Getting to Bolivia
The next morning we head for Bolivia. We are only a 30 or 40 kms from the border so it should be a pretty short trip.
As I mentioned before my tour planner Oscar is a good operator but seems a bit shady. All the travel around here operates by a tour planner handwriting a voucher explaining buses and transfers and any other pertinent information. Sometimes this work fine, other times you are greeted by a puzzled look and asked, "What is this?" It is a strange system but I´m getting used to it.
Oscar does not show up to give me my bus tickets the night I return to Puno, nor the next day. After many unanswered calls, I finally reach Oscar. He said don´t worry I will be there"everything is bueno." This has become his favorite phrase.
"Why are you mad?"
"Everything is bueno!"
I told him that he is almost two days late and I don´t trust him anymore. He gets very quiet and says in a low tone "Terry, everything is muy bueno, be happy." Then he hangs up.
About an hour before my bus leaves a Representative of Oscar arrives to take me to the bus station. Catherine is still with me and she is not very happy with Oscar either. The rep tells me that there is a transportation strike and that is why thinks are so hectic. I think this is just another ploy to placate me.
When we reach the bus ticket station there appears to be no record of our tickets. The rep looks very worried. He tells me to stay here while he finds Oscar. I said no I think I´ll come with you. I would like to see Oscar as well.
The rep walks me behind the bus station to a small neighborhood. He says again "you stay here, I´ll get Oscar." But this time he takes off running. I chase after him to a small shack. He enters before I do and I hear yelling. When I enter the shack I see Oscar sitting at a table with other men drinking coffee and beer. It is 7 in the morning after all.Oscar is yelling at his rep. When he sees me enter, he bounds up "Terry, everything is bueno!"
When we get back to the terminal Oscar works his magic and gets us two seats.
It turns out there is not only a transportation strike, but a transportation riot. Riot police, people throwing rocks, burning tires the whole nine yards. The terminal employees are herding people onto buses indiscriminately. It looks like they are trying to get as many vehicles out and past the protester's road blocks as quickly as possible. We get to the edge of the roads blocks and they stop the buses and tell us that we have to get our baggage and walk through the chaos to the buses that reached the other side. Luckily most of the fighting seems to have died down in this area. There are still riot police but they are now moving boulders out of the road. It was very surreal walking a mile through large rocks and burning tires to our buses.
We get to the other side with out incident and we are on our way.
The next morning we head for Bolivia. We are only a 30 or 40 kms from the border so it should be a pretty short trip.
As I mentioned before my tour planner Oscar is a good operator but seems a bit shady. All the travel around here operates by a tour planner handwriting a voucher explaining buses and transfers and any other pertinent information. Sometimes this work fine, other times you are greeted by a puzzled look and asked, "What is this?" It is a strange system but I´m getting used to it.
Oscar does not show up to give me my bus tickets the night I return to Puno, nor the next day. After many unanswered calls, I finally reach Oscar. He said don´t worry I will be there"everything is bueno." This has become his favorite phrase.
"Why are you mad?"
"Everything is bueno!"
I told him that he is almost two days late and I don´t trust him anymore. He gets very quiet and says in a low tone "Terry, everything is muy bueno, be happy." Then he hangs up.
About an hour before my bus leaves a Representative of Oscar arrives to take me to the bus station. Catherine is still with me and she is not very happy with Oscar either. The rep tells me that there is a transportation strike and that is why thinks are so hectic. I think this is just another ploy to placate me.
When we reach the bus ticket station there appears to be no record of our tickets. The rep looks very worried. He tells me to stay here while he finds Oscar. I said no I think I´ll come with you. I would like to see Oscar as well.
The rep walks me behind the bus station to a small neighborhood. He says again "you stay here, I´ll get Oscar." But this time he takes off running. I chase after him to a small shack. He enters before I do and I hear yelling. When I enter the shack I see Oscar sitting at a table with other men drinking coffee and beer. It is 7 in the morning after all.Oscar is yelling at his rep. When he sees me enter, he bounds up "Terry, everything is bueno!"
When we get back to the terminal Oscar works his magic and gets us two seats.
It turns out there is not only a transportation strike, but a transportation riot. Riot police, people throwing rocks, burning tires the whole nine yards. The terminal employees are herding people onto buses indiscriminately. It looks like they are trying to get as many vehicles out and past the protester's road blocks as quickly as possible. We get to the edge of the roads blocks and they stop the buses and tell us that we have to get our baggage and walk through the chaos to the buses that reached the other side. Luckily most of the fighting seems to have died down in this area. There are still riot police but they are now moving boulders out of the road. It was very surreal walking a mile through large rocks and burning tires to our buses.
We get to the other side with out incident and we are on our way.
posted by Terrell at 11:24 AM
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