27th December 2024

Today we were driving to Copacabana, a town sitting on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca, and whose name means view to the lake. It was a scenic bus ride, as we left the city the mountains became a dried out green colour and small stone walls cut against the mountainside like a serrated knife. These structures, called andenes, are used to enhance agriculture in the area by increasing the surface area exposed to the sun, and are abundant throughout the Bolivian and Peruvian Andes.

We crossed Lake Titicaca by boat via the Strait of Tiquina which connects San Pedro de Tiquina and San Pablo de Tiquina and is the main road to Copacabana. We had coffee here and the chance to stretch our legs while we watched the bus being ferried over.

We arrived in Copacabana for 11:30am and checked into the hostel. We had a private room with our own bathroom and a large balcony painted terracota orange and white which contrasted perfectly with the blue sky. A double seated bench sat looking out at the glistening blue lake, the boats lining the shore and the large hill, Cerro Calvario, towering above the town. 

Hungry from not having breakfast this morning we settled on going into town for lunch where we had the longest wait for one of the most mediocre meals we’ve had thus far.

We had planned to hike Cerro Calvario, but I wasn’t feeling great and was quite short of breath. Copacabana stands at 3800m so I wandered if I was feeling this way because of the altitude but, seeing as we had only gained 200m elevation since La Paz, perhaps it was fatigue from the adrenaline-filled day before? Regardless, we decided to have a slow easy day and enjoyed our first siesta of the trip.

After an afternoon of doing not a lot and making the most of our balcony, we headed back out to town for dinner where we dined on a balcony overlooking the shore front watching the sun set. Here we washed down dinner each with a chuflay, Bolivia’s signature cocktail. We returned to the hostel, walking back through the dark when we noticed a big dark cloud rolling over the lake. Silent lightning illuminated the dark mass, individual forks noticeable.

We crashed into bed, still feeling fatigued despite taking it easy and the nap earlier in the day, hoping that tomorrow we would feel better.