Lake Titicaca and Peru

The last two days were spent around Lake Titicaca (one on the Bolivia side and one in Peru). The first day we arrived in Copacabana which is a nice small town. The drive towards the lake was nice and we walked along the beach once we were situated in our hostel. The water is extremely clear and there were plenty of people enjoying the sun. Along the beach, there were these kioscos (24 to be exact) all of which sell the same trout dishes. I still don´t know what separates one from the other. Jane and I continued our walk up Cerro Calvario where we watched the sunset. The walk was very difficult due to the altitude and my condition after the food poisoning. From the top, you can also get a great view of the city and Isla Del Sol. We ran into Jon and Molly from the salar trip and exchanged stories over the past week. The next morning, Jane and I rented a paddle boat in the shape of a swan and went out on the lake before catching the bus to Peru. Copacabana is a nice small town, but the lack of an ATM and consistent hot water made us happy to leave.

The border crossing was easy going into Peru. Two hours later, we arrived in Puno. Our intention was to stay for one night. What a difference between Bolivia and Peru!!! Our accommodation in Puno was 10X better than in Copacabana. After checking into the hostel, we took a moto-taxi to the harbor and booked a cheap tour to the floating reed islands of Uros. Since we just walked up the the boat, we were able to pay half of what other tourists paid. The tour was excellent and we were able to see how these floating islands are created. The evening was capped off dinner in the center of town at a local pizza joint. We had deinner with some of the folks on the boat tour. Five different nationalities were represented at our table that night. We took off for Arequipa the next morning hoping that our experience in Puno would continue.