Here’s one final post on my Bolivian holiday. After my sister finished performing her solo concerts in La Paz, we had just enough time for a short trip to Copacabana, a resort town on the shores of Lake Titicaca. So we gathered up the kids and hit the road.

The main route to Copacabana winds through El Alto and across the altiplano to the portage town of Tiquina, where tour buses and vans cross the lake on precarious-looking ferries.

Once in Copacabana, we checked into the Hotel Gloria, which was faded but elegant, with lovely lake views and llamas hanging out in the playground.

We explored Copacabana’s famous sixteenth-century cathedral, the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana, then hiked to the Stations of the Cross at the top of nearby Cerro Calvario.

Cerro Calvario is only a short hike, but it’s also at a head-splitting 13,000 feet, which can be challenging if you aren’t used to the altitude. The last time my sister and I visited Copacabana, soroche and/or pregnancy prevented us both from doing the climb, so we felt thrilled to conquer the mountain together. The views of Lake Titicaca were spectacular.

After lighting candles and saying prayers and finding our way down the mountain, it was time to drink some api and go to the beach. Api, a grainy, sweetened hot drink made from purple corn, goes really well with sugary buñuelos. Some of us may have asked for seconds. I think we all had a sugar high after that.

Lake Titicaca isn’t a great lake for swimming, but we found horses to ride on the beachfront, and we named one of them Dulce de Leche. We hated to leave them behind.

The next day, I was on a plane, heading home to the States, missing my family and friends, missing all the flavors of Bolivia.