Sunday, 15 October
2006 Copa cabaņa, Bolivia
Internet Café on the main dragIf you know of, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby or Carmen Miranda (with the tropical fruit basket hat on her head), then you will relate to the 1950īs comedy of them, on stage singing of Copacabana. A constant hum goes through John and my minds.Ļ"Copa, copa, Copacabana, the island of paradise." No, the women do not wear fruit baskets on their heads, but they do wear black and brown bolo hats and wear skirts that must be the precursors to the "poodle" skirts of the 1950īs (think wide hips, really wide hips). It is quite the sight to bestow, little, little bolo hats and wide, wide skirts. Yes, weīll send pictures from Ecuador.
Yup, we are here on the shorelines of Lake Titicaca (pronounced Lago Titihaahaa) in Bolivia. The girls were delighted to add another country to their world lists of countries visited. We took the Tour Peru bus-line from Puno, Peru to Copacabana, Bolivia, a three hour ride over some dirt and paved roads, through a dry landscape of sage and brush between the lake and rocky pinnacles. In the distance, over the glistening lake, we could see the rising snow capped mountains of Bolivia.
We have come here to just rest. Never thought that while on a vacation we would need a rest, but after all the miles of treks on the Inca climbs up and down Cuzco and the long bus ride from Cuzco to Puno (7 hours), and our adventure living with a family on Amantani Island, our minds and bodies desire a lounge in the afternoon sun during the day in a hammock. The temperatures will drop significantly at sunset. We have been promised HOT water bottles at Hostal Cupula.
Hostal Cupula sits atop a ridge and we have a view of the beaches and lake frontage. We share a clean room with three beds and private bath, for a mere $24.00-usd. Bolivia is quite a bit less expensive than Peru or Ecuador. We enjoyed our "almuerzo" ( set menu of soup, pork chop, rice, potatoes, vegetables, and a dessert of bananas smothered in chocolate syrup) for a mere $1.50 usd or 10 Bolivar pesos.
With over 4,000 varieties of potatoes developed by the Peruvians, we are beginning to tire of potatoes in every form and at every meal. Donīt get us wrong. The potatoes are very delicious as are the fresh orange trouts, kingfish and tomatoes. I am tempted to bring some potatoes and carrots back to s-v Encanto, that are called 'dried potatoes' as they will make terrific passage food when we cross an ocean. However, the fact that they look like stones makes the family look askance at them and their potential rejuvenation. They have so little faith in the cook and first mate.
So, this is a note to let you know we are here in Bolivia for two days. After that we will see where the winds take us.