Hecha Mierda contd.

Somehow we got from immigrations to Copacabana - a mostly tourist hub for backpackers heading to the islands on Lake Titicaca. A bunch of Argentinians had wrangled a boat for about 20 people to head to the northern side of La Isla del Sol. Most tourists head for a day trip or a weekend-long stay at the Southern end of the island. They have a museum and restaurants and three hour guided walking tours to get to the northern side which has beaches.

We opted to stay in the north. We wanted beach. So after a lengthy three hour boat ride, where I slept most of the way...we arrived and found a hostal: Inca Uti, the only place on the island with hot water. After our border crossing experience, we were desperate for a hot shower. Especially since I was sick....We settled in to our hostal, as the other Argentinians rented a tent and decided to camp out for the weekend. Locos. The temperature verges on freezing at night, even though the days are quite temperate and lovely.

When the sun settled we headed to get a good meal: a hot Quinoa soup and the island´s main and only protein- fresh trout from Lake Titicaca. Pretty tasty. The next day, Saturday, we woke and headed to the beach to relax in the sun. Unfortunately, I woke with some sort of stomach bug ----and so began my real experience in Bolivia. Hecha Mierda.

Luckily we were taking it easy on the island, and since I was still healing from the flu, I wasn´t eating that much - no apetite. That night, we tried some Singani, some type of Bolivian alcohol and hung with the Argentinians at the bonfire they had made at the beach. (I spent the night, manning the fire. Thanks dad for teaching me the very usefull knowledge of keeping a fire; where the logs go, how to keep the circulation of the air without blowing out the fire, and all without burning your fingers. If it wasn´t for my vast knowledge of fire skills, we might have frozen that night.) The next morning we woke early to breakfast and to head back on the three hour boat ride, back to civilization.

We got into Copacabana early afternoon, and of course, in my state - still sick from everything, I managed as well to trip on the dock as I headed off the boat with my backpack...Leaving some pretty nasty bruises on both my knees... See what I mean about my forgotten good luck??

We took a bus from Copacabana to La Paz, short ride with a bunch of beautiful views of Lake Titicaca and additionally a mid journey interlude where you must disembark from your bus, take a ferry across a river, separate from all autos and buses and wait on the other side for your transport, hopefully choosing the right one to get back on....

Once in La Paz, we headed to Hostal Jimenez, where I got a room all to myself and the 4 boys all dormed together below... I hadn´t had a room to myself for months. I can´t exactly explain the novelty of solitude while travelling, but after five months abroad and very little privacy, a mere room with a bed all to myself was, well, TRIUNFO! Plus, dont forget, I was sick with some type of parasite, so privacy was definitely convenient....