Isla del Sol and Tiwanaku

During our week in La Paz, we went to Isla del Sol and Tiwanaku, two popular sites for tourists. Alcides said the tour buses always are late but the one taking us to Tiwanaku was there exactly on time! The city of Tiwanaku was the capital of a pre-Hispanic empire which was powerful in the southern Andes. The civilization that ruled the empire was intelligent and scientists are still amazed at the stone work and features of the structures there. However, our guide was really repetitive, didn't really give us many interesting details and it wasn't really a good tour. One neat thing about this site is that many people say there is a special energy about this place and compasses do not read orientation there. One of the guys on the tour had a compass and we tested it out. It was kind of freaky but our guide was right! Towards the end, we also visited two very unmemorable small museums, one of which was falling apart. So all in all, I wasn't too impressed with the tour guide and the tour itself, and was glad to head back.

We were about 10 minutes late arriving at the tour bus stop which would be taking us to Copacabana. While we waited, Alcides came running and I realized that we had missed our bus. So we dashed to get a taxi and ran to the bus terminal. Running in La Paz is exhausting. When you are at 3400 meters above sea level, even walking up a hill (which there are many of) and having a conversation takes effort. We made it though and got on the bus. Taking buses in Bolivia is an experience! Either it will be too hot or too cold because the heat doesn't work. There is a washroom on the bus but it is usually locked and they won't open it for you unless it is a dire emergency. Although you wait at the bus platform, you have to keep an eye out for changes which no one will tell you about such as the bus has been moved to another platform or is loading in the back somewhere else. Until you arrive at your destination, you never really know, but that is all part of the experience!

Getting to the town of Copacabana means you have to get on a ferry and then re-board your bus. We were not planning on staying in the town but instead we took another boat to Isla del Sol, an island on Lake Titicaca, and an ancient site of the Incas. Legend says that the Inca god who created the universe emerged from the water and created the Sun where the island is located. It is an important place in Bolivian culture and is teeming with tourists. Once we arrived, we paid the “surprise” entrance fee for the island to a random Bolivian lady who took a real long time giving our change back. We had to find a hostel to stay the night. An 11 year old Bolivian boy said he could take us to a good hostel and lead the way up something like 200 stairs. We were carrying our bags and trying to follow this boy flying up the stairs...well you get the picture. He offered to carry my bag (my pride made me graciously decline) and even gave me a local plant that you can smell to help you breath at this high altitude. After getting us there, he sweetly asked for a tip! He was a cool kid!

The terrain on the island is hilly, rocky and there is a trail that will take you from the north part of the island to the south. Along this trail you can see several ruins. Also there are no paved roads just dirt ones and most families on the island run hostels, restaurants or farms. Water has to be carried uphill by donkeys and you should see the weight of the things that the women on the island carry. These little Bolivian women with giant sacks on their backs make us look like wimps. We spent the first evening in the south of the island (by the time we got there it was evening). After settling in we hiked up a hill to watch the beautiful sunset that evening. We took another boat to the north in the morning to do the trail back to the south, catching the ruins and viewpoints as you took the trail from the north. We also had to cross this very arbitrary border between the north and south and pay to get back into the south!! I guess that is what happens when there are too many tourists. We arrived in time to catch the last boat back to Copacabana and then the last bus from there back to La Paz. Taking the ferry back at night was a little more unnerving than during the daytime, especially since you are on a boat with everyone watching your bus with all your stuff cross on another ferry.