Lake Titicaca

First day back in La Paz I had a fairly relaxed day, with a look around a series of small museums in the beautifully preserved Calle Jaen giving some of the history of the city and the battle for independence, complete with costumes and a tour of the house of one of the first martyrs for the cause, with a lovely courtyard and much original furniture, and personal effects making it bring the time alive.

 The following day the start of a 2 day trip to Laguna Titicaca with the first stop Cocacabana ( the original one apparently).  Though in fact there was a stop when we had to cross the Tiquina straights from San Pablo to San Pedro.  This is only 700m, a narrow neck between the large and small lakes of Titicaca.  The bus crossed on a barge and the passengers have to cross in small boats, the 2 bolivianos fee per person (20p) no doubt keeps the 2 villages solvent.

 It is the largest high altitude lake (3808m) in the world at 8400km2 area, set between Peru where the floating reed islands are, and Bolivia.  The sight is mesmerising with the reflections of the cordillera real of the Andes divided around both sides of the lake and reflected in the clear Andean light in its waters.  Small wonder that the inhabitants from probably as far back as 6000BC ascribed mystical powers to the lake and believed the sun had arisen from it, the Incas believing it to be the birthplace of their civilisation.

Cocacabana, meaning lake view in Aymara, the language and name of the local peoples, has long been a place of pilgrimage with stories attributed to the carving of the wooden Dark Virgin of the lake by the priest Francisco Tito Yupanqui, and the miracles which occurred following her installation in the cathedral of Cocacabana.  The cathedral has beautifully carved wooden door, and murals depicting the entire story in addition to the original carving in her niche above the altar.

The town is a haven for tourists with the main base for boat trips to the sacred island of the Sun ' Isla del Sol'.  We took the boat over after an excellent almuerzo of truncha del logo, or lake trout as the main dish- very tasty!  1.5h on the roof of the launch on the calm waters in the sun, with views across to Peru and the snow covered peaks of the Andes was very relaxing.  The original name of the island was Titi Kharka, or Rock of the Puma (small indigenous puma or tiger like animal), and it is from this that the lake takes its name.

Arrival at the island is a lovely garden and waterfall leading to the escalera de las Incas (staircase).  This climbs over 200m in about 1km, a test for the lungs at that altitude!  We climbed over 400 steps to reach the fountain of youth, which gave a feeling of the sacredness in which it was held by those who built them.  The fountain has never run dry and the water is beautifully pure - I filled my water bottle and it's delicious - though its source remains a mystery. The three outlets, from an Inca proverb represent Ama sua, Ama llulla, and Ama khella, or don't lie, don't steal, don't be lazy.  The locals were filling their water containers to take home by donkey as this is the only source of water on the island.  Electricity arrived about 10 years ago though the next Island of the Moon does not have any.  We continued on the zig zag path above the fountain towards our hostel, still a tough climb of another 200m taking us to just over 4000m.  But the 360 degree views over the lake to Peru and the Bolivian Cordillera were fantastic!

Our hostel was on the ridge, with trapezoidal windows I noticed in many of the local buildings, an Inca tradition.  A welcome cup of tea on arrival and a private room with terrace to enjoy the views in the remaining sunlight - what more could you ask...

I walked up to the mirador at the peak just before sunset to get the ultimate view and see the ruins at the top, with no backpack a pleasant walk through the local houses with donkeys strolling around, a few llamas grazing, dogs, people trying to sell their handicrafts even there at the top of the hill.  And a few other walkers, though none of my group.  I didn't stay for the sunset as it had clouded over covering the sun completely.

My group included Bernadita and James, from Chile, with Bernie's cousin Luciano who were very friendly and as Bernie is an English teacher she was delighted to be able to practice with me.  New friends and an invitation to Chile (also reciprocal for them to come to France) and good for my Spanish over meal times with our excellent guide Jodi, where we had some very interesting discussions.

At night the temperature dropped to around freezing, with no heating and little insulation, luckily plenty of blankets so once in bed it was fine.  As this is summer I'm not sure how cold it is in winter!  It rained during the night and was still raining at breakfast, fortunately only very slightly as we started our descent to the Inca temple of the puma.  We walked through terraces of potatoes and broad beans, with wild flowers and lake views.  The temple itself with its trapezoidal openings was originally Two storey but either heavy snow or deliberate destruction leaves only a single vaulted storey now.  The east side is aligned to allow the entry of the equinoctial sun and the southern side is aligned for the moon, which the Incas also worshipped along with Pachamama or Mother Earth.  There was an atmosphere of reverence at the site, and peace.

We continued down to the coast to catch our return launch, by which time the sun was starting to pierce the clouds so by the time we reached Cocacobana again it was quite warm for our visit to the cathedral, followed by almuerzo in a different local restaurant, another opportunity to enjoy the local trout.  I passed the return coach trip chatting to Bernie about our respective lives and homes, very interesting.

The following day, Friday, we were all on the same trip to Chacaltaya, or cold peak.  At 5405m it deserves its name, it was the highest ski resort, now closed, with an astronomical physics lab as its main activity, manned by US, Russian and Japanese scientists.  The Minibus took us up the dirt track with views back to La Paz and El Alto, and over myriad lakes on the climb, as well as the higher snow covered peak of Potosi at 6800m.

We climbed the last 200m to the summit, slowly as altitude saps the energy very fast!  It was in mist with snow patches and eerie remain of ski lift mechanics around, but felt an achievement to reach 5405m, the highest I've been.  Only 2 degrees so we needed our warmest clothes, but warmed up on the descent.  The ski season would have started in February as in winter there is no precipitation so no snow.

We then continued by descending 2000m to the valley of the moon just south of La Paz, and much warmer at around 15 degrees!  A real lunar landscape with a 45 min trail through the tall conical peaks with deep wells between, definitely out of this world.

On our return I had to say goodbye to my Chilean friends who head home tomorrow.  I noted to visit the hairdressers to get a haircut before I fly down to Trinidad on Sunday to tart my volunteer work at the Blue-throated  Macaw Conservation Centre.  My story will continue from there...