copacabana, bolivia

so, getting back to arequipa, peru: i saw a frozen mummy that had been found in the mountains above the city. she was preserved because of the humidity and temperature. somewhat gruesome, but still kind of cool at the same time. i also went to a convent which was basically like a small city. it was old and very interesting because all of the nuns had private houses inside and they were really wealthy. then, we took a bus to puno, which was a lousy bus ride because it was day time and puno is at 3800m above sea level, which is really really high. in puno, we stayed at this super cute hostel and in the morning we went to see the floating islands on lake titicaca. the aymara people built islands on the lake (out of fungus and reeds) to escape the encroaching spaniards. the islands are still there and people still live on them, but they are super touristy at this point. the people are very set up to welcome tourists with songs and shows and lots of stuff to sell. sierra and i even tried on their clothing. we also went for a ride in a boat made out of reeds. in the afternoon, we crossed into bolivia. it was the first time i'd had to walk across a boarder. we went through peruvian immigration and changed money (there is no atm here), then walked uphill to bolivian immigration...that meant i was actually pretty winded onces we entered bolivia. the guy in bolivia actually had trouble finding space in my passport because the stamps are bleeding through the pages and the first 9 pages are full. once in copacabana, bolivia, we found a hostel for $1.25 USD. óther travelers have told me that it has hot water....a nice surprise. we have a room on the 4th floor, aka i'm winded by the time i make it to the room, but we have a superb view of the lake especially of the sunset, which was really pretty. so far we've tried the trout (from the lake) and haven't really done much else. today is a religious holiday, so we're going to check out the festival later. there are a lot of travelers here in town and a lot of people going to the isla del sol (incan religious birthplace) and then la paz. we've met some really cool people and are having fun. bolivia is pretty damn cheap, which is awesome, but the altitude sucks a lot. more later....chau chau