I set off from Puno with 2 hours sleep for the Peru/Bolivian Border. My parents worried due to the two Irish lads that had suspiciously been shot only a few weeks ago. I reassured them not to worry and do´nt mind those rumours about bullet holes in the busses :)
Well i past through the Peru checkpoints and thanks to my insightful lucky lonely planet the Peruvian police interegation and trick of stealing so called "false" US dollars failed. I stared him in the eye and told him i had none and they were well hidden in my rucksack...bloody cheapskates..So they ARE
On that note it was time to find the Bolivian border checkpoint. At first i was memorised with the extreme poverty which literally changed as i crossed the bridge. After 5 minutes of walking i found my self at the bus for La Paz and thought it strange that i had got to this point without a Bolivian stamp in my passport. There was no office in my sights so i asked the local ladies if there was any other buses to La Paz, they laughed and said no. I then got onto my worst Latin American bus in which a Peruvian guy explained to me his dissapointment in this particular bus. Trust me the phot is flattering.
Sitting beside me was a Bolivian business man with no english and he was shocked to hear i had no stamp, but i explained i have paid for the bus and sure i can figure it out in La Paz?... He smiled and agreed as if to say, best of luck buddy. On that note when we came to the check point he waffled to me in Espanol as to how to cross without having to return, "intiendo" he says...a little says i ...lol
He believed i could do it and then he jumps off the bus, i follow and the army officer points me in the direction of the office. The bus pulls off quite quickly and blocks his site, the guy turns to me and encourages me to walk up the road and use the bus as a barrier.
I think to myself for a split second...Jesus that bus-driver is not going to wait for me if i hesitate and my rucksack is on the roof...so with that split second thought i skipped the stamp and id verification office and strolled confidently up to the army baracade, I flash my passport to the gun holding office and he re-checks my passport whilst i still hold it to encourage him to focus on my id and not look for the stamp. My heart is pumping and he gives me the nodd, i cant believe it, i pass him by and literally jump on the bus as it pulls off,, with or without me but thankfully with me :)
On arrival to La Paz and after another brief close encounter, the Bolivian guy turns to look at me and gives me a wink and a smile as if to say....ye lucky ********
Later a taxi driver informs me its all cool and when you cross the border to leave you will have to explain what happened but no problemo. The hostal manager wanted to know where my stamp was on arrival and on that note he indicated to me that its a serious offence, so i promised to get it stamped in the migration office in the morning.
For afternoon entertainment i watched some Bolivian wrestling and grabbed Thai food for dinner in LA Paz.
I stayed a week in Lap Paz and today i asked an elderly lady if i could sit at her table as no table were free, shortly aftem my soup she proceeds to preach to me about the fish, i feel like i am at home because when i tell her that i dont like fish she continues to tell me how i dont know what im talking about and how i need to try it ;) and of course i dont lol
I also got my teeth done and this side of the world never fails to amuse me as of all the people to show me kindness and wish me genuinely the best of luck was my dentist, its hillarious but sweet all the same. Im off to Uyuni tonight on a Planasur bus.
