Realities Only Touched Upon; My Cultural Hunger Subsists, Part 2: Our Bolivian Exodus

During our initial arrival to La Paz, the "City in the Sky"(my name), I was not impressed by what I saw. Flat land (albeit 12,500 or so feet in elevation), Andean-esque architecture (natural brick buildings, stucco walls, Spanish tile roofs), busy streets, nothing special or attention-grasping. As I was promptly informed, this less-than-impressive sight formed the outskirts of the Bolivian capital, for the real La Paz was to come upon our "descent" into the city basin. "Descent?!" was my immediate response. We were already at nearly two-and-a-half miles above sea level, and after ascending for the last day plus, I didn't consider the possibility of finding a basin at La Paz; in my mind, La Paz was at the pinnacle of the Andes, given its description as the highest capital city in the world. As I would soon find, the threshold to real La Paz and real Bolivia would be a matter of minutes away.

When that blessed time came, utter bafflement marked my existence...! The way in which this full-content bowl-of-a-city consumes your senses is not worth the attempt at description. Well, at least, for a few deep breathes-worth of time. hhuuuuuuiiiihhhhh, hoooouuuhhhh... Okay, here goes...

Realities Only Touched Upon; My Cultural Hunger Subsists, Part 1: The Peruvian Altiplano of Puno and Beyond

I exited the bus, strode rapidly through the bus station and made my way to the street. There, instead of the expected mode of transportation in the form of a taxi of any shape or size, I found a bike-trolley. The double front-seater with a small flat bed to our rear would be a sufficient yet slow transport to the main plaza of Puno.


Puno, which is located on the western shore of Lake Titicaca, was established as the capital of the Paucarcolla Province in 1668. At an elevation of roughly 12,500 ft., Puno is the highest elevated "big" city in Peru. During colonial times, Puno was a key hub in commerce (mostly commodities influenced by silver mining) going from Potosi, Bolivia (to be discussed later) to the shores of Peru, most notably Lima/Callao. The economy of today, like yesterday, is focused around agriculture, fishing, textiles and, biggest of all, tourism. It is said that the origins of the Inca Empire spurted from the waters of Lake Titicaca.