Katrine took me to the bus station on Sunday night, which was great. When I got onto the 'tourist' bus that I had a premium for, I was the only gringo on the bus. I threw my main bag (yes - I got it back, but only about 1 hr before my bus left to Copacabana) in the overhead compartment and kept my daypack with me. I was hoping to be able to relax and sleep, but as soon as we started on the trip, the bus driver turned on the televisions and turned the volume up to the maximum level. They were playing some movie called Kumkachaka (at least that's what I think it was). I watched the movie for a bit before falling asleep - it was a great 80's type of cop movie with smoking protagonists with aviator sunglasses.
I woke up sometime around 1am and noticed someone pushing things around in the overhead compartment. I didn't think anything of it and tried to go back to sleep. After a few minutes of sitting there, I realized that maybe it was my bag that someone was messing with - 'no big deal' I told myself, as I had locks on it. I grabbed my main bag and noticed that I forgot to lock the zippers! You're an idiot I told myself - but from looking in my bag I didn't notice anything was missing. My clothes had been messed up, but I figured that someone who will still on the bus was looking for valuables or money. When I reached Copacabana the next day, I was repacking my bag and realized that my 2nd pair of pants and (more importantly) my waterproof north face jacket were stolen. I guess things could have been worse, but I will have to look for an outdoor outfitter in Cuzco when I return, as I will definately need a waterproof jacket prior to my trek to Machu Picchu. I should also have a second pair of pants, in case something happens to the ones that I'm wearing.
The town of Copacabana is extremely small and has gorgeous views of Lake Titicaca. I wasn't able to get into the hostel that I had wanted to stay at (Hotel La Cupula - it looked really nice for $10/night), so I checked into Hotel Colonial. I got a single room w/ bath for 40 bolivianos. I washed up and headed out to look for information on visiting Isla del Sol in the afternoon. I had wanted to spend an entire day on the island, but due to my bus schedule back to Cuzco, I opted for the afternoon only. I met up with Kristina, a woman from Italy, and we explored the island. I wish I had had more time on Isla del Sol - the expansive views of Lake Titicaca were wonderful. The water was a deep blue, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I took a few photos, but concentrated on just enjoying the surroundings. After an hour, the boat was heading back to mainland, so we had another 1.5 hr ride back.
Kristina and I met up on the beach for the sunset and then went off to grab some dinner.
About 15 minutes into dinner, the power to the city went out. It made for a wonderful, relaxing meal - I guess that they were using gas to cook the food. After a wonderful 3 course meal (with a free glass of wine because of the power outage!) for a few dollars, we carefully crept back to the hotel. The hotel didn't have any candles, so we were feeling along the hallway so as not to stumble on anything. I got back to my hotel room safely and used my digital camera's LCD screen for a bit of light while I tried to take out my contacts in the dark. I went to sleep thinking about how I was going to maximize my time for my last day in Copacabana.
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