I was trapped in not so beautiful Cochabamba for four days. In Bolivia one blockade can lead to another. Stranded passengers stuck as I was in Cochabamba decided to blockade the road outside the terminal to protest at the protests. Perhaps their action helped, as on the Thursday afternoon, the police moved in in classic South America style (meaning late) with tear gas and riot gear. It meant that Friday evening I could take an overnight bus up to La Paz.
Once in La Paz I jumped into a small bus heading to Copacobana on the shores of Lake Titicaca. I was planning to head directly from there into Peru (on the other side of the lake) but my runny nose decided I needed rest, so rest I did.
One the second night there a storm rolled in after sunset. It hailed, it thundered, and then it snowed! I thought back in the UK a storm like this would knock out the electricity. Then the lights went out!
The next day (still no electricity) I crossed over the nearby border post into Peru, and onwards to the town of Puno. It was strange to be in Puno as I had been there before. From Puno I took a bus down to Arequipa, Peru's second city.
