En Ruta

Happy day! I made it to La Paz last night after two days in a row on a bus. My itinerary was as follows:

Cusco - Arequipa 10 hours 50 soles (with cockroaches..ick...don´t take San Cristobal del Sur)
Arequipa - Tacna 4 and a half hours 20 soles (had two seats to myself..sweet deal!)
Tacna - Arica 2 hours including immigration 10 soles (had a good convo with a Peruvian guy sitting next to me)
Arica - La Paz 10 hours 8000 Chilean Pesos or 50 soles or 17 dollars depending on how you want to look at it

On the bus to La Paz I met a really nice woman named Veronica who sat next to me and warned me about the possibility that we might not make it through the border if we didn´t get there by a quarter to 8pm. Thank goodness we got there ten minutes before it closed. It was not nearly as cold as the winters in Chicago but MAN, I forgot how cold cold can be. The Andes mountains are no joke when it comes to cold. If we had had to stay the night at the border, which happened to Veronica before, we would´ve frozen our tushes off. I had enough time to eat some dinner too but not without a little run after the bus to let me on. The driver was detained for a little while due to paper issues and what not so we took the time to sit down and eat. We were going to have soup but the bus honked and starting backing away! Nothing like a little panic to add to a trip! I made it though...phew!

I did make the smart decision to reserve a room at a hostel called Bash n Crash in La Paz. I found internet in Arica and made my 10 percent deposit of .50 cents USD. One night cost me 35 bolivianos which is roughly 5 USD. Gotta love cheap prices in Bolivia!

Now, I have the day in La Paz to hang out and see a movie. I have to take advantage of the cinema since there are none in Cusco. I also need to find a pair of jeans since mine ripped while on the bus ride. La Paz is the place to shop! Cheap prices and decent stuff. I am not expecting crazy good quality jeans but something that will work for a while.

My flight to La Paz is tomorrow morning and my awesome friend Gabi, whom I am staying with in BA, gave me all the details for the bus that I need to take that will only cost me around 17 USD as opposed to the 40 a taxi would cost. Let the frugality continue! :)

I do need to send a shout out to the rents for making this trip possible for me! You guys are the best!