My final few days on the road before arriving here to Cochabamba last Tuesday were spent again by Lake Titicaca, at a spot much more touristic than Okola: Copacabana and from there the Isla del Sol (Sun Island where Incan legend has it the sun was born), where I shared my hostel room with Stella, a lovely Argentinian biologist I met from the boat trip that took us to this island via the Isla de la Luna (Moon Island where Incan legend has it the moon was born). Both islands are considered sacred in Incan and Aymaran tradition, and have a lot of legend attached to them, and the waters of Lake Titicaca are siad to be infused with male and female energies. At this point, the Spring Equinox weekend, locals said the energy was particularly feminine and so we women should bathe in it (my freezing dip in at the Okola beach was worth it then!)
Stella was most curious about the local subsitence farming methods, and was keen to ask everyone we ran into interesting questions about local life and customs. Our hosts Julia and her husband at the hostel said they needed about 40 bolivianos a day (about £4) to live comfortably, and that they make that from the hostel and its attached pizzeria (where we ate delicious local trout), plus selling their hand-made weavings (see the photo above) and using their donkeys to deliver water to neighbours.
The issue of water is a key one for the island. They have a source of spring water that is considered sacred and runs freely down the steep drop from the height of the island to the level of the lake. Rather than interfere in the sacred source with infrastructure to make their lives easier, locals gather from the natural source in containers that are then strapped to donkeys who carry the heavy load up the steep steps to the community at the top of the hill.
Lago Titicaca is 3812m above sea level, so these communities are above 4000m which means we foreigners with our small lungs were wheezing our way up these steep steps without even carry anything so for local people their animals are essential. As well as donkeys they use llamas and in the time we were there we saw many individuals with their groups of four or five donkeys and llamas carrying various loads up from the harbour.
(Above and below) In these two photos of the harbour above and below you can see cargo brought in from the boats. There had apparently been a Sunday market in Copacabana and islanders had gone to buy supplies, which the animals carry up the steep steps to the community at the top of the hill. The donkeys are waiting to be loaded with the crates of drinks, sacks of food and packages of snacks, sweets and toilet paper.
On the way from La Paz to Copocobana I'd met with a lovely Peruvian lad Pepe who's living in the town with his Paceña wife Patti, their wee boy Matteo and lovely great dane-esque dog Luna. Had a fun couple of days with them and their mates before heading to the islands - playing pool with a mate Mickey, pedalling and bobbing in one of these duck boats on the lake, and drinking with their neighbours at their home with its amazing lakeside view. The family has plans to set up a hostel with a campsite , so perhaps we'll run into each other again around a bonfire in the future!
A happy relaxed last weekend before arriving to Cochabamaba!
:-)
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