Von traps to the Walking Dead

The sun had just reached the horizon over Lake Titicaca as we began our escape from Puno.

The Peruvian government has made a deal with a mining company.  The citizens, unhappy with the situation are protesting. Later this morning school children and teachers will be joining the protest. To avoid this extra onslaught of protestors we left our hotel at the crack of dawn, fleeing Puno, like the famed Von Trapp family.

Everywhere, police lined the streets.

Garbage, rocks and glass were strewn over the roads to deter traffic.  Fires were burning on the roads.

At times we felt that we were in a war zone.

In Juliaca, on our way to the airport, the streets were almost deserted, reminding of our scenes from the walking dead.

Instead of a bus, we were shuttled to the airport in two vans and our luggage came in another vehicle. To avoid protests we were taken on an impromptu tour of the backstreets of Juliaco.

We arrived at the Juliaco airport, almost five hours before our flight, feeling like refuges having escaped impending disaster. The airport has few services, little seating, had no heat and is crowded with other escapees.