Cusco to Puno

It’s never fun when somebody looses something on vacation. Ryan had left not only his wallet but his passport as well on the bus. His somberness was contagious and we had all gone to bed a little worried, but hopeful none the less. The next morning all of the phone calls I made paid off. A man brought over all of Ryan’s things in the morning. While the terror one feels when loosing something is awful, the relief that person feels once the items are recovered are so much sweeter.

We had one last breakfast in Cusco with Bullon brothers before we parted ways. The Lucchessi brothers and Bullon brothers really hit it off and were sad to say goodbye. The 5 of us continuing on to Puno had an 8 hour bus ride ahead of us.

Because of the wallet incident, our departure time was pushed back and all of the nice tourist busses had already left in the morning, which mean we had to take a local bus. My friends had the good fortune of seeing a bit more of the “real Peru”. This run down bus stopped every 15 minutes, often times at the side of the road, to pick up and drop off passengers. The people that got off and on were traditional Andean folk, many of them unshowered and lugging on bundles of produce and occasionally animals.

We were in the back of the bus and drinking heavily. At one point, two Peruvian gentlemen filled the last two seats next to Ryan, Steph and Eric, and they offered them a beer and attempted conversation. Rico and I were sitting together in front of them and laughing hysterically at Stephanie and Eric’s attempt to speak Spanish. But I have to give them credit for trying.

The bus stopped so many times it was hard to remain patient. My friends didn’t seem to mind and actually enjoyed their local experience. And finally after a very long bus ride we arrived in Puno and saw the dark outline of Lake Titicaca. Puno is so poor that unlike uber-touristy cusco, we were able to afford a hotel for the same price we paid for a hostel in Cusco. It was after 10 by the time we arrived so Steph went strait to bed and the rest of us went out for a drink.