Isla del Sol - Bolivia. A return to Lake Titicaca and the end of Bolivia and altitude (for a while!).

After our amazing tour of southern Bolivia, we boarded a night bus for La Paz to attempt to reach our next destination, Copacabana, as quickly as possible.  The bus from Uyuni north to Oruro was five-and-a-half hours of hell. We opted for the cheaper, non-sleeping, option and, once the journey was over, realised that this really wasn't the worst choice.  The road north from Uyuni is skirting the salt flat and desert for much of the way to Oruro and is completely unpaved for about 6 hours.  As the winds are so strong across the desert, the road was corrugated to such an extent that it felt like the bus was constantly bouncing as the wheels could not keep traction - we almost slid off the road at one point which woke everyone on the bus from their half-slumber.  We figured that even in the expensive sleeper buses, one would not sleep a whole lot easier.  Once we reached Copacabana, we spent a night in a hostel and visited the Isla del Sol the following day for a 4 hour hike. As the island is extremely hilly and rocky, coupled with the high altitude, the hike was quite difficult but well worth the effort.

Ceremonial table - one example of the 80+ ruins scattered over the island.  

These donkeys haul everything from tourists' luggage, to water for the hostals and hotels up the steep hills.