After a lovely day in Cuzco, and another laundry maneuver, we hopped on a very deluxe public bus for the long trip to Puno (Giscard’s home town) on the shores of Lake Titicaca. In between two nights in Puno, we took a long boat ride on the lake, did a homestay in an indigenous community, and visited two others.

First up, the trip from Cuzco to Puno with a bunch of pix of Juliaca (a boomtown on the way). Also in this set, another dinner extravaganza, and the pedi-cab (bicycle tuk-tuk) from our hotel down to the docks on the lake…

Our boat on the lake took us out to Taquile Island (owned by a colonial Spaniard who made everyone wear traditional Catalonian dress – the black shawl headwear being related to the Muslim rule of the Iberian peninsula). Reluctantly, I passed up a swimming opportunity (mighta froze to death), but we walked almost the length of the island and had a nice lunch (local trout!) with a spectacular view…

After lunch we boarded the boat again for a ride to our homestay. Everyone had a different family, but the kids and I were with Calixto, the leader of the group and father of the best volleyball player. After helping out with a few chores to learn the nature of their lives (managed some sheep and beans), we learned what awesome athletes these folks were…

Just a few clips of our super-fun volleyball games…

…enough for now. More in Part 2…