We took an eight-hour overnight bus with Bolivia Hop bus company from Cusco to La Paz with two stops at Puno and Copacabana in between. The bus departed from Cusco at 10pm and arrived at Puno around 5:30am.
After breakfast, we rode, by boat, into the sunrise to Uros floating island on Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America and the highest navigable body of water in the world. This lake is the main source of fishes for the nearby cities. We were probably the first boat out to the islands for the day. Quiet and serene. No much traffic on the lake.
Uru people, who live on these floating islands, use totora reeds to build houses, boats, and the floating islands. The bottom layers of the reeds will be rotten away and the new layers will be placed on top in order to keep the "island" float safely. Tourism has been a main source of income for these people.
Our trip continued on to Copacabana around 8:30am.
The boat ride to Isla del Sor was 1.5 hours each. The hike up to the island required some effort due to the altitude. The view of the terraced agriculture on the slope of the island, the cloudless blue sky, and the navy color wate against the snow-capped mountain in the far distance was astoundingly beautiful and definitely a postcard worthy view.
Our stops at these two places were brief.
The bus was comfortable, and the bus conductor was very helpful and fluent in English. He assissted all passengers with the tour tickets as well as the immigration at the Peru/Bolivia border.
Uru child on floating island
Uro woman
totora reeds
Floating islands
Floating islands on Lake Titicaca
Floating islands; Puno city as backdrop.
White Anchor in Copacabana
Copacabana, Bolivia
Isla Del Sor - the snow-capped mountains in far distance in Bolivia
Sunrise in Puno
Puno
In between Copacabana and La Paz
Between Peru and Bolivia border
Copacabana, Bolivia
Boat ride to Isla Del Sor
Isla Del Sor
Isla Del Sor
Isla Del Sor
Aerial view of Lake Titicaca
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