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We had a midday flight from Juliaca back to Lima. Juliaca is about an hour drive from Puno, but rather than hire a driver to take us from our hotel to the airport, I asked Inka Lake Tours if it could give us a private tour of the Sillustani ruins (which are approximately halfway between Puno and Juliaca) and then drop us off at the Juliaca airport when our tour was over. They were happy to arrange this for us, and it worked out well for us, since the cost of the private tour wasn't much more than the cost of a taxi ride to the airport. Sillustani is an ancient site, an area where early Peruvian cultures interred their dead in rock-tower masoleums. When the Inca spread over the area, they incorporated the burial practices of the locals, and built their own towers at the same site. Sillustani is not a large site, you can walk through the whole thing in an hour or two. It was good that we had a guide with us to explain some of the objects we were seeing. The guide had some interesting theories, I think he believed in supernatural events. It was fun to talk with him. When we landed in Lima that afternoon, it was once again cloudy. Apparently Lima is wrapped in these marine layer clouds for 9 months of every year. Our hotel was in Miraflores. The hotel sent a driver to pick us up at the airport, and I was glad that we had made that arrangement, because driving through the big city of Lima on our own would have been impossible. The other drivers are quite aggressive, and staying within your lane appears to be optional. We walked around Miraflores that evening, and found a place to eat a chicken dinner. Miraflores is the "safe" part of Lima where all the tourists stay, the police patrol here to keep the thieves and pickpockets away from the tourists. Tourism is a huge part of the Peruvian economy, and it wouldn't be good if all the tourists returned to their home countries with tales of theft. We had no problems, and I felt safe as we walked along. But we did not stay out late. Panorama Photos
MapsThis map shows that the ruins of Sillustani are located midway between Puno and the airport at Juliaca. We spent the morning touring the ruins, then arrived at the airport before our 1:30 PM flight to Lima.
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Click on any thumbnail to begin the slide show at that photograph Day 12 Photos
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