Concha K

On our first night at the Salars, we arrived in the small village called Cocha K. Stu and I went out for a bit of a walk. To be quite honest, Stu had heard the words 'Plaza' and 'cerveza' in one sentence and was determined to find the local pub. Local pub we found, although slightly different from home. It was a lady's kitchen, with little signs of 'pollo' and 'hamburgesa' on the window. Yet, she had several bottles of beer for sale, kicked out her friend and served us two bottles with a charm that was difficult to resist. As it was about 18.30. we couldn't really see much of her home, as the sun had set, yet (so we were informed), electricity in the village was only switched on at 19.15. So there we were, sitting in the lady's kitchen, at candlelight, looking at the naked ladies on the wall (goes well with beer it seems) and chatting about how the weather has ruined their harvest of quencha (a cereal similar to couscous or wheat, on which most villages around there survive). At 19.05, out romantic atmosphere was killed by the sudden emergence of electric light. Within seconds, blankets were removed from what seemed like a box...and the TV switched on. The lady almost got herself electrocuted as her self-made extensions had metallic boards on the back- but SHE COULD WATCH HER NOVELLA (soap)! And WATCH was all there was to it, as there was no sound. It depends on where in the village you live, you see, she said to us. Up the road, they had sound, but no good picture. Here, we have a good picture but no sound. And if you live all the way down the village, you'll have sound AND picture. We know where we'll move then:)