The temperature was perfect with a bit of a cool breeze blowing but warm enough to only need one layer. We figured we had better not walk too fast so we didn't crash and burn given it was our longest walk since being at altitude. Although, having said that, the hand drawn map La Cupula had provided us with said the walk would take 2.5 - 3hrs and we were pretty confident we could do it in the lower end of that spectrum. Sure enough, 2 hours later we arrived at the Chincana ruins located at the northern tip of the island. They were an impressive site, not only in scale but also their incredible setting, winding their way around the hillside like a labrynth. When visiting sites like this we always leave with so many questions, like what different rooms were used for, what was the reason for settling there, what was their main food source, why did it eventually get deserted? Sometimes having a guide would be useful for these types of questions I guess. But doing it on our own is always nice.
After some freshly made sammies using our newly acquired Swiss Army knife, while lapping up the beautiful view, it was time to make the journey back in order to not miss our ferry, and subsequently our bus to La Paz.
The walk back was definitely a lot harder on the body, with a lot more up hills to contend with. We made it back in 2.5 hours to our hostel where we collected our bags and began the gruelling walk down the stairs to the bay below. As soon as we arrived at the bottom, who should we run into but our friend Dmitry who had also walked the length of the island and was waiting for the same ferry. We caught up on what each of us had been up to for the last few days since La Paz as we made our way back across to the main land.
Back in Copacabana the three of us got an early dinner as we watched the people across the road dig up drains along the street. Since we arrived in Copacabana the whole community seemed to be getting into this project of digging up the drains. The fascinating thing was that there were no jack hammers being used, just picks, shovels and sledge hammers. And when I say the whole community, I mean everyone, including woman, children and elderly. We guessed they must be putting better drainage in, or even their first ever drainage?
After another farewell to Dmitry, who was continuing north, we jumped on our bus back to La Paz. We were a bit nervous about this as there were rumors flying around that there were blockades in La Paz that weren't letting buses through due to strikes. So we were just hoping that we weren't going to be stopped and have to walk for miles before catching a cab, as we had heard so many others have had to do. Thankfully it all went smoothly and we arrived into La Paz even a bit ahead of schedule.
Next up, how we survived the Death Road biking experience.
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