Wednesday, May 16: Puno

 

 We were treated to another beautiful sunrise and so had time to repack our bags for the rest of the trip. After a very pleasant breakfast, Larry and I decided ago for a walk. We had heard that there was a

restored 19th century ship at a dock behind a nearby hotel. It turned out to be about 1 1/2 miles away, but worth the walk. It was manufactured in Britain and brought to Peru on mules across the Andes, in something like 1892. It was used until the 1960s, fell into disrepair and has been undergoing restoration since the 1980s. 

When we got back to the hotel, Cathy met us with the news that our departure had been moved up and we needed to leave in 20 minutes. We had difficulty checking out, but we still got away in time for one tour before the airplane left. 

The tour was very interesting. It was to Sillustani, the site of pre-Inca and Inca burial structures. We climbed quite high to see the structures and our guide, Cesar, gave us quite a bit of the history and the symbology of the people buried here. 

Then back to Juliaca, to the crazy line-up at the airport, and on to Lima. 

We were happy to see Maritza, and get to the hotel. We got to the dining room at about 9 so will get very little sleep before our 2:45 wake-up call.
 
Photos 16 May