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Published: June 18th 2011
Friday 20th May - Thursday 26th May
We didn’t hang around long in the hustle and bustle of the big city La Paz, heading to the shores of Lake Titicaca (the largest high altitude lake in the world) and a small friendly town called Copacabana, our final stop in Bolivia before crossing into Peru.
The sun was shining and the town instantly felt like a local beachside holiday destination, albeit a little rough around the edges. The main street was buzzing with people wandering around, browsing the tourist markets for jewellery, llama fleeces and other nic nacs or sitting at one of the many outdoor cafés.
We checked into a terrific wooden cabana overlooking the inland sea, which gave us a great place to relax, and at Bolivian prices it was considerably affordable. Lying in the hammocks out the front really brought the ‘holiday’ here to life. Later, after dark we lit a fire in the small clay fireplace and enjoyed a bottle of red wine, as our cabana slowly filled with smoke.. whoops! A wonderful birthday treat (courtesy of some birthday money), stretching my birthday celebrations to almost a month!
The next day we took a
Copacabana, Bolivia
Soaking up the sun...2 ½ hr boat ride (sat up on the roof) to the nearby island of Isla del Sol, the legendary birthplace of the sun in Inca mythology. The snow-capped Andean peaks hugging the lake in the distance were a clear reminder of the 3,800 metre altitude.
As we climbed the Inca staircase from the port to the village of Yumani, the sun was out in full force (as expected from the ‘Island of the Sun’) and with each step we found ourselves slowing to the sleepy pace of the people, llamas and donkeys here.
After a quick wander of the simple mud hut village, we chose a place to stay and by chance our old travel buddies from The Netherlands (Freek & Bente) were the only other guests there. We had a laugh, caught up on our latest travel adventures over a beer and enjoyed the spectacular views of the lake below. That evening we climbed a small hill to view a perfect sunset over the lake (very romantic indeed) and behind us the pink/purple sky brought a different beauty to the snowy mountains.
We woke early and walked three hours to the northern tip of the
Isla del Sol, Bolivia
Enjoying the sunset... island along the ridge, with lake views on either side. The sun was warm and the abandoned white sand beach below looked really inviting, so we decided to brave a quick dip in the freezing cold water. We stripped down and ran for it shrieking all the way (Chris did anyhow ;o) ). It wasn’t until we were back in our clothes that we noticed the old shepherd and his small flock of sheep watching us from the shade. He had a big grin as he passed us by, simply saying ‘buenos tardes’ (good afternoon).
Having heard so much about Peru we were excited about crossing the border, but we could not have predicted the experience that lay ahead….
It began with news that the land border crossing was closed due to a protest in Peru. However, having been advised that the problems only existed at the border, we opted for the other available route to Puno (our destination), a 7 hour boat trip across the lake.
We haggled for a cheap deal and were pleased to be allocated a seat inside the small vessel with a capacity of 26. We weren’t so pleased to see the
operators usher 41 other people onto the boat with us, filling space out the back and on the roof amongst all of the luggage! 10 long hours later we were relieved to arrive just before dark, having seen water splash over the sides of our lopsided boat on several occasions due to the weight we were carrying.
As we made our way to the immigration office in the centre of town, we were surprised to see a rally of protesters with banners circling the main square - Welcome to Peru! Assured by the locals that the protest was peaceful and would end that night, we booked a trip to the floating islands for the following morning and an onward bus to Arequipa for the afternoon.
The floating islands of Uros are made using layers of totora reeds that grow in the shallow water of Lake Titicaca. Centuries ago, a small tribe called the Uros people began their floating existence to isolate themselves from the aggressive Collas and the Incas. They are now home to several hundred people. Visiting them was a great experience, meeting the friendly people in colourful traditional dress and seeing how the reeds play a
Floating Islands of Uros, Peru
Local transport....a reed boat part in every facet of their lives, including their houses, boats, lookout towers, food and handicrafts, lots of handicrafts!
Keen to move on from Puno we prepared our bags for our 2pm departure, only to be told that a 48 hour general strike had begun and all roads out of Puno were blocked and buses suspended. However reassured by our bus company that we would be able to leave the next day, we spent the night drinking beer and playing jenga with Freek and Bente – also stuck in Puno with us!
We awoke to protests at 4am outside our hostel and later discovered that 10,000 villagers from the surrounding areas had descended on Puno overnight. (The majority of these people appeared to be camped outside our hostel, eating breakfast! - see picture).
All shops, including travel agencies, were closed.
It was now ‘Operation Escape Puno! A few action plans were formed.... 1) Under the cover of darkness, take a boat at 3am from the port to a nearby town where a bus would (might) be waiting for us (this was actually proposed by the hostel owner!). 2) Dress up as Peruvians in traditional clobber and walk
Puno, Peru
A demonstration passing our hostel! past the unsuspecting protesters manning the roadblocks. 3) Dig a tunnel with our travel spoon from the hotel under the road blocks.
Surprisingly, none of these options worked out. However, one agency in town was opening in between passing demonstrations, which were now parading throughout the town, and was sneaking travellers out in a small minibus via a 2 ½ hour diversion to avoid road blocks. Having heard that the previous day’s minibus had been temporarily surrounded by a demonstration, we were relieved to drive around the boulders scattered on the road and not encounter any problems ourselves.
The sanctuary of Arequipa could not have felt better, as we celebrated our escape with a beer, and watched live footage of protesters in Puno now setting fire to cars and burning government buildings! As of the date of writing the strikes continue…..
More on Arequipa to follow....
K and C xx
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