Her name is Lola...

The bus to La Paz was pretty uneventful...apart from the flat tire we got at 1am, which made us late for the connecting bus we had. Luckily, the bus from La Paz to Copacabana was also late. Crisis averted.

We left La Paz at 8am- rush hour. It was sheer madness! I had no inclination to visit this city and just driving through made me glad of that decision. Encarna was having second thoughts about spending much time there as well. The fact that it was a freezing 2º didn`t help the cause either.

The bus we were on had no heating and it was also freezing - you could tell we were moving north! The landscape had also changed, it had become much greener and less harsh, the mountains had softer peaks - not as jagged...and it was raining.

When we arrived in Copacabana it was piss pouring rain. We hastily chose a hostal near the bus drop off area. When the answer to the all important question was yes, we agreed to spend the night. The question? Is there 24h hot water. The room looked clean and the place looked good, but the shower...it was the dodgiest shower I have ever seen (this was soon to change, however). I´m not sure how these things work but from what I could see the heating system (electric) is hooked up to the actual shower head, there is only one knob - you either get a dribble of hot water or a steady stream of cold . When it was my turn to take a shower I tried to adjust the water and got an electric shock...and here I was wondering why the knob was covered with electrical tape! What a frightening experience!

After the shocking shower, we scurried across the street for a bite to eat. On the menu....trout. Lake Titicaca was stocked with Canadian trout, eh, so it`s pretty much the main dish on most menus. I´ve never tried trout before - I`m not a big fish fan, too many bones, but when in Titicaca...I tried the grilled trout. It was delicious! I really enjoyed it...apart from the flashback I got of my son fishing with his buddy Dustin when they were about 9. They were having trouble removing a fish from the hook so they called me over for help (mistake). I cried as I tried to free the poor little fishy, sad little fella was struggling for life - all for the entertainment of a couple of kids. A barbaric practice. I overheard Dustin say to Loic, "Let`s not fish near your mom anymore." Bright kid that Dustin!



Such a beautiful lake!

After we had finished lunch, the sun was out and it was getting hot, hot, hot. We took a stroll along the edge of the lake - both of us had stiff legs from the long hike the day before and the night of not quite lying down in a cramped space.

It got so hot after a while and the lake was so inviting...I decided to go for a dip....GADZOOKS!  I found out later that the lake rarely gets above 9º. I got in up to my knees and when I got out my legs were a violent shade of red...my skin trying to figure out what the heck had just happened! We sat on the beach for a while and the lake continued to beckon - I miss proper lakes. Sorry, Australia just doesn´t do lakes properly.

We walked back to the town and spent the rest of the afternoon at a lakeside cafe, basking in the sun and enjoying a cup of tea. In the evening we tried to explore Copacabana a little more, but the torrential downpour started again. The place reminds me a little of Niagara Falls (Canadian side, of course) with a little less tack. Just a lot of souvenir shops, restaurants and hostals.

The next day we were going to catch a boat to the Isla del Sol.

Nothing says tack like a plastic swan