Puno, Peru

Our New English Friends

We hooked up with our two new English friends and hopped on a seven hour bus ride to Puno, Peru located on the bank of Lake Titicaca.  We planned to take the $50/person tourist bus (comfy with an English-speaking guide) but the girls convinced us to take the local bus for $6/person (we were the only white people on the bus).  The driver was slightly crazy, dodging between lanes and overtaking slower vehicles.  About four hours into the ride, we made a quick stop for a girl to jump on.  She carried a large purse.  She proceeded to whip out a huge butcher knife, open up her purse which contained some kind of large animal carcass, cut the meat, and hand out chunks onto butcher paper to bus passengers for $1.50/person.  In shock and wide eyed, we declined the meal, instead munching on our granola bars and secretly wishing we could pull out a camera to capture the moment.  Unscathed, we arrived to Puno and found a nice private hotel room for $20/night.