Out for a spin: Lake Titikaka, island in the sun

Of course we got away from La Paz in the mid-afternoon after one of us had run around town all morning, and the other had worked on the bike. To be frank, the destination didn't necessarily excite us all that much, even though Lake Titikaka was revered by the Incas as the origin of their animist religion, and as the abode of the sun and moon. But in the open space of the high plains, with the chill wind on our faces and the sun shining back at us from wet roads, we were once again happy to be on the road.

A pleasant afternoon's ride, a short crossing of the famous lake on a really dodgy-looking punt, then an exhilarating ride above the sunset-lit lake got us a bit more excited, though more about the physical beauty of the place than anything else. Arriving in Copacabana after sunset, we were quite chilled ourselves and really had to exercise our expectation management skills to make the shower feel warmish! Yep, we gringos are soft! Over a delicious dinner of Lake Titikaka trout, we mentioned the fact that we hadn't seen any of our travelling mates lately, and wondered in particular where Kerry, Jochen and Tarmo - the dog on wheels crew - might have made it to.

Lake Titikaca and the Isla del Sol, or Island of the Sun, are 'must-see's' on just about every South American tourist's list, and we were pressured to buy our tickets on the 'only' boats to the island there as soon as we hit town. We're not interested in joining ques of other visitors, and so morning time we pointed the bike in the direction of the Isla, less-than-determined to sus out the Incan ruins, but happy for a spin and maybe a boat trip in the mild sunshine and interested to see what those reed boats are all about.

Out near the end of the road, we got our wishes all in one. Mr. Hilario Paye Quispe came running toward us, proffering a fistful of postcards from satisfied clients and offering just what we wanted - a cruise in the sun and some explanations.

Lovely morning, we saw all we wanted to and rather than going around the island, we got Mr Paye to turn around halfway along the coast of the Isla del Sol. Heh - we could do what we wanted, as we were the only passengers. Despite his huge reputation as a Lake Titikaka's expert guide, Mr. Paye didn't really explain much to us, despite my questions. Maybe he sensed our relative lack of reverence for the place, if that is how it should be described.

(We don't lack respect for the Incan culture or beliefs, but nor do we have the overblown and often starry-eyed reverence for them that the tourism industry here in South America seems to want to generate. Maybe because we are some kind of animists ourselves, each already holding this Earth in reverence without the intermediary of western religion? Possibly because we already have close experience of cultures close to the earth? And maybe also because we know that the Incans invaded this continent, enslaving the local people and overrunning many cultures in the process, just as the Spaniards were to do later.)

Anyway our visit to the Isla del Sol was a pleasant experience, spent on the crystal waters of Lake Titikaka and bathed in glorious sunshine, and it didn't need to be anything else.