Arequipa to Puno

We woke up early in Arequipa and were the first for breakfast. Today is Sunday so the roads were not so mad as we left the city. Unlike last time when we headed out north, we seemed to get caught behind many VERY slow lorries, especially on blind bends. The road to Lake Titicaca rose for an hour and a half before reaching altiplano. Buses on the side of the road stopped so the passengers could take photos of the vicunas.

It took five hours to Puno. The scenery was hilly but without the mad drops. There were a few one donkey towns along the way. A curious feature was that many dogs lay by the road, watching traffic go by.

Eventually we came across a laguna and K took an excellent video of flamingos flying.

At Juliaca, we were pulled over by the cops when K nearly went down a one way street. He inspected our documents and passports, before giving us remarkably good directions through the town centre to Puno. (not so sure about his aftershave though!)

Puno is only 45 km from Juliaca, and we reached it in no time. Then we came across views of Lago Titicaca. It really does feel like the top of the world. We found our hotel with ease, except that we drove down a one way street the wrong way. The hotel hadn't got our reservation from Expedia but still let us in. The rooms are huge and comfortable, with kettles and hairdryers!!!!!

The Expedia booking had not reached the hotel, but we were given a room anyway. Eventually we managed to prove that we had booked and pre-paid.
We took a stroll in the town and down to the edge of the lake. The town was poorer and shabbier than we had imagined. There were taxicholos but also human powered cabs. In a couple of places we came across youths playing volleyball in the streets.




We decided it would be best to head back in the centre. We saw a circus and hopefully we will go tomorrow.






After a while we found the restaurant we were looking for. Called Pizzeria del Buho (Owl), the waiter was very nice and spoke only Spanish.


The hotel was only a couple of blocks away so we decided to call it an early night.