Copacabana - The Hottest Spot South of Havana

The Hottest Spot South of Havana

Ever since early June when we were freezing our tushes off in the Uyuni salt desert I have said that I want to go to the beach. It is now the end of August and we are still in Bolivia, a landlocked country. But the travel wheels have been set in motion and we are finally on the move. It is strange, I really liked Bolivia and I could even imagine living there doing volunteer work or something, but I just did not feel like traveling. I think it was the one month in Sucre, which was great, but killed my desire to backpack around the country. Anyway, you will never see everything and now we have a whole list of places to hit next time we are in Bolivia. But before getting to Peru we have one more stop at the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca.

Lake Titicaca at sunset from our hotel window

Singing Copacabana in Sucre

I am ready to zoom into Peru on horribly long bus rides, but Mika prefers to break up the trip so we make one last stop in Bolivia at Copacabana on Lake Titicaca. Which in itself is not so bad because Copacabana also happens to be the name of one of my top karaoke songs though I doubt that this town is the inspiration for the Barry Manilow hit.

From La Paz it is a nice ride that winds around around the lake and includes getting off the bus for a short ferry ride. For the Lonely Planet toting tourist a trip to Copacabana is avoidable without making the trip to the islands on the lake. Visiting Isla del Sol is just one of those tourist things that everyone does. At the moment, however, Mika and I are really not in the mood for sight-seeing. Chalk up these islands as something else we will need to see on our next visit to Bolivia.

Waiting for the passenger ferry while the buses get their own.

A detail from a monument at the ferry town. This really has nothing to do with our travel but I find the excessive gore quite amusing. 

Copacabana itself is not a bad place to be for a few nights if you find the right hotel, preferably one with a lake view. Because of the nearby islands the town has been a backpacker destination for a while and there is a main street lined with travel agencies, dingy hostels and English-menu carrying tourist restaurants to prove it. Yet it is starting to develop into a big destination for Bolivian tourists too. New hotels are sprouting up near the water offering views of Titicaca's deep dark blue waters while blocking the smaller, older hotels behind them. On the shoreline are a fleet of swan paddle boats for good family fun and a row of twenty-four tents housing trout restaurants all with the same menu. Criolla trout (one of the largest types) is farmed and famous here. I would not dream of visiting the lake without eating it. 

row of trout restaurants

Before

and after

Pushing out our swan boat

Paddling our swan on Lake Titicaca

God Bless This Car

Copacabana has a beautiful old cathedral that for some reason has become the place to go to bless your car or truck. In front of the church are stalls selling flowers and assorted ornaments all for vehicular decorating. We are here in the last weekend in August which also happens to be a great time to get a blessing. Cars are lining up for several blocks to be able to park front of the cathedral, buy some decorations and spray the car with beer. And many of these people have come from Peru to do it. Many decorated vehicles can add a general feeling of merriment to any old drab city. Maybe the mayor of and car makers of Detroit should look into it.

In front of the cathedral

The next afternoon I eat delicious trout again by Lake Titicaca while Mika with a shaky stomach chooses a gringo restaurant for a safer option and ends getting the worst pizza on the continent. As we board the bus to Peru after lunch these meals serve as a wonderful metaphor for our entire experience of being travelers and tourists in Bolivia.

Papallacta - Pretty Much Just Hot Springs

It feels like recently that I am blogging often about hot springs. Maybe because it is a thing to do in Colombia and Ecuador or maybe becuase it is a thing that we do in Colombia and Ecuador. I hope the blog isn't becoming redundant. Regardless, we find ourselves headed to another hot springs town. Carnival has ended in Ecuador, the captain has turned off the seat belt sign and we are free to leave Tena and move about the country.

Volcano Antizana

We now have a rough travel plan for the next couple of weeks which believe me is a big step for us since we are usually moving from one place to the next. We have already decided that we are going back to Quito for some shopping and then stay up in the Andes mountains. Our bus route to Quito takes us past Papallacta, a hot springs town so we make the obligatory soak stop.

Papallacta is a tiny little town sitting at roughly 3300 m ( 10,800 feet ) above sea level that pipes in hot springs from somewhere in the mountains. Just two hours by bus from Quito, the town gets many weekenders from the city. Even a day trip would be possible. There are several hotels of various quality some with their own hot springs tubs. Two km at the end of the hill from the highway sits the fanciest hotel with rooms starting at $129 without breakfast and just a piddly discount to their spa. I am not sure who is staying here but they are getting ripped off. This hotel also has pools for the general public which are the main draw to Papallacta.

Today, March 9, happens to be our sort of anniversary (official signing day, not wedding day) so we decide to splash out for $69 at a small hotel that has their own pools plus a private tub and fireplace in our room, breakfast included.

Our swanky pad

The next day and anniversary over we get back to our backpacker budget ways and move down hill to the only economical place in town. The Senora tells us that she has been in the business since the 80's and that they are 100% from Papallacta, a definite dig at all the carpetbaggers coming to town recently and opening new, pricey accommodations. She also has a very cheap restaurant.

We climb back up the hill to spend the day at the public pools run by the fancy hotel. Being a weekday there are very few people and very calm which is good. The hotel has eight or nine pools, with one tucked away in the corner of the property sitting by the edge of a river. Mika, much preferring a nature-based hot springs atmosphere to a YMCA public pool feeling, is very happy and we spend the rest of the afternoon lounging in warm water by the chilly river.

Hot Pool

Cold River

In other hot springs towns I have tried to write about other activities to do besides sitting in a pool of warm water, but in Papallacta there is really nothing else though people with cars might get to some interesting trail heads. We do manage to push ourselves into a giant trout farm for an impromptu tour. The farm was donated by Japan in 1996 and is now run by the Ecuadorian government which then sells small fish to other trout farms. The manager reluctantly acquiesced our request to visit the site, though he said no photos allowed. Protecting government aquatic lfe secrets I guess.

My logic is that since I have eaten trout for my last three meals in Papallacta, I might as well see where they are coming from. It is quite interesting. We see rainbow trout from orange egg - shown to us sucked up with a turkey baster - to really large ones sporting large pink stripes past their reproducing prime. By my estimate this trout fishery has produced millions of fish over the past sixteen years.

"Today Trout" and pretty much every other day also

We leave Papallacta. On the bus rides through the Andes we are always surrounded by big green mountains and the views never get tiring. Since it is a clear morning we have bright blue sky and perfect sight of the snow-capped volcano Antizana. As we wind down towards Quito we start to see the city and a thick pinkish gray cloud of pollution hanging over it. I actually do not have the mindset for a stay in Quito right now. Probably all of that mineral water has made me soft. So at the bus station instead of going into town, we cross town to the other bus station and go to Mindo. I'll deal with Quito later when the lingering affects of Papallacta's hot springs are long gone.