A Stop in Copacabana, Bolivia

We had such big plans for our brief stop in Copacabana, Bolivia. 

But darned if things turned out how we planned. 

We knew we'd be passing through the small lake side town twice so we decided to save the exploring for our return trip, focusing our first visit on one of the amazing remote islands found on Lake Titicaca, Isla del Sol. 

I had googled all the things to do in Copacabana and we estimated that we could get a fair bit of them in during our 6 hour stop over. There's the Copacabana Cathedral, Cerro Calvario, Horca del Inca, walking along the coast line, eating trout from the lake, walking the main drag Avenida 6 de Agosto, and even a museum.

We were actually really looking forward to our time to explore and that's when the travel sickness struck!

Eimear had been struggling for some days, but in the morning on the day we were set to arrive in Copacabana is when my body decided to break down too. All our anticipation and planning was for nothing as we could do little more than weakly sit and stare out into the water. 

At first I had thought maybe some walking might do me some good.

I was wrong.

I should note here, that Copacabana is 3,841m above sea level, and all the streets running into town from the water's edge are UP HILL.

Off I went. I explored, I rested. I explored, I rested. I took as many photos as I could manage, figuring I wouldn't remember much about the place and would at least want something to look back on.

It was a bustling little town, with 3 separate markets taking place in the main squares and being a Sunday the regular parade of decorated cars lined the street in front of the cathedral. People come from all over Bolivia to get their cars blessed by a priest. Buying a car, new or old, they get it blessed. If they drive for a living, they get their vehicle blessed. Heading out on a long road trip, don't forget to get the car blessed. And with the traffic and general road conditions of Bolivia (*hint* they were all under construction), I don't blame them for wanting a little divine intervention from Pachamama.

The vehicles are adorned with flower arrangements, trinkets, and toys purchased from the market stalls that line the streets near the cathedral. People celebrate with champagne, or bottles of coke--all depending on their price point--spraying the car with bubbles once the blessing is done.

I wish I could actually have seen the event in action, but at least I got to enjoy some of the aftermath. (Check out Danielle and Oscar's blog  Be Lost, for some beautiful pictures of the event)

By this point in my wander up the hill to the cathedral, I was completely winded and drained of energy, fighting waves of nausea, and gut pain (tmi?), I found a park bench and parked it. I spent the next half hour people-watching and contemplating my death rather than walking back down the hill.

I mean in retrospect, spending that time watching a regular Sunday going down around the square was quite enjoyable. Just wish I hadn't been inflicted with the searing pain in my gut and fevered sweating.

Now I could have written a post about how wonderful Copacabana was (which it was) and present my time there as perfect, as the photos alone might give that impression, but the reality was that I couldn't wait to leave this beautiful coastal town and get myself into a proper bed (and be close to a bathroom tbh). Instead, I spent my time being preoccupied with thoughts of how the hell I was going to survive the next 7 hours on an overnight bus to Cusco before I could make it to that heavenly bed.

Ever have a trip not quite go your way? Tell me about it in the comments below.

At the beginning of each month, I like to take part in the monthly travel link up hosted on the incredible blogs by Angie, Emma, Polly and this month's special co-host, Eppie. You can join in too by leaving a comment below, checking out other posts on the link up, or adding your own post to the widget now until February 7th.

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