Wednesday, August 28, 2013

On Saying Goodbye...

This morning started off really sad because we had to say goodbye to some really great friends. But that's hostel living... And now I have an excuse to go to London!

We woke up early and waited for the bus to Copacobana, Bolivia. In typical Latin American bus style, the bus situation made no sense. We were supposed to pick up the bus at the hostel, but when the bus arrived, we were told that we were supposed to catch a different bus. Turns out that was the bus we should have gotten on. So to rectify the situation, the hostel had us take a taxi to meet up with a completely different bus, also going to Copa, but at 8:30. No travel here is certain. I'm not really sure why the second bus let us on because it was a different bus company than the one we booked. Some things just don't make sense.

Finally, we were on our way to Copa, and soon Cuzco! We actually arrived to the boat across Lake Titicaca at the same time as the bus that left at 7:30 from the hostel. We knew this because we saw people we knew waiting for their bus. This time, the boat ride was much more pleasant and calm because it wasn't raining and the waters were smooth.

I was starving once we got to Copacobana, so we immediately found a place to eat. We chose a vegetarian restaurant, though as soon as we took a look at the menu, we found that most dishes were not in fact vegetarian. Figures. Anyhow, I ordered the lunch meal of the day, and it was the most delicious meal I have had in Bolivia. The meal only cost 25Bs (about $3.50), but it came with so much food. First came the warm bread and tomato spread. Warm bread is a LUXURY here. It was the first time we ate warm bread since leaving San Francisco. Then came a salad with what I think was parmesan cheese. This is also a luxury here. Then came quinoa and vegetable soup, followed by spaghetti with vegetables. To finish off, the server brought us bananas in yogurt with coconut shavings. So much food and so delicious.

Copa is not a warm city. To make it worse, hotels and hostels here don't have heat. Really no building has heat. You have to wear pants, boots, a sweatshirt, and a jacket while eating at a restaurant.

What Copa lacks in warmth it gains in friendly people, great views, and crazy architecture. Ali and I spent some time walking around taking photos, then stopped for a coffee at a restaurant by our hotel. Copa is kind of a sleepy town so we don't have much planned for the rest of the afternoon...

No comments:

Post a Comment