16 October - Bus to Copacabana, boat to Isla del Sol
We chose Boliviahop for our journey across the border into Bolivia. They picked us up from our hostel in Puno, took us through immigration, helped us change our soles to bolivianos and took us on our way again. Thus avoiding the multiple nightmare stories about buses leaving people at the border, continuing on with their baggage still onboard, and drunk Bolivian bus drivers (though the latter may still occur, watch this space). Hurrah. Once in Copacabana, Bolivia (wahoo, country #2 on our travels!), we had a quick lunch then boarded a boat to Isla del Sol. The birthplace of the sun, according to Inca legend, and a perfect place to understand the huge scale of Lake Titicaca. We planned to stay a night on the island and therefore took our big backpacks with us. We had to climb the steps up to Yumani village with them; no mean feat when the elevation of the climb is 300m and you already started at 3,800m above sea level. Oxygeeeeeeeeeeen, argh... The climb was worth it though. The accommodation we chose at the top had stunning panoramic views of the island and was so peaceful (until some Americans came). At which point we decided to head for dinner at a place highly recommended across TripAdvisor and other travel-related blogs. Las Velas ("The Candles") is a restaurant nestled in a eucalyptus tree forest and the chef cooks everything with gas and a wood fire, using a headtorch (there is no electricity on the property). You have to get there early and order ASAP, because it takes 1-2hrs to cook each table's order. We were the first to arrive and therefore got our order in quickly: baked trout and their famous vegetarian pizza (with added pepperoni, of course). We then settled in with a bottle of Bolivian red wine to watch the beautiful sunset over the lake. The food was magnificent and it capped off an amazing day on the island. We used our torches to make it back to our accommodation and slumped happily into bed.
