Lake Titicaca

Leaving La Paz we took the winding mountain road to Copacabana in Bolivia which sits on the edge of Lake Titicaca.

Lake Titicaca straddles the border between Peru and Bolivia in the Andes Mountains and is the world's highest navigatable body of water. It is said to be the birthplace of the Incas. The lake is 281 metres deep and 3812 metres above sea level so pretty high up.

As this is low season, the tiny town of Copacabana was very quiet, though given the hundreds of swan pedaloes along the water front, we imagine this can be a bustling little holiday resort during the high season. Our activities here were limited to a short walk to the town, visiting the amazingly beautiful and large cathedral, and then watching the sun set from a lakeside terrace bar.

Throughout the night there were amazing electrical storms and torrential rain which continued well into the morning. This was unfortunate as today was the day we were taking the tiny boat across to Isla del Sol and Isla de Luna: Islands of sun and moon.

The 2 hour crossing was torturous and felt more like a white water rafting expedition as the boat crashed over the waves, rocking violently from side to side. Our lovely Bolivian guide for the day tried to take our mind off it by telling us stories about the lake. We were interested to learn that this is one of the possible sites for the lost city of Atlantis. Lake Titicaca is also one of the 7 shakra sites in the world.

Both islands were serene and peaceful. In moon island there is little apart from vegetation, llamas, Inca sites and a few people who live in this isolated place. In Sun Island, we visited another Inca site and then trekked a good few kilometres uphill and at altitude to reach the small village and our lodge. Im not generally a fan of treking but have to admit the stunning view of Lake Titicaca from our hill top lodge was amazing and made it all worthwhile.

At night, there was yet another storm and torrential rain in preparation for our long trek downhill and another boat ride back to the mainland the following morning.