I entered Bolivia on Tuesday the 13th of December around mid-day. It was a blue sky, sunny afternoon and the warmth was welcome after a chilly overnight bus ride from Cusco, Peru. The bus arrived in Puno at about 4:30 am, the driver let us "sleep" on the bus for a few hours until the terminal opened. It wasn´t until 7:30 until I was on a smaller bus heading for the Bolivian border.
The border crossing was easy, the guard didn´t even look up at me or respond to my greeting. He pulled the paperwork I had filled out on the bus from my passport, stamped both documents and slid my ticket to enter his country across the table. I was in! I have been looking forward to Bolivia for a few reasons. Phil and I spent six weeks in Peru. As beautiful a country as it is, I needed a change, needed to move forward. We had spent an unusually long time in Cusco waiting for a slot on an Inka Trail hike, waiting for equipment to be sent from home and arranging Philip´s flight back to the states. With all of the logistics taken care of and Phil safely at home, I was off on my first solo undertaking of the journey.
My first stop was Copacabana, a small village on the shore of Lake Titicaca. The lake posses´ a phenomenal beauty which adds to it's historic and geographical uniqueness. More than 230 km long, 97 km wide and at an elevation of 3,820 meters (about 11,460 feet) it's among the world's highest navigable lakes and covers over 9,000 sq. km. straddling the Peru/Bolivia border. According to ancient legend, the sun was born here, and the Inca believed their first emperor rose from the rock called Titicaca (rock of the puma) on the northern tip of Isle del Sol. The Aymara people who populate it's shores see Titicaca as a magical place, indeed the energy levels here are very high.
The day I arrived, I hiked to the hilltop just outside of town. The views of the town from the hill were well worth the burning in my lungs (gotta´love the altitude). I sat for a time and watched the sun sink below the Bolivian countryside. As I gazed across the lake at the Isle del Sol, a thought entered my head, spurred by an earlier sighting of a kayak on the bay in front of town. "How cool would it be to kayak from Copacabana to the very island where the sun was born!" Very cool, I decided. So the next day I would rent a kayak and make my thought a reality.
Down pouring rain in the morning dampened my plans, I returned to my hotel and finished the book I had been reading. Around noon I re-emerged to find the sun shinning and the streets and bay busy with people. It was a significant paddle at approx. 20 km of open water but my gear was ready and I couldn't pass up the sunshine. Renting the kayak was not difficult, although I was surprised to find that the going time slot was 30 minutes. We agreed on 150 Bolivianos, about $19 US dollars for 2 days. I threw my overnight bag in the porthole in front of me and began to paddle towards the point to get out of the bay and it's heavy boat traffic.
The Bolivian military has strategically located it's base at the point where the bay turns to open water. At first, I pretended I didn't hear the soldiers yelling, but it was unavoidable, I was the only one around. I paddled in as eight camouflaged Bolivian "policia" were talking at me in Spanish. Muy peligriso! Very dangerous, they said. I tried to explain that I had a great deal of experience with kayaks on large bodies of water. They didn´t bend initially, but neither did I being as I just paid for this boat for two days and didn´t want my plan spoiled. Eventually, thanks to my stellar Spanish skills, they gave in and told me to go but I was on my own, they were not going to come rescue me.
From this point on I was free. The lake is a crystal clear, blue/green color allowing you to see to the bottom where it is shallow enough. Cliffs dropped into the lake on my right hand side the entire length of the paddle. I was in another world, it´s a beautiful place. After almost three hours of steady paddling I was very much looking forward to reaching the point where I would turn towards the Isle del Sol. Upon passing through a notch in the cliff wall I realized quickly that I still had a long way to go. It was another solid hour of paddling before I reached my destination. Finally, at about 5:30 pm. I stepped foot onto Isle del Sol, the birthplace of the sun! My arms were exhausted, my legs cramped and I needed some food. Two local boys and a man ran to the shore to greet me yelling "hola amigo!, hola"! They were very excited considering how many tourists visit the island. It wasn´t me, it was the kayak! They couldn´t wait to hop in and take it for a spin. I didn´t mind, I was spent and it´s not like they were going to paddle it off somewhere, we were hours away from anywhere. I gathered my gear and myself as they played in the boat. The town was straight up the steep, steep hill from the docks. The two boys argued over who would get to carry the paddle up the hill. The winner proudly approached me and told me that he would be my guide up to the town. 30 minutes later, with legs and lungs burning, we reached a ramshackle structure that would be my home for the night. I tipped the boy one boliviano and checked into my room.
The time on the island was peaceful and relaxing, not much happens there and when it does, it unfolds slowly. I hiked that evening and the next morning, observing the very simple life of the people on Isle del Sol.
I took the morning slow with a hike to the southern summit and then afforded myself more time to get back to town knowing it was a long paddle. An hour long rest break in a rocky cove made the journey back more enjoyable. As I paddled back across the lake, several tour boats filled with gringo's and locals alike passed me by. I had a clue that it wasn´t too common to kayak that stretch; the military police, the excitement of the islanders and the fact that many people on the tour boats were not only waving but taking pictures of me as well. When I saw the driver of one of the tour boats leaning out to take a photo, I was sure that I was in the middle of a very unique experience, one that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Jeff
The border crossing was easy, the guard didn´t even look up at me or respond to my greeting. He pulled the paperwork I had filled out on the bus from my passport, stamped both documents and slid my ticket to enter his country across the table. I was in! I have been looking forward to Bolivia for a few reasons. Phil and I spent six weeks in Peru. As beautiful a country as it is, I needed a change, needed to move forward. We had spent an unusually long time in Cusco waiting for a slot on an Inka Trail hike, waiting for equipment to be sent from home and arranging Philip´s flight back to the states. With all of the logistics taken care of and Phil safely at home, I was off on my first solo undertaking of the journey.
My first stop was Copacabana, a small village on the shore of Lake Titicaca. The lake posses´ a phenomenal beauty which adds to it's historic and geographical uniqueness. More than 230 km long, 97 km wide and at an elevation of 3,820 meters (about 11,460 feet) it's among the world's highest navigable lakes and covers over 9,000 sq. km. straddling the Peru/Bolivia border. According to ancient legend, the sun was born here, and the Inca believed their first emperor rose from the rock called Titicaca (rock of the puma) on the northern tip of Isle del Sol. The Aymara people who populate it's shores see Titicaca as a magical place, indeed the energy levels here are very high.
The day I arrived, I hiked to the hilltop just outside of town. The views of the town from the hill were well worth the burning in my lungs (gotta´love the altitude). I sat for a time and watched the sun sink below the Bolivian countryside. As I gazed across the lake at the Isle del Sol, a thought entered my head, spurred by an earlier sighting of a kayak on the bay in front of town. "How cool would it be to kayak from Copacabana to the very island where the sun was born!" Very cool, I decided. So the next day I would rent a kayak and make my thought a reality.
Down pouring rain in the morning dampened my plans, I returned to my hotel and finished the book I had been reading. Around noon I re-emerged to find the sun shinning and the streets and bay busy with people. It was a significant paddle at approx. 20 km of open water but my gear was ready and I couldn't pass up the sunshine. Renting the kayak was not difficult, although I was surprised to find that the going time slot was 30 minutes. We agreed on 150 Bolivianos, about $19 US dollars for 2 days. I threw my overnight bag in the porthole in front of me and began to paddle towards the point to get out of the bay and it's heavy boat traffic.
The Bolivian military has strategically located it's base at the point where the bay turns to open water. At first, I pretended I didn't hear the soldiers yelling, but it was unavoidable, I was the only one around. I paddled in as eight camouflaged Bolivian "policia" were talking at me in Spanish. Muy peligriso! Very dangerous, they said. I tried to explain that I had a great deal of experience with kayaks on large bodies of water. They didn´t bend initially, but neither did I being as I just paid for this boat for two days and didn´t want my plan spoiled. Eventually, thanks to my stellar Spanish skills, they gave in and told me to go but I was on my own, they were not going to come rescue me.
From this point on I was free. The lake is a crystal clear, blue/green color allowing you to see to the bottom where it is shallow enough. Cliffs dropped into the lake on my right hand side the entire length of the paddle. I was in another world, it´s a beautiful place. After almost three hours of steady paddling I was very much looking forward to reaching the point where I would turn towards the Isle del Sol. Upon passing through a notch in the cliff wall I realized quickly that I still had a long way to go. It was another solid hour of paddling before I reached my destination. Finally, at about 5:30 pm. I stepped foot onto Isle del Sol, the birthplace of the sun! My arms were exhausted, my legs cramped and I needed some food. Two local boys and a man ran to the shore to greet me yelling "hola amigo!, hola"! They were very excited considering how many tourists visit the island. It wasn´t me, it was the kayak! They couldn´t wait to hop in and take it for a spin. I didn´t mind, I was spent and it´s not like they were going to paddle it off somewhere, we were hours away from anywhere. I gathered my gear and myself as they played in the boat. The town was straight up the steep, steep hill from the docks. The two boys argued over who would get to carry the paddle up the hill. The winner proudly approached me and told me that he would be my guide up to the town. 30 minutes later, with legs and lungs burning, we reached a ramshackle structure that would be my home for the night. I tipped the boy one boliviano and checked into my room.
The time on the island was peaceful and relaxing, not much happens there and when it does, it unfolds slowly. I hiked that evening and the next morning, observing the very simple life of the people on Isle del Sol.
I took the morning slow with a hike to the southern summit and then afforded myself more time to get back to town knowing it was a long paddle. An hour long rest break in a rocky cove made the journey back more enjoyable. As I paddled back across the lake, several tour boats filled with gringo's and locals alike passed me by. I had a clue that it wasn´t too common to kayak that stretch; the military police, the excitement of the islanders and the fact that many people on the tour boats were not only waving but taking pictures of me as well. When I saw the driver of one of the tour boats leaning out to take a photo, I was sure that I was in the middle of a very unique experience, one that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Jeff
posted by Phlip | 6:19 PM
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