing seats for royalty to administer tribunals or meetings, passing sentence and making decisions. Its location was such that it could be seen from miles around it.
Finally, we exercised our calves on an uphill walk towards El Calvario, a Catholic pilgrimmage site on top of a hill, containing a fortress of stones, all carried up during the construction of the site. It provided fanastic views of lake Titcaca and Copacabana itself. As this was Angela's first true test after the leg had healed, it was a difficult climb, but we made it to the summit in time to watch the spectacular sunset. I didn't mention why the bus journey here was ultimately painful - well, that queasy feeling never quite subsided. It culminated back at the hostel, when I realised I wasn't going to be able to keep any food down, and as a result was badly sick. Badly because I felt like I'd had some food poisoning at the time or something. I'd later find out that it was probably caused by the overeating of the suhsi and Indian food from our last day in La Paz - I'd not take account of the fact that my eyes were MUCH bigger than my stomach, as eating at higher altitude means eating with a slower metabolism, so the stomach has a harder time digesting, and the combo of sushi and Indian food is a challenge for many stomachs!
Unfortunately my appetite left me, and I was having a hard time putting any food into my mouth. After an uneasy night's rest, we set out the next day early on the boat trip to Isla del Sol, the claimed birthplace of the Inca civilisation. We planned to do the walk from the north end of the island to the south in 3.5 hours. The island and weather were spectacular, even if I wasn't. We first encountered the temple of the Incas, which included a ceremonial sacrifical table and Chincana, a maze network of corridors. As we joined the central route from north to south, I started to wane, and this time I was the one struggling. The views were breathtaking, with the lake visible all around us - going uphill and downhill afforded us views of hillsides, farms, coasts, forests and small dwellings where people lived off the land. I'd scraped along in a weakened state, but by the end, I was being encouraged and slowly regaining my appetite thanks to Angela. Taking a boat back from the south of the island, we had completed our whistlestop tour of this town, and Cusco (and Peru) lay ahead - the first test for my new temporary passport!
