Day 53 Copacabana to Lake Titikaka Hotel

This was one of those days when you just had to say WOW!  We left Copacabana after only one night which would have been better if it had been two, because it was peaceful after some of the noisy places we had stayed at recently.  As we left the town we started climbing on a smooth tarmac road and we were on our way up to our first Bolivian summit greater than 4000 metres.  On our way up we were treated to many views of Lake Titikaka, which at 3812 metres is the highest lake in South America and the views sometimes make you think you are beside the sea it stretches so far into the distance!  After the summit we started the descent down to the little town of Tiquina which is the gateway to the Strait of Tiquina which connects the smaller and larger parts of the lake in Bolivia.  As we descended we came around a corner where you just had to stop and say WOW!  In the distance were magnificent snow capped mountains stretching from left to right.  When you stopped and realised that you were already standing at around 3900 metres you began to realise the size of these mountains, you are in The Andes!!
Continuing down to the village where we were all meeting for lunch, before catching the ferry across the strait, it was sad to hear that our German friend Martin had collided with a donkey on the descent!  He was in one of the trucks with Didier and the news did not seem good, and he was being taken off to La Paz immediately to get hospital treatment.  The day suddenly seemed a little overcast, but to give you the good news it was found that nothing was broken and we would all be re-united when we reached La Paz, see Day 54's report.  Just in case you are wondering - the donkey ran off with it's owner never to be seen again!!
The day continued for the rest of us with the ferry crossing and the remaining kilometres of undulating road around the lake to the Hotel Titikaka, which was even more peaceful than the hotel we had left in Copacabana.  The end of a day to remember.

On the ferry across  the Tiquina Strait

The mountains we saw earlier, now seen from hotel