Are we there yet? Wait, where is "there"?: Copacabana, Bolivia at last!

Erik: We had only 2 days left on our Peruvian visas, and the Peruvian authorities weren't in any mood to extend them for us, (we'd thought we'd been such good guests in their country – oh well!) so the time had come to make a bolt for the border. We took a morning bus from Arequipa to Puno, planning to catch a connecting afternoon bus to the Bolivian border. There were loads to do and see in Puno – day trips to the many island communities on Lake Titicaca – but we just didn't have time. Typical to our luck lately, though, our bus arrived late into Puno. We searched the terminal for buses leaving for the border, and found one leaving right away which had two seats free. As I spoke with the ticket woman about the formalities of crossing the border, her colleague sold the last two tickets to another couple, and there were no further buses that day. OK – guess we're spending the night in Puno! We grabbed a little touk-touk taxi into town, found an over-priced but suitable hostal, and then wandered around the town. It was Sunday and a holiday (Day of the Dead), and nearly everything was closed, but we did find a chifa (Chinese restaurant) open, and had an OK fried rice and curry vegetable dinner. After that, we went to bed early, and up early to catch a 7:30am bus to Copacabana, Bolivia.

I was a bit nervous as we headed to the border without visas and without the required proof of yellow-fever vaccinations. It was the final day of our Peruvian visa, and what would happen if Bolivian immigration turned us away? Would Peru let us back in with our expiring visas, or would we be trapped in the 100 meters of no-man's land in between the two borders? A helpful attendant on the bus assured us that all would be OK, and offered to speak to immigration officials for us – if we could give him $50 USD to help smooth things over. That seemed a bad idea to the both of us, so we braved the border formalities on our own.

As it turned out, the Bolivian officials were so hurried processing all the other passangers on our bus that they rushed us through the visa application process. (Only US citizens are required to have a visa – a reciprocity for the difficulties and costs our immigration department imposes on Bolivians wishing to enter the US...) The visa normally costs $100 if applied for ahead of time, but $135 at the border. Ouch. Still, the process was amazingly simple, as the hurried officials tried to deal with the crowds lining up to enter. As an after thought, they asked us about the vaccinations after having already issued us the visas. $10 more each smoothed over that little problem, and then we were back on the bus heading to Copacabana. Much better than the $50 our “friend” on the bus had wanted...oh well, we couldn't blame him for trying!

Talor: Whew! With that over with, we let out a sigh of relief and took in the town of Copacabana... found it to be very touristy, over-priced and nothing to write home about, but the views of Lake Titicaca were lovely. Needing a bit of comfort after the “drama,” took an expensive room at the Hotel Utama, which came with a lovely mural on the wall, a fuzzy blanket and all the bananas you can eat and mate de coca you can drink. Walked around town for the rest of the day then in the evening, dined on street food... anticuchos (cow-hearts and potatoes cooked on a barbeque – yummy!) and chicken saltenas (like an empanada, but with a slightly sweet pastry on the outside).

The next morning, we took a more economical option on the beach, with a great view of the lake. The Hostal Leyenda was not as luxurious, but the room was large and had funky decor. Aside from checking out the plazas and cathedrals, there isn't much to do so we set out for an hour hike to the village of Sawina where we heard there was a floating village similar to the one we didn't get to see in Puno. As usual, our DIY one-hour hike turned into three when we made a wrong turn that took us an hour each way off course. But we had a nice time chatting with a young boy, Ricardo, who turns out likes to cook.

Finally, arrived at Sawina, and were disappointed to find the floating villages (constructed entirely with reeds from the lake) were recently constructed solely for the tourists... o well. After paying $20 Bolivianos (about $3), a boy (guessing no more than 14 years old) took us on a rowboat ride to one of the “villages.” Just my luck, my camera's battery died and I didn't have the backup... argh! It didn't take long, but it was peaceful and lovely. We were the only tourists there.

Upon returning, we tried to find a cafe, bar or restaurant that was showing the progress of the election, but not surprisingly (or surprisingly for Erik), we found they were more interested in watching soap operas and soccer matches. Finally found a restaurant that put CNN for us, but they weren't showing any results, just background commentary... damn! So we just returned to our room and watched a glowing sunset from our room.

The next morning, we set out for a hike on Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). An hour-and-a-half ferry ride dropped us off at the southern end of the Island, and from there we walked to the northern end where we would take a ferry back. The four-hour hike up and down the mountain was challenging at times, but the views were absolutely gorgeous! Erik remarked that he felt like we were in the Mediterranean, and that's exactly what it looked like. Beautiful blue waters and lush green islands... wow! Back on Copacabana, spent a quiet evening getting ready to leave in the morning for La Paz...