Today we head from Cusco to Puno by bus. We had breakfast before 0700 and taxied to the Cruz del Sur station just outside of the old city for our 0800 departure. Once boarded, they videoed everyone (a common practice here and also in Mexico).
The journey took us to to Juliaca (5+ hour) where we set down a few people before continuing to Puno (another hour). Juliaca was a very unattractive town due to basic construction after earthquake. Puno wasn’t much better though.
We felt the additional altitude coming from Cusco. We taxied to our hostal very near the centre. It was a large yet clean and homely place. We grabbed a simple lunch of omelette before heading down to the waterfront to check out Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake.
We were approached by a local from Uros floating islands who could do a “tour” tomorrow for a fraction more than the standard ferry price. That seemed like a good idea as I thought we would be more welcome into their home environment.
The nights get very cold at Puno and we found a very cosy restaurant warmed by wood fire (supplemented by gas fires too) where we had awesome set meals.