After sleeping for 12 hours we felt halfway human again. There is an interesting Inca cemetary nearby, and we asked about going there, but it's 45 minutes uphill so we passed on that. Here's what we didn't see:
 








 
After breakfast we just walked around some and then decided to go to mass in a little church near the hotel. It was packed with parishoners, many Indian ladies in their finest brocade skirts and blouses with sequins and embroidery. The most beautiful little girl sat in front of us. Olive skin, almond eyes, and the thickest black braided hair I've ever seen. At first I thought the braid must be fake it was so thick, but it wasn't! The choir was several young women and a man with a guitar, and their version of the Gloria was one of the most beautiful we've ever heard. And to add to the atmosphere, there was a pigeon (a dove?) flying around the dome, and a little white dog walking up and down the aisle. Communion in Latin American churches is different. In our church, people line up in an orderly way. In most Latin American churches, first not everyone takes communion, and whoever does just walks up to the front helter-skelter and crowds around. But it works. Just like the traffic, I guess - it looks like chaos but it actually works pretty well.
 





 
After mass we walked down toward the Plaza de Armas and saw a whole bunch of people walking our way dressed in different uniforms. We asked someone about it and found that every Sunday, students from various schools, universities and professional organizations parade around the square so we headed that way and saw part of the parade. 
 
 
 
 
 





 
We walked down to the market to see what it was like, and they were having a girls volleyball tournament. When we went past there again several hours later they were still at it. You can see more fancy church clothes in some of these photos.
 
 






 
Then we hired a moto taxi to show us the sights of Puno, but we quickly figured out that the port and the lake are the most interesting things. Puno is a ramshackle dusty town that would probably barely exist if not for the tourism that the lake brings.
 
 








Went back to the hotel and packed for our return to Lima and breathable air! Would we recommend Puno as a destination? Well, the floating islands were really interesting. The other island would be a waste of time and money even if you were in really good shape and the climb didn't nearly kill you. A one hour hike up a hill to eat a mediocre lunch and a 45 minute climb back down - with a 2-3 hour boat ride each way. I suspect you could hire a taxi to take you up on one of the surrounding hills for similar views. And even if you have been at high altitutes before, this is the highest we've ever been and had the most bad effects. We basically felt like we had the flu for 4 days. You walk two blocks to the plaza to eat, you finally catch your breathe, you eat and feel good and then have to walk the two blocks back and feel crappy again. If you did plan there, we (and the guide books) recommend you go somewhere first, like our favorite Peruvian city Arequipa, spend a few days there, then go to Cusco and Machu Picchu, and then you should be more ready for Puno.