there & back again

yeah, here is an interesting thing about daruman's current travelling scheme. on his way back to quito he forcedly has to pass through some places he has been before. places such as la paz, lima, piura, guayquil or loja. in most cases he just stops to change bus. here in puno (peru), however, he would definitely stay a night every time he passes through. it is simply the most comfortable place on the deadly cold altiplano in all of peru and bolivia. situtated on the shore of beautiful lake titikaka (where the world's best trout are bred) puno has probably the best bakery in southamerica, a nice hostal with an even nicer breakfast and the absolutely nicest dueño to the most reasonable price.

this time 'round daruman had to ride 18 hours by bus from sucre to get to puno. on the way he defined 3 rules to better stick to when travelling by nightbus in bolivia/peru:

1. NEVER leave your bag unattended ON the bus (or you will end up like this french guy in sucre who left his backpack on the bus while it was still standing INSIDE the terminal. by the time he got back the backpack had left, too, and was not to be found again...)

2. ALLWAYS take your warmest clothes with you and, if you have, a sleeping bag (or you will freez something off. most probably your feet. even if the lady selling you the ticket tells you the bus is equipped with "calefacción"...)

3. NEVER drink too much before and during the ride (or your bladder will burst sometime sooner or later no matter whether you are a lady or gent. if your bus has a toilet you would have to clean it thouroughly befor using it. and if the bus stops to such purpose as to satisfy the basic needs of the passengers toilets to be found in roadside bars are, of course, far worse than those inside the buses...)

but no worries! one gets used to all this quite soon ;)