Leaving La Paz at 0700 hrs we headed for Copabanana first having to negotiate road works to get out of the city which then took 1hour and 45 minutes to get to the outskirts of La Paz.
 |
| View along the lake |
 |
| A lovely old adobe house |
 |
View along the coast
Despite what seems to have been hundreds of speed bumps on the main road we reached Tiquina on the shore of Lake Titicaca where we watched as the truck was put on a barge and transported across the lake. We were not allowed to go on the barge but on a small boat instead. For some unknown reason (jobsworth maybe) an immigration official wanted to see all our passports when we arrived at the other side of the lake. We were travelling from Bolivia to Bolivia and could not see why this was needed but officialdumb (my spelling) won out.
|
 |
| Driving onto the barge |
 |
| Half way across |
 |
| Welcome |
On arrival at Copacabana (altitude 3800 metres) I went for a walk round the town to find it quite small and quiet filled with bars, restaurants, money changers, hostels and hotels. There was an odd collection of house not far from the shore that were more than interesting for their design, pictures of which are below.
 |
| Looking down on the town |
 |
| The town and the beach |
 |
| Plenty of boats around |
 |
| Main Street |
 |
| Quaint houses |
 |
| A carving set into a wall |
The cathedral, Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana, was built in the 16th-century in the Moorish style and contains a statue of the Black Virgin. This I did not see nor was able to take photos inside the cathedral. Our Lady of Copacabana is the patron saint of Bolivia and Copacabana is the most visited religious place in Bolivia also.
 |
| The Basilica |
On the morning of 10 February we packed all un-necessary clothes etc onto the truck and then went by a small boat to Sun Island which is in the southern part of Lake Titicaca. The first thing to be seen was the Inca terraces cut into the island cliffs and on landing a line of local women coming down the path to the beach to collect sand, and then having to carry it up again. I later found out that this was for a community project, voted on by all and all had to help, to build something further up the mountain.
 |
| Inca terraces |
 |
| Landing area |
 |
| Boats ready to leave |
 |
| Ladies coming down he path |
 |
| Collecting sand |
 |
| Going back up the path |
 |
| The community building project |
The island is a rocky, hilly place with many eucalyptus trees (brought in from Australia). There are no motor vehicles or paved roads on the island. The main economic activity of the approximately 800 families on the island is farming, with fishing and tourism augmenting the subsistence economy.
There are over 80 ruins on the island most of them dating from the Inca period of the 15th century AD. Archaeologists have discovered evidence that people lived on the island as far back as the third millennium BC. Many hills on the island contain agricultural terraces cut by the Inca.
According to Incan lore, after a great flood, the god Viracocha arose from Lake Titicaca to create the world. He commanded the sun (Inti), moon (Mama Kilya) and stars to rise, then went to Tiahuanaco to create the first human beings, Mallku Kapac and Mama Ocllo. These first humans, the "Inca Adam and Eve," were formed from stone and brought to life by Viracocha, who commanded them to go out and populate the world. Thus Lake Titicaca is believed to be the birthplace of the Incas, whose spirits return to their origin in the lake upon death.
The walk across the island was a 9 kilometre slog after we had been told that the initial climb up the cliff the rest would be gentle up and down walking. No way was it gentle and at 3990 metres (13090 feet) altitude it was hard work then to find only a cold shower at the end.
 |
| The spaces in the wall would have been where the mummified bodies were put |
 |
| This rock represents the centre of the Inca religion and some say looks like a puma |
 |
| A bay on the island |
 |
| New houses |
 |
| An Inca building |
 |
| An Inca doorway |
The following morning we returned to Copacabana and the truck for the 15 minute drive to the Bolivian border at Kasani/Yunguyo and another 10 minutes to leave Bolivia, walk through no-man’s land to the Peruvian border where clearance took another 45 minutes.
After crossing the border we had to put our clocks back by one hour thus arriving at Puno at 1430 hrs. Walking into the town centre there was little to see in the way of old buildings except the Basilica Menos de la Cathedral De Puno built in 1757 with many of its paintings damaged by fire in 1930. While I was sitting in the cathedral, having taken a photo of the alter, lights were put on and a service started. That is why the photos show two different views of the alter.
 |
| Views of the Cathedral |
 |
| The altar |
 |
| The altar |
 |
| A side chapel |
I walked back to the hotel via back streets to find shops/workshops where people were making dresses/regalia for mainly folklore festivals, not necessarily religious festivals. The people were quite happy for me to take photos of the clothing but reluctant to have their photos taken, especially the women.
 |
| Made by hand by this man |
 |
| A child dressed as Diablo (the Devil) |
 |
| A glove |
 |
| With flashing lights as well |
Some of the shops had traditional women's clothing, the skirts especially interesting me because of the pleats and what looked to be the weight of them.
Dinner that night was roast chicken and salad.
No comments:
Post a Comment