Friday morning I was feeling much better but still short of breath as we started the six hour ride to Puno, another 1200 meters up. We took the bus back up around El Misti again and at the Park sanctuary turned off to Puno climbing high through a range of dry wash river beds and alpaca herds. The scenery matched anything out of a western including the stone and adobe houses. We passed a lake and hundreds of flamingos feeding in the salt flats. This time we were seated on the upper section where there were four seats instead of three but still very luxurious and comfortable. I carefully monitored my health and was studious in drinking water since dehydration was a big issue. By one pm we hit Juliaca (pictures below) which I can only describe as the armpit of Peru, a town of red stone brick with every avenue appearing to be a variation of the previous with unfinished structure after another. All of them offering rebar from their top floor usually decorated with laundry. Garbage mostly plastic was strewn everywhere, in fact at one point I swear the bus had to slow down to cross a speed bump of it. It wasn’t far from out of town that we were once again in a wilderness ,till finally we came over a hill and saw Puno laid into hills steep on the incline, uniformly brownish red in color but still a spectacular site as it ran down to the shore of Lake Titicaca, highest lake on the planet. There streets were crowded with vendors, fruit piled and splashed out on blankets as Indian women all wearing their typical bowler hats sat on their Lama mats, coca bulge in their cheeks. We were picked up at the bus terminal as arranged, by the driver to what turned out to be the hotel from hell. Unfortunately we were booked in for three nights all pre paid. We beat it by avoiding it from 8 to 4 sight seeing and then again from 6 to 9 by eating out. One the third day we found a great room at the Luna Azul a block from the town square and began to feel normal again.
to be continued
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