March 29-30 The mysterious Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca a name that sends echoes back to my childhood. We were on our way to stay on the Isla del Sol (not far from the Island of the moon!) at the southern part of this lake, the world’s highest navigable lake. It is situated on the border of Bolivia and Peru.  The beautiful Isla del Sol was known to its early inhabitants as Titi Khar'ka, the 'rock of the puma'  from which Lake Titicaca gets its name. It is believed to be the birthplace of the Inca Empire, the birthplace birthplace of Andean spirituality and culture. The island and surrounding shores still bear the results of the industry of that amazing empire - millennia-old stone-walled terraces cover every slope. It was to here they say that the priests and chosen ones from  Machu Picchu came to study.  Legend has it that the Sun created a man and a woman (Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Ocllo) on Sun Island.  But we were still to arrive!

The border between Bolivia and Peru passes through the centre of the lake south to north

It was an early morning start which almost didn’t start because someone forgot to set the alarm, or rather she set it to PM rather than AM. OMG and sacre bleu! We were to be picked up at 7:15 and we were awoken by the soft burr of the phone at 7:07 - our guide was downstairs "but don’t rush" he said. Whaaa! We were out of bed, washed dressed, washing stuffed into our bags, zipped up and in the lobby 11 minutes later - my eyes were only just open. We scoffed breakfast in 10 mins with the anxious diminutive Geronimo hovering over us, darling man (we understood we’d have a boxed breakfast to take - lots of mis-communication at this particular part of our travels). We made it to the bus station 30mins after we woke - with time to spare. I think we must have set some kind of record yeah!?

The 2-3hr bus trip gave us a chance to see a little more of Bolivia’s countryside before reaching the lake. Towards the end of the trip we hopped off the bus and were loaded on to a small ferry boat in order to cross the Strait of Tiquina which joins the northern main lake and the southern smaller lake both of which form Lake Titicaca. The passage is almost 1km wide and is deep and fast flowing. The little villages on either side of the Strait, San Pablo de Tiquina and San Pedro de Tiquina provide a nonstop barge service for cars and large vehicles alike. It provides a livelihood for many locals and there is some heated debate about where a road bridge should  be built.

Strait of Tiquina. Fish farms in the foreground (the Lake has been practically depleted of fish)

Fascinating to watch large buses being ferried across the Strait

We passengers crossed separately.

That fringe of trees on the skyline are eucalypts. we saw many in this region of Bolivia 

This is a representation of Manco Capac welcoming us to the Lake

Once across the Strait we headed across the Copacabana Peninsula to Copacabana where we eventually boarded a ferry which would take us to our island.   There seemed to be quite some 'negotiating' going on (often) - I think we tourists are a captive market. We had a wander and took some pix in this popular holiday destination.

This wee poppet captured my heart.  

There is a naval base on the shores of the lake.

A number of Acacias in flower dotted the shore

Juan and Lindsay taking our bags to the wharf area - while I lagged behind taking pix.

We eventually arrived at the Sun Island 4200m above sea level, blurry eyed and short of breath but excited about the tranquility that awaited us on the island. The lodge where we were staying was right on the waters edge - quite idyllic albeit fairly basic.  

They welcomed us with a late feast served on the terrace overlooking the lake. Sardines, trout, chicken, dried black potato, eggs, baked banana, corn tortilla, the best fava beans I've ever tasted, cheese and huge white corn. Man oh man - and then dessert came out! we left the table groaning, but we lined up again that evening for more delicious food. As the sun sank below the distant mountains, the chill set in. Our cabin was not heated but while we were eating dinner, our hosts lit a small fire in our room - kero or some such. It was very effective.

Snow-capped Cordillera Real