tuesday, february 15, 2005 - cusco to puno - 9:55am

another early morning brought some refreshment and lot of pain. i am burned. cadé frito.

we met up with rolando again and finished up planning the rest of our week. i certainly think we could have done it cheaper. and my plan all along was to make it up as we went. but, there is something nice about knowing you have a place to stay and transportation is taken care of.

well, today takes us south to puno via a tour bus. we'll be back to the honking taxis, countless street urchins selling finger puppets, and stray dogs of cusco on friday, but for now, we meander our way through 6 unique stops and a night on the lake that, no matter how many different accents or pronunciations i use, i just can't say without giggling like a school boy; lake titicaca.

we just stopped at "the sistine chapel of peru." a spanish style church named after st. peter and st. paul. plain white outside, gaudy gold leaf explosion inside. very pretty despite the statue of peter that bears a striking resemblance to bill murray. alas, no cameras allowed inside. you'll have to take my word for it.

sistine chapel of peru

so, we're heading to the next stop. i hear rumor of a vicuna in our future. here's hoping.

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tuesday, february 15, 2005 - puno - 10:05pm

finally arrived in puno after a long, but somewhat nice bus tour, we ended up making about 5 more stops after the chapel. and i did get to see a vicuna, and feed an alpaca (whose relative i'm sure i promptly ate at dinner, but that's for later.) marita, our guide was very nice, if not a bit preachy at times about the political and social issues of her country. but it IS her country and she obviously loves it very much.

fun with camelidaes (left to right: me and art with a vicuna. liv feeds an alpaca. joe the llama. and a man and his alpaca.)

the rest of the trip consisted of more incan ruins, a museum and lunch with an international smorgasbord of travelers.

on to puno.

this is easily the best night we've had. all of us were relatively heatlthy (save the burns) and we set out to hit an internet bar and find dinner. dinner, as it turns out, was not only culinarily perfect, but about halfway through, a young andean band started playing. they were awesome. i wish i had a better adjective, but that's what they were. dinner itself was two kinds of alpaca steak and art's masterful, "pollo a la coca-cola." we finally got to try the local beer, cusqueno negro, and were not disappointed. and finally, a manjar (dulce de leche) panqueque for desert. all tied together by a joyful and wonderful staff led by the ever-present josef.

dinner at inca palace

the boys of majt' akunas

great food. great atmosphere. great town so far. if only we had a little more time here. we're off first thing in the morning. that's all for now. goodnight.

prolouge - 1 - 2 - 3 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - epilogue