After departing Arequipa with the two Costa Rican girls, we arrived in Puno Peru. We discovered there were no more buses for the day going to Bolivia and we were stuck. So we spent the night and headed off early the next morning on a tourist services bus to Copacabana on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca, one of the highest major lakes in the world at 3800 meters or 12,540 feet. While going through Peruvian immigration, I did everyone a great favor by delaying the bus for half an hour paying my dollar a day fine for overstaying my visa. This involved running back and forth to the photocopy shop a couple times and being polite to the officials. I now have many extra interesting stamps in my passport that most people will never have. I think next time I'll just play by the rules... it seems easier that way.

In Copacabana, Tim, Amanda, Lucia, and I climbed one of the local hillsides where some ancient ruins were supposed to be but weren't and enjoyed the view over the small town ... after we caught our breath. It was interesting to consider that we were on the shores of a lake at 12,500 feet in elevation. I can recall getting off one of the highest ski lifts in Aspen Colorado at a lesser altitude. The following day was a quick trip out to Isla del Sol where Inka legend says the sun was created... I suspect they were wrong about that but it's a safe bet the religious goofballs in Kansas are wrong too! After saying goodbye to the girls, we were off to Cuzco and the Sacred Valley back in Peru....