Over The Andes In 2,766 Pieces – Guest Post By Christopher Marcus

The strange story of the gunboats which came to patrol the world's highest lake – without guns.

The Peruvian Navy took a chance in 1861. It ordered two huge iron gunboats—the Yavarí and the Yapura—for patrolling Lake Titicaca, which at 3,838 meters is the world's highest navigable lake.

'Navigable' is often added as there are smaller, higher lakes elsewhere in the Andes, but these are more isolated and lack the requisite depth for larger ships.

But that's not the case for the 100-mile long Lake ...