So, the next day we got up at some ungodly hour of the morning, like 5:30 or something (which is SUPER-early when you are on vacation) to catch a bus to the city of Puno. Now, I knew we were going to be taking a bus. And I figured it wasn't going to be the local kind of bus with chickens on top of it or whatever, so I was pleased that it was, in fact, a first-class motor coach. However, no one had told us exactly how long the bus trip would be. I thought 2-3 hours, tops. Imagine my surprise when our tour guide said (as we were starting to drive away, mind you), "It is a 9 hour drive to Puno." WHAAAAAAAT?!? Seriously, a nine-hour bus ride.
However, it was not as bad as it sounds. We stopped in five different places to do a little sightseeing, so that broke it up a little bit and gave us some time to stretch. We had a very pleasant lunch, although our guide did not speak English very well, and there was some confusion about which drinks were and were not included. "Cold drinks are included, but you have to pay." What? So, wait, cold drinks are NOT included? "That's what I said, cold drinks are included." Aaaaaah!
Anyway, the scenery was unbelievable. Peru is now in my top three of beautiful countries. It has the kind of landscape that just makes you want to walk all over it. So green and lush with little stone walls and running brooks. It's a pastoral heaven. Unfortunately I had serious altitude sickness that day, so I missed most of it. Every hour or so I would open my bleary eyes, though, and I was greeted with the stunning beauty of the Peruvian countryside.
1 comment:
It sounds like you are having a great time. Your bus trip sounds like the one we took through Tuscany in Italy. We didn't know that the 6 hours we spent on a bus and waiting for the next one could have been completed in less than 1 hour by train!
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