Blogs from Lake Titicaca , Puno, Peru, South America
May 22nd 2012
7.00a.m. 23.5.2012 - After having some lessions on Pisco Sour making - Elder said you haven't been to Peru unless you eat Guinea Pig - so we shared one between us - wasn't that psyched up for it - but it really was a couple of mouthfuls - bit like quail - not much meat and a lot of bones. Anyway we have tried it!!!! Can't believe we did that !! lAlso John tried a Alpaca steak which he thoroughly enjoyed. 22.5.2012 Headed off at 9.00a.m. in three cyclos down to the wharf area in Puna to catch our motor boat out to the floating islands of the Uros people, it was absolutely fantastic, there are groups of families who live on these floating islands, there’s a president and he presides over the community on each ... read more
Lake Titicaca (Uros, Amantani and Taquile Islands)
Published: April 10th 2012South America » Peru » Puno » Lake Titicaca » Uros Island
March 29th 2012
Post breakfast we were picked up at our hostal by a van that took us to the boat dock. Our tour was the longest offered out of Puno. 2 days in which we would visit the Uros Islands and Amantani Islands (where we would stay with a host family) on the first day and Taquile Island on the second. The Uros Islands are about an hour boat ride from Puno, then 3.5ish hours to Amantani, 3ish hours to Taquile and 3ish hours back to Puno...although the boat was extremely slow so it wasn´t really that far between islands. There were about 10 tourists on the trip, which unfortunately included a bratty British mom and the most bratty little kid we have ever been around. We spent the whole time trying to avoid them, they were awful. ... read more
March 7th 2012
Hi again, So back to Lake Titicaca! The lake is home to many islands, some within Peru and some within Bolivia. The biggest island is Isla Del Sol in Bolivia and the second biggest is Amantani which I will tell you more about later. The first stop after half an hour on the lake was the Uros Islands. This are not natural islands, instead they are man-made. The islands are made from a reed called Tortura which grows in the shallow areas of the lake. The islanders create these floating islands by using the root base as the foundations and then literally piling up layers of reeds on top. At any given time, they estimate the depth of the island to be about 2 metres, that is 2 metres of reeds and roots. As the bottom ... read more
Floating Reed Islands and Lake Titicaca
Published: February 21st 2012South America » Peru » Puno » Lake Titicaca » Uros Island
February 19th 2012
Had breakfast, left our luggage in the hotel store room and the whole group took a rickshaw to Lake Titicaca's shore. Fortunately, it was mainly downhill. We both really hate taking these pedalled powered taxis but they were arranged for us by the guide for the day.We always feel so guilty that the poor person has to pedal two not particularly light people around! We would rather have walked but it was too far. All piled into a fairly plush boat. It had a toilet on board which is always useful after 4 cups of coffee for breakfast! About an hour out onto the lake. Lake Titicaca is vast and extremely deep in parts. However, the reed islands were in a shallow part. Moored up at one of the smaller islands on which about 6 families ... read more
February 10th 2012
A ten hour journey from Cusco to Puno took us through The Andes, visiting more Inca sites on the way. We visited a lot of markets along the way and bought yet more bargains! In this area most of the buildings are unfinished to avoid building taxes due on completion of the house. It all looks very messy. Our hotel in Puno was on the edge of lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 3,800metres, and we had our own jetty for the boat trip. The first stop was at the floating reed islands of the Uro Indians. The islands are made of cut reeds on a reed bed, feels like walking on a waterbed. They add a new layer of reeds every week and eventually the island becomes so heavy it starts ... read more
Puno and our first glimpse of Lake Titicaca
Published: February 9th 2012South America » Peru » Puno » Lake Titicaca
February 1st 2012
So, off to Puno then. We had yet to receive a positive comment about the town itself from people we had met, however Puno was the jumping off point for the famous floating islands and also to see the islands of Amantani and Taquile, so we decided to come anyway. On arrival at the hostel, we put our bags down and then promptly booked a trip with the sweet family running the place. We decided to do an all in one tour, where we would see the floating islands, then onto Amantani to stay the night with a local family, then in the morning off to Taquile before returning back to Puno. Perfect. In the morning, our minibus picked us up and took us to the dock in order to catch our boat. There must have ... read more
The floating islands of Uros
Published: January 19th 2012South America » Peru » Puno » Lake Titicaca » Uros Island
December 28th 2011
Waking up early was the last thing I wanted to do this morning after an awful nights sleep; but having mastered the temperature control on the shower I made my way downstairs for breakfast. I was one of the first people up and about in the hostel this morning, and was very much looking forward to breakfast after my meal last night. Although there were no eggs as had been promised, I made do with the stone-baked bread rolls and copious amounts of tea to keep me going. Having wolfed down my breakfast, I waited patiently in reception for my collection and transfer to the Uros and Taquile islands tour. I didn't have to wait long, but kicked myself when we were halfway across town, realising that I had forgotten to pick up the delicious looking ... read more
The Islands of Lake Titicaca
Published: January 6th 2012South America » Peru » Puno » Lake Titicaca » Taquile Island
December 17th 2011
So after a beautiful bus ride from Cusco to Puno we were excited to visit Lake Titicaca. Devon was still under the weather and was on day 2 with no food/water! A tough cookie, she still was eager to do an overnight stay with a family on one of the islands on Lake Titicaca. In the end, we opted not to spend the night on one of the Islands given the temperature and Devon´s illness. However, we took a nice, although touristy day tour on a boat yesterday. The tour visited some families on the floating islands and a woman showed us her home. It had a solar panel where she could power one light bulb and her tv. The islands are built on the roots of these long reeds that grow in the water. They ... read more
December 10th 2011
Before we went out to explore Lake Titicaca we had one night in Puno which sits on the Peruvian shore of Lake Titicaca. Its a very small town that most travellers just use as a port for the lake. Lake Titicaca is famous because it is the highest lake in the world situated at 3811m above sea level. It is also the biggest lake in South America and is split between Peru and Bolivia. After our wake up call we jumped into our 'Limo´s' to be taken down to the port. This journey ended up being a bit of a race for which our drivers were then breathless from - see the picture. Our first destination once on board was Taquile Island. Here the native´s speak Quechua and the Island is famous for its weaving. It ... read more
October 12th 2011
Wednesday (Oct. 12th) - Thursday (Oct. 20th) Two weeks with my brother. Many people would groan at that thought but I was actually excited to see him. After 3 months of traveling and meeting new people it was good to see a familiar face and we had some crazy adventures together. Brendon (my brother) met me in Cusco after my Inca Trail trek and after I had sufficiently recovered from the hike we began the next leg of my trip. I should have known this ahead of time since I was with Brendon, but from the beginning nothing really went according to plan (if what we had could even be called a plan.) First stop was Puno in southern Peru. It's not that pretty of a city but the lake shore with the reeds and the ... read more
