Our Lady of Copacabana is the patron saint of Bolivia…
Paradise was actually a bit chilly and a bit loud last night. We could have done with one of those hairless dogs from Trujillo, but at least we had the modern equivalent: a hot water bottle. Christi is excited to have access to a kitchen today and prepares eggs, sunny-side up, for breakfast.
Afterwards we explore the center of town which is basically two streets and a square full of tourist shops and restaurants. We also identify the source of our night time disturbance. Packs of dogs roam freely around town and howl incessantly after dark. Unfortunately, the dogs leave lots of ‘presents’ for you to avoid and the streets (and especially the waterfront) are rife with litter – so sad. The owner of our hotel, Martin (a German), explains later that the locals don’t really see the garbage they discard. Years ago everything was biodegradable, but that isn’t the case now and the mentality of the Bolivians has yet to adapt. In fact, he says, it’s hard to convince the locals that the tourists do notice the trash.
Despite its problems, Copacabana possesses an absolute gem in its midst, the 16th century cathedral which is dedicated to Our Lady of Copacabana. The dazzling white façade has a Moorish influence, but even more impressive is the richly decorated vaulted ceiling painted in pastel reds, blues, and yellows. Not to mention the yellow and turquoise dome, the glorious golden altar, and the gorgeous stain glass windows. Absolutely stunning.
Back at our hotel we decide to take advantage of the hotel’s free hot tub. Unfortunately, the outside temperature is already 90oF, so we’re basically cooked twice over in less than 15 minutes. We stagger back to the shade of our room and drink pints of water to recover. And the motto of this story is: just because a hotel has a hot tub, it doesn’t mean you have to use it!
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching tale of love and test tubes.
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