We had a great time in Bolivia, but our time here has run out... We must leave the country. (30 days is all we get as Canadians in Bolivia... Are they affraid we´ll want to steal their jobs or do they want to help the bus companies out!) So we get up early the next morning, say goodbey to the owner of the stinky cheap hotel (he has seen us rent a room 3 times in less than a month...) and make it to the bus terminal. Departure 7:30am, before traffic jams and we even get to watch a movie while eating breakfast in the bus... To good to be true, indeed. The bus won´t start... So we wait another hour for the next bus which doesn´t have anything particularly interesting to offer. Oh well! we knew it was impossible to find something that great!
But life wanted us to meet Cedric in the bus, a Quebecois in his way to Arequipa. He recommended us to a certain agency in Cuzco and chatted with us of his travels. He works in Prince George, in forestry, and might stop by the cafe when he comes to Vancouver. Can´t say I am not dedicated to my work, sending people all the way from Bolivia! We left him in Copacabana where he continued his route to Peru and made it to Yunguyo, on the Peruvian side of the frontiere. We weren´t paying attention and didn´t realize we were almost out of money... Only thing we had was a beautiful $50 bill, with the smallest rip in it I ever saw... None accepted to chance it, bastards! So, in a city without compatible banks and about s/13 in hand, we searched for a place to stay... Only needed to spend the night and go back in Bolivia the next day. We might be able to take money out at that time... We found a cheap hostel and said we didn´t have enough to pay the night, he discounted us and we stayed. Thanks mister!
Happy things had turned out well, we decided to invest our few s/ in ingredients to prepare "lentil burgers"... We have pictures to show how impressed we were with the result, but we ate something that just didn´t pass... and began a 4 day illness a would call the worst so far (and I have had diarrhea many times so far) It was quite something to have to leave the hotel at 12pm, carry the bags, make it to immigration, argue with the police saying our stupid $50 bill is fake, go to the other immigration on the side of Bolivia, try to get a ride to town (Copacabana) on credit... we have no money, and all that time, having diarrhea, nausea and be out of toilet paper and water. It really sucked.
We made it, got a cheap room (just anything not too expensive to take it), paid and went back to bed. Wow did we ever feel like crap! At night I thought we could eat a bit of soup, but it didn´t stay and we had another hellish night... So we chose we wouldn´t eat anything more the next day... all we tried was some juice and 1 and half cracker before bedtime... We were feeling better but so scared! In the morning, we had more crackers and eventualy some food. It still wasn´t perfect, but the next day would be better. I wanted to eat so much food but just couldn´t risk it. So I waited and we got a real meal the next day. At that point we knew we could leave for Isla del Sol, so we started our trek. It was wednesday and we quite enjoyed our walk. Nice to leave our bed! We took a boat to the island (someone paddled 1hour all the way there, and had to come back after... all for 30bs ($3.5)
He was so nice he left us farther then he should have... and that cost us quite a detour. We found a way to get to our "camp site" and pitched the tent as the light faded. We made some food and I got scared all night of the tunder and lightning... I usually am not like that, but none ever told me if it´s secure to sleep in a tent under those conditions. So I thought we would die electrocuted... I didn´t sleep very well!
But it eventually stopped pourring and all the rest, and I started feeling a lot better. I got up in the morning deciding that if we didn´t get fried in those conditions, we never would. Tents are secure! So I am not affraid anymore.
We walked to the water to refil, and took another wrong turn to our destination. It made the trip interesting... no paved "camino" for us, only terraces of all sorts of agriculture. No tourists either! We eventually encountered the stone lined road and the weather turned. It was cold and windy and it started to pour. We got shelter by a building (the rain was almost horizontal, so the standing walls without roof did the trick). We chatted with some french guys and a Argentinien who were seaking shelter to. It didn´t last more than an hour and the rain stopped. We followed the crest to some ruins very well preserved and had lunch there. We passed the sacred rock without even knowing it!!! We walked to the beach down, way down there... It was beautiful and none was there. We pitched the tent where we thought we would get away without water in it... (It always pours at night there) and started cooking dinner. A couple walked by and started pulling a boat out of the water. They were having trouble, so we went to help them. It gave me a sense of security that locals appreciated our help.
We had a nice quiet night alone on the beach but just couldn´t start a fire... Too bad, my sleeping bag will do the trick! We woke up early, packed the DRY tent away (it worked!) and walked to the next town. There was a museo to check out, so we did and followed the road all along the water to the exit point of the island. It was a really nice walk that day. We took a boat, which stopped were we had landed 2 days ago, and made it to Copacabana in 1.5hour. It was super busy on the beach and we remembered that we were Holly Friday. No way we could get a cheap place to stay... all was booked or extremely expensive. So we went back to Yunguyo seeking a bus to Puno. We met with a really nice couple who invited us to stay the night at their place. They said there wouldn´t be anymore affordable hostal in Puno because of the Holly weekend... So we stayed with them and had dinner "on" them too. They were really nice and gave us all sorts of stuff before leaving. We even have their address in Tacna if we want to visit.
We left with pictures of their houshold, including a few of the many stuffed (real) animals she worked herself... A bit of a shock for me to see all this, but you have to appreciate the difference! We took a micro to Puno, went to a bank that would accept the stupid $50 bill and after a bit of shopping in the market and a full meal at $.50 each, we walked to the port. Uros was the next stop. Those are flotting islands in the Lago titicaca, which some say are just a show... none really lives there. It kind of look like that because there is nothing for sustainability here. No fishing, no hobbies, nothing more than stalls for crafts and tourists market. We spent the afternoon there and the night in one of the little straw habitations. We constantly had to lock ourselves in to get away from the nose dripping anoying too much sugar kids... In such a small place, there is nowhere to hide! We slept, made breakfast in the morning and were very glad to leave when the boat picked us up. 3 hours later, or even more, we were in Amantani.
The captain was organizing loging for all those in the boat and we said we were camping. So he let us alone. It would have been s/ 25 each ($8) for food and loging for 24hours and we just didn´t have enough. So we looked around for a place to camp and this man, Ambrosio said we could camp on his lot... It´s nice there, everything belongs to someone different, but you couldn´t really know where a lot begins or finishes. So he said we could pitch our tent anywhere... But said afterwards that he could give us a room and food for s/ 15 each ($5) so we took it for the first night, thinking we would pitch the tent the next day. There we bathed from a bucket of cold water and it truly felt like a blessing! Weird to be doing that Jess and I back to back.. across a door from the rest of them, but still outside in the sun. A worthy experience. It might have been cold, but a lot warmer than the Lago Titicaca when we decided to go for a dip... I didn´t make it past my belly button! Wow it was cold!
There was a big fiesta being prepared for the 4 next days. So we went to check it out at about lunch time the next day. We had already pitched the tent and readied our bags... but we were asked to stay in the room instead... We didn´t have enough to do that many days and we were clear with that but they thought another s/ 15 each for the following day made it worth while for us to stay for free in the room given we made our own meals. So we put away the tent and went to the fiesta with them. We bought Ambrosio a big beer and watched as people with various disguises (including him) danced... 3hours later, we didn´t really want to watch more and went back home. There was more dancing the next day and again today... Given the same music was played the whole time, Jess and I had enough of two whole days!!! Very interesting but enough. So we decided to leave this morning.
We took a boat to the coast (1hour) and then a combi (small bus for 2 hours) on terrible road... and were in Juliaca. I didn´t want a replica of Puno so we went to the bank and took another transport to lampa (25 min) and found a room for s/10 for the two of us. It isn´t nice, it actually has 5 beds and a table... but 2 of those beds are ours and none will enter the room, it´s ours and not a dorm. So we went for something to eat... fried potatoes with a fried piece of cheese and fried egg... FOR THE SECOND TIME IN ONE DAY!!! (That was breakfast that morning... the one included with the room.) The salad we asked for with dinner helped pass all the grease... I can´t see anything fried for a month now.
We then went to internet, and back home. Slept right away and I got up in the morning wanting to feel better... must have been because of the fried food! So I went for a run. Well, 20 minutes is what I managed at almost 4000m above sea level! Altitude definitly makes a difference! We then went for a bit of a walk, to some caves with hieroglyphes or something like that. We walked there and back, but chose to cut across the fields on the way back... Bad idea. We kept on walking on to ponds and having to backtrack. Me and bushwaking! We then returned to Lampa to check out the church. This little town has much to offer. It has 2 replicas of Michael Angelo´s La Pieadre (not too sure how it´s written!) and a really cool dome where one of them is displayed. Really didn´t expect to see that in such a small town.
We left after the visit and went to Juliaca on our way to Ayaviri. We finally found good natural vegetarian food. I almost bought 2 just to have dinner with me to go! It was really good and definitly worth the $1 each! We also luck out on yogurt (plain) and found the bus stop to Ayaviri. It left shortly after and we were in town a bit after dinner time. We asked a few places and managed to pay s/6 for the two of us for a room! It stank and we slept in our Sleeping bags... never trust the sheets! but it did the trick. (It was the cheapest room since the beginning of the trip!) We made soup with not spicy peppers... well Jess didn´t even eat it all... it WAS spicy! In the morning I went in search of a couple of breakfast ingredients and we had a good meal. We left the room and took a Moto Taxi to some natural, yet completely built around hotsprings. What did we care, I wanted to take a bath with hot water, and that was the only option. Satisfied after soaking like dirty laundry... we took another cab and walked to the bus terminal. Destination Cuzco.
We found a good affordable place to stay in Cuzco. We even got the kitchen use and all is included in our s/16 a night... (about $5 for the 2 of us.) So guess what we are doing now... a really big batch of spaguetti sauce! Mom, we really miss you! We surely will be eating it for the next week! Miam... it´s slowly cooling down and that´s dinner tonight. Maybe we´ll skip the pasta and only enjoy the sauce: it is one of my favorite meals on Earth.
We bargained the price of our room to what it is now, and talked with the travel agency in the hostel to find out the different options to visit Macchu Pichu. The train is about $80 and the entrance fee about $50... So why not take a tour to visit around and perhaps see a lot more interesting things? So $160 US each for 5 full days, 4 nights, including: a guide, a horse, all the food, all transpotations, all entrance fees... Seems worth it and we even get to sleep one night in a hostel. So I am interested and so is Jess. Better value than $350 US for the Inca trail that isn´t any longer.
We were invited to go to a bar close to the university by the guy who runs the agency and the hospedaje... So given we had nothing better to do, we went with him and a friend of his. It was a place strictly local, no tourists were there... they prefered to call us friends so we didn´t even classify as tourists they said! We bought a bottle of rum and it came with ice, lemon slices, and coca cola... We all drank quite enough and went to a place to dance. That was very close to our hostel and went home shortly after. I had a lot of fun, trying to dance, drunk by the alcool and the altitude... Seriously, at 3200m or so, the alcool has a strong effect! I am actually still feeling that effect, my belly hurts and I am just not 100%.
That might be why we chose to invest our day in spaguetti sauce cooking! A lot better than visiting churches and stuff! About that, we´ll buy a "boleto turistico" to go check out all the stuff we want around here. It´s only valid 9 days but it´s worth it price wise... We´ll go on a horse to a few places around... a lot more interesting than taking the bus or walking. There are ruins we´ll go to for 5 hours and should be doing that tomorrow. I think it´ll be fun to be on a horse. I haven´t done that in ages. That tour will cost us s/50 for the two of us apart for the "boleto turistico" that is worth s/70 each...
I really had a good time yesterday, and Jess has a big blue nikky in her neck from a sucking dude, quite interested in her! Today, she doesn´t really want to see him anymore! I´ll specify that nothing happened, but he sure liked to kiss her! (The alcool gone, she has no interest whatsoever in him! The funny part is he isn´t even as tall as her!)
Tonight, I think we´ll take it very easy... enjoy spag sauce and read or something. Cuzco is great. It´s old and beautiful. There are so many colonial buildings too. We haven´t had time to visit much, but our spanish is getting there... It´s fun because now we can have complete discussions except for our verb tenses and other details. It´s easier that way to get closer to the people and I really like that. It´s valuable to not be called a tourist by some locals...
We´ll keep you in touch!
But life wanted us to meet Cedric in the bus, a Quebecois in his way to Arequipa. He recommended us to a certain agency in Cuzco and chatted with us of his travels. He works in Prince George, in forestry, and might stop by the cafe when he comes to Vancouver. Can´t say I am not dedicated to my work, sending people all the way from Bolivia! We left him in Copacabana where he continued his route to Peru and made it to Yunguyo, on the Peruvian side of the frontiere. We weren´t paying attention and didn´t realize we were almost out of money... Only thing we had was a beautiful $50 bill, with the smallest rip in it I ever saw... None accepted to chance it, bastards! So, in a city without compatible banks and about s/13 in hand, we searched for a place to stay... Only needed to spend the night and go back in Bolivia the next day. We might be able to take money out at that time... We found a cheap hostel and said we didn´t have enough to pay the night, he discounted us and we stayed. Thanks mister!
Happy things had turned out well, we decided to invest our few s/ in ingredients to prepare "lentil burgers"... We have pictures to show how impressed we were with the result, but we ate something that just didn´t pass... and began a 4 day illness a would call the worst so far (and I have had diarrhea many times so far) It was quite something to have to leave the hotel at 12pm, carry the bags, make it to immigration, argue with the police saying our stupid $50 bill is fake, go to the other immigration on the side of Bolivia, try to get a ride to town (Copacabana) on credit... we have no money, and all that time, having diarrhea, nausea and be out of toilet paper and water. It really sucked.
We made it, got a cheap room (just anything not too expensive to take it), paid and went back to bed. Wow did we ever feel like crap! At night I thought we could eat a bit of soup, but it didn´t stay and we had another hellish night... So we chose we wouldn´t eat anything more the next day... all we tried was some juice and 1 and half cracker before bedtime... We were feeling better but so scared! In the morning, we had more crackers and eventualy some food. It still wasn´t perfect, but the next day would be better. I wanted to eat so much food but just couldn´t risk it. So I waited and we got a real meal the next day. At that point we knew we could leave for Isla del Sol, so we started our trek. It was wednesday and we quite enjoyed our walk. Nice to leave our bed! We took a boat to the island (someone paddled 1hour all the way there, and had to come back after... all for 30bs ($3.5)
He was so nice he left us farther then he should have... and that cost us quite a detour. We found a way to get to our "camp site" and pitched the tent as the light faded. We made some food and I got scared all night of the tunder and lightning... I usually am not like that, but none ever told me if it´s secure to sleep in a tent under those conditions. So I thought we would die electrocuted... I didn´t sleep very well!
But it eventually stopped pourring and all the rest, and I started feeling a lot better. I got up in the morning deciding that if we didn´t get fried in those conditions, we never would. Tents are secure! So I am not affraid anymore.
We walked to the water to refil, and took another wrong turn to our destination. It made the trip interesting... no paved "camino" for us, only terraces of all sorts of agriculture. No tourists either! We eventually encountered the stone lined road and the weather turned. It was cold and windy and it started to pour. We got shelter by a building (the rain was almost horizontal, so the standing walls without roof did the trick). We chatted with some french guys and a Argentinien who were seaking shelter to. It didn´t last more than an hour and the rain stopped. We followed the crest to some ruins very well preserved and had lunch there. We passed the sacred rock without even knowing it!!! We walked to the beach down, way down there... It was beautiful and none was there. We pitched the tent where we thought we would get away without water in it... (It always pours at night there) and started cooking dinner. A couple walked by and started pulling a boat out of the water. They were having trouble, so we went to help them. It gave me a sense of security that locals appreciated our help.
We had a nice quiet night alone on the beach but just couldn´t start a fire... Too bad, my sleeping bag will do the trick! We woke up early, packed the DRY tent away (it worked!) and walked to the next town. There was a museo to check out, so we did and followed the road all along the water to the exit point of the island. It was a really nice walk that day. We took a boat, which stopped were we had landed 2 days ago, and made it to Copacabana in 1.5hour. It was super busy on the beach and we remembered that we were Holly Friday. No way we could get a cheap place to stay... all was booked or extremely expensive. So we went back to Yunguyo seeking a bus to Puno. We met with a really nice couple who invited us to stay the night at their place. They said there wouldn´t be anymore affordable hostal in Puno because of the Holly weekend... So we stayed with them and had dinner "on" them too. They were really nice and gave us all sorts of stuff before leaving. We even have their address in Tacna if we want to visit.
We left with pictures of their houshold, including a few of the many stuffed (real) animals she worked herself... A bit of a shock for me to see all this, but you have to appreciate the difference! We took a micro to Puno, went to a bank that would accept the stupid $50 bill and after a bit of shopping in the market and a full meal at $.50 each, we walked to the port. Uros was the next stop. Those are flotting islands in the Lago titicaca, which some say are just a show... none really lives there. It kind of look like that because there is nothing for sustainability here. No fishing, no hobbies, nothing more than stalls for crafts and tourists market. We spent the afternoon there and the night in one of the little straw habitations. We constantly had to lock ourselves in to get away from the nose dripping anoying too much sugar kids... In such a small place, there is nowhere to hide! We slept, made breakfast in the morning and were very glad to leave when the boat picked us up. 3 hours later, or even more, we were in Amantani.
The captain was organizing loging for all those in the boat and we said we were camping. So he let us alone. It would have been s/ 25 each ($8) for food and loging for 24hours and we just didn´t have enough. So we looked around for a place to camp and this man, Ambrosio said we could camp on his lot... It´s nice there, everything belongs to someone different, but you couldn´t really know where a lot begins or finishes. So he said we could pitch our tent anywhere... But said afterwards that he could give us a room and food for s/ 15 each ($5) so we took it for the first night, thinking we would pitch the tent the next day. There we bathed from a bucket of cold water and it truly felt like a blessing! Weird to be doing that Jess and I back to back.. across a door from the rest of them, but still outside in the sun. A worthy experience. It might have been cold, but a lot warmer than the Lago Titicaca when we decided to go for a dip... I didn´t make it past my belly button! Wow it was cold!
There was a big fiesta being prepared for the 4 next days. So we went to check it out at about lunch time the next day. We had already pitched the tent and readied our bags... but we were asked to stay in the room instead... We didn´t have enough to do that many days and we were clear with that but they thought another s/ 15 each for the following day made it worth while for us to stay for free in the room given we made our own meals. So we put away the tent and went to the fiesta with them. We bought Ambrosio a big beer and watched as people with various disguises (including him) danced... 3hours later, we didn´t really want to watch more and went back home. There was more dancing the next day and again today... Given the same music was played the whole time, Jess and I had enough of two whole days!!! Very interesting but enough. So we decided to leave this morning.
We took a boat to the coast (1hour) and then a combi (small bus for 2 hours) on terrible road... and were in Juliaca. I didn´t want a replica of Puno so we went to the bank and took another transport to lampa (25 min) and found a room for s/10 for the two of us. It isn´t nice, it actually has 5 beds and a table... but 2 of those beds are ours and none will enter the room, it´s ours and not a dorm. So we went for something to eat... fried potatoes with a fried piece of cheese and fried egg... FOR THE SECOND TIME IN ONE DAY!!! (That was breakfast that morning... the one included with the room.) The salad we asked for with dinner helped pass all the grease... I can´t see anything fried for a month now.
We then went to internet, and back home. Slept right away and I got up in the morning wanting to feel better... must have been because of the fried food! So I went for a run. Well, 20 minutes is what I managed at almost 4000m above sea level! Altitude definitly makes a difference! We then went for a bit of a walk, to some caves with hieroglyphes or something like that. We walked there and back, but chose to cut across the fields on the way back... Bad idea. We kept on walking on to ponds and having to backtrack. Me and bushwaking! We then returned to Lampa to check out the church. This little town has much to offer. It has 2 replicas of Michael Angelo´s La Pieadre (not too sure how it´s written!) and a really cool dome where one of them is displayed. Really didn´t expect to see that in such a small town.
We left after the visit and went to Juliaca on our way to Ayaviri. We finally found good natural vegetarian food. I almost bought 2 just to have dinner with me to go! It was really good and definitly worth the $1 each! We also luck out on yogurt (plain) and found the bus stop to Ayaviri. It left shortly after and we were in town a bit after dinner time. We asked a few places and managed to pay s/6 for the two of us for a room! It stank and we slept in our Sleeping bags... never trust the sheets! but it did the trick. (It was the cheapest room since the beginning of the trip!) We made soup with not spicy peppers... well Jess didn´t even eat it all... it WAS spicy! In the morning I went in search of a couple of breakfast ingredients and we had a good meal. We left the room and took a Moto Taxi to some natural, yet completely built around hotsprings. What did we care, I wanted to take a bath with hot water, and that was the only option. Satisfied after soaking like dirty laundry... we took another cab and walked to the bus terminal. Destination Cuzco.
We found a good affordable place to stay in Cuzco. We even got the kitchen use and all is included in our s/16 a night... (about $5 for the 2 of us.) So guess what we are doing now... a really big batch of spaguetti sauce! Mom, we really miss you! We surely will be eating it for the next week! Miam... it´s slowly cooling down and that´s dinner tonight. Maybe we´ll skip the pasta and only enjoy the sauce: it is one of my favorite meals on Earth.
We bargained the price of our room to what it is now, and talked with the travel agency in the hostel to find out the different options to visit Macchu Pichu. The train is about $80 and the entrance fee about $50... So why not take a tour to visit around and perhaps see a lot more interesting things? So $160 US each for 5 full days, 4 nights, including: a guide, a horse, all the food, all transpotations, all entrance fees... Seems worth it and we even get to sleep one night in a hostel. So I am interested and so is Jess. Better value than $350 US for the Inca trail that isn´t any longer.
We were invited to go to a bar close to the university by the guy who runs the agency and the hospedaje... So given we had nothing better to do, we went with him and a friend of his. It was a place strictly local, no tourists were there... they prefered to call us friends so we didn´t even classify as tourists they said! We bought a bottle of rum and it came with ice, lemon slices, and coca cola... We all drank quite enough and went to a place to dance. That was very close to our hostel and went home shortly after. I had a lot of fun, trying to dance, drunk by the alcool and the altitude... Seriously, at 3200m or so, the alcool has a strong effect! I am actually still feeling that effect, my belly hurts and I am just not 100%.
That might be why we chose to invest our day in spaguetti sauce cooking! A lot better than visiting churches and stuff! About that, we´ll buy a "boleto turistico" to go check out all the stuff we want around here. It´s only valid 9 days but it´s worth it price wise... We´ll go on a horse to a few places around... a lot more interesting than taking the bus or walking. There are ruins we´ll go to for 5 hours and should be doing that tomorrow. I think it´ll be fun to be on a horse. I haven´t done that in ages. That tour will cost us s/50 for the two of us apart for the "boleto turistico" that is worth s/70 each...
I really had a good time yesterday, and Jess has a big blue nikky in her neck from a sucking dude, quite interested in her! Today, she doesn´t really want to see him anymore! I´ll specify that nothing happened, but he sure liked to kiss her! (The alcool gone, she has no interest whatsoever in him! The funny part is he isn´t even as tall as her!)
Tonight, I think we´ll take it very easy... enjoy spag sauce and read or something. Cuzco is great. It´s old and beautiful. There are so many colonial buildings too. We haven´t had time to visit much, but our spanish is getting there... It´s fun because now we can have complete discussions except for our verb tenses and other details. It´s easier that way to get closer to the people and I really like that. It´s valuable to not be called a tourist by some locals...
We´ll keep you in touch!
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