Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ing material possessions in the hope that they will be granted the real things by the Virgin
during the year.
RELIGIOUS
Fiesta de la Cruz
(Feast of the Cross)
Celebrated over the first weekend in May (or on May 3 - check, as
dates change) all around the lake, but the biggest festivities are in Copacabana.
Bolivian Independence Day
Copacabana stages its biggest event during the first week in August. It's characterized by
round-the-clock music, parades, brass bands, fireworks and amazing alcohol consumption.
This coincides with a traditional pilgrimage that brings thousands of Peruvians into the
town to visit the Virgin.
NATIONAL HOLIDAY
BENEDICIÓN DE MOVILIDADES
The word
cha'lla
is used for any ritual blessing, toast or offering to the powers that be, whether Inca, Aymará or
Christian. On most mornings during the festival season from around 10am (and reliably on Saturday and Sunday),
cars, trucks and buses hover in front of Copacabana's cathedral decked out in garlands of real or plastic flowers,
colored ribbons and flags. They come for a
cha'lla
known as the Benedición de Movilidades (Blessing of Auto-
mobiles). Petitions for protection are made to the Virgin and a ritual offering of alcohol is poured over the vehicles
- and sometimes into the driver - thereby consecrating them for the journey home. Between Good Friday and
Easter Sunday, the
cha'lla
is especially popular among pilgrims and long-distance bus companies with new fleets.
Drivers offer the priest donations for their blessings, but per vehicle it's still a cheap alternative to insurance!
Sleeping
During fiestas accommodation fills up quickly and prices increase up to threefold. Ironic-
ally, given its lakeside position, Copacabana's water supply is unpredictable. Better hotels
go to extreme efforts to fill water tanks in the morning (the supply is normally switched
off at some time between 8am and noon).
A host of budget options abound, charging about B$30 per person (significantly more
in high season and festivals), especially along Calle Jáuregui.
BOUTIQUE HOTEL
Las Olas $$
