We ended our time at Lake Titicaca with a traditional meal at a restaurant in Puno where there was a show of local dances. We ordered guinea pig and alpaca, both of which were delicious.
We boarded a public bus at 8.30 am and commenced the 7 hour journey north-westwards towards Cusco.
The journey initially took us across flat grasslands with alpaca herds and corn crops and then through winding mountain passes with the Andean snow capped peaks always close by to remind us of our 3000m (plus) altitude. There was an unexpected 40 minute delay along the way when a group of dissatisfied teachers from a local school had blockaded the road with large rocks in protest to their meager salaries and conditions. The traffic banked up for about 1 km on either side while the police and teachers sorted out some kind of compromise and we were eventually able to pass through.
The final hour of our bus trip had us following a broad but quite shallow and rapid flowing river which was an absolutely perfect rafting river.
Our accommodation in Cusco is a former Spanish Villa that has now been converted into a hotel but still retains the colonial style and fittings.
To finish the long day of travel we had a meal and then a two hour orientation walk around the ancient Inca centre of Cusco. There is so much to see!!