Finally, it was time to leave Arequipa for the next city and the next country: La Paz, Bolivia! Had to spend one night in Puno again. Luckily I met Marie, Marc, Helle, and Rasmus in the hostel and we had great dinner, a nice evening, and enjoyed the celebrations of the “Virgen de la Candelaria“.  As Puno is known to be the Folkloric Capital of Peru, we could see many, many dancing groups in great costumes during the parade that went on and on. I especially liked, that even the men are dancing with great enthusiasm, which I already recognized during a parade in Arequipa! Funny that Puno seemed to be a totally different town compared to the last visit with Elli a few weeks ago. Back than, streets were empty at 10:00pm, now the city was really crowded the whole night. Thanks Marie, Marc, Helle, and Rasmus for the great evening!

The border crossing to Bolivia was totally different from La Balsa, ‘cause this time there were several buses full of tourists crossing the border at the same time and we had to queue in long lines in order to get the necessary stamps in our passports. As I decided not to visit the Isla del Sol I had just a short stop in Copacabana and after quite a long bus ride, I arrived in La Paz, Bolovia! My first impression of this city is great, I really like it here!

Peaceful greetings from Nuestra Señora de La Paz, Our Lady of Peace
Michael