The taxi took us down the now familiar cobbled, maze like streets of Cusco which was already bustling. After arriving at our bus operator we saw on our printed tickets that the bus trip to Puno should have cost just 25 Soles each but the previous day we had paid 50 Soles each through an independent travel operator. So that was a lesson learnt. From now on we will be buying bus tickets on the day of departure and at the bus terminal.
The bus journey was 5 hours and we had been diligent enough to arrive at the recommended 30 mins before the departure time. This was the second lesson of the day, time has little importance in South America. It serves as a rough timeline for the days. It wasn't until 8:30am that we finally got on the road.
The bus route seemed to follow the train line route which had been a more expensive option of traveling from Cusco to Puno. We were pleased with our decision as not only where the views spectacular from the 2nd level of the bus but the seats were very large and comfortable. Tour Peru was the operator recommended to us and they didn't disappoint.
We passed through many small villages and some big towns. One town in particular we were pleased wasn't Puno. It was a mad melay of cars, busses, scooters, rickshaw styled taxis and bikes that seemed to have little regard for traffic laws should have any existed. Compared with Lima and Cusco this town was really undeveloped and it was our first glimpse of a more poverished Peru. Many of it's sprawling roads were just dirt roads lined with stray dogs, food vendors and peruvians with no clear purpose other than to sit and watch the traffic pass by. Many buildings were merely hashed together roughly with brick and motar. Almost all were unfinished which we had been told was a way to not have to pay property taxes.. Sneaky!
Eventually we caught our first glimpses of lake Titicacca. It looked like an Oasis against the baron brown land that surrounded it. The lake is regarded as the worlds highest altitude lake at 3808m above sea level and 8400 sq kilometers. Puno was built around the lake and passing by the Marina towards the bus terminal it's easy to see how the lake serves the city with fresh fish being caught daily. One of the reasons we chose to come to Puno was to see the Islands of Uros (other than Uros Puno is rubbish! For any future travelers go to the islands via cochacabana not Puno) Which were man made floating islands a few miles from the shore of Puno. A large community of 65 islands made up Uros and people are still inhabiting them even today.
Even though we had missed the official tours of these islands, we managed to get onboard a boat that was still taking tourists out to them. In hindsight we felt this was a stroke of luck as by the time we arrived, the islands we absent of the tourist rush and we felt we saw the communities in a more natural state. We disembarked on one such island and was greeted by the president of that particular island. He was called Orlando and even though he was a pretty large man he spoke to us in a warm and soft manner. He explained that the Islands had been in existence for over 185 years and even had a small model of how the islands were constructed. It was 2m of earth with reads that grew on the lake strewn across the top. The ground was soft under foot and it was quite surreal to think that these two materials were allowing a community to survive upon them.
Aside from fishing and hunting, tourism now served as the major income for this community and they were quick to show us the haberdashery and crafts they wished to sell in order to supplement their incomes. We didn't buy anything but felt comfortable knowing that a portion of our boat fare would be paid to Orlando for the convenience of disembarking onto his island. We then went across to main island which was much larger and more developed. It had a mini-market, bar and restaurants all made of wood and reeds. A touch of modern living had infultrated this island as they had solar panels that provided electricity and the now needed light as it had turning quite dark.
It was time to leave and we were glad that we had managed to make our way out to see these islands. But now we were ravenous as we had eaten little all day. The boat took us back to Puno and how it didn't collide with the other small fishing boats, I'll never know. It was not equipped with any lights and so we traveled back under the guidance of the city lights in the far distance. In all it was another typically random day in Peru. The nights are rather cold in Peru (and probably most of South America) so we bundled in to the nearest taxi and headed for the first busy looking restaurant which happened to be pizza restaurant.. Yum :) We haven't been brave enough to eat grilled guinee pig which is a Peruvian dish. Perhaps if it had been added to a curry it would have been more appealing but they seem to want to serve it in a way that kind of resembles road kill. Flattened with it's legs and arms sprawled either side. Hmmm haiwaian pizza it was then!
Tomorrow we have another early rise and longish bus journey to La Paz, Bolivia. This will be our first border crossing. Peru has been a great host and we have enjoyed our time here very much. The people have been very friendly and welcoming. We have gotten by with broken English and Rich who used his Spanish GCSE education to get us by when English wasn't an option. So listen up in Spanish kids as it can be a matter of eating guinee pig or pizza out here...
Love Mike et al xx
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