Sunday

If it’s Sunday, it must be the Isla del Sol. We board a swift little vessel and motor off to the lake’s largest island.

Copa, Copacabana. Nowhere near Havana

Jealous?

On the way a flock of a dozen flamingoes passes overhead as the morning sun warms us just enough to take the chill off the breeze. Ah, Titicaca. The Bolivians have a saying; it’s about the lake and it’s name. ”Peru has one part and we have the other”. I’ll leave it to your imagination.

Temple of the Sun

There’s a good little temple on the island made by Tihuanaco people on their way to forming the Inca Empire. Once covered in gold that would glisten in the sun, it is now brought back to the bare rock walls.
We take a splendid stroll through the terraces (potatoes, barley and beans) to the next cove, looking like something along the Amalfi coast, where we catch up with the boat. On the way are locals selling high quality merchandise and chiquillos posing with llamas for a couple of Bolivianos a shot.

The famous reed boats

Trucha for lunch back at Copa (muy bueno). Late afternoon we climb the Cerro Calvario hill-named after Calvary,

Top of the hill

and there are many ‘Stations of the Cross’ on the way up. The summit is a bit rowdy-some sort of party-but the view over the lake to the Isla and across the town and the bay is pretty cool, especially at sunset.

Back through the shop-lined streets, stopping to buy some nic-nacs.

Julian Rowe T shirt design