After the departure of mum, dad and Lynne it was a bit odd but we chose to get over it by setting off on a local minibus to a lovely village about half an hour away from Puno.
This bush in the main square has been shaped to resemble a traditionally dressed local ladyIt was a world away in terms of size and atmosphere - just a main village square, a brass band practicing in the church, very little traffic, grassy roads, crumbling stone walls and very friendly locals, often wandering around with animals that they grazed up the mountains all day.
The local off-licence
We booked ourselves into a very comfy room with a log fire, which was really cosy after our long walks up the mountains, which got pretty chilly.
The village is famed for its penis park, or the Temple of Fertility (Inka Uyu). We felt it would have been a little disappointing had you made a special trip out to the village for it, although I suppose not if it did the trick for you. It was a little rough around the edges with a fraying wire fence and children offering to give us a guided tour and explanation of the penises. We declined, wandered around for 10 minutes or so and took a few mandatory silly photos.
The local off-licence
We booked ourselves into a very comfy room with a log fire, which was really cosy after our long walks up the mountains, which got pretty chilly.
The village is famed for its penis park, or the Temple of Fertility (Inka Uyu). We felt it would have been a little disappointing had you made a special trip out to the village for it, although I suppose not if it did the trick for you. It was a little rough around the edges with a fraying wire fence and children offering to give us a guided tour and explanation of the penises. We declined, wandered around for 10 minutes or so and took a few mandatory silly photos.
We had some spectacular walks up into the hills behind the village. The views across the lake and hills and into valleys beyond on all sides were amazing. 
We realised how high we had climbed at one point when we spotted lots of patches of snow amongst the rocks and grass. It was quite exhausting and we were ready for a rest when we reached the top. However, at this point we heard a bell jingling and realised that we weren't alone, as we had been for most of the day. There was a positive crowd of people gathered around the rocks at the summit of the hill just beginning a traditional ceremony. They were drinking beer, burning some kind of sweet smelling incense and walking around in a circle. We didn't like to interrupt and so set off across the ridge. Little did we know that they had the same intention. We had quite a tense half hour marching across the mountains with the band of locals ringing a bell in hot pursuit. We all arrived at another set of rocks, we sat behind them, they on top, and completed their ceremony. We followed them down the mountain as the sun went down and it felt like a really special day.
We realised how high we had climbed at one point when we spotted lots of patches of snow amongst the rocks and grass. It was quite exhausting and we were ready for a rest when we reached the top. However, at this point we heard a bell jingling and realised that we weren't alone, as we had been for most of the day. There was a positive crowd of people gathered around the rocks at the summit of the hill just beginning a traditional ceremony. They were drinking beer, burning some kind of sweet smelling incense and walking around in a circle. We didn't like to interrupt and so set off across the ridge. Little did we know that they had the same intention. We had quite a tense half hour marching across the mountains with the band of locals ringing a bell in hot pursuit. We all arrived at another set of rocks, we sat behind them, they on top, and completed their ceremony. We followed them down the mountain as the sun went down and it felt like a really special day.
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