Puno - epilogue

 At 8 o'clock Bolivian time (it was 7 in Peru) I arrived at my destination in Puno. It had taken me 14 hours to travel the distance that is usually covered by a 6-hour bus journey. It had cost me a small fortune - in fact, I had spent more than 20 times the amount of a normal bus fee. But I have to say it was worth every cent. I would not have wanted to miss this experience for the world. This is real travelling - when I got up in the morning I did not have a clue whether I'd reach Puno or not, which could have impacted and jeopardised the remainder of my journey in Peru. It was sheer luck, stubbornness and persistence that got me to Puno in the end and I am quite certain that I am the only person to have travelled from La Paz to Puno on this day.

This day was by far the most memorable day of all my travels.

As agreed I sent an e-mail to David that we had arrived safely in Copacabana/Puno. David sent me a message back that the way back with the taxi had been a nightmare. They had spent hours waiting at a blockade with an angry mob standing in the road, burning tyres and throwing rocks. In the end they were let through though and made it safely back to La Paz. The taxi driver got the inner tube of his flat tyre fixed and all ended well for them.

I bumped into Olav a week later in the museum in Cuzco. It was my last day in Cuzco before heading back to Lima and then home. He'd just arrived and still had to go and visit Cuzco and the rest. We chatted for about an hour about the great experience we had together travelling from La Paz to Copacabana and went our own separate ways after that.