So we’ve been kickin’ back the past few
days here in Copa, enjoying daily trips to the market, and a side trip to Isla
del Sol. As mentioned last post, we’re milking our relatively luxurious
accom set-up so that we spend Christmas here, instead of taking a chance with La
Paz (big city of). Contrary to what we were expecting from the weather, it’s
been surprisingly good. Mostly sunny skies and 15 to 20-degree days. Pleasant
surprise given the middle of the rainy season. You know, it’s funny. This is the
umpteenth time the weather isn’t what it’s “supposed to be”. Our first
encounter with that was in Columbia, pretty much right out of the gates and our
first night on the road. Hernan, our Columbian host was overcome by frustration
trying to explain the Columbian Caribbean seasons to us. “Well, it’s supposed
to be our wet season, but it hasn’t rained in 6 weeks...things are changing.” That seems to be the bottom line: things are changing.
One of the bigger draws to Copa is
access to the infamous Isla del Sol,
which, true to its name was indeed the island of sun for our 3-day
village-to-village trek. A 2-hr barco
(boat; why it’s a barco here and a lancha in Puno?) ride took us to the
north end of the island where we found a basic bed for the night (basic = 4 walls,
a roof, and a bed; you want what?...toilet paper?!). And, interestingly, a white-sand
beach right out of the Caribbean, complete with two Euro chicks in bikinis. Uhh,
where did we just beam in from? G-strings in Bolivia. Not sure who was more
surprised, us, or the little old Quechua ladies sweeping their dirt floors.
Things are changing.
The pre-Inca Arymara inhabitants called the island Titi (puma) Kala (rock), which is the namesake of the lake. The Inca considered the island to be the birthplace of the sun and several other important entities. In turn, the contemporary indigenous people of Peru and Bolivia regard these legends as their version of creation. No surprise then, this is one important island around here!
A semi-arid, pseudo-Mediterranean chunk
of rock about 70 km2 large, Isla
del Sol boasts some of the most beautiful and striking scenery in the
region. Here again, no roads, no combustion engines. All transport is by foot
or donkey. The island is riddled with Inca and pre-Inca ruins, including a
magnificent Inca “road” running down the spine of the island from north to
south. The weather was bluebird for our traverse of the island, and an
absolutely stunning hike along the Inca pavement. Views from the ridge tops
were second to none. The south end of the island hosts more of what we call
civilization including an array of hostels and pizza restaurants. We graciously
accepted a cliff-edge table overlooking the universe to enjoy a sunset pizza
and a not-too-bad bottle of 3-dollar Bolivian wine. Wine is getting better and
cheaper as the distance between us and the Argentine border gets smaller. On another
side note, it’s fascinating how pizza has become the default gringo-travel-food
all over the world. No complaints...it’s my favourite food group!
So Christmas in Copa. Our plan is to trade
up to a place with a kitchen for the 24th and 25th. Amy
wants a Christmas feast (again, no complaints here!). I agree that it would be
difficult to prepare a turkey dinner on our MSR camp stove (which has
however been providing delicious one-pot meals for us lately). Although,
finding a turkey could be an impossible task. We actually have no idea what the
locals do on the big day. Again, not much hype on the streets so far. The town
cathedral – another fine example and bastion of Spanish colonialism – should be
an interesting place for us to visit; midnight mass maybe? Pass the egg nog.
From the birthplace of the sun, Merry
Christmas Everyone! Feliz Navidad! Joyeux Noel!
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