Crossing the border from Peru to Bolivia was very easy; we took a tourist bus from Puno to Copacabana. The bus dropped us off at the border and the driver waited for us until we were finished with the checking in and out. Bolivian border officers have a bad reputation of extorting money from tourists, and now they have a new way of earning money on tourists; they ask them to submit a copy of their passport at immigration, and if you do not have a copy, no problem, you can pay a small fortune at one of the fotocopias you find at the border. But not us, we had of course an extra copy of our passport.

Shortly after we arrived to Copacabana, we took a boat to Isla del Sol. I was very much looking forward to visiting this island, which is said to be the birth place of the first Inca. The boat was very slow, it took us almost 2 hours to get to the island. While we were choking on the diesel fumes of our boat, our driver and his friends had a great time, they drank at least 3 beers each. The worst was that they threw the cans into the water so naturally as if it was the usual course of business. COME ON!!! What kind of people destroys their main source of income in that way?? "Nice start in Bolivia" - Kasper and I were thinking.Well, Isla del Sol is a pretty island with agricultural terraces and beautiful views of Lake Titicaca, but it is extremely touristy, and the locals of course take advantage of that. It all starts with an entrance fee of 1-2$, which you need to pay when you arrive to the island.

We hardly set a foot in Yumani (the main village on the south), when the locals cought us in the harbor and made us pay the entrance fee. Only after the matter was settled, was I allowed to take a picture of this old Inca stairway.Then if you want to walk from south to north or vice versa (11 km) you need to pay again at each "control post" the locals set up on the trail. I have heard many different stories; some paid only once on the trail, others paid like 3-4 times. 1-2$ is not much, but I really hate this type of scams.We dropped crossing the island partly because we did not want to pay for it and partly because Kasper was under the weather, and he needed to relax. Instead we stayed in Yumani for 2 nights.

Yumani is located about 200m uphill from the harbor, therefore the locals use donkeys and llamas to transport things (we have seen donkeys bearing crates of beers uphill).These donkeys were off work and they got quite interested in Kasper.There are only few places you can book online on Isla del Sol, therefore, we decided to find something when we arrive. Kasper stayed with our luggage in the harbor, while I was asking around at a few hospedajes.It turned out that prices and level of comfort differed quite a lot in the village: the places close to the harbor were double as expensive than the ones further uphill and they were also more worn-down. I have found a nice hospedaje for 12$ a night with hot shower and this amazing view.

From the terrace we also had a nice view of Isla de la Luna and at sunset we could see some snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Kasper standing in front of our hospedaje:Yumani is a nice, quiet little village, it is - unlike other Bolivian towns - clean and completely free of stray dogs.

While Kasper was relaxing at our hospedaje I went for a short walk to see the other side of the island. I walked only until the first control post, for the reason discussed above. It was nice, but very similar to Taquile island, which we visited in Peru, therefore, I do not feel I missed out on something by not walking further north.

By the time I got back, Kasper felt a bit better, so we decided to take a short walk further south to the ruins of Pilko Kaina.

We only saw the ruins from above; it did not seem like they were worth the climb down and then back up again.By the way, Bolivia is not as cheap as you would think; the cheapest food we could find in Yumani was 6$ per person for a menú del día (menu of the day) consisting of a soup, a main dish (trout with rice or potatoes) and a modest desert (banana with chocolate cream). I know 6$ is not expensive, but in Cusco we paid like 3-5$ for a meal and that place is much more touristy.After 2 days we took the boat back to Copacabana, which interestingly cost 1$ more than the outbound trip to Isla del Sol. There was no point in complaining. as it was to only boat going to Copacabana, so we just paid the higher price.

Copacabana is a Bolivian "seaside" town, complete with pedalos, shore front restaurants and bars, where you can enjoy the sun, some beers and trout. Interestingly, the food there was half price compared to Isla del Sol; 3-4$ for a menu el día.

Originally we wanted to skip Copacabana, because it is very touristy and the accommodation is pricy, but unfortunately all tourist buses to La Paz were sold out, so we had to stay for the night. 

Luckily, we found a nice and reasonably priced hotel with a beautiful view of the bay.Kasper quickly found his spot in the garden of the hotel.The sunset at Lake Titicaca was amazing, and we had a nice view from our hotel.

Yes, Lake Titicaca and Isla del Sol are beautiful, but I was not at all keen on the Bolivian hospitality. I felt they wanted to rip us off all the time and it kinda ruined our experience.