Journey from Copacabana to Puno
So we got up early packed again for the umpteenth time and checked out of our hotel. We had already booked a ticket that would take us over the border to Peru and to Arequipa via Puno. It was a good bus as we had read about the bad buses in Peru. We arrived at the place where the bus would take us across the border. However when we got there the women at the desk looked at out ticket confused and said there was no bus, we were worried and angry at the guy who ripped us off...if we had time I would have gone back and killed him! She took us to another desk, where other tourists seemed to be having the same problem and managed to buy us a ticket (we didn't have to fork out twice) and get us on a tourist bus to Puno where we catch our luxury bus to Arequipa. Once on, within minutes we arrived at the border, we all got off with passports in hand and smiles (as we have to be polite or get arrested!) and got our stamp out of Bolivia. We then walked a bit to the police border of Peru, again lined up and got our new stamp for Peru.
It is fair to say that we now sometimes recognise other travellers and we seem to be bumping into a couple since we first set foot in South America, however they seem unapproachable to say the least. I kept suggesting to Neil we try and chat to them, he wants to see if we can make it all around the world and not even have to make conversation with them.
Anyway with checks done, stamps marked and money changed we were back on the bus heading to Puno.
We had been assured by the woman in Copa that our ticket for Puno-Arequipa was going to be fine, but when we got to Puno it was quite a large, busy and confusing bus station. We stood around for a bit, seeing what other people did, then I went and asked someone where our bus company was. She told me it was 'Door 2', so we piled into the bus station and wondered around looking for something that looked like 'Door 2'. We found it fairly quickly so rushed to go through it – we only had 5 or 6 minutes before our bus was meant to go – we were stopped at the door and told to get our 'tax'. Luckily we had had this before se we set off to look for the small booth where you buy your 'bus station tax'. We founf it, paid our money, ran for the door, got out and there was no bus there. We stood around for a bit, eyeing the old woman with a crate full of chickens and guinea pigs, but nothing was happening. I went back to the woman at the gate and asked her what time the bus was, she directed me to the bus company desk inside. The old bloke there kind of ummed and ahhed a bit – I moaned that we'd spent 100 bolivianos on this ticket – he took us to another desk where he bought us another ticket to Arequipa. I'm not sure if it was just the only bus left, as it was well after 11 now, or if it was just the cheapest, but it was certainly not the 'Tourist bus' we'd been promised back in Copa. Put it this way: we were sat next to a sheep. Bindya hated it. All the other people were local 'campesinos', apart from some strange hippy couple from Colombia who had a very strange cat with them. It was the usual 4 hour, bumpy journey. People came on selling what looked like raw meat in bags for us to eat. A man stood at the front and talked for hours about an amazing dietary supplement for us to buy. He mocked me for being unable to fit my legs in my seat and having to put them in the aisle. Anyway, we got there eventually – 'there' being, what looked like a horrible, dirty, unfinished town. Every building had half a storey on top but no sign of anyone finishing them. I was not impressed.
We arrived in Arequipa and managed to get a what we thought and was legit cab (as the guidebook tells use about countless robberies that take place in the small matchbox yellow cabs) and took us to our hostel. Even though we had booked we still didnt get the room we wanted but on the upside would be moved in tomorrow. We dumped out stuff and heaed for the plaza, as Neil has expainmed his initial thoughts of Peru were not great however once we walked down to the plaza it soon changed his mind and mine.
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| plaza at night |
We walked aorund found a place to have a drink and a snack as we hadn't eaten all day and then found El Turko (according to the book they do doner kebabs) and they did...great! We had some beers and headed back for the night.
Next day we went sightseeing after a restful morning in bed. We moved rooms (Much better) and then went around to the Plaza, cathedrals and churches. The place I really wanted to see and had read about was the Junaita the Ice Princess. In 1995 a group of archeologists stumbled across a mummy in the moutains. She is said to have been sacrificed to the Inca Gods (the mountains) for more rain. It was really interesting as we saw a video of the 2nd expedition where more artifacts and mummies were found, and how she would have walked from Cuzco to Arequipa with the priests, starved and then given a sedative before a large hit to her head...all in the name of god and how she would have seen this as a gift and privileged. We were then taken around the museum by a student from the university, who gave the tour in English, telling us about the culture, the journey to the mountain, the textiles they wore in those times, the artifacts found with the mummies, she also told us of how metal was also planted with the mummies and later on (weeks or months later), the priests would return to see if the metal had been hit with lighting and if so the God had accepted the sacrifice. These child sacrifices (as most were aged between 6 – 14years) during the reign of a certain Inca king, 12 in total have been found in various mountains between Equador and Chile (where the old Incan Empire ruled). Anyway it was really interesting and we learnt a lot, they call Juanita the beautiful princess but, having looked at her, me and Neil didn't think so. We were unable to take photos so sorry.
We bought some souvenirs – nice paintings based on the Nazca lines – Bindya was happy as she got to haggle for the stuff – and some bead friendship bands type things – proper hippy stuff. We went to the supermarket and got dinner and stuff (really cheap rum...).
Next day was a 'chill' day – in other words we did nothing. We watched a lot of TV catch up on the internet – can't believe I'm still watching Eastenders... got bus tickets for Nazca – proper expensive tourist ones (I hope...) - went to the post office and spent hours queueing for stamps – drank rum etc.
Today, our main business was going to see some old nunnery thing. It is like a city in itself – 5 acres of walled area with loads of stuff inside, streets, houses, churches etc. It was an amazingly picturesque place – only the photos can do it justice...
Just so you didn't think it was rubbish...judging by Neil's explanation, it was called the Monastery of Santa Catalina and it was really beautiful. We saw how the nuns used to live (pretty decent) judging by the mini apartments they all had. We saw a lot of Religious art...which remind me near the end of looking in the art gallery, when Neil was taking yet another picture of Jesus looking distressed and on the cross I asked him if he was fascinated by them he turned and in a very non geordie accent and almost upper-middle class English (like you Andy) he said “I am fascinated by Religious art” which made me laugh a lot.
Anyway back now writing blog and drinking rum, we're off to have dinner with friends.
Link to pics of Arequipa
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