La Paz, Day 2: Lake Titicaca and Copacabana

The next day, we took a 4 hour bus ride from La Paz to Copacabana, a small town situated on the shore of Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America and at 12,500 ft above sea level, has one of the highest altitudes of any body of water in the world. The hills and mountains surrounding the lake are riddled with evidence of bygone eras of great empires. Terraces from the Incan and Tiwanku cultures are still used today by the Aymarans for agricultural purposes.

We arrived in Copacabana in the afternoon, just in time for one of the town´s famous trout lunches. From what my friends told me, the fish was delicious!

Copacabana is a small rown with about 6000 inhabitants. It is a tourist stop for travelers wanting to see Lake Titicaca and Isla del Sol, so it has a number of nice hotels and restuarants. It is also the home of a beautiful bascilica called Our Lady of Copacabana.

There isn´t too much to do in Copacabana, so my friends and I did just about the most touristy activity ever: we took a swan paddle boat out onto Lake Titicaca. Later in the evening, I climbed up Mount Calvario to see the sun set over Lake Titicaca. The mountain isn´t very high, but the trek is steep and with the high altitude of Copacabana, I was unusually out of breath by the top. But what a site to see! I had the great fortune of arriving at the summit just in time to see a group of indigenous Aymarans performing a qóa ritual sacrifice to Pachamama. The sunset was spectacular, and by the time I hiked back down, it was time for a delicious dinner in town.