Copacabana, Bolivia

Found ourselves officially jaded yesterday. After two full days on Lake Titikaka, we booked passage on yet another boat to go see Isla del Sol, believed to be the birthplace of the first Inca. After a pretty amazing experience staying with a family on one island, marvelling at the fact that a few others floated, and snapping too many panoramic photos of beautiful blue water and cozy Andean villages, this last stop was just a little anti-climactic. Two hours on a boat to spend 40 minutes on the wrong side of the island (never saw the Inca ruins) and then a quick stop to see a crumbling stone wall, followed by a two hour return trip. We played cards most of the way, and though the scenery was nice I realized at one point that we´d been so overloaded for the past two weeks that if the Taj Mahal were to rise majestically out of the cold blue waters of Lake Titikaka with dolphins doing back flips and shooting clay pigeons with shotguns while a team of alpacas hoisted up the Bolivian flag while singing the national anthem, it still wouldn´t have made an impression on me. We needed some down time.

Last night was Graham´s (Brit guy) birthday and we did it up right. I´ll leave it at that, except to say that it´s probably a good thing we´re heading out of town this afternoon. This place is small and I think people recognize us.

I´ve come to realize that this trip has reduced me to a handful of very bare, stripped down, essential desires: food, toilet paper, and hot water. The first is easy because it´s so cheap and we consistently eat like kings and queens. The second is a little tougher, as we tend to need it a little more often than usual and the public bathrooms, when you can find them and they´re useable, rarely supply it. The third is the object of much confusion in many of the places I´ve stayed. Everyone claims to have it, but they often neglect to mention that they only have it during the day, or between 9 and 10 am, or on Tuesdays. When you find it...man...it ranks right up there with accidentally getting seated next to a Brazilian supermodel on the night train from Arica to Valparaiso (a pipedream I´m currently in the process of praying for.)