Island where the Sun was born

Everyone knows it: the sun was born on Isla del Sol in the heart of lake Titicaca. Legend has it that the bearded white god-king Viracocha and the first Incas, Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Ocllo, mystically appeared under direct orders from the sun. Most modern-day Aymará and Quechua peoples of Peru and Bolivia (the largest ethnic minorities and descendents of the Incas - even majorities in certain parts of these countries) accept these legends as their creation. And this theory sounds quite plausible - after all the Vikings believed the world was born from the love affair of an ugly mud giant's armpit with his foot. But back to Isla del Sol.

This fine piece of topography deserves the name also for its sunny climate - even on days when laden rain clouds circled Titicaca, the sun shone on the island.

So that is where I have been spending the last few days. I ended up staying on the island for two nights, because, well, frankly just look at the view from my 10 dollar room!

The views were nothing short of spectacular in other parts of the island either. And I should know because I walked the whole length of it.

And the island took its revenge! Acclimatizing to high altitudes is all well and fine, when one is sipping fruit juice and watching the world dance past as in Puno. But at around 4000 meters, when you have to treck up hills all the time, altitude sickness is a real issue. Mine came in the form of a blistering headache the first day and a swooning and nauseaus feeling the next. But all was not lost! Where coca leaves didn't do the trick, a drug sold from the local pharmacy did. "What drug?" you may well ask. Well I haven't the foggiest idea since pills are sold one pill at a time and without any instructions. All I was told was that I must swear not to take the pills more often than once every 8 hours. The pills did indeed work, but as a side effect I've been having pins and needles in the strangest of places on the days I took them. I mean, I didn't even know you could get pins and needles in your lips!

 

Anyway, all good things come to an end (this includes my altitude sickness tablets) and regretfully I have left Isla del Sol and am back on track - having just arrived in La Paz. I'll let you know more about this town once I've had a chance to find out. 

Peace to all!