Lake Titicaca, Bolivia – July 29th – 31st, 2017

The overland border crossing from Peru to Bolivia was undisputedly the most nerve-racking of the entire trip. While leaving Peru was easy - just a quick stamp at Peruvian immigration, entry into Bolivia did not go as smoothly. Thanks to a grudge against the US government (likely justified), US citizens are subjected to a ridiculously strict and grossly overpriced visas upon entry. While everyone else on our bus breezed through, we were forced to find a hidden separate building for US citizens where we had to fork over a stack of paperwork to a grumpy border official. Apparently, the multiple passport photos, printed day by day itinerary, hotel reservations for the entire trip, bank and credit card statements, and departure flight confirmation were not quite enough, resulting in us scrambling to find a photo copier to make additional copies. By the time we made it back with the copies, a group of unicorns (I mean other Americans) were also waiting for the same irritable official – who had apparently turned them away as well. Unlucky for them, their delay resulted in them missing their bus. They were not the friendliest…  With our paperwork in order, the border official unenthusiastically took our $165 each ($160 with a $5 bribe) and gave us our visas, yet not before hassling Brandon and Lisa for more crisp US $denaro$. So stressful…   

En route to Bolivia. Also, crossing the border between Bolivia and Peru were about a billion eggs.

Relieved, we eventually made it to Copacabana, where we settled into a beautiful hotel overlooking the city. Copacabana is a tourist destination for not only westerners, but South Americans too. Since it was the Peruvian new year, the Peruvians were there is droves, mostly, it seemed, to get their cars blessed. The streets were at a stand-still, flooded with decorated cars and hopeful Peruvians buying mini-versions of their possession wishes (houses, cars, etc.) and getting their fortunes told by a shaman melting metal… don’t ask, we didn’t get it either, but it was great people watching.

Our hotel, equip with spectacular views, alpaca, cat therapy, and clean sheets. 

Photos from around Copacabana, including the confused decor at a Bolivan Mexican restaurant adorned with leopard print and Styrofoam seats. 

Sunset at Cerro Calvario overlooking the city.

The following day, we caught a boat for a day trip to the nearby islands. After an hour exploring the ruins at the Palace of the Virgins of the Sun and enjoying the views from Isla de la Luna, Lisa took a dip in Lake Titicaca! Seeing as neither the air or water temperatures were even remotely warm, many tourists, including us, thought she was crazy – yet, to be fair, she is the only person I know that can say she swam in Lake Titicaca.

Day trip to Isla de la Luna and Isla del Sol.

Highlights from around the islands.

Back on the boat, we continued on to Isla del Sol. Unfortunately, half of the island was closed due to islander strife, but we were still able to visit the south end and given that both the island and the views of the distant snow-capped mountains were absolutely stunning beautiful, we deemed it well worth the trip. While walking around, our “English-speaking” boat guide did his best to share some of the highlights. After listening to a few rounds of Spanish, followed by an English translation, it became clear that his Spanish was significantly easier to understand than his English. For example, instead of saying, “Inca Spring,” he repeatedly said, “Inca Sperm,”… hilarious, but then again, I feel him, people laughed at my Spanish frequently and I never knew why. Even funnier than botched translations, was the Inca Spring itself. Conquistadors thought the spring was a fountain of youth with three “springs” signifying the sins of laziness, lying, and stealing. The word, “spring” was put in quotation marks because a nearby pump station appeared to actually feed the “spring” and the lying faucet wasn’t working, making that sin acceptable for the time-being (or so we surmised). Regardless, many locals and Peruvian tourists were drinking from and bathing in the Inca Sperm.

After a very long slow boat ride, we eventually arrived back in Copacabana, where we chowed down on delicious Italian food and wine (oh, the benefits of a tourist town), before calling it a night. The next morning, we wandered around the small city, where we witnessed a few car blessings and visited the cathedral before boarding a bus to La Paz.        

Superstitions in Copacabana.