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On the bus from Juliaca to Puno. Juliaca is a hellish, crime-ridden town; we were glad to be out of there. I thought this shot of a small patch of sunlight surrounded with clouds was really cool, so I pointed it out to Mas. She gave me a wicked smile, and said "Wait till you get to Seattle ... hehehe". Evil. Just pure evil.	Mas wasn't feeling well after we got to our hotel, so I went out in Puno on my own. After hitting a few local bars, I came to the central square and found a huge parade going on. It was a dance competition between all the local high schools. Amazing. Each group would come out, do a 10 minute routine, then jump around to rally audience support. Some of the dance moves were really creative ... and some kinda resembled Bhangra. Reminded me of Bhangra Blowout at GW.
The floating islands of the Uros on Lake Titicacca. At over 10,000 feet above sea level, Lake Titicacca is the highest navigable lake in the world. The islands are not made of earth or stone, but rather of a reed plant known as "tortora". Walking on the island feels like walking on a water bed. It's quite robust; the locals have built numerous structures on it. No other civilization in the world ever created entire islands of this sort. Legend has it that the natives abandoned their homes on the mainland to flee invading conquerors.
If you had any doubt about whether the island was actually floating -- this stick is over 25 feet deep, and it went straight down into the lake.	There are over 40 floating islands in Lake Titicacca. The natives use these reed boats to travel from one to the other and to get back to the mainland. Most of the natives cater solely to tourists. However, there are also a few islands that prefer to remain completely isolated.	These are the reeds the natives use to build the islands and structures. This path through the reeds is also the way to our next stop -- Isla Taquile.
Ok, one thing about being at 11,000 feet on open water -- it is COLD. Mas's ski jacket makes another appearance. Even I've got close to 4 layers on. The weather is perfect otherwise. Clear skies and the water is crystal blue.		After three hours on the open water, we arrive at Isla Taquile. God, it's gorgeous. Lake Titicacca rocks.