Pinching the centimos

Tomorrow I am going to hop across the border to Bolivia and I will meet a friend there for a two day visit to the Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca before going on together to Cusco and Machu Piccu. I should also get a new stamp in passport when I return to Peru, allowing me to extend my stay over the single visit 90 day limit.

Today I made a resolution to try and limit my spending in my final two months so I don't arrive home up against the overdraft limit. I haggled for cheap menus, and didn't let a shop vendor charge me gringo prices for water, and opted for a basic hostel at ₤3 a night (private room but no private bathroom, what a hardship!).

I was pleased with myself for ringing round the bus companies in Las Paginas Amarillas (yellow pages) to get prices and times for the Buses to Puno tomorrow - because Spanish on the phone is something I am still not confident at. But having found a company at the right times for the 6 hour ride to Puno for less than ₤3, I was a little uncertain of being able to catch a bus from Puno for the 3 hour trip (probably about ₤2 more) to the Bolivian border before it closed at 5pm. I should have held my nerve, and done it independelty, it would have been fine. But I walked by a travel agency that could arrange the connections, on more luxurious buses and with people to take me to the bus terminal from my hotel. I don't need this kind of pampering, in fact I have been a little disdainful of other tourists on completely prearranged packages. But the security it was just too tempting given that the total cost was still only ₤12, and that I wnated to be sure of making it to Bolivia tomorrow. So in total I was annoyed with myself for having taken the easy and secure option costing all of ₤7 more. The problem is that everything is so cheap that you keep thinking its only a tiny amount relatively - but if I really want to travel on the shoestring that is possible here I can't think like that - I have to start pinching the centimos.

The lady in the travel agency asked if I had learnt Spanish in Quito - apparently she could hear it in my accent which I thought was quite exciting - at least it wasn't an English accent!

Yesterday I was on tour of the Colca Canyon, impressively deep but not quite what I expected. The condors were impressive and they flew very close to us. Maybe I'll be able to add a photo later. In comparison with the other Gringos I was feeling a little smug about my level of Spanish - I could understand most of what our guide said before the English transalation came. And I met my first Spaniards since arriving in South America. Sharing a hotel with them, when I boarded the bus I started speaking to the Aussies and Irish in Spanish before realising that I needed to switch back langauges!

FC