Friday, September 16, 2005
...row, row, row your boat...
For our first trek we decided to check out the famous Lake Titicaca and the ruins on Isla Del Sol, a seemingly easy trek proved to be quite an adventure. First the modes of transport required....catch bus to Copacabana (the original copacabana). We get to the ferry crossing 1/2 way there nice and easy...then are hurded into a motor launch, well if you can call it that...felt like a refugee hurded into a leaky, cramped boat. But better off then being in the bus which was loaded onto an even more leaky barge that in the swell of the lake seemed to want to topple over. Our bags sinking to the bottom and becoming lost treasure to be discovered in years to come.
Finally we hit the road, this time on foot and hiked 18kms along the shore of Lake Titicaca to Yampupata where we hoped to cross by motor launch that evening. Unfortunately the wind was to strong and along the way we had a few strange men making gestures at us and saying manana, manana no
tarde....hmm seemed like we would be camping....on the local football field (with blokes kicking the ball around our solitary tent). Next strange mode of transport.....we wake up to one of those strange men from the previous day carrying two paddles and a bucket...seems we would have to go by man power across the lake as once again the wind was mighty. Hmmm I heeded some caution here but as the walk back to Copacabana did not seem like such a good idea and with Pete the sailor telling me its fine Emma. Just like to point out that there was no life jackets, the water was icy and the swell was around 1 meter and the crossing was 1 km....oh and the best bit...we had to row as well!!!!!!!! What a great way to start a trekking day, and we had to pay 40 Bolivianos for the privilege (should have been about 20 but there was only one crazy boatman willing to take us).
The boatman put us ashore on the southern tip of the Island on some rocks - no wharf, no buildings, no paths. Hmmm...time for some map reading. The South part of the island has no tourists to speak of but as we walked we gradually started to meet day trippers visiting the ruins. The walking was exposed on a ridge and the weather was changeable but amazing views. We bumped into a fully Ocker Aussie who ordered a beer from the snack bar (after checking it was cold of course), and kept saying the walk had ´bullshit views´. We think he meant good 
views. We reached the Chincalla pre-Inca site after 12km or so (with at least one detour from the intended route!). This is a maze like complex of buildings and 
quite impressive. We found our campsite on the shores of the lake in a beautiful Mediterranean cove. We were all alone apart from the local fisherman checking his nets and Vernon (or Raymond?), a local kid who wouldn´t leave us alone after we gave him some biscuits. He watched fascinated as I cleaned the MSR. We ended up getting in the tent and zipping it up so he would go away!Next day, a nice 10km stroll back down the populated side of the Island to Yumani, the Inca steps and a chartered motor launch back to Copacabana. We found a nice Melbourne-style bar and played scrabble with Spanish letters )these guys have a lot of vowels!), and drank a pisco sour to celebrate.
...oh, and saving the best til last, here is a photo of Em trying to smile and freaking out as we headed down the face of another swell in our little row boat...hee hee!
# posted by Pete @ 2:50 PM 
