27th - 30th September 2007

As soon as we went across the border we could immediately see we were in a different country. We soon came to realise Peru and Bolivia though neighbours couldn´t be more different if they tried. Bolivia is and looks much poorer than Peru and everybody pees in the streets so the smell is immediately different. I guess the difference is civilness, Peru is more developed and sophisticated. It was like being back in Cambodia at times which gave us a right kick. Our first stop was the lake side resort town of Copocabana, a 15 mins hair raising drive from the border. There is more tye dye in this town than your average vegan yoga convention, with hippies left right and centre. We both felt a little out of place since Glen had just had a hair cut. We were struck with the cheapness of the place and yet again we were struggling to spent our daily budget. Our first nights room cost 1.50 pounds, but you get what you pay for: the shower was three floors below us outside in a courtyard, not what you need when it gets to near freezing at night. Whilst here we went out on a boat trip to The Island of the Sun. The boat trip was a little like watching paint dry and very different to Peru. We all sat at the top of the boat with no life jackets (on the Peru side we had to wear life jackets and werent always allowed on the top) squashed together as they tried to cram more people on. It was bloody freezing on top too, as this was the only day with complete cloud cover and no sun. The island was pretty cool and very much like Alamanti in terms of how it looked. We spent the morning getting lost amongst the terraces and hiking up to one of the highest points on the island, fighting through bushes and sheer cliff face drops, to have lunch. It was worth it the view was fantastic. We viewed one Inca ruin on the island, which to be honest looked like an old goat herders shack, its Inca past was dubious. But we still had to pay 20p each to get in to a random little girl who was a right player and followed us around shouting for money for a photo with her pet donkey. This was pretty much all we did in Copocabana, apart from eat well. This place had really good restaruants and we indulged revelling in the cheapness. A full on 4 course meal with a free cocktail cost us a pound each, bargin! We were going to like Bolivia.