Trucha

We are now officially in Bolivia!
After arranging our Bolivian visas we took a mini bus to the Peru/Bolivia border and stepped across the border into a new country and a new leg of our journey! We are staying in Copacabana in a nice little hotel overlooking Lake Titticaca---The Andes´ own Lake Tahoe! (though...bigger, and much higher....)
After settling in, B and I took a walk along the lake as the sun began to go down, and found a line of kiosks selling fresh fried trout (trucha) to tourists for around 4 bucks a meal.
Not sure which of the 22 kiosks to choose, we were drawn to a hault when one little fat Bolivian woman with grey hair, missing teeth, and the traditional Bolivian bowler hat perched on her head hobbled out and began yelling ¨TRUCHA TRUCHA TRUCHA TRUCHA¨ The other vendors seemed to know they couldn´t beat this bat, and backed off, and the message was clear...this woman sells trout. Another couple having a beer at her kiosk welcomed us in.
The grandma explained that they have trout anyway you want it...and I sat, looking at the menu thinking I was a trouted out after the last few weeks, maybe some chicken might be nice. She said...how do you like it? plain, fried? I said plain chicken is fine, and she said--ok 2 truchas!
So I said...ok...trucha it is!
She was deaf and could barely see, but she showed us the fresh trout, fished right out of the lake that morning, and then fried it up into a mean dinner, with rice, fries and salad. About 80 years of cooking experience had ensured us an amazing meal.
The couple next to us asked her ¨Mama? When is your birthday?¨and She said--November! Get me a present! ¨Mama, where were you born?¨On this lake!¨And then she proceeded to stuff her mouth with a fist size wad of coca leaves. A European couple walked by and she came running out yelling ¨Trucha trucha tenemos trucha!¨ But her mouth was so stuffed, it came ¨TRFUFA TRFUFA! TESHAEMTH TRFUFA!¨ Then she sat there with everyone, looking out on the lake as the sun painted the sky orange, occasionally yelliing to the dogs that came in ¨fwewa fwera!¨ and chewing her coca leaves.
It was probably the best meal I´ve had in a long time...the trout was amazing..the chef was one in a million.