Cusco - Copocabana: 15/08 - 17/08

On leaving the hostel for the bus to Copocabana, I reflected upon my few days in Cusco & whom I`d shared them with. It was great to hang out with Amalaa again, with so much happy, positive energy she certainly helped me recover from my recent intense experience. We also connected on occasion with crazy Susanna (Snooze) and their Temple of the Way of Light friends, Bridget and Mandy.

As may be seen from the previous blog entry, I didn`t do much over those days that didn`t revolve around food, particularly knowing I was leaving the great culinary city. We did visit The Muse Too, a bar, to see a bossa/jazz soloist and a classical guitarist. And it also seemed to be great days for re-meeting people. I met Ama`s friends Tara and Amanda, and also Gary upon whom I dumped a tonne of northern Peru travel tips. I ran into Plad (I met him at Pisac) and his mum from NZ (originally Russia) who`d just returned from 2 months in the jungle with a local community.... whoa! I ran into Astor and his American friend Lanae, and also Woflgang (he took my Facebook Jesus photo in Vilcabamba, Ecuador!) and his friend Monica. They and Ama took a few moments to connect through Vilcabamba, where Ama had lived for several months.

But the time had come to leave Cusco and Peru. And so I said goodbye to the land of the best and worst of things - immense natural resources like the Camisea Gas Project and the stark contrast of the local poverty there in La Convencion; the amazing natural beauty in the mountains and jungle and the seeming apathy of the plastic rubbishing population; the skyrises of Miraflores and the horrid barrios just a few kms away; generous, honest people and The Gringo Culture which seemed to embrace dishonesty. But despite these things I give you my best wishes, dear Peru, and thanks to all that made my stay there so magical.

The overnight bus wasn`t too bad, despite rocking from side to side as we sped to the heights of Puno and the Altiplano. After a bleary hour catching glimpses of the great Titicaca, we got off to considerably downgrade to a mini-van to Copocabana. After a quite painless border crossing we finished our journey passing the shimmering lake and poor farmers and soon arriving in the sunny and pretty town in a protected cove. I found a cheap room and then really average baked beans on toast (but it was baked beans on toast!) in a morning bar that immersed me in Nina Simone-style lounge tunes. Copa reminded me quite a bit of Aguas Calientes, but less intense, with ridiculous prices, hassling street gimps and a serious rubbish problem away from the main streets. I dined that night next to a fireplace in a great-vibes restaurant (see Paranoid Android-style indigenous painting) on Andean pizza with corn and quinoa.

After my early rise to indulge in breakfast at Paranoid Android I took a casual stroll through their entire restaurant to find no-one, which actually turned out well because I`d forgotten about the 1hr time difference and was late for the boat to Isla del Sol! After being bombarded with ads and propositions for prepurchasing boat tickets the day before it didn`t surprise me one bit that actually you could just go to the boat and by them on board.