On the 13th we caught a tourist bus for a change across the border and into Bolivia, getting our first views of the beautiful Cordillera Real mountain range...and this bus was amazing because it came with the usual ticket guy, who also doubled as a border-crossing tour guide...he explained each step of the way before it happened, giving detailed instructions at the border, even getting off the bus and checking everyone got through ok, showing us where to walk...making it the easiest border crossing we´ve had so far, compared to the normal necessary sheep technique - just follow the locals... Ironically it was also the longest border crossing queue ever, because all us tourists arrived together in one big group. All went smoothly though, and we were soon searching for a hostal in the little town of Copacabana, settling for the first place we walked into because a room cost a new bargain record low of $6 (even with hot showers, unlike our hostel in Puno, when there is water at all of course :D)
The next day we caught a boat to Isla del Sol to walk the length of the island...it felt like we were again in a bit of much sought after wilderness when all we could see from the trail along the crest of the island was the lake and mountains and a big blue sky.
While visiting the floating islands on the Peru side we got a hint of the Peru-Bolivia competition when we were told that Peru owns 60% of the lake and Bolivia 40%, and that Bolivia would say exactly the opposite. Although we didn´t get to hear this from a Bolivian in Copacabana, we were taken to see Bolivia´s floating islands on the boat trip back... it was rather amusing to see two small square, and completely fake, reed-covered platforms, with 3 little round houses built on each, with an erected welcome sign. Nice try Bolivia, but no. But to keep both sides happy, we vote Bolivia´s slice of the lake as prettier anyway.
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