Up to Puno, Where the Air is Rarefied

From Arequipa, we did another 4,700 feet in elevation and 6 hours by bus to Puno, the highest elevation of our travels at 12,400 feet.  The bus stopped at a rest stop for coca leaf tea. (It's supposed to help with altitude problems and you can't import it to the U.S.)
We stopped twice more to use the facilities, one stop beside a really pretty lake.  We also saw lots of alpacas along the way. (We were in a National Park with llama, alpaca and vicuna.) The last 50 miles or so before Puno the road we took was really rough with lots of pot holes as well as man-made speed bumps and narrow one-lane bridges. (It was pitch black and we were on a full-size bus!) They should have saved on the cost of  constructing speed bumps and allowed nature's pot holes to play the role.

Grazing Alpacas

A Very Tame Alpaca

One of Several Mountain Lakes We Passed.  It's Stocked with Rainbow Trout from Canada.

We spent our first day in Puno relaxing and adjusting to the altitude.  Puno is built on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world and the largest lake in South America.  Sixty percent of its shoreline is in Peru, the other forty percent in Bolivia. We strolled down to the Plaza, had a light lunch, and pampered ourselves with a taxi back to the hotel.  We taxied back to the Plaza later for dinner.  The days here are quite pleasant, in the 60's, but the nights are really chilly.  It was 36 degrees F. at 9 PM our second night here.

Some Sort of an Event had Just Taken Place in the Cathedral

Photo Op for the Dignitaries

Once the Dignitaries Departed, They Rolled Up the Red Carpet

Many of the Women Wear Braids, Full Skirts, and Bowler Hats

Two Color-Coordinated Generations Crossing the Street

Lunch in the Courtyard of the Colonial-Era Casa Corregidor

Puno has a rush hour around 12:30 PM, which seemed strange to us until it was explained that the younger kids attend school for four hours in the morning, then are picked up (hence the noon traffic), and the older kids occupy the same classrooms in the afternoon.  The public doesn't seem pleased with this.