Puno and Lake Titicaca

We got up early and battled with the lack of hot water, at yet another hotel (as we all tried to take showers around the same time).  We then met down in the Colon Inn restaurant for their continental breakfast (toast, juice, yogurt, fruit, scrambled eggs, bread, tea); it was actually very good.  The tour van picked us up at 7:20 to take us out onto Lake Titicaca.

We quickly met our guide, Miguel, and we headed for the docks.  It was slightly raining, but luckily it was clearing.  As we went down the dock to our boat, we bought pens and paper (as the guidebooks suggested gifts for the island children) which we couldn’t find the night before.  We boarded our “fast boat” the Suasi.  Looking out the window, the harbor was full of green algae.  After getting settled (and our boat finally manuveuring our the congested boat area), it was a 15 minute ride to the reed islands–Uros Islands.  The skies cleared as we got farther away from Puno.

We stopped at Isla Suma Kili.  Miguel gave a description of life on the reed island, and how the islands were made.  When there are disputes among the community, a “bad” family can be given a piece of the reed island which is then cut off from the island itself.  The reed floor was all squishy to walk on as we walked around.  Antonia, one of the island inhabitants, showed us the hut where she, her husband, and 2 children lived.  It was small, but it even had solar panels to power the radio and lights.

We all bought some of the hand stitched items made by the Uros islanders.  After doing some shopping, Sheri and larry climbed the tower to look at the other 40 reed islands in the area.  Jay and Larry then took a reed boat to the next island, Isla Winay Totoro. Edith and Sheri waved from the tower, and then waited for the Suasi to transfer them between islands.  The next island was a lot more commercial, with a lot more things being sold.  There was a demonstration of cooking, and flamingos were feeding in a small pool.  We all got back the boat for the 1 hour trip to Taquile.

As we exited the harbor area near Puno and the Uros Islands, we finally went on the main portion of Lake Titicaca.  We could see Bolivia in the distance.  After dropping off part of the group at one part of the island, we were dropped off with our guide at another point on Taquile (a fairly large island; 5.5km by 1.5km).

We climbed from dock through fields up to a clearing.  Miguel then told us about the community and the history of the island.  How they dow farming without horses or cattle, but by manpower.  They grow many crops (potatoes, quinoa, corn) and make many textiles.  The family and community looked on.  Miguel told us how before marriage the villagers live 2-3 years together, to make sure they are compatible, before having a big weeklong ceremony/party.  He explained the hat colors and what they mean (single vs. married), and the hat is also where the men keep their coca leaves :).  The wonders of the local pants were talked about; and an islander proceeded to ground up a plant and adding water, made a soapy mixture perfect for cleaning out alpaca wool–amazing!  Miguel then let us shop through the locals handmade items, and we went up to a house for lunch.  We were served great bread, trout (REALLY fresh), and potatoes.  There was also a minty tea (Muna) which Edith and Sheri liked a lot.  The community then played music and tried to get us to join in.  After they were done, we passed out the notebooks and pens to the kids who were very thankful.  We said our goodbyes and walked over the island to where we would be picked up for home.

We waited for a long while, but finally our boat returned.  While waiting we learned from Miguel that the Peruvian trains were now on strike–luckily we had arrived yesterday without incident on the train (the Jersey girl that we met was bummed that she would need to take the bus back from Puno, and worried she would never get her train fair back).  We were taken back to Puno–all of us tired from being in the sun and on the water all day.  We got back to Puno and it immediately started raining.  We were taken back to our hotel, and then we went back out and took a taxi to the Bus Station to book our bus to Arequipa.  After visiting multiple places, we finally chose one (Sur Oriente) that was supposed to leave around 10AM (as opposed to 3PM) for the 5-6 hour journey, since we didn’t want to arrive too late.  After booking our bus (only 7 dollars per person), we took a taxi to Plaza de Armas.  It was nothing compared to the amazing square in Cusco.  We visited one of the fair trade shops before it closed, where Sheri got a pair of underwear embossed with a llama.  We then went back to the hotel to rest before dinner.

We had dinner reservations at La Casona.  Larry was FINALLY able to try Cuy (guinea pig, a specialty in Peru) since they had a half-cuy on the menu.  When the cuy arrived it still had the head on it.  Larry immediately sent it back to have the head removed (which the waitress snickered at).  It tasted a similar to rabbit, but it was too much work for the meat that was provided.  Sheri had an avocado stuffed with shrimp; Jay had ceviche, and Edith had an avocado salad.  No one tried the Cuy, but Larry :)  We didn’t have dessert and headed back to the hotel.  On the way, we looked at Rico’s where we would by snacks for tomorrow’s bus ride.

Cusco to Puno

We decided early on that we wanted to take the Andean Explorer train to get from Cusco to Puno. It’s ten hours, and the train is made up of refurbished Pullman cars, and tagged as one of the most scenic train rides in Peru. It was scenic and nice to rest for a day but ten hours was a long time to be on a train.

We were up early to check out of our hotel and at the station just before 7am to check in for the 8am departure. The station wasn’t even open yet. When it finally opened, we had to show our reservation to get in, then we went into a little waiting room and were given a number to speak to an agent. The agent exchanged our voucher for our tickets and we went and checked in our luggage and went to another small waiting room, carpeted with nice wing chairs, with live Peruvian music. It’s the strangest train station I’ve ever been in.

We boarded and found that our assigned seats weren’t even together, and other people had taken our seats. So we just found a table with four of the same wing chairs around it and sat there. The train was two of the passenger cars with the chairs and tables (total capacity 72 people), a bar car, and an observation car with big windows, benches, and an open-air balcony.

They served breakfast (for a fee), but everything else was included – lunch, Pisco Sours mid-morning and mid-afternoon, afternoon tea, and juice. We went through many small villages, and the children waved at the train. We spent some time in the observation car and waved back at anyone who waved. We saw a lot of sheep and llama and alpaca herds and herders, and a lot of the Peruvian countryside. We passed through Juliaca, a city about an hour away from Puno (where the airport is located). Juliaca was having a market day (or maybe they have one every day, and we slowly made our way through town, inches from stacks of items for sale. We even passed over things for sale that people had put on the railroad ties. Juliaca is a pretty rough-looking town.

As I mentioned, it was a long time to sit on a train and by the time we got into Puno we were ready to be off the train. We got our luggage and set out to find our hotel, but we were surprised to see a driver with my name on it. I didn’t remember setting it up, but it was nice to have a driver ready to take us to the hotel!

We were staying at Colon Inn. I think there’s an accent in there somewhere but the name is funnier without it. It’s part of the Best Western chain, oddly enough.

The first thing we did was get onto the Internet and sketch out plans for the next few days. We didn’t have any reservations for the next six nights or so, and now it was time to make some decisions – how many nights to stay in Puno, how to get to Arequipa and Colca Canyon, and how many days to stay where. I sent out some emails to agencies and lodges and waited to hear back. Luckily the hotel had wireless and Larry and I both had our iPhones with us so getting email was relatively easy.

Next we had to search out an agency to take us out onto the lake the next day. We had an address for All Ways Travel, and as we stepped out of the hotel, we saw the sign right across the street – All Ways Travel. Convenient! We went up and decided to do the remote Taquile trip, which has a cultural focus and also includes a trip to Uros. Larry and I had planned to do an overnight stay with a family, but we decided it was a bad idea with how sick I still was.

The tour we picked out is on a fast boat, and limits the group to 8 people. We paid more for it but were happy with our choice. This meant we had to stay in Puno for two nights and travel by bus to Arequipa, so we made plans for an overnight in Arequipa.

We went out for dinner at Incabar, which was pretty good. Puno is fairly rough-and-tumble, not the nicest city, but there’s a pedestrian zone with some restaurants and shops. Incabar is located there. After dinner we turned in and got ready for the trip to the islands the next day.