Last weekend G allowed himself to leave La Paz for two entire days and on Saturday we traveled by bus to Lake Titicaca. The south end of the lake is approximately 50 km from the city but our destination was the town of Copacabana, a distance of 135 km. The trip took 3 1/2 hours and included a 5 minute boat ride across the Tiquina Straits - the bus went on a barge and the passengers were ferried in small launchas.
The border between Peru and Bolivia divides the lake in two, but it seems to me that Bolivia got the better deal because it contains Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) 
which figures prominently in the creation legend of the Incas and their direct descendants; the Aymara and Quechua peoples of Bolivia and Peru. It was on this Island 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. Lonely 
Planet describes the Island this way: "With a host of ancient ruins, tiny traditional villages, beautiful walking routes and a distinctly Aegean look, magical Isla del Sol merits a night or two." We only had Sunday and I was determined to go.
There are no vehicles on the island, and everyone arrives and leaves by boat. Our boat was scheduled to leave at 0830 and we were advised to be on the beach at 0815. We eventually departed at 0900 for the 3 hour, 20 mile, 
voyage - I was "yachting" on Lake Titicaca! The boat trip was uneventful and we arrived at the north end of the island at the tiny village of Cha'llapampa. When we disembarked the passengers were given two choices; either be back at the boat by 1:30 P.M. or walk to the south end of the island and catch the boat at Yumani at 3:30 PM. I decided we should do the latter but it was going to be a scurry because it was already noon and I wanted to visit the ruins as well.
The Chincana ruins is a maze of stone walls and tiny doorways and it's construction is attributed to the Incas, but the carelessness of the construction compared to the buildings I saw in Cuzco and at Machu Pichu make me think that it was probably constructed before they arrived. About 150 meters from the ruins is a ceremonial table, which at the time of our visit, was a place for tourists to receive a mystical blessing from an "Inca". We decided to give that one a miss. After too brief of a visit we set off on the hike following the ridge line.
It is only an 8 km walk and the pathway is broad, well marked and often paved, which sounds like an easy stroll, but the pathway goes up and then goes down, the elevation averages 4000 meters and there is no shade: it was more like a forced march. To ensure we made the 3:30 PM departure we had to keep moving and we took our photos on the go, but the views were amazing and it was worth the effort. We made it back in time for the return launch to Copacabana and a beautiful sunset.
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