Ticket to Ride

Copacabana isn't very pretty, and the enormous lake isn't adjoined to anything recognisable as a beach. The feature is it's access to Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna, the birth places of the Sun and Moon, respectively, according to the Incas.

My ferry boat arrives on the north side of the island, and after looking lost for a minute or so, I'm given nudge towards the direction of the trek to the south. For access to the path and an small uninspiring museum, the ticket price is ten Bolivianos. The walk is pleasant, as are the views across the lake into the mountinous horizon.

An hour into the hilly paved trek, we - my English friends and a Chilean girl - approach what looks like a finish line - a wooden frame over the path. It's in the middle of the island and is manned by two locals. Apparently, the previous ticket was only for the north of the path, and to continue, another fifteen Bolivianos is necessary. We're not happy about being extorted, and after some questioning, reluctantly agree to pay. Perhaps an hour later, and shortly after our previous ticket was validated at another checkpoint, we're approaching the end of the three hour trek. We come across a handful of children, from about six to twelve years old. A twelve year old girl tells us that the tickets we have are for the north and middle of the path, and that the south path requires another ticket and another five Bolivianos. I'm not sure whether her being a twelve year old girl makes it more or less likely that i'll push her to the ground and walk on, but for what she assures us is a final tarriff of fifty pence, I again, reluctantly reach into my pocket.

At the south dock, as a final insult, I'm told that my return ticket is only valid on the north of the island, and that a different company runs the south side ferrys. Another twenty Bolivianos is necessary.

The Island is nothing special. There's only one area of ruins and the views no different to what you might see from Copacabana, and even elsewhere in the world. I hope the Sun comes back and destroys the miserable little island. That's what they deserve for extorting three Pounds from me.