Arrival at the Island of the Sun

After an all-night bus ride from Cusco, Peru to Copacabana, Bolivia, my new travelling partner Javier and I took a boat to the Island of the Sun.

We found a bustling tourist center on the south port of the island, but didn't stay long and proceeded to walk 3 hours or so to the north end of the island. I had thought that the walk would be along the coast, but as it turned out the path was along the top ridge of the island. The sun was bright and the atmosphere thin, but we still had multiple layers on since we were at approximately 13,000 feet of altitude.

The beauty of the Island of the Sun is absolutely incredible. From the top of the ridge, you can see the lake on several sides, beautiful turquise and aquamarine and azure shades in the many bays, and the massive deep lake stretching out as far as the eye can see. In the distance, snow covered mountains loom above the mainland.

We headed to a hostel, where we were the only guests. In fact, there were perhaps a half dozen guests in the tiny village of Punta Norte, and all was quiet shortly after nightfall. It boggles my mind that a place so beautiful, and relatively easy to access, is visited by so few. It is just as well, though, since the fragile ruins in this area could not support many tourists.