Boats, buses and Peru!

That's right, folks! We have officially crossed the border from Bolivia to Peru and so far I can't see too much of a difference.

Laura and I made it to Copacabana yesterday morning and luckily ran into one of the same people that stayed in our hostel in La Paz just coming back from Isla del Sol which is where we were headed to next. We were not planning to stay there the night but she recommended it and said it was amazing so we decided to check OUT of the hostel we checked IN to five minutes earlier and headed for the dock. The day was absolutely amazing and I couldn't have thought of anything better than spending it on top of a boat on Lake Titicaca.

We got to the island with no problems, paid the 5 Boliviano entry fee and decided to find a place to ditch our heavy, oversized backpacks. We saw a sign at the top of the nearest hill with "Hostal" so we figured we'd give 'er a shot.

We started the trek up, got extremely winded and crashed on the grass about 80% of the way up. I'm blaming it on the altitude although I have a feeling there's something else going on (or shall I say NOT going on, and that would be exercise). A sweet young woman came and sat next to me (which is an instant "in" in Kelsey's book) and asked us with a smile and a giggle if we were looking for a place to stay. She had a few rooms and told us 15 Bolivianos (roughly $2) per person for the night and that was just an offer we couldn't refuse. The room was basic but had a spectacular lake view and a bed for each of us. We threw our stuff down, locked the padlock behind us and decided to go for a little hike around the island. We didn't get very far until we realized neither of us were in a very "exploratory" mood so we decided to eat a late lunch/early dinner. The setting was absolutely amazing and the food was great. This region is known for having great trucha, or trout, so we each ordered a plate and enjoyed it while looking out onto the expansive lake and watching the little boys and girls run by on the path above.

The island is beautiful and peaceful. In fact, so much so that if you don't have a flashlight after sunset you had better hope to be nearby your lodging. We made it back to our room just as it was getting dark and after failing in finding some hot chocolate to cure our sweet tooth.
There was a little restaurant with the light on and door open right near our place so we stopped in just to check. There appeared to be a family of four eating dinner and the shop looked pretty closed up. We asked if they were open and they replied with a very hesitant "si.." but much to our dismay the only sweets they had were Fanta and Sprite. We walked the rest of the way up the hill, brushed our teeth outside while looking at the milky way and were asleep by the ripe hour of 8:30. We slept for 12 hours and missed the sunrise but got a great night's sleep for the first time in a while!

This morning after a satisfying breakfast of homemade bread and butter with real coffee (it's been so long we literally forgot what it tasted like!) we took the boat back to Copacabana, spent the rest of our Bolivianos on a few of the many artisan shops, visited the church that makes the city semi-famous and then hit the bus for Peru! It was a lot easier going through migration in Bolivia this time around and it actually seemed like they wanted us to stay there! Due to the fact that Americans pay for the entry visa they have 90 days as a tourist and then up to five years with the Bolivian visa. The migration officer saw the date on the stamp and said, much to my surprise, "ohh poco tiempo!" (little time). Kind of a bummer to leave because Bolivia is an absolutely beautiful country and I am so glad I had the opportunity to visit! My favorite part: the traditionally-dressed women hauling extremely heavy loads on their backs and everyone and their sister calling us amiga. I love being everyone's friend.

Now that we are in Peru Laura and I met up with some of our friends, Maud and Haddy, who we met back in Santiago and the four of us walked around Puno a bit, went out to eat and are now back hoping for warm showers at our hotel. Yes, an actual hotel. A bit of a change from last night but they have towels, breakfast, internet, a few other luxuries and is still extremely reasonably priced by US standards.
Tomorrow morning we're leaving at 7 for the floating islands and by tomorrow night we'll be on a bus to Cuzco! Hopefully Laura and I start having better reactions with the food but no promises--we'll see what's in store for the rest of Peru. I can't believe our trip is already over halfway over, so far it has been absolutely amazing!

Un abrazo,
Kelsey Marie