A Night of Firsts

Lake Titicaca from Copacabana

You couldn't wish for a more idyllic sounding place to be be for New Year than Copacabana on the shore of Lake Titicaca.

We left Peru early on New Year's Eve and just three hours later, following a very hassle free border crossing we were in Bolivia. Copacabana is only about eight miles from the border and isn't the most picturesque town in the world but its location is, situated on the southern point of Lake Titicaca. Its an easy and safe place to stroll around with numerous cafes and bars all selling fresh trout from the lake cooked however you want which is wonderful and at just £2 for a meal, it tastes even better.

With the high altitiude the air is very thin which makes the views across the lake appear endless with the bluest of skies and sparkling sapphire water. With the sun shining, its very hot and a wonderful place to sit in a deckchair at one of the beachfront restaurants and just admire the view. The downside is as soon as the sun disappears it gets really cold and unless you pay 5 star prices, there's no heating to be had and the hot showers can be a little on the sporadic side but we’ve been lucky so far.

Vanessa not feeling well

New Year’s Eve was a night of ‘firsts’. It was our first night in Bolivia and it marked the completion of the first four months of our trip so we were looking forward to the evening’s celebrations. We hadn’t bargained on the other couple of ‘firsts’ though, Vanessa suffering from the first case of the screaming unmentionables so the evening was cut just a little short without a beer passing our lips. Another first!

Fortunately it was a pretty quick recovery so Vanessa felt brave enough to risk an hour and a half boat ride  to Isla del Sol, a little haven of an island in Lake Titicaca and perfect for an overnight stay, where there are no roads, just donkeys navigating the steep paths. You can treck for miles in the lung bursting altitude or sit for hours in the sunshine at one of the hillside restaurants just admiring the view across the lake with the snow capped Andes in the background. We chose the latter.