puno

We took another nice Cruz del Sur bus yesterday which took us from Arequipa up to Puno, the closest major Peruvian city to Lake Titicaca.
My stomach is now officially better! And I bought altitude sickness pills which seem to work for us so far.
This morning I went to the Bolivian consulate to see how many hoops I need to jump through to be able to cross the lake. The answer: not so many. $100, a 4x4 photo (just got it), a letter of invitation or hotel invitation, an itinerary (haha, fuera yanquis!), and proof that I have enough many to leave the country once I enter. They gave me the formulario.
I called Alejandro´s mom today and she said she could write me a letter of invitation for the visa if I need. In the next few days I`ll figure out if I have the tiempo and the ganas to go to Bolivia. It would be really cool to see Mama Grageda. If not, maybe en otra ocasión.

Here in Puno they are still in the midst of all day and all night parades and marching bands and fancy costumes for the Virgen de Candelaria celebrations. Last night we joined the revelers in the dry Andean cold to watch parades go by as far as the eye can see in both directions, up steep hills and past angry tour bus drivers. Puno is not much to look at but the fiestas are pretty cool.

Ok, off to see about seeing some islands on the lake. TOmorrow morning we leave for Cuzco and then Machu Picchu.

I will let you, and the State Department, know if I`m going to Bolivia sometime in the next 4 days. If not, I may take a direct flight to Santiago to finish out my vacation in my muy querido Chilito, taking warm showers and eating high quality pastel de choclo.

Word.