Wednesday, June 16: "Lake Pipicaca" you said?

I’ll do it my way
Yup, we did it: woke up on time, packed, had a quick breakfast, entrusted our backpacks to the hotel for the next three days and are on the pavement in front of the hotel by 8AM. No expensive, organised tour today; we turn over a new coca leaf in this adventure and do it all on our own, mister! The experiment takes a flying start, we immediately get a “colectivo” to the cemetery district. Upon arrival we are waved down by a guy selling us two bus tickets to Copacabana, leaving in 2 minutes. Within minutes the city centre shrinks below us, we’re cooking with gas, baby!

After a brief stop in El Alto the bus starts the long haul over the Altiplano, direction lake Titicaca. The dusty lands all around the bus are as flat as a pancake, with a snow-capped mountain in the background. Then the bus runs a flat in the middle of nowhere. It’s a welcome opportunity to get off the bus and stretch my legs, while the bus driver and his colleague change the tire with self-made tools. The job is done within minutes; these guys have obviously done this many times before.

Lake Pipicaca?
A Paceña has gotten off the bus as well. I see her without bowler hat, squatted about 3 meters away from the bus. Is she looking for something? She stands up and steps aside as she adjusts her big skirt. She kicks some sand over a little puddle that has appeared from under her skirt. Genius! Big skirts provide all the needed privacy when no bathroom is about.

Copacabana in a hurry
Copacabana is basking in the sunlight when the bus arrives. We have 30 minutes before the last boat to Isla Del Sol leaves, so we scarf down a sandwich from one of the hundreds of little restaurants along the main street and run to the waterfront. Just in time. We climb up on the sun deck on the top of the boat and make ourselves comfortable for the 1.5 hour trip. An English couple join us and we chat a bit about our holidays. They are sailors and had tried to sail to Isla Del Sol earlier this morning, but the winds were off, so they were forced to return to Copacabana. Getting a sailboat isn’t really a big issue, a credit card imprint had been enough to get the boat. The views over the highest navigable lake in the world (3800m) are nothing short of impressive. The sun warms me up and the constant noise of the boat’s engine, combined with the gentle rocking of the boat puts me almost to sleep. We’re on top of the world.

Yumani
We arrive in the pretty harbour of Yumani, on the South East side of Isla Del Sol. As soon as we set foot on land we are greeted by a man selling permits. To walk, breathe,  or simply do anything here, costs 5 Bolivianos. Whatever. The town itself is on top of the steps before us, so we set off quickly. We want to check in to a nice hostel and get rid of our backpacks. Climbing at this altitude is less than fun. My heart tries several times to get out of my chest on the way up, but finally we make it to the village at the top and check in to Hostal Del Sol. It’s 4:30pm so we decide to walk to the Pilcocaina Inca ruins at the southern end of the island. By the time they come in view, the sun is so low that they’re completely covered in shade. We head back up to make it back in time for sunset. Once the sun has gone it gets real dark and real cold really quick. Armed with a torch light we find a pizza place and have a simple meal. The sky is pitch black, but the shiniest stars I’ve ever seen help us find our way back to the bed.