Bolivia travel.
We left Cusco at 10 at night on our way to Puno. We arrived at 5 or so in the morning, and had to wait in the terminal for our next bus to leave for Copacabana at 7. So we ended up having a bite to eat and watched some World Cup highlights (so far we had only seen a few highlights of some games). I did note something interesting while watching the news. In the US, no news shows put dead bodies on tv, but in South America, they will show a mangled body sitting on the side of the road and show it for 15 min. It was not what I wanted to see at 6 in the morning.
Our bus was late, so we left about 8 for Copacabana. Passing the border was fairly simple. You get out of the bus, and go to the Peruvian embassy. They stamp your passport, and then you walk across the border to the Bolivian one to receive a stamp. On the bus, we had received our visa to fill out. We were given photocopies (cheap bus company). The people in Bolivia said those wouldnt work, but I made it through. Andrew, who was right behind me, had his grabbed out of his hand by some guy who walked off with it. So he had to redo his on an official sheet. We made it to Copacabana in time to watch part of a world cup game. We found a little "restaurant". When we walked in, a guy was sitting there in a bathrobe. It was more like his house, but we ordered coffee that took a while so we ended up gulping it down. At the bus to La Paz, there was a commotion. There wasnt enough room on the bus for everyone (the bus company was very disorganized). So Andrew got our stuff on the roof while some rude tour guide lady started giving orders so her group would make it on board. Only 6 other people could get on the bus with her group, and we made it barely. But with luck, because we got to sit in the very front and have the best view. On the way to La Paz, we had to stop and cross Lake Titicaca in little boats. We got out of the bus and crossed in a little boat, watching our bus be loaded into a big launch and motored over with just a tiny motor. We made it into La Paz, and had an opportunity for a photo op on the rim of the city. Most of the city is tucked into a valley, and the houses are built up on the sides of the valley. We had been told that La Paz is kinda dangerous...and seeing as how we dont live in the tourist area in Cusco, we said it didnt look too bad. But right after we said that, we passed guys getting in a fight over a car accident and a man sitting on the side of the street with a very bloody nose. We took a taxi to the airport, where I had difficulties getting tickets to Santa Cruz. Everytime I went to the counter, we were told something else and told to wait. We finally got tickets on the 12 o'clock flight (we wanted 8), and ate at Burger King while waiting. We ended up waiting a total of 6 hours in the airport, and at the end we were cranky and tired. But we finally arrived and saw Panfi and Joshua...who picked us up from the airport. We went back and went straight to bed (over 26 hours with little sleep).
Our bus was late, so we left about 8 for Copacabana. Passing the border was fairly simple. You get out of the bus, and go to the Peruvian embassy. They stamp your passport, and then you walk across the border to the Bolivian one to receive a stamp. On the bus, we had received our visa to fill out. We were given photocopies (cheap bus company). The people in Bolivia said those wouldnt work, but I made it through. Andrew, who was right behind me, had his grabbed out of his hand by some guy who walked off with it. So he had to redo his on an official sheet. We made it to Copacabana in time to watch part of a world cup game. We found a little "restaurant". When we walked in, a guy was sitting there in a bathrobe. It was more like his house, but we ordered coffee that took a while so we ended up gulping it down. At the bus to La Paz, there was a commotion. There wasnt enough room on the bus for everyone (the bus company was very disorganized). So Andrew got our stuff on the roof while some rude tour guide lady started giving orders so her group would make it on board. Only 6 other people could get on the bus with her group, and we made it barely. But with luck, because we got to sit in the very front and have the best view. On the way to La Paz, we had to stop and cross Lake Titicaca in little boats. We got out of the bus and crossed in a little boat, watching our bus be loaded into a big launch and motored over with just a tiny motor. We made it into La Paz, and had an opportunity for a photo op on the rim of the city. Most of the city is tucked into a valley, and the houses are built up on the sides of the valley. We had been told that La Paz is kinda dangerous...and seeing as how we dont live in the tourist area in Cusco, we said it didnt look too bad. But right after we said that, we passed guys getting in a fight over a car accident and a man sitting on the side of the street with a very bloody nose. We took a taxi to the airport, where I had difficulties getting tickets to Santa Cruz. Everytime I went to the counter, we were told something else and told to wait. We finally got tickets on the 12 o'clock flight (we wanted 8), and ate at Burger King while waiting. We ended up waiting a total of 6 hours in the airport, and at the end we were cranky and tired. But we finally arrived and saw Panfi and Joshua...who picked us up from the airport. We went back and went straight to bed (over 26 hours with little sleep).
posted by Becca at 11:53 AM
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