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There are two paths one can take to get from La Paz,
Bolivia to Puno, Peru. We took The more scenic path going to La Paz but opted
for the faster, more direct route back to Puno. This route is the one that
most of the locals take so the border was Jam Packed. We had to move very
slowly with our Gigantic bus through the sea of people, patiently waiting for
them to clear a path. It took about 2 hours of driving to drive one
kilometer. Then, sure enough, right when we made it to the Peru side of
the border, we ran in to a roadblock imposed traffic jam. Every time a car
moved forward, tons of little cyclos filled the gap in front of our bus and we
moved about a foot forward, whee. A couple local women got on the bus with
very touristy looking backpacks but we thought nothing of it at the time.
Later, we got stopped by the Customs officials. The women must have known
precisely where the customs checkpoint was because immediately before they
started stashing bags in the shelves above a few tourist's heads and under our
seats. The guards looked paid no mind to the backpacks but hassled the
women for a few and walked off. After the officials left, they unloaded
their pockets of a dozen wallets and other artisan crafts, precisely what the
guards were trying to prevent the importation of, oh well. The next day we
took a tour of the reed islands of Uros and Taquile island in Lake Titicaca.
The majority of the tour was spent baking on a boat whooshing us about at speeds
in excess of 4 miles an hour. We got back with a few more hours to play
around in town and then on to Cuzco. There was a big parade put on by a
few of the local schools so Chris and I ran around trying to get some pictures.
On the way to the bus terminal, Chris and I also convinced the Cyclo drivers to
let us pedal while they ride. It was a lot harder than it looked. We
didn't get in to Cuzco until 4am but luckily the company we booked the Inca
Trail tour with had a hotel booked for us and a ride waiting for us at the
terminal. We just relaxed for a day and did some sightseeing/geocaching
awaiting the hike.
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Floating islands of Uros in Lake Titicaca
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our lame reed boat
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The sweet boat we didn't get to ride
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Ellen making reed chunk angels
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More reed island
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Taquile island in Lake Titicaca
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A local man spinning wool thread
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View from the main square on Taquile
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Cool little tower thing
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The LONG boat ride back
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oo, oo, me too
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Puno boatyard
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Some random parade participants who desperately wanted their picture taken
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More parade
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Puno main drag
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Ellie and Chris on the Cyclo
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Chris convinced the driver to let him drive the cyclo
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Good morning sunshines!
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Plaza de Armas, Cuzco
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more plaza
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that is NOT a gay pride flag, it is the Cuzco city flag.
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This better look good, I paid a Sole for them to pose for me (28 cents)
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Jesus' Halo
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James' Halo
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Matt's Halo
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View from the Jesus statue (It was a great view and a geocache spot)
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Chris using the Inca foot bath (another geocache spot)
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Walking the steep walk back down from the ruins
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Everyone else was taking this picture, I felt left out.
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Taquile Island Lake Titicaca, Peru
QTVR
file
Plaza de Armas, Cuzco
QTVR file
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