copacabana and isla del sol

copacabana was insane. we went to the festival for the virgen of candelaria....basically the patroness of the town. there was a parade that basically lasted all day, then we went to eat dinner, then there was dancing in the streets and it smelled like beer. it was like a college homecoming weekend....tons of music, alcohol and dancing tourists and bolivians. it was hilarious....this is supposed to be their biggest religious holiday and they spend it getting drunk. anyway, they also constructed a stage 1/2 a block from our hostel. the music began at around 11pm on that stage and when i woke up at 7am, they were still playing....sierra woke in the middle of the night when they played mana (mexican band she's obsessed with).

so, we left early friday morning for the isla del sol (island of the sun). we got there at 10.30ish and began our hike. we went to some inca ruins as well as the rock where the inca believe their religion started (it was a rock...kind of like plymoth rock....just a rock). the walk was about 5 hours in the hot sun...the island is basically a desert. parts were uphill and we were at 3800m to begin with...needless to say, my asthma had a great time. some other tourists gave me coca leaves to chew and this mint plant to breathe, which along with my inhaler, helped. anyway, so we arrived at the little town and found a place to stay (after bargining with some local boys, we paid 1.25usd). then we walked to some other ruins but they were closed and not that interesting. then we watched the sunset, which was amazing because it was across the lake and there was rain in that part of the lake. the sunset looked like black lines (almost stripes) touching the ground.

this morning we woke up and climbed down the escalera del inca (inca stairway) to the port, which was a muddy, slippery challenge because it had rained. we took a boat to copacabana and then a bus (more like a mini van) to la paz. the ride was pretty, but tedious...3 hours. la paz is interesting. we entered from above...this may be the largest city i´ve been in....its absolutely gigantic. its in a valley and when you enter, you can see the entire thing...its so ugly. everything is red brick buildings....not like nice bricks, more like the bricks you would use on the inside of a house because they are so ugly.

so far, we've lounged at the hostel and been to dinner. the food we ate was super yummy...i had this mix of onion, tomato, meat, hot dog, and french fries all cooked in a tomato sauce with spicy sauce added....its all food they can do in argentina, but don´t bother with because they don´t do spice. it was simple and yummy. then we went to a fruit market...it was insane...just crossing the streets and there are people everywhere...also we have to climb uphill to get to our hostel....i´m not looking forward to that. we´re at 3400m or something...