Copacabana, Bolivia - Day 1

Today I arrived in Copacabana mid day and spent the day exploring the town, the local church, and the small mountain next to the town. At 3800 meters, Copacabana sits on Lake Titicaca the highest navigatiable body of water in the world. The lake was a glistening cold mass of water which looked rather infinite. The altitude had a definite affect on the temperature and climate of the city. It was rather warm during the day but as soon as the sun set, the chill set in and air cooled significantly.

I made an attempt to climb up the mountain next to the city as I heard that the sun set from the top overlooking the city was something not to be missed. I use the word “attempted” because even though I’ve been in La Paz for a couple days getting acclimated to high altitude, trying to hike up a mountain is a much different task then trying to dodge cars and vans crammed full of people on the cobblestone streets of La Paz. I got half way up and the sun started to set and in conjunction my head started hurting. Then the heavy legs started and I had to sit down for a while. The altitude affects were sudden and noticeable. Taking more than 5 steps at a time was tough and I thought my head would explode. It was starting to get dark and to get bitterly cold, and I debated turning back. But I was half way up already and grandmothers were nimbly passing me, so I figured if I passed out the grandparents could probably carry me down as they did not seem in the less bit winded. When anybody over 75 can do something better than me, especially when it’s physical in nature, my hubris kicks in and cajoles me to continue. It took me another 30 minutes to get to the top, the sunset was blocked out by clouds, and my frozen hands were too cold to cut the mango that I brought up for a mountain top snack. Luckily coming down was much easier than going up.

On the positive side, I found one of the coolest things that I’ve seen in a local market in a long time. It was a lost exhibit from the “Body Works exhibit”. You know, the traveling museum which shows plasticized bodies sliced and diced in various forms to display the inner workings of the muscular, skeletal, and nervous system. If you haven’t seen it yet, I would highly recommend it as it was a fascinating, educational view of the human body in a rather innovative viewpoint. Well I entered the local market and in the meat section, low and behold, I find a cow’s head that had all the outside skin removed and the muscular and skeleton systems exposed. I have no idea what they do with it; perhaps they make a huge pot of soup. But it was definitely the first time I’ve seen a stripped cow’s head.

Copacabana, Bolivia - Day 1