We did this as a day trip, the bus from La Paz takes about 3 hours, and once we reach the first crossing of the lake (there is not a bridge) the bus must travel separately from the passengers while crossing the narrow straight on Lake Titicaca. Then bus another 50 minutes and you arrive at Copacabana. The boat ride to Isla Del Sol takes another hour and a half from Copacabana. The life in the island is tranquil, there is no noise, no motorized traffic and no rubbish on the streets (which is rare for Bolivia). The high altitude in Copacabana, makes hiking more difficult. Our overnight accommodation was “up” the 200+ stairs built in the 1400’s. You can read into that. . . . . Crooked, uneven, worn, at various heights and darn steep. After stopping numerous times to get our breath, adjust the backpack, or still the pounding of our hearts, the guide said he will try and find an easier way to catch the boat home. (His tip went up with those wise words.) Then we trekked another mile or so on a narrow track to our new home.
We really enjoyed the island and its relationship with Tiahuanaco. (See tomorrow’s adventure.) and hearing the history of the Incan from an Aymaran person (our guide). Aymaran people were the agricultural predecessors to the Inca people. They were in place 10,000 years before the Inca rose in stature. The Isla Del Sol, is from oral tradition, the place where the Inca civilization was born. Several temples were erected and encrusted with gold and silver as a thanks to the gods, however, these were all looted by the Spanish in the 1500’s and only niches and basic stone work remain today.
We then returned to Copacabana, and our guide wanted us to see the Franciscan church there, it turned out to be a festival at the church and in the courtyard, so it was all rather exciting