Brave new world

The bittersweet tang of freedom mixes all too well with loneliness. I couldn't help feeling at a loss as I finally awoke to an activity, and authority, -free Sunday. The next three days were spent chilling and regrouping in Cusco, with much sleep, magnificent dinners, and unhurried conversations over glasses of wine.

It felt amazing to relieve myself of all unnecessary baggage at the local post office, and to finally have all my possessions fit neatly into one backpack again. It is somehow strange and wonderful to know that I am responsible for this backpack alone, and that I could be comfortable just about anywhere as long as I have it with me.

After some discussion and many hours spent online, Jim and I have decided to head southwards through Bolivia on our way to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where we would spend a month on Spanish lessons and culture immersion - our way.

We left Cusco on an uncomfortable five-hour Wednesday morning bus ride towards Puno, of which memories had faded into surprising nostalgia. This time, being less affected by altitude sickness made Puno seem all the more accessible. Jim and I were easily walking distances that Joel and I did not while on the tour. And somehow, we managed to navigate the town with only instinct to guide us. We quickly sought out, and miraculously stumbled upon, the hotel-sauna of our last visit to Puno. Sadly, the sauna had shut by the time we returned from lunch.

Thursday began with a mad rush to the bus station, at which we arrived with only three minutes before our bus to La Paz, Bolivia, was due to depart. As we have already proven multiple times on this trip, punctuality does not seem to be a forte of this duo. Fortunately - or not - our bus was delayed by two hours. At that horrid pre-noon portion of the day, a wait could only spell one thing: coffee. We had an excellent coffee-and-cake breakfast at Rico's Pan, in between the old moral debates that had long become our in-transit staple.



We re-visited our old favourite Mexican restaurant, Mongos, that night in La Paz. Vivian's afterwards was successful also, although it did lead Jim to lament a lack of "decent strippers" in the Bolivian administrative capital. A total of three days were spent in La Paz, during which Bolivia became, to my mind, a land of dreams. Purchasing air tickets to Santa Cruz de la Sierra and laptops were achieved with surprisingly few hassles. In fact, the land seems to answer my every desire as I wish it; Saturday morning, for example, took us coincidentally past the perfect cafe with iced coffees and Wi-Fi access while we had our laptops on hand!

Less exciting, however, was our airport experience enroute to Santa Cruz. Fooled by a "pre-boarding" screen, and unable to comprehend audio announcements, Jim and I ended up watching some Beyonce-Shakira music video in the airport lounge while our 7.10pm flight taxied down the runway. And all this, despite having been two hours early! Fortunately, being in beautiful, idyllic Bolivia, airport staff had us booked on the next flight with no worries at all. Lovely.

posted by liz at 1:08 PM