Copacabana (Bolivia) – Puno (Peru)

Finally, on 24 March, I left Copacabana on my bicycle. I had breakfast outside in a café, talking with a tourist from Canada. At about 8:30am I left, and after a short while I arrived at the border with Peru, which is only 10km from Copacabana. At first I dealt with Bolivian immigration and got my exit stamp, and then with Peruvian immigration to get my immigration form and the entry stamp. And soon I was on my way, cycling in the direction of Puno. One thing which is very different in Peru are the auto-rickshaws, which don't exist in Bolivia, and which reminded me of the auto-rickshaws in India.

I went up to Julí, about 60km from Copacabana, where I had some lunch and had a break. I decided to continue up to Ilave, another about 30km, and spend the night there. I arrived in Ilave at about 3pm, and first I looked for accommodation. I found something very basic near the main square, where I stayed for the night. I think not many tourists get to Ilave – people looked at me as if I were something really strange. But well.

Today I left very early, and it was pretty cold in the morning. I had a break in Acora to get something for breakfast – there wasn't really anything that early in Ilave. I continued, and at about 11am I arrived in Puno, about 55km from Ilave.

In Puno I first looked for accommodation. I took a shower (I didn't shower in Ilave), and went to have lunch – vegetarian pizza. Then I had a siesta – I didn't sleep that well in Ilave, nor the last night in Copacabana – because I was extremely tired. In the afternoon I went to the market to buy some food and fruits, and then I returned to the hotel to attend to my blog.