Copacabana

This is the Copacabana on the coast of the Bolivian side of lake Titicaca, not the one in Rio de Janeiro that Barry Manilow sang about. It is located on land that sticks out from Peru into the lake and you need cross the Strait of Tiguina to get there. This involved our bus going over on its own personal ferry.

And all of its passengers purchasing a 30p ticket to go over on a separate but equally rickety boat.

I had to sit right in the bow.

However, it was worth the 3 hour bus/ferry journey when we arrived.

I checked into Hotel La Cupola (www.hotelcupula.com).

I had a lovely room with great views.

It even had Lamas and Yoga in the garden.

The town itself caters to two very different audiences: the travellers who come here to visit the Isla del Sol and Isla del Luna and then cross over into Peru; and the local and international pilgrims that flock to its religious festivals.

The first thing I came across was the church at the bottom of Cerro Calvario (Calvary Hill).

You are encouraged to walk up the steep hill past 14 stations of the cross. Given I had only been in the country for 2 days and the altitude was making it hard for me to brush my teeth without getting out of breath, I didn’t climb the hill.

The Cathedral is the main religious attraction in town.

It is supposedly the site of many miracles after La Virgen Morena del Largo (the Dark Virgin of the Lake) was installed above the altar in the sixteenth century. It quickly became a pilgrimage site.

It is also a popular place for getting physical objects blessed, particularly vehicles. A family had brought their new car to be blessed when I was there.

I passed some pretty, but rather basic alternative accommodation.

I was glad that my visit didn’t coincide with any of the religious fiestas and everything in the town was very peaceful.

It was particularly beautiful in the evening. Although being at the same altitude as La Paz, it got very cold quickly after the sun had gone down.

After a couple of nights in Hotel La Cupola, I moved next door to the equally eccentric Hostal Las Olas (www.hostallasolas.com)

It consists of 10 cabins on the side of the hill overlooking Copacabana and the lake.

All the cabins were unique.

Mine was very luxurious for £30 per night.

It even had a triangular bed.

And beautiful views.

Many people come here to visit the Inca ruins on the Islands of the Sun and Moon – a 2 hour boat ride out of Copacabana. I decided to just enjoy the beautiful weather and hang out in my unusual accommodation.

Unfortunately the Poncho museum was “closed for cleaning” while I was in town.

After a couple of days I was becoming more used to the altitude and started hiking around the coast.

Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world and is quite beautiful.

In addition to Calvary Hill, there is an even higher one on the other side of the town. I didn’t climb this one either but I did hike around the bottom of it.