In the afternoon I walked up Cerro Calvario, a nearby hill, which gave me a great view of the lake.
I also got a good view of Copacabana town and of the harbour. I then stayed to watch the sunset over the lake.
The following morning I got up early to catch the boat to Isla del Sol, which is a small island about ten miles from Copacabana, and which according to Inca mythology is the birthplace of the sun. I got off the boat in the north of the island, where there are some Inca ruins, as well as the sacred 'Puma's head' rock. Well apparently some people think it looks a bit like a puma's head. Below is a picture of me near the rock.
There are also some impressive views across the lake of the Cordillera Real, part of the Andes.
After lunch I walked the entire length of the island along the ridge trail, until I reached the southern end of the island. It was about a three hour hike, a lot of it up steep hills, and considering the altitude is about 4000m, it was extremely hard work.
The island has no paved roads or motor vehicles, so this is how most goods are transported. The island is very peaceful as a result (apart from the noise of donkeys braying). It was also extremely dark during the night, due to the lack of street lighting and also because there was a new moon, so it was one of the clearest night skies I've ever seen.
I spend the night in a hostel in the southern part of the island, and the following morning I caught the boat back to Copacabana, from where I took the bus to Puno in Peru. That brought my time in Bolivia to an end, a bit prematurely because I had planned to spend time in Rurrenabaque. As a result I'm now well ahead of schedule.
By the way, I found out yesterday that the road to Rurrenabaque has been blocked for over two weeks, so I'm a bit annoyed that the lady that sold me the bus ticket chose not to tell me that. On the other hand I'm sure I'll have plenty of other opportunities to go to the jungle.
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