Vanessa Embling » A blog about my life & photography

Copacabana is a small, enchanting town set on the southern shore of Lake Titicaca.  It’s about a 3.5 hour bus ride from La Paz, Bolivia and it’s a cheap weekend getaway.  The bus ride costs 20 bolivianos (about $3 US dollars).  There are two red stars on the map below – one marks Copacabana and the other is the point we visited on the Isla del Sol (a 2 hour boat ride from the port of Copacabana).  The whole weekend trip (including transportation to and from La Paz, a place to stay, really good food and an all day excursion ) cost less than $50.00 US dollars.

Once we arrived in Copacabana, we found a hostel and dropped our bags.  We stayed at the Hostal Colonial for 50 bolivianos (about $7 US dollars) /per person per night – it was bare bones but totally fine (clean rooms, central location, hot showers and breakfast was included).  All of the nice places were booked – but if I were to go back I would book a room at Las Olas or La Cupula = totally worth it. Below: a photo of the outside of our hostelBelow:  Lisa and I shared a room – it was spacious and comfy enough.As we walked down to towards the beach, there are plenty of little tourist shops to pick up an alpaca wool sweater, or some warm gloves and hat.  It’s such a cute, quaint little town.Below:  The iconic ‘anchor’ on the beach.  Reminds me of the song “Anchor for the Soul”…Below:  We sat and watched the sunset from the beach – it was beautiful and peaceful as the mountains of Peru glowed off in the distance.Afterwards, we hit up La Orilla Restaurant for some stuffed trucha (trout).  It’s a cute little hole-in-the-wall place.  The food was OK… the service was horrible… but we had fun nonetheless. The next morning we headed down to the beach to jump on our boat for an all day excursion for 30 bs (about $3.00 US dollars).  The boat left at 8:30am for a two hour boat ride out to the northern tip of the Isla del Sol.I was nervous about getting sea sick and I didn’t have any dramamine but I kept reminding myself and everyone around me to keep your eyes on the horizon!  Unfortunately, a few of the people we met on the boat ride out there got sick – and I was afraid it was going to be ‘contagious’ cause you know how that can be… but – we finally made it to dry land!We of course made some friends on the boat (one of my favorite things about traveling is all the cool people I get to meet along the way!).  So we all stuck together and hit the trail for an adventure on the Isla del Sol!As we walked towards the beach… we saw a group of people gathered… and then I saw that a cow was on the ground so I yelled to everyone, “hey! I think a cow is giving birth!  You guys want to go and watch it?!Well, it turns out… they were actually slaughtering the cow – and all of these little kids were gathered around watching it.  That was definitely an “Only in Bolivia” moment.And so… with that… we continued walking!Below:  Me, Matt and LisaBelow:  There are over 80 ruins on the island. Most of these date to the Inca period circa the 15th century AD. Archaeologists have discovered evidence that people lived on the island as far back as the third millennium BCE. Many hills on the island contain agricultural terraces, which adapt steep and rocky terrain to agriculture. Among the ruins on the island are the Sacred Rock, a labyrinth-like building called Chinkana, Kasa Pata, and Pilco Kaima. In the religion of the Incas, it was believed that the sun god was born here. (info from Wikipedia)Below:  Making friends with donkeys along the way.  Below:  Several times along the hike we literally had to push donkeys out of our way because they were blocking the trail.  I was so scared I was going to get kicked!!  Below:  Wow, what a view!! Below:  What the photos can’t convey is how amazingly crisp, clean and fresh the air was.  It was so amazing and I didn’t want to leave.  I loved just hiking along the trail, feeling the cool breeze on my face, the hot sun on my back and the cleanest air ever in my lungs while taking in these spectacular breathtaking views.  I just kept thinking… “most of the world will never get to see or experience this in their lifetime… I feel so blessed and so grateful.”Below:  We searched all over for the inca site “The Sacred Rock” (there are theories that it was used as an execution block for those convicted of wrongdoing) – and after a much longer than necessary detour… we found it (no signs, no trail markers… nothing… we only found it because we asked a 10 year old girl who was selling jewelry along the trail if she could show us).  And so here we are… at the Sacred Rock… Lisa, sitting on top of it – which I feel like totally contradicts the fact that it’s ‘sacred’!Below:  Brett discovered another ancient ruin right next to the rock… an old wheel chair.  #Amazing.Below:  All of the houses are built out of adobe bricks (straw and clay) which hardens in the sun.  They are pretty remarkable and resourceful!  Below:  We made it to one of the beautiful lookout points… and I really could’ve stayed here all day.  There were some other backpackers that were playing guitar and singing.  It was amazing.  I want to go back and take more time hiking the trail and just soaking it all in.  Below:  Matt, Lisa and I with all of our new friends!  (Left to right: Julia, Matt, Brett, Lisa, Me, Maria & Samantha)Below: We continued further down the trail to the other major inca ruin sites… Below:  By this time, we were running out of time because we needed to make it back to the beach to catch our boat back… so it was pretty rushed.  Which just gives me another reason to return!  Below:  Mesa Ceremónica (Ceremonial Table) – it’s thought to have been the site of human and animal sacrifices… Below:  Our time was up so we had to hustle back to the beach to catch the boat.  On the way back, we passed by the beach again and the men had proudly butchered the cow and were enjoying a fresh beef stew… WOW!  I’m not sure how sanitary it all was… but they clearly had a system and they use every single piece of the cow for something!We were back on the boat – this time sitting on the rooftop so as to avoid getting sea-sick but also to enjoy the beautiful weather!  We made more new friends – this group was from Santa Cruz, Bolivia.Below:  We then stopped at one of the Islas Flotantes (or floating islands) where we got to enjoy some freshly caught trout or trucha frita – it was yummy!  But here’s the deal.. the floating island we stopped at wasn’t ‘legit’ – it was really just a dock covered with straw.  The ACTUAL islas flotantes are pretty cool but to visit it’s a whole day trip… but here’s the story behind them:  The floating islands are man-made islands made with reeds sprouting from the lake bottom.  The construction of these islands is weaving reeds in areas where it grows thickly, forming a natural layer that called aurochs Khili ; on this layer called the reed mat, they build their houses. Each house is one room and they cook outdoors to prevent fires…Below:  After our yummy late lunch, we headed back to Copacabana.Below:  This is the flower that supposedly was the inspiration for the Bolivian FlagBelow:  It was nearing sunset so we headed up the giant hill – Mt. Calvario (or Mt. Calvary) – after hiking all day… I thought Matt was going to have to carry me up the mountain… it was a LONG hike!!We stopped at La Cupula and Las Olas (both hostel/hotels that I highly recommend to stay – they were full for the weekend we were there but when I go back I’m totally staying here!)  They are nestled into the side of the mountain and the properties are scattered with hammocks and cozy little spots to just chill and soak in the beautiful scenery.  La Cupula also has a fabulous restaurant that we made dinner reservations for that night (highly recommend making reservations because it’s a small place and it books up).  Nearing the top of the mountain… But by this point… I felt like my body was going to shut down and my legs were no longer going to work.  Lisa felt the same 🙂  But finally, we made it to the top… and it was SOOOO worth it!!!Also at the top of the mountain…Below:  My new favorite spot… I really loved the view from here and it was so peaceful and relaxing watching the sunset…The view of the Church… The next day we stopped by the church before we jumped on the bus back to La Paz…And then 3.5 hours later we were back in La Paz and it was a spectacularly sunny day with barely any clouds in the sky… and a clear view of Mt. Illimani