Got up about 11am after lying in bed half awake for a couple of hours not wanting to face all the crap involved in sorting out the Isla del Sol trip. Also feeling intermittently short of breath, which is odd when I am not exerting myself. Hope I'm not coming down with something.
Tried to call a hostel, usual inability to get through. Left the hotel and walked into the nearby square. A woman hailed me from a shop offering trips to La Paz and Puna but I said I wasn't interested.
Tried the two adjacent shops but no one was in. Looked at the one I'd been called from and they did advertise trips to Isla del Sol, so I went in and had a chat. Five minutes and all sorted. She sold me a ticket for a boat out tomorrow at 8:15am for 15 Bolivianos, I can buy a ticket for the boat back on the island, there are three a day, the last at 4pm, she gave me a sample hostel (40 Bolivianos a night with shared bathroom) but it's low season so there is no need to reserve. (I had been told this by e.g. Kevin, but it's good to hear it from someone local.) And you can't lose the path, it's very clear, she showed me a photo.
Oh, and I can leave my suitcase there if the hotel won't let me (I haven't asked yet).
If I'd known it would be that easy I might have got up an hour or two earlier. Also feel quite smug about handling the entire transaction in Spanish with no major difficulties.
Came for a walk along the lake shore afterwards. You can walk on the shore itself, but it's full of big stones so I'm preferring the adjacent road. Quite sunny and warm, very tranquil, you can walk for 10-15 mins without seeing anyone.
I won't absolutely gush about the beauty of the place but it is quite attractive. The lake is pleasantly blue, it's surrounded by low-ish green hills and the sky today presents a nice mix of blue and fluffy white clouds. The lake also looks pretty impressively large, you cannot see hills in some direction, presumably because the shore is too far away (or maybe because that bit is unexpectedly flat).
I don't know if Mark Twain ever came here but if he did I am sure he would say it compared badly with Lake Tahoe. :-) Still, I must admit I quite like it, not having been spoiled with a view of Tahoe.
Will turn round and walk back now, it took me 30-60 mins to get round this far. I could have carried on but there are some cows in the road and I'm on the point of turning the corner of the bay Copacabana is in, so this seems a good point to turn back.
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