There is a theory that you know you have been in London too long when the posh station announcer on the Picadilly line saying "Cockfosters" stops making you chuckle ever so slightly.
I suspect that there is a similar rule when you are travelling relating to titter inducing place names (I am not at this stage yet, so I am suggesting a competition for the comments at the bottom to list the towns or cities with the funniest/rudest names).
The journey from La Paz to Copacabana took around 4 hours and was one of the more interesting trips so far. At one point we had to disembark our bus while it was loaded onto a raft (which I could have built) to cross the lake. Forget being robbed or using dodgy guardaequipage I think this was the closest we've come so far to losing our gear, and as we crossed in a motor boat next to our bus we'd have had front row seats to the whole thing!
When we arrived in Copacabana it was Friday and carnival was in full swing, this involved a marching band walking the streets playing the same 4 tunes from 7am until 4am the next morning, hundreds of people selling things in the mains plazas, people firing flare guns at all hours and perhaps craziest of all people dressing their cars up like Vegas show girls (think sparkly top hats, tinsel and other shiny things), parking them outside the cathedral and setting off a string of firecrackers they attached to the boot to get a blessing! Even if god wasn't paying attention everyone else in the plaza and most of the town could certainly hear it!
Copacabana itself is something of a hippy Mecca in South America. This was illustrated by lots of young dreadlocked people wearing ponchos and ali baba pants wandering the streets in the tourist area. There were also a lot of travellers sitting on the tourist strips selling their wears. Copacabana is something of a weekend retreat so once the weekend was over most of these people disappeared.
We stayed in Las Cupala which is a hostal overlooking the bay, it has a restaurant which I have to say I was a little disappointed by. Despite the great views the food was some of the more expensive we had and was no where near the quality of some of the other restaurants on the strip.
In fact at the start we found it hard to find good places to eat and drink, until we realised that quite a few of the tourist places on the strip had the same menu. After a couple of meals we surmised they must be sharing a central kitchen as the meals we had took forever to arrive and were usually Luke warm at best (this may or may not be true but once we avoided the places with this menu the food we were eating improved no end).
The best meal we had was once again provided by the Rosario hotel chain. The presentation and taste of typical Bolivian food with a fine dining twist could not be faulted and at around 130 bolivianos per person (13 pounds) for 3 courses and a glass of Bolivian wine (surprisingly drinkable if a touch sweet) it is good value (anywhere other than Bolivia, as a meal is usually 50 bolivianos per person)
For lunch we went with a cheap option of trout by the lake. Along the "beach" there were a row of "kioscos" selling trout, we picked one based on our usual criteria, are locals eating there? do they have a free table? and were treated to a wonderful meal. For 20 bolivianos we both got a full trout and sauce freshly cooked, my fiancée went for the garlic trout which looked nice but I was sold on the trucha del Diablo (devils trout) which was topped with chilli, tomatoes and onions and tasted amazing. Both these meals came with chips and rice included in the cost, it was a shame we only found it on our last day.
One final restaurant recommendation in copacabana was La Orilla which is a small place on the main tourist strip. It is recommended by a couple of the guide books and appears to be a family run place serving something like Bolivian cowboy (similar to Mexican) cuisine. The owner served all the tables while his wife cooked and his 4 year old daughter balanced precariously on a bar stool. If you get bored of trout this is the place for you as they served an excellent chilli, nachos and other meat based dishes for around 35 bolivianos a main course.
Luckily despite the plentiful food I found lots of ways to exercise, I tried running along the side of the lake, but as it turns out it is hard work at 3850m above sea level (so I managed around 3km before my lungs felt like they were on fire), instead we walked, first around the side of the lake before later tackling the 2 steep hills at the side of the bay which give great views of the lake and Copacabana itself.
I think spending a few days here relaxing was exactly what we needed before Peru as between now and Equador we'll be in constant motion as we try and cover Machu Picchu and the kolka canyon and still get to Quito in time for our trip to the Galapagos.
Pictured below are our bus crossing the lake, trout in garlic sauce and 2 pictures of Copacabana
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