We arrived on time in La Paz after a long night on the bus. Being dropped off at 6 in the morning is not our favorite - especially since the bus that would take us to Copacabana was not going to leave at 8:30. On the other hand the bus terminal in La Paz is not the worst place to be and while Mikkel was doing the usual reconnaissance round, Malene met another Dane travelling on his own. Also waiting - for his hostel to open up at 7 AM. So what better than sharing some travel experiences while trying to stay awake. He had just finished the Rickshaw Run in India and was now on his own in South America. A bit later we were joined by a German girl who worked for Fraport - the company running Frankfurt Airport and - it turns out - Lima Airport where she had got a temporary position and thus had the weekends off to travel South America.
So we sat there and waited for the clock to hit 8 so we could board the bus, wishing our Danish friend safe travels as he left for his hostel and a warm bed.
The bus trip to Copacabana wasn't too exciting. It took a full hour just to clear 30 kilometres of the road from the bus terminal to the outskirts of El Alto, the road being a chaos of vehicles, people and stalls. It was Sunday morning and the road was more like a big market.
Copacabana being at the Peruvian border is located on a peninsula only being accessible via a route going through Peru - or via our route which took us to a ferry place. There we got off the bus. It was going on a barge while we paid two Bolivianos each to go on a small motorboat and then wait for the barge and the bus on the other side of the water, approximately 5-600 meters of water separating the two docks.
Our bus made it to the other side and the last stretch of driving was over the mountain to the small town of Copacabana. We walked to our hostel which turned out to be more like a hotel - a slightly average one. But it had what we needed after a long night on the bus - shower and toilet.
We had lunch with a great view of the town and the beach and walked a bit around town afterwards. It is not a Copacabana-clone but in country without access to the ocean this is the best thing. The beach being a bit dirty and smelly and visibly polluted by untreated sewage seeping from the ground. But lots of action on the water - it was after all Sunday and with sunshine and 25 degrees it was hard to resist a swim - but we did.
Instead we walked around town and found another attraction - the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana. And much to our amusement this is where you'd go to have your car blessed. So in the square in front of the church there were lines of decorated cars. They were being blessed with confetti and cheap champagne, the driver having their photos taken.
We relaxed the rest of the afternoon and forgot to go out for dinner. Instead catching up on some of the sleep we'd missed on the way here. Early morning tomorrow - going to Isla Del Sol at 8 AM.
So we sat there and waited for the clock to hit 8 so we could board the bus, wishing our Danish friend safe travels as he left for his hostel and a warm bed.
The bus trip to Copacabana wasn't too exciting. It took a full hour just to clear 30 kilometres of the road from the bus terminal to the outskirts of El Alto, the road being a chaos of vehicles, people and stalls. It was Sunday morning and the road was more like a big market.
Copacabana being at the Peruvian border is located on a peninsula only being accessible via a route going through Peru - or via our route which took us to a ferry place. There we got off the bus. It was going on a barge while we paid two Bolivianos each to go on a small motorboat and then wait for the barge and the bus on the other side of the water, approximately 5-600 meters of water separating the two docks.
Our bus made it to the other side and the last stretch of driving was over the mountain to the small town of Copacabana. We walked to our hostel which turned out to be more like a hotel - a slightly average one. But it had what we needed after a long night on the bus - shower and toilet.
We had lunch with a great view of the town and the beach and walked a bit around town afterwards. It is not a Copacabana-clone but in country without access to the ocean this is the best thing. The beach being a bit dirty and smelly and visibly polluted by untreated sewage seeping from the ground. But lots of action on the water - it was after all Sunday and with sunshine and 25 degrees it was hard to resist a swim - but we did.
Instead we walked around town and found another attraction - the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana. And much to our amusement this is where you'd go to have your car blessed. So in the square in front of the church there were lines of decorated cars. They were being blessed with confetti and cheap champagne, the driver having their photos taken.
We relaxed the rest of the afternoon and forgot to go out for dinner. Instead catching up on some of the sleep we'd missed on the way here. Early morning tomorrow - going to Isla Del Sol at 8 AM.
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| 2 AM stop - at somewhere |
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| Getting our bags in La Paz |
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| Waiting and have a chat |
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| El Alto chaos |
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| Lake Titicaca in the horizon |
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| Boarding the boat |
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| Not our bus - but a similar one on a busy Sunday |
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| Getting some lunch while waiting for the bus to arrive |
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| Sharing a bit of travel experiences with an American couple we met on the bus |
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| Hotel room - yes |
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| Lunch with a view |
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| Blessed car |
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| Many cars being blessed |
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| Can not have too much confetti |
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| The Basilica in Copacabana |
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