UnBoliviable

I knew I had to get to the Bolivian border before 3PM in order to get myself a visa (Bolivia has a reciprocal visa cost of $135 for US citizens… bummer for me) so that meant a very early morning (incredibly uncomfortable, miserable, dangerously cold) bus ride out of Arequipa in order to get to Puno and transfer to a minibus to the border town of Yunguyo. 

We made it through with plenty of time, and caught another minibus to Copacabana (yes, I had that song stuck in my head for days) on the shore of Lake Titicaca. We found a cheap-ish place for us all to stay, put our stuff down and went exploring in the small, somewhat dilapidated town.  We got some cheap, decent food down by the beach, and booked a trip to Isla del Sol, a nearby island in the lake which is where the Inca creation myth takes place. 

The next day, with some gorgeous weather, we hopped into our boat and set sail for Isla del Sol.  Once there, we found a nice beach and plenty of sun.  Most of us having spent weeks up in cold mountain air, felt very comfortable just chilling on the beach and sipping some rum.  True, we missed the ruins and a reportedly nice walk through the island to the other side, but we did get to play guitar, meet a bunch of friendly people (mostly Argentinians, who seem to have overtaken Bolivia) and soak in some rays.

Back in Copacabana, we met up with a few more friends who had shown up in town while we were on the island.  Partying in Copacabana is limited to a few places and the town was full up with tourists, so the bars were crowded.  We decided to make our own party in the street outside.  No doubt, our party was more fun than what was going on inside anyway.