"Si, es directo"
Somehow, I wasn't convinced by the response. The smile of the guy selling us our tickets who appeared, to all intents and purposes, to be the boss of the tourist bus company (I wondered if he would also be driving the bus!) seemed to be saying "who does this gringo think he is"?!
Still, we had no choice but to use this particular tourist bus for our journey from Cusco to Copacabana, Bolivia as the two that were recommended in the Lonely Planet for Peru had gone out of business since the guide book was released in 2007. Domestic (i.e. non tourist) night buses in certain parts of Peru and Bolivia (including, in particular, the Cusco to Copacabana route) are, by all accounts, not always the safest and best avoided.
The night bus was an interesting experience. Firstly, when we boarded the bus, someone else was in Sarah's seat. The guy produced his ticket and sure enough, it had the same number as Sarah's. A short trip to see our friend in the bus terminal and all was sorted.
The temperature in the bus ranged from oven-like to bitterly cold, which made getting any decent sleep near impossible - not what you want on a near 12 hour journey!
At about 6 am, just after we had passed Puno and near to the Bolivian border, the bus pulled up on the side of the road where, perhaps unsurprisingly, our second bus (which was in fact a mini-bus) was waiting for us. Clearly, we hadn't read the small print! The original bus continued on to La Paz.
A group of us squeezed in to tiny seats with our heads pretty much touching the roof, onto which our luggage was "safely" secured. On dodgy, bumpy roads, this really wasn't much fun. I've experienced more comfortable rides at funfairs!
As we headed for the Peru Bolivia border, we stopped a couple of times to pick up some locals who somehow managed to squeeze into the minibus.
We stopped at the Peruvian border, had our passports stamped, then walked about 100 metres over the land border to the Bolivian border, where you guessed it, a third bus was waiting for us! Not exactly what I'd call a "directo" service.
Somewhat shattered, we arrived in Copacabana at around 10.30am in the scorching, dry heat. Copacabana is at an altidude of 3800m and, as we carried our rucksacks up the steep hills towards our B&B for the next 3 days, we felt every one of those metres!
Our B&B (La Cupula) was a colourful little place perched up on a hill overlooking Copacabana and its beach. At a bargain 28 dollars a night it was an absolute steal. The food was excellent, with fresh trout from lake Titicaca cooked in a variety of interesting and flavoursome ways, being a particular favourite. As we have come to find out in Bolivia, the food servings are always plentiful with lots of herbs and spices and a generous serving of mixed vegetables.
Having taken in the highlights of Copacabana in a couple of hours, we took it easy in the hammocks on our first day.
Refreshed by a good nights sleep, the next day we hiked from Copacabana to Yampupata. It was a fairly hot and hard slog (around 5 hours) but there were lovely views along the way and interesting villages. Apparently the eucalyptus trees, which are widespread, were imported from Australia.
Football is clearly the sport of choice in Bolivia - you see football pitches everywhere and sometimes in the most strange and isolated locations.
The famous reed-boats were wonderful - built with such care and precision.
Along the way we bumped in to some interesting characters, including an elderly lady who decided to become our friend for a couple of hours and walked alongside us as well as some local children who were very interested in Sarah's blond hair and who happily (well, for a small tip!) agreed to be photographed.
We took the bus back to Copacabana from Yampupata with some local villagers who brought with them all sorts of things from cloth to buckets of small fish (possibly sardines), all of which went on top of the minibus! I think its fair to say gringos like Sarah and I are not the usual people who take that bus!
The next day we took a boat out to the splendid Isla del Sol. Our walk from the South of the island to the north was very scenic but extremely tiring in the scorching midday sun - the UV rays there are particularly dangerous.
The best known site on the island is the two-level Palacio del Inca. Impressive as it was, after Machu Picchu, no Inca ruins can compare!
That evening, having spent the best part of 4 hours on a boat (I'm pretty sure it is quicker to swim to the Island!), we treated ourself to a bottle of Bolivian wine (my idea) and chocolate fondue (definitely not my idea) both of which went down very well!
Copacabana was great fun and allowed us some down-time which we really needed after the Inca trail and Machu Picchu.
The next day involved yet another entertaining bus journey from Copacabana to La Paz. Again, it was advertised as being "directo" which, in fairness, it was (if you don't count the small matter of changing from the bus to a boat and then boarding the bus once it (and you) had crossed the river - very amusing stuff!).
Three hours later we arrived in La Paz and passed through some fairly run-down outskirts. Eventually we reached an area called El Alto, which allowed us to take some photos of the city, with the surrounding mountains providing a spectacular backdrop.
We spent the next day and a half taking it easy in La Paz in anticipation of our 6-day trip to the jungle area of Bolivia, some 400 kms north of La Paz.
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