Puno is on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Cool place, but really it just looks like any very large lake. Yesterday we went to the bus station in the morning to buy a ticket to Cuzco. Our last leg of the trip, and last bus journey. When we got there, every company said that the only bus to Cuzco left at 9:30 pm. A night bus that would get us to Cuzco around 6:30 am. Blech!!!! Horrible! You can't check in at your next hostel till the afternoon, so that means ditching your luggage in a storage room there, and having no "home base" till you can check in. You have no real agenda planned, since you have just arrived, and are usually pretty tired, and just want to chill for a few hours. Doable, but not ideal. We were a bit deflated, and were wandering the bus depot looking for any company that had an earlier bus, when an older fellow started talking to me about the schedule and how he could get us on a bus coming from La Paz Bolivia, and going through to Cuzco. That bus would arrive in Puno, and leave at 1:00pm. He would talk to the driver and see if there was room on the Bolivian bus for 2 more. There was, and we happily accepted his offer. We decided to have some food before we left, so we got a taxi to the main square. They were having a flute competition there, with a big parade, music, dancing, etc.- very cool!! it was a nice way to spend the morning in Puno! We got on the bus from Bolivia (much nicer than the last Bolivian bus!!!) with no problems, and arrived in Cuzco at 8:30. Much better!! Our taxi driver in Cusco just brought us to the general area, and said the hostel was just down the street, which it wasnt. Then when we thought we had found the hostel, it was the wrong one of two with the same name. They had given us the wrong adress. We could walk to the other one- 4 blocks away, but Cusco is very hilly, and 4 blocks felt like a long ways. Sierra and I are both having minor altitude symptoms this time as well. I guess we just spent a month close to sea level... I have a slight headache that comes and goes, and Sierra was felt a little short of breath and light headed in Puno. I was grumpy when we arrived, so I just let Sierra talk to the fellow manning the desk. Not his fault. I was out of sorts all evening, and just went to bed early. Slept in, and felt much better. Can't wait to be home.