Copa, Copacabana

I wish that I could say Copacabana, Bolivia was exactly how you would imagine somewhere called Copacabana would be....but this is definitely not the case! While there was a solid 2 hours of sitting in the sun with fruity rum drinks, that's about as good as it got. The rest of the weekend was filled with smelly buses, freezing cold, and less than friendly Bolivians.

The overnight bus ride there was nothing to complain about. I popped a sleeping pill and slept most of the way there. The 2 hour layover in Puno was cold and annoying, but the 3 hour ride to Copa was filled with more sleep and pretty views of moutains, Lake Titicaca, and sunshine (something I have not seen much of in a month)! Minus the hassle at the border, it was a pretty nice ride. Once we got to Copa we found an extremely cheap hostel which was a little cold, lacked hot water, and was owned by a rather unfriendly family....CHEAP obviously being the selling point for us. Afterwards, we went down to the "beach" got some soup, fresh trout, and beer. The sun warmed us up so afterwards we put on our bathing suits and sat at a little beach-front restaurant and poured Bacardi in our fresh juices. I read the magazine that Mom sent me...it was a delightful 2 hours. When the sun went away it got cold. We napped at the hostel for a while, then ventured out for dinner. Dinner may have been the 2nd highlight of the trip. We found a restaurant with a little fire-pit inside and sat right next to it. I ate some delicious, but expensive, tacos. A sweet little Argentinian named Hugo asked to join us at our table because he hated eating alone. It was another one of those things that made me laugh, because in America if someone does this, most people are freaked out and move away or do something of the sort. We, of course, welcomed him and he was good company. I had a great time talking to him about his accent from Buenos Aires and different places to visit in his country. He was very sweet and very grateful for us letting him eat with us. We were actually on the same bus to Puno the next day, so we exchanged e-mails to meet up in Cusco if he has the chance.

After dinner, we passed out in our cold, smelly room and woke up early the next morning to buy bus tickets. Early to buy bus tickets? We must have forgot we were in South America. All tour companies were closed. Luckily, we found one that was open and booked a cheap ticket back to Puno, where we would buy tickets to Cusco. Grabbed some breakfast at an adorable cafe, where our waiter could not have been older than 14. He was sweet and the food was decent so no complaints there. Afterwards, I took some pictures by the water to prove that I had indeed come to Bolivia and we set off to do a little shopping. Most of the stuff found in the little shops is the same as you find in Cusco, but some stuff was cheaper. I bought a phenomenal hat, some post cards (keeping up with Gramma's advice!), a change purse, and some bracelets. I'm collecting bracelets from every place I go to. So far, the 2 I'm wearing from Cusco and Tequilla haven't fallen off! Shopping is where things got a little interesting. The little kids who worked at the shops with their parents were, i hate to say, the rudest little children I've ever encountered. One little boy yelled at us not to touch his stuff and chased us away. Another little girl tried to scam me when her father had told me the gloves I wanted were 15 Bolivianos. She snatched my 20 and said she didn't have change. Luckily, I snatched it back and told her father I wanted my change or I wasn't buying the gloves. The little girl gave me a nasty huff and went inside to get my change, and basically threw it at me when she returned. I usually love kids, especially the ones I've come across in Peru, but I wanted to smack that little girl so bad. Later, when we walked past a store we had bought things from earlier, the little woman who owned it pulled us back in and immediately started attacking Maggie yelling that she had robbed her and grabbing at her pockets and purse. I was trying my best to tell the woman in Spanish that Maggie didn't have anything and to pull her off, but it failed. Mags was able to get away eventually and we walked up the street as fast as we could. It was the most bizarre thing in the world. Needless to say, I was not a fan of the locals I came across and was more than ready to return to Cusco. Little did I know that the bus ride home would be the worst to come. We opted for the earlier, cheaper bus...and we definitely got what we paid for. Copacabana to Puno wasn't bad and I got a lot of beautiful pictures. The bus to Cusco was unlike anything I've ever experienced. It smelled like a combination of vomit, urine, and other nasty human smells. They had a Bruce Lee movie playing on full blast over crappy speakers. We stopped at least 10 times to pick up random people in different towns...or just one the side of the road. There was a dog on the bus...a dog. It was the most uncomfortable, longest ride of my life. We finally made it back to Cusco at 12:30ish and never have I been so happy!

Our "beachfront" chairs

Titicaca & snow-capped mountains behind us

The arch we walked through to cross the border

Pretty sights on the busride

So as not to end on a whiney  note, I will say that we made a few deposits in our karma banks on this trip. While waiting for the bus back to Puno, a nice little guy came up and asked to shine our shoes. This happens all the time in Cusco, so we're used to it, but were surprised to see someone doing it in Copacabana. Realizing that we were friendly and spoke Spanish, this guy told us his story. He's from Peru, and lives in the country with his 6 younger siblings. Their mother passed away. Like most of rural Peru, they're poor and can't afford enough clothes, food, etc. So being the oldest, he left home in search of work. Someone lied to him and told him he'd find plenty of work shining shoes in Copacabana. Untrue, because most tourists are wearing hiking books or sandals...nothing he can shine. In 3 weeks he hadn't found any work, and we were the very first people to sit and actually talk to him. We gave him about 5 soles, which isn't much, but is all we could contribute. More importantly, we gave him a granola bar, Oreos, and peanut butter...the little food we had on us. You could tell that he greatly appreciated it. He had never had peanut butter before, and he was too shy to try it in front of us, but I'm sure he'll love it. And that half a jar will get him very far in the next week or so. My heart goes out to that little guy and I hope he makes it back to his family soon!