Thursday, January 25, 2007
I don´t know if it is customary to go out with your Inca Trail group the night after you get back but we did. And man do I feel sorry for anyone in Cusco who came across us that night! The night started in Paddy Flahertys, the highest Irish owned pub on the planet (apparently). After a few cans of guinness (which were surprisingly good) and a hefty meal we continued on to an Aussie bar. After a few shots of tequila and some Peruvian spirit which was quite reminiscent of absynthe we were off to the first club of the night – Mythology. Thankfully the DJ layed off on the evil reggaeton for the most part and we danced and drank and chatted for hours. All of a sudden the power cut off and the whole place was plunged into darkness. We stood around for a while but the power didn´t come back so we left. Fortunately a place nearby – Mama Africa´s – had some kind of a generator and so we continued the party there. Things got ridiculous and ended with Fi and a topless Irish guy dnacing on the bar. Time to go home I thought!
The next day I felt every one of the tequila slammers I had. We were in no state to do much else than bum around the hostel for the day. We watched a couple of films in the hostel´s tv room. Actually while we were watching the films, a massive hail storm set in. Completely bizzare since that morning it had been scorching hot. To say the hailstones were the size of golfballs would be exaggerating but they were certainly the biggest I had ever seen. That night we took an overnight bus to Copacabana (Bolivia, not Brazil) via Puno. Despite horror stories we had heard from other backpackers, the border crossing into Bolivia was exceptionally smooth. Just a stamp in the passport and away you go! No Spanish inquisition. We arrived in Copacabana to beautiful weather. We enjoyed our first trout there in a restaurant garden overlooking lake Titicaca. Trout seems to be the only thing you can eat in Copacabana since the lake is full of them. Fortunately for me I loved trout and had I think 5 trout in 3 days. After chilling on the beach for a while we rented peddle boats and peddled around in circles on the lake for half an hour. That night we took it easy as Fi wasn´t feeling the Mae West and I was pretty tired from the overnight bus.
The next day Fi stayed in bed to try and get rid of her cold and I climbed up some kind of nearby religious hill. It reminded me of Bray Head but thanks to the high altitude I had to stop every 5 mins to catch my breath. There were about 10 crosses at regular intervals on the way up and as it was a Sunday morning, all the locals were climbing up and stopping at each cross to say a prayer. The top gave a beautiful view of the lake but seeing a massive black cloud moving in I decided to get back down asap. Again due to Fi´s general sickness we just took it easy and watched Superman returns in a net cafe. After yet another trout dinner we headed for another early night. The next morning we awoke early and hopped on a boat bound for Isla Del Sol in the lake. We got the boat to the northside of the island and spent the day hiking to the south side where we had booked a hostel. The walk was beautiful with spectacular view over the lake. The sun was out in full force and the terrain was bare and barren. Devoid of any vegetation which made us feel like we were hiking through a desert.
We were a bit dubious as to how nice our accommodation would be as we had booked it through a tour operator without seeing it first but we were pleasantly surprised. It was a cosy little room with an incredible view of the lake from the window. We had dinner while chatting to an English couple and when we left the restaurant it was dark. The night sky was clear and we spent a while gazing at the 10 billion stars that were visible. We went for another early night as Fi was still under the weather but just then a big storm set in. Massive lightening and thunder and so I stood on the balcony for a while observing the full force of Mother Nature. The next morning we caught a bus back to Copacabana and had lunch with an American called Bill. The plan was to catch a bus to La Paz at 3pm to arrive in La Paz in the early evening. The bus left on time and after an hour we had to catch a ferry across the lake. This involved the people on the bus getting small speedboats across while the bus was taken across on a rather unsturdy wooden ferry. We arrived on the other side of the lake but looking back across the bus didn´t seem to be following suit. We were slightly nervous about being on the other side of the lake as our bags and using my trusty binoculars we could make out some kind of commotion going on around the bus. About an hour later the bus finally made it across the lake although the engine was leaking water big time. We couldn´t believe that the same thing was happening that hindered our trip to Mitad Del Mundo back in Quito.
The driver tinkered around for an hour with his toolbox while a few of the locals looked on unhelpfully and we got back on the bus. We made it a few minutes down the road when the bus broke down again. Just then a smaller kind of minibus passed, bound for La Paz. We were all bundled on with our bags tied to the roof and at one stage there was 19 of us in this tiny little minibus. Thankfully it was only 2 hours to La Paz and we enjoyed spectacular lightening on the journey. The hostel we had booked in La Paz is over a brewery and everyone who stays there gets a free beer every night. So we headed up to the bar and enjoyed 8% ale for a while with some Candians and Aussies. The next day we walked around the city with some of the others in the hostel. Januray 24th is a big day in Bolivia where people buy miniature houses, cars, bank notes etc and get them blessed the idea being that in the coming year you will get a new house, car money etc. The city was completely packed with people selling miniature everything. I kept a keen eye out for a miniature rugby world cup but couldn´t find one. After walking around for a while we went to an English bar for lunch. We enjoyed fish and chips with Tottenham V Arsenal playing in the background. After lunch, the North Americans went for a nap (they were shagged out after drinking a whole pint of beer the poor things) but Fi and myself stayed drinking with an Irish guy and an English guy.
About 7 hours later we stumbled out of the pub not quite sure where the time had gone. Our hostel was holding a party for January 24th and so we headed there and made merry till about midnight. Fi went to bed as she had to be up early to cycle down death road however headed out with some of the peeps from the hostel. At about 3.30 am, 14 hours of boozing had taken it´s toll and I gratefully hit the sack.
The next day I felt every one of the tequila slammers I had. We were in no state to do much else than bum around the hostel for the day. We watched a couple of films in the hostel´s tv room. Actually while we were watching the films, a massive hail storm set in. Completely bizzare since that morning it had been scorching hot. To say the hailstones were the size of golfballs would be exaggerating but they were certainly the biggest I had ever seen. That night we took an overnight bus to Copacabana (Bolivia, not Brazil) via Puno. Despite horror stories we had heard from other backpackers, the border crossing into Bolivia was exceptionally smooth. Just a stamp in the passport and away you go! No Spanish inquisition. We arrived in Copacabana to beautiful weather. We enjoyed our first trout there in a restaurant garden overlooking lake Titicaca. Trout seems to be the only thing you can eat in Copacabana since the lake is full of them. Fortunately for me I loved trout and had I think 5 trout in 3 days. After chilling on the beach for a while we rented peddle boats and peddled around in circles on the lake for half an hour. That night we took it easy as Fi wasn´t feeling the Mae West and I was pretty tired from the overnight bus.
The next day Fi stayed in bed to try and get rid of her cold and I climbed up some kind of nearby religious hill. It reminded me of Bray Head but thanks to the high altitude I had to stop every 5 mins to catch my breath. There were about 10 crosses at regular intervals on the way up and as it was a Sunday morning, all the locals were climbing up and stopping at each cross to say a prayer. The top gave a beautiful view of the lake but seeing a massive black cloud moving in I decided to get back down asap. Again due to Fi´s general sickness we just took it easy and watched Superman returns in a net cafe. After yet another trout dinner we headed for another early night. The next morning we awoke early and hopped on a boat bound for Isla Del Sol in the lake. We got the boat to the northside of the island and spent the day hiking to the south side where we had booked a hostel. The walk was beautiful with spectacular view over the lake. The sun was out in full force and the terrain was bare and barren. Devoid of any vegetation which made us feel like we were hiking through a desert.
We were a bit dubious as to how nice our accommodation would be as we had booked it through a tour operator without seeing it first but we were pleasantly surprised. It was a cosy little room with an incredible view of the lake from the window. We had dinner while chatting to an English couple and when we left the restaurant it was dark. The night sky was clear and we spent a while gazing at the 10 billion stars that were visible. We went for another early night as Fi was still under the weather but just then a big storm set in. Massive lightening and thunder and so I stood on the balcony for a while observing the full force of Mother Nature. The next morning we caught a bus back to Copacabana and had lunch with an American called Bill. The plan was to catch a bus to La Paz at 3pm to arrive in La Paz in the early evening. The bus left on time and after an hour we had to catch a ferry across the lake. This involved the people on the bus getting small speedboats across while the bus was taken across on a rather unsturdy wooden ferry. We arrived on the other side of the lake but looking back across the bus didn´t seem to be following suit. We were slightly nervous about being on the other side of the lake as our bags and using my trusty binoculars we could make out some kind of commotion going on around the bus. About an hour later the bus finally made it across the lake although the engine was leaking water big time. We couldn´t believe that the same thing was happening that hindered our trip to Mitad Del Mundo back in Quito.
The driver tinkered around for an hour with his toolbox while a few of the locals looked on unhelpfully and we got back on the bus. We made it a few minutes down the road when the bus broke down again. Just then a smaller kind of minibus passed, bound for La Paz. We were all bundled on with our bags tied to the roof and at one stage there was 19 of us in this tiny little minibus. Thankfully it was only 2 hours to La Paz and we enjoyed spectacular lightening on the journey. The hostel we had booked in La Paz is over a brewery and everyone who stays there gets a free beer every night. So we headed up to the bar and enjoyed 8% ale for a while with some Candians and Aussies. The next day we walked around the city with some of the others in the hostel. Januray 24th is a big day in Bolivia where people buy miniature houses, cars, bank notes etc and get them blessed the idea being that in the coming year you will get a new house, car money etc. The city was completely packed with people selling miniature everything. I kept a keen eye out for a miniature rugby world cup but couldn´t find one. After walking around for a while we went to an English bar for lunch. We enjoyed fish and chips with Tottenham V Arsenal playing in the background. After lunch, the North Americans went for a nap (they were shagged out after drinking a whole pint of beer the poor things) but Fi and myself stayed drinking with an Irish guy and an English guy.
About 7 hours later we stumbled out of the pub not quite sure where the time had gone. Our hostel was holding a party for January 24th and so we headed there and made merry till about midnight. Fi went to bed as she had to be up early to cycle down death road however headed out with some of the peeps from the hostel. At about 3.30 am, 14 hours of boozing had taken it´s toll and I gratefully hit the sack.
# posted by Grum @ 7:45 AM 
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