PART II - HOLA, COPACABANA!
It's time to turn the page and continue with our journey which takes us to Copacabana!
The distance between La Paz and Copacabana is only 90 km but the journey took us around 4 hours. After you see the traffic you will understand why. We spent at least 1:30h out of these 4h trying to get out from El Alto:
When you reach San Pedro De Tiquina you have to get off from the bus and after paying a small fee (2B) you’ll have to cross the lake on a boat. The bus will be transported separately:
We continue the trip and as we go closer to Copacabana we are surrounded by stunning views of Titicaca Lake:
When you reach Copacabana you will definitely be amazed by this small enchanting town lying on the shoreline of Titicaca. The name Copacabana derives from the Aymara “kota kawana”, meaning "view of the lake", and the region was revered by the Inca even before the Spaniards built their chapel of the Virgin and turned it into a Catholic pilgrimage site.
Copacabana
By the time we reached the city it was already around 6 p.m. so we had to find our hotel straight away.
“Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury”
Hotel “La Cúpula“ has amazing location which overlooks both the lake Titicaca and the town. Room’s furniture creates special atmosphere and the staff is very helpful.
Still recovering from La Paz and its altitude I didn’t realize that here we were even higher – at 3841 m above sea level. The thing that bothered me more were the freezing nights so that’s why I decided to book a luxurious double suite for 55$ per night with hot showers, fireplace and heaters.
Now you may say that I’m too picky or spoilt but I think I definitely made a bad choice. As the title above is saying: luxury is not luxury if it’s not comfortable. The two nights that we spent here were even more freezing than in La Paz.
It’s a well-known fact that of all the components in a building, it is through the windows that the most heat is lost. Definitely it’s not the best architecture decision to put windows that you will use for your summer villa in a place, located at almost 4000m. Certainly it looks beautiful but I was able to feel the wind rushing into the room. The funniest thing is that we even had Jacuzzi in the room and considering the temperatures you really have to be an enthusiast to use it.
Our first evening we turned on the two small heaters and load the fireplace with as much woods as we can. That worked for some time but I woke around 4 a.m. only to find that nothing helps and I had worst headache in my life. Tsvetan was feeling the same way. The combination of this altitude and the low temperature made us feel sicker than ever. Again, lots of coca tea and I had to sleep with a few layers of clothes.
having a spark of hope
our first night near the fireplace at “La Cúpula“
Because of my job and because of my hobby I’m used to travel in many different ways. This means I can sleep in a tent under the stars, I can also sleep in a 5 star hotel when I’m on duty. I can use a mattress on the floor kindly provided by some cool couchsurfer or I can sleep in a hostel with another 10 people in a room. When I travel, I always enjoy my time.
But you need at least some basic conditions in order to have some rest and maintain your health while on the road. But when you are constantly freezing, when you wake up in the middle of the night with a headache worse than the worst hangover you’ve ever had, when you sleep with 2-3 long sleeve blouses, jumper and leggings – no, I’m definitely not enjoying my time. Here I should also mention that currently I’m living in a country where the average temperature is 35 degrees. In other words: my body was in shock.
“The morning is wiser than the evening”
We start feeling better with the first sunbeams and I really enjoyed our first day in Copacabana. We found a splendid morning view over the city from our small balcony:
The small city is beyond chill out so we decide to take it easy this day. Cúpula offers its guests a nice garden with hammocks so we grab a cup of coffee and sit there, enjoying the sun as we've never did it before.
After that we went for a long walk along Copacabana beach and despite the touristy spirit of the city and the fact that the place has nothing in common with the better-known beach of the same name in Rio, I found this place much more calm and peaceful and less dirty than La Paz:
We meet Kaique – nice, chill out Brazilian guy who is travelling around South America and we ask for some info for Isla del Sol.
My guidebook suggests that if you have enough energy you can do a short trekking for half an hour up to the summit of Cerro Calvario.
I am sure that the view from the top is worth the efforts but we prefer to stick to the coca treatment and we sit at a nice open-terrace in Totora restaurant, enjoying the view of Copacabana beach. True, it's not the famous one in Brazil but I wouldn't trade that peaceful place for the most famous beach in the world.
I think this was one of my best days in Bolivia. We were not in a hurry for anywhere, the only one task we had for the day was to lie under the sun, chill out, sleep and eat.
Speaking of food that was the place that we were more than happy to try all sorts of seafood without any concerns because of one simple fact – all fish was from Lake Titicaca and you can be sure everything is fresh. So eating in Copacabana is an ultimate pleasure and your stomach will appreciate it.
Here are some of the delicacies we’ve tried:
Restaurant “La Cúpula” right next to our hotel has a wide range of dishes but the best thing to try here is the trout:
Trucha a la plancha
fish picado
Milanesa de Pollo
One thing that annoyed me in the restaurant were bunch of kids performing “traditional” music every night and asking for tips. And trust me for Bolivian standards that place is costly enough, and anyway like it or not the waiter will kind of force you to leave him a tip so the kids were a little bit too much.
I think most of the clients were giving them money only trying to get rid of them as they were so noisy that if you come to eat here you won’t be able to say a word to the person sitting next to you. Besides their performance was absolutely the same every night so that was just a sophisticated way to beg for money.
But if you really want to have your best seafood experience try the beachfront stalls where you can have a huge plate for around 25B. You have a wide choice of fresh trout and amazing view to the beach.
Trucha frita
Trucha a la diabla
Trucha criolla
Take a walk to the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana. That beautiful cathedral will capture you with its simplicity: white arcs and delicate decoration of azulejos:
The llama (pronounced "ya-ma" not "la-ma") is Bolivia’s national animal.
These cute fluffy creatures has been bred and used primarily as a pack animal by indigenous peoples of the Andes for thousands of years. Their fur have been used for making an alpaca clothing – warm, soft and comfortable items that you could see everywhere on the street markets in La Paz. You could also see real llamas here and despite their reputation of not very well-behaved animals (yes, I’m talking about spitting and kicking) they could be also quite peaceful. Proof is here:
We were planning to go to Isla del Sol so that day we went to a few of the many offices which offer daily excursions to the island. At the end we were already so tired so we decided to go straight away to the beach early in the morning and catch directly boat from there. The price for the daily tour is exactly the same (30B) so don’t waste your time in the offices. We did the tour with Andes Amazonia but I think more or less all the companies will offer you same price and same activities.
After contemplating a beautiful sunset on the beach I knеw that I have to be prepared for the most unpleasant moment of the day because when the sun comes down this means only one thing – second freezing night, coca tea and headache.
ISLA DEL SOL …
…and Inca creation myth
The name Isla del Sol originates from a legend according to which the earth was covered in darkness.
Then out of the lake the bearded white god-king Viracocha emerged and created the moon, the stars and the sun to light the world. That’s why the island is called Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun).
The Andes Amazonia boat leaves at 08:30 am. For some reason the boat is ridiculously slow so we reached the northern part of the island after more than 2 hours. We are finally dropped at the Cha’llapampa village.
Despite our difficulties as a non-Spanish speakers we found out that there is two major options from here: – you could either go for 8km hike heading back south and once you reach Pilkokaina to take the boat back to Copacabana or you could just visit Chincana ruins and after that to take the boat which will take you to Yumani and from there back to Copacabana.
At the beginning I was optimistic thinking that we could go for the hike but by the time I reached Chincana ruins I realized that I’m already running short of breath. The sun was even stronger here because of the lake reflections and the uphill walk made me feel quite dizzy.
We joined a small group of tourists leaded by a local guide (who apparently will explain everything in Spanish) and we first entered a small museum. We had to pay 10B which is also the fee for the entrance of Chincana ruins.
The old Inca route to the Chincana ruins complex is definitely worth all the efforts. I was walking extremely slow and I was feeling dehydrated but at the same time I was extremely happy because I knew this is somethings that happens once in a lifetime and I have only this moment to enjoy it.
We started our walk from the beautiful secluded beach of the small village of Cha’llapampa and we continued climbing, enjoying the stunning view of the blue lake:
The only thing that leave a bit of a bitter aftertaste of the whole experience is the fact that we can’t understand the explanations of the local guide so I have to rely on my guidebook for all the amazing stories lying behind those ancient ruins.
The most famous Inca legend is about the large formation called “Rock of the Puma” or Titi Khar’ka, after which the lake is named. The name derive from its shape, which (with more imagination) should resemble a puma.
At 13:30 we took the boat which took us back to Copacabana. Because of the chill wind I sat downstairs but not long after we started moving with the same slow speed I felt extremely drowsy and sluggish, I could feel that my breathing rate was increased. In general insufficient oxygen is supposed to cause you difficulty in sleeping but I used to sleep much longer than usual during my whole stay in Bolivia.
I was so weak so I didn’t even realize it will be better if I move on top of the boat. I must have been looking like I’m on drugs.
In the afternoon we are already in the village of Yumani.
The first thing I do is to have a cup of coca tea which has an immediate effect. I’m smiling again.
My smile hadn’t stayed for a long time and on the way back felt ill again.
We arrived in Copacabana and we had to find another place to stay for our last night because I had booked only 2 nights in advance and at that time everything in “La Cúpula” was already reserved.
Have to mention that staff wasn’t very helpful in giving us “a hand” with finding another place as they tried to give as a miserable room with cracked window that belonged to one of their neighbors for “only” a 30 $ per night. It’s just a common sense – if you have guests who paid you more than 100$ for 2 nights you won’t act like that.
Actually the fact that our luxurious but freezing room was reserved turned to be gift of fate because we moved in the amazing “Utama” hotel. We received a nice, tidy room with hot showers, normal windows that wouldn’t blow your mind away during the night and (I have to emphasize on that) a heater that was actually able to make the room warm. For 36$ we also had a nice breakfast. Actually one of the best, considering the fact that usually you only receive bread and jam in the hotels.
Breakfast in “Utama”
We didn’t have the stunning view over the lake but who cares: for the first time since I arrived in Bolivia I slept with just one layer of clothes.
So a lesson to remember: not everything that is expensive and shiny is good for you, dear traveler. If I have to recommend you a place to stay in Copacabana I would definitely go for "Utama" rather than “La Cúpula”.
So a lesson to remember: not everything that is expensive and shiny is good for you, dear traveler. If I have to recommend you a place to stay in Copacabana I would definitely go for "Utama" rather than “La Cúpula”.
If you want to learn more about shopping in La Paz, where to have good Chairo (traditional Bolivian soup), get to know more about one the most beautiful yet tragic history squares in La Paz, where is the world highest football stadium that made even Messi upset, how to get to Uyuni and what challenges you will face there and other interesting facts have a look on the third part of my article about Bolivia.
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