Larking about on the lake

Monday, October 17, 2016
Puno, Peru
Thankfully it was a fairly civilised 9am start to the day so plenty of time for breakfast and to take in the view of Lake Titicaca. The highest navigable lake in the world at 3800 meters above sea level. We walked down the jetty at the hotel and got ona small boat. After about 20 minutes we arrived at the floating reed islands where the Uru people live. I had expected a tourist manufactured version of the real thing and although the visit was obviously tourist based it was done by a family. Each family takes it in turn to do the presentations. They were funny, welcoming and friendly. The sun shone and all in all it was very enjoyable. 

That finished at lunchtime, there was another optional tour in the afternoon - more Inca stuff . I wasn't keen particularly when I heard there was an uphill walk involved. I have been feeling the effect of the altitude here - there's 70% less oxygen than at sea level. A flight of stairs is enough for me. Instead I decided to explore Puna. I wasn't expecting much based on what the guide had said but me, Tina who is another single traveller and another couple decided to give it a go. A 10 minute cab ride got us to the centre. We had a recommendation for a restaurant and I had the details of a bar from Trip Adviser. There were some nice shops selling different stuff to all the usual tourist stuff so a few things were purchased. Then it was off to the bar. My word - the cocktails were outstanding. The first one I had was liquid in kind of thick jelly stuff that melted when you put it in your mouth. The second one included dry ice and looked like something from Dr Frankenstein's lab. Bloody marvelous. After that we decided go to the restaurant. It was 3 stories high and packed. I had a gorgeous slow cooked lamb dish followed by Peruvian hot chocolate. Corr ... It was great. We had a brilliant time. Finished off by an unexpected firework display in the main square.

Tomorrow we leave Peru and go into Bolivia. There's a trip on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca then on to the capital of La Paz. The highest capital city in the world at 3650 meters above sea level. Peru has been outstanding but I'm looking forward to Bolivia.
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