We took a (11 hour!) bus ride from Copacabana, Bolivia to Cuzco, Peru.  It was exhausting.  We had one transfer in the city of Puno, Peru.  Just from the bus ride, Puno looked like a rather built-up but not very pleasant town – the exact opposite of Copacabana.  (The local floating islands, I’ve heard though, are supposed to be very interesting). The large windows on our tourist bus enabled some good shots of the streets…          

As if La Paz wasn’t high enough, our next stop was Lake Titicaca at 3,812m (12,507 feet).  We stayed in Copacabana on the Bolivian side (not to be confused with the other Copacabana in Brazil.) Unfortunately, a combination of rain and me feeling the altitude prevented us from exploring Isla del Sol.  Still, Copacabana was a very pleasant if sleepy place to spend a few days. The morning of our last day, I was feeling a bit better and was able to venture up to the summit of Cerro Calvario.  There was some puffing through the thin area to make it …

Incan stonework is known for its large, well cut stone,  mortarless construction and expert precision.  Many different architects & builders worked on the different parts of Machu Picchu.  Some walls have a jumbled feeling.  Others, have an eerily modern “concrete” perfection to them. Different Incan walls in Machu Piccu: 

In our taxi tour of El Alto, we were able to catch a lot of locals through the window….      

a Paz is high.  At 3,600 meters (11,811 feet), you’re definitely up there.  And I felt it.  Even though i was talking Acetazolamide for altitude sickness, I had dizziness, blurry vision, shortness of breath, and migraine.  The first morning we took it very easy.  My boyfriend, the bastard – yes misery does love company – felt fine.  🙂 In the afternoon, I was feeling a bit better and we ventured up even higher by taxi to El Alto, the upstairs neighboring city.  At its highest point, El Alto is 4150 meters (13,615 feet).   El Alto is much poorer than La …