Lake Titicaca: Side Bolivia

Pictures and map are all updated, we cross tomorrow into Peru, our 12th and final country on this crazy journey. We've done a lot of “World's Biggest this” or “World's Longest that” or “This country's crunchiest this” on this trip, so why not one more?

The largest high-altitude lake in the world, Lake Titicaca (yes, Beavis, that is it's real name), straddles the Bolivian/Peru border and is a popular stop on the Gringo Trail for travelers crossing from here to there. It's no wonder, like so many things in South America it's wrapped in Incan history and indigenous culture, sits at over 12,000 feet in altitude, and is stunningly beautiful. We had three goals for our visit to the Bolivian side of this massive highland lake: first, celebrate our 1-year travel anniversary in style; second, visit the popular and beautiful Isla del Sol; and, third, celebrate both our birthdays with even more style.

Goal #1? Check. On March 25th we celebrated 1-year traveling on this crazy permacation. We settled into the lakeside town of Copacabana and splurged on a spectacular lakeside cabana. We had our own private room decked out in eco-friendly construction with it's own private bathroom, outdoor and indoor hammocks (in case ya get a little chilly at 3800 meters), our own private outdoor terrace with unbelievable views, and it's own kitchen! The amount of luxury the cabana has provided us in comparison to our normal digs is simply off the charts. We celebrated 1-year-gone by cooking a delicious pasta dinner, drinking a little Bolivian wine, and enjoying our first night in our beautiful cabin.

Goal #2? Done. After 2 nights in the cabin we took off for 2 nights to the beautiful Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun), an island considered sacred by the Incan civilization. It's a 1 ½ hour trip by boat from Copacabana out to the island and despite the fact that the island is a very popular stop with tourists, most visit on simple day trips. The island, with it's small population and zero-motorized transportation, retains a very tranquil, quiet feel. Indigenous people work their farms for haba (giant lima beans) and potatoes, move their llama and donkeys from place to place down the stone paths, and run the occasional tienda where Rich buys beers for himself and birthday-related Twix bars for Kendra.

We spent two relaxing nights, enjoying a sunset dinner at an organic restaurant where we ate trout (the local specialty) and handmade lasagna without electricity the first night, and hiking from one side of the island to the other and back the next taking in beautiful views and Incan ruins the next. As nice as Isla del Sol is, we had to return to Copacabana to accomplish one more goal.

Goal #3? Mm-hmm. One anniversary down and now two birthdays to celebrate... how? By going back to our awesome cabin for 4 nights more, that's how. Cheeseburgers, fries, brownies with ice cream... that's how. Gifts of artisan necklaces, Pringles, pens, Snicker's bars, bracelets, gum, magical beer. Rides in swan paddle boats. Kendra is now 27 and Rich 28, in case you're wondering. We're getting a little grey and a little cranky to show for it too but are still two very cool individuals.

We woke up this morning on our last day in our beautiful cabin, our last day with our beautiful lake view, our last day in Bolivia and on the verge of our last country on this trip to find a massive rainbow outside our panoramic window and we realize that this week of celebration was yet another in a long line of great permacation weeks.