PUNO TO CUSCO

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hi all,

Its been another eventful couple of days since my last blog entry.

lets see...

I got to puno (lake Titicaca) and spent an entire day on the lake visiting the islands of uros and taquile. so beautiful!
Uros is man made....crafted entirley out of the reeds and roots grown on the lake.....its a trully amazing feat. and they have these little thatched reed houses on the island.....with solar panelling.....and some with TV.....and the island can´t be more than 30 meters wide....madness!

after that I sailed down the lake for another two and a half hours before reaching the natural island of taquila. you can see the snow covered mountains of BOLIVIA from here...so even though i haven´t visited it....i can say i saw Bolivia!The island had a steep couple hundred steps to climb up.....and u get tired.....believe me! the air is thin and your oxygen intake starts reducing.

I got to see some native people who danced and sang.for me ....and then persuaded me into buying some local weavings . I didnt have enough spanish to say no...so i did! What to do.

On the whole Puno was cool. the only problem was that i couldnt get any sleep at night. My hotel also doubled as the local wedding venue.....boy do these peruvians know how to party.

they were screaming and shouting....getting sloshed....and that was just the hotel stafff! At one point ...i think it was around one in the morning.. i decided to go down and ask the owner whether she had any earplugs....and the staff decided that the indian boy needed to join the party. i had no problem....except that before i could even get to the dance floor.....the brides uncle puked all over it.....suffice to say.....i was not going to be dancing on peruvian throw-up. i struggled to...but called it a night.

the next morning....i woke up late.....the lobby was in the most disgusting condition ...(´em...puke...) you could ever imagine....and the staff were in no business to deal with tourists.....(major peruvian hangovers). that meant that i caught my taxi late......got to the bus station ten minutes late.....and missed my bus!

So i thought.....how bad could it be to take the bus/taxi that the locals use.....after all it was only meant to be five hours from puno to cusco.
think again!

Take five hours....multiply by two....add the normal amount of passengers meant for the bus ....multiply by two.....(considering also that kids dont pay or have a seat.....so add another twenty something screaming toddlers)....street vendors who board the bus every twenty minutes.....bags.....and i mean BAGS.....of luggage (but all tied up in sheets).....which the locals refuse to put in the cargo part of the bus.....but in the isle instead.......and finally throw in for good measure.....bad shocks, brakes, windy roads....and the smell of grilled guinea pig!......I can´t tell you how much I enjoyed that bus trip! so after leaving Puno at 9am.....i finally reached cusco at 6pm. and thats where i am today.

Ive decided not to do much today.....just acclimatize....eat....chill! One thing that i have done though...is organise my train tickets to macchu piccu....so exciting days ahead.

Thats all the stories i have for you......oh and there is a GOVINDA´s opposite my hotel here........cool hey!

I hope YOU ALL ARE DOING WELL.... till my next blog entry.....addios amigos.

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