Puno

I just wrote about school and my visa fiasco below, but I wanted to tell you a little about my trip itself as well. I left late Saturday night on a bus to La Paz, and a car ride, walk across the border, and another van ride after that I was in Puno, Peru by 1:30pm (12:30 Peru time) on Sunday. A pretty long ride (it really was pretty and long, but the pretty part made me forget how long it was). So Sunday afternoon I arrived, found a cheap hotel, and decided to walk over and see Lake Titicaca, which the town happens to be on. Actually, the whole drive from La Paz to Puno was around the edge of the lake, with the snowcapped mountains of the Cordillera Real on the other side of the lake from us and a patchwork quilt of farmland and small communities on our side, spotted with herds of sheep and cattle with the occasional pig, donkey, or llama thrown in the mix.
Anyways, on my way to the lake I happened to see a large group of men running down one road, obviously towards something. That doesn't look good I thought, so I decided to follow them. Turns out there was no riot, just a soccer game which had just begun in the stadium. It was Garcilaso de Cuzco against Policial Santa Rosa de Puno-- a big rivalry apparently so I got to enjoy the game. I was surprised I was the only white person in the stadium with all the tourists walking around outside. So after the game I walked to the pier to see the lake, then walked back back to the main plaza where I happened to run into another big group of people. This time they were waiting on something so I sat and waited too. It turns out there was a huge dance, with everyone in their costumes and fireworks and stuff. It was neat, but I'm not sure if it was worth waiting 2 hours in almost freezing temperatures with a little sweater on. Actually I guess it was because I happened to sit on the cathedral steps next to a talkative older woman who was very nice. She and her daughter are traditional musicians there and they were telling me all about the stuff going on in the dance and of course singing along. We got to be friends and now if I ever go back to Puno, which will be within a month to get my visa, I will have a place to stay.
Monday was obviously not so fun, as you know if you read the last post, because first thing in the morning I found out I couldn't get a visa. On the trip back I had a little scare at the border. I was all alone this time. On the way out of the country I happened to arrive with a group of tourists so I blended in. But this time I was alone. The police in Peru searched me, which went fine. In Bolivia, they asked to search me and before I knew what was happening I was in a room alone with two police officers. They took out everything and looked at it, asked how expensive the camera was, and then found my cash hidden. They were certain that my two fifty dollar bills were "false" and they would have to "confiscate" them. I have never felt so powerless and that was the first time that I have felt genuinely scared in a while. However, I finally convinced them that I did not have fake money after I told them I did not have to bribe the Peruvians and they let me go. So I didn't get the visa, but God certainly was protecting me all the while. I'll get to do it again in a few weeks, but I''ll make sure to cross the border with more people.