Lake Titicaca and Isla del Sol

We arrived to Copacabana ("the hottest spot north of Havana") to be greeted by beautiful weather. As luck would have it, while we were looking for accommodation on this very street we ran into our Aussie friend, Jane, and our new South African buddy, Garrett.

That afternoon, we decided to climb up to the local cemetery to get a different perspective of the town. Of course, we took the road less traveled filled with broken beer bottles and used disposable diapers. There's a good chance that this trail might have been the birth place of hepatitis.

Here's what we saw...actually, a charming town...from a distance.

We began our high altitude training for Carnival. We figured it works for athletes...why not give it a try for beveraging?

Check out this picture that Jane took at the cemetery. Yah, we thought it was pretty cool too.

The next day, we hiked from Copacabana to Yampupata (about 17km) which sits just across the strait from Isla del Sol. Yet again, we were blessed with beautiful weather. It was a pretty easy hike with the exception of the small shortcut up the Incan stairs. Fun Fact:
We'd really had enough of Incan
stairs by the end of the Inca Trail


On the way, Garret attempted to greet a baby sheep. A 14-year-old farmer quickly advised us that he could have scared the lamb to death.

Jane and I had better luck with a baby alpaca.












On our way to Yampupata, we met a man who owned a boat and his dog who happened to be CRAZY about duck hunting. Brandon and Garrett helped him carry some untreated wood (looked a lot lighter than it was) to his dock. In return, the man gave us a cheap boat ride to Isla del Sol. All we had to do was paddle.





Just kidding he gave us a ride in this boat...with a motor.




When we arrived to Isla del Sol, where we were greeted by yet more stairs. There's nothing better than climbing steps above the world's highest navigable lake (3800 m). Sarcasm aside, we found a hostel with killer views of both the east and west at the summit of the island. While the view didn't last long, that night we watched an incredible electrical storm from our terrace...while drinking boxed wine.



The next day, we caught a boat ride to the north end of the island and hiked a bit more. We checked out a sacrificial rock and an Incan labyrinth. We both have to admit that after Machu Picchu, these ruins seemed to be a bit disappointing. But all in all it was a nice walk.