After a brief pit stop in the city of Puno, we've just circumnavigated half of Lake Titicaca on a bus to the border crossing into Bolivia. We had heard stories of corrupt officials, nightmare bus rides and general chaos, but this border was one of the smoothest we've ever been through! No questions or extra hidden costs, just a few stamps and we were on our way!

Puno was at first a little disappointing. Dirty, dusty, busy, and when we arrived the entire city was blacked out! We decided we wouldn't hang around too long. We celebrated Australia Day by streaming the hottest 100 whilst sorting through mountains of photos from Machu Picchu, and it actually turned out to be kind of fun to be in a less touristy city for a couple of days. We took the opportunity to explore some real local markets, and practice our Espaniol.

We had a glimpse of Lake Titicaca on the way into Puno, and caught some breathtaking views from the bus on the way out. At around 3800m above sea level, it's the highest navigable lake in the world! What is even more impressive is that this Andean culture has managed to cultivate the surrounding land, and live off the lake as if it were any old body of water. We drove past rows of beautifully manicured flowers and vegetable crops, and even spotted a few flamingos hopping around in the adjacent flood plains. It looks as though we're in for a treat as we intend to explore the Bolivian half of the lake for the next few days!