Blogs from Puno, Puno, Peru, South America
May 22nd 2012
21.5.2012 Got back to Cusco last around 10.00pm, was so wrecked didn’t even have a shower straight to bed up 6.30 to be on the road by 7.15a.m. A lot of small groups all congregated at bus station to get double decker bus to Puno. With a few stops along the way at more Inca ruins and of course a church, then lunch in in Sicuani, climbing all the way to 4335 metres, now feeling a bit headachy again and a bit of a heavy chest, we arrived in Puno around 5.30p.m. Pretty town on the edge of Lake Titicaca, which we will be exploring tomorrow. Lake Titicaca we are told is the highest navigable lake in the world, where the Uros people live. Looking forward to that. Elder took us to his mates restaurant ... read more
April 21st 2012
Finally early the next morning we crossed into Peru, although Fabi and Danny were threatened to be put in jail as they crossed the border without authorisation. We were all happy to have finally left Bolivia and sat reminiscing about our experience while we enjoyed breakfast looking over the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. After breakfast it was a short drive to Puno were we all had a quick lunch and strolled the city before starting to prepare for the next day. The next day we woke around 8am and were ushered out to our personal tok tok’s which were powered by small Peruvian men on bicycles; these took us down to the seaside markets to buy presents for the families that would be hosting us for the night. Travis, Kylie, Josh ... read more
March 26th 2012
We arrived in Puno to a downpour. As suspected, there were tons of hostals within a block of the terminal and after a little shopping we settled on one for $20 soles ($8 USD) in total. Oh how I love these prices. No restaurants were open nearby so we went back to the terminal and picked up some bread and fruit. We met a nice english speaking guide there who recommended a hostal closer to the main square, also for $20 soles. Tuesday (27th - 1 month in to our trip!!!) morning I talked to a tourist information place while Sarah organized. And after Sarah filled herself with a pre-breakfast snack of bread and fruit. The view from our hostal window showed shambles, chaos, colors, tons of different kinds of taxis, dogs, people...just chaos. From the ... read more
February 18th 2012
Early breakfast and the bus loaded by 7.00 am and we were on our way. Bye-bye Cusco! Long driving day. Back past the most miserable Peruvian town we have come across - Juliaca - it was really depressing both times we passed it. Just huge long roads awash with mud, broken down lorries and cars and unfinished buildings...... A couple of toilet stops along the way and lunch off the road on a grassy area. Brown rolls, cheese, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber and some strange fruits we have never seen before - all bought from the local market by our drivers yesterday. Stopped at around 4.00 pm at Silustani. A pre-Incan burial area overlooking a large volcanic lake/crater. We had a local guide who told us all about it but not sure that we took much in ... read more
Puno, Copacobana, Lake Titicaca and the Border Crossing
Published: January 23rd 2012South America » Peru » Puno » Puno
January 23rd 2012
Alright, another long pause between updates, lots of bussing and business... The day after we arrived back from the Inca Trail we had an early bus to catch at 7am in order to get to Puno on Lake Titicaca. After a rather dull ´tour´from Cusco to Puno, stopping 4-5 places with some information we arrived in Puno at 5pm and went to our hostel. After dropping off bags and arranging our next bus we explored the city a bit, had street food for dinner and went to bed. The next day in Puno we went on a day boat tour to the Uros or floating islands and Taquile Island, the floating islands were fairly interesting, although now extremely commercial. The inhabitants of the islands showed you how the floating islands were made of the reed Tortuga, ... read more
January 13th 2012
After a ten-ish hour bus ride, we finally made it to Puño. For some reason, buses do not like Becca and I. Let me explain, our bus was supposed to leave from the main bus station in Cusco at 8 a.m. We were going on San Luis, which according to Lonely Planet, is a fairly good bus company. Well, we got to the station at 7:30ish, and went to wait for the bus to arrive. As it got closer to 8, we walked up and down looking for our bus. Though I liked Cusco, I was a little anxious to get onto the next part of our journey. However, the Peruvian way is, and I mean no offense, but usually a little behind schedule. Eight came and went...and no bus. We finally went and found the ... read more
December 27th 2011
After a night of constant clock watching I got up early to prepare to leave La Paz. After I'd collected my clean laundry from reception I had a long, hot shower to wash off the remnants of yesterday. Dressed and ready for the off, I began to clumsily cram everything into my already tightly packed bag. I tried to be ad quiet as I could so as to not wake the rest of the dorm, even though there were yet again people outside that appeared to have not yet gone to bed. I carted my things down to reception and checked out before sitting down to finish what was left of the funny Panettone cake that I had bought for Christmas. Just as I had made myself comfy, I heard my name being called from the ... read more
November 6th 2011
Our first impression of Puno left us wondering why we had decided to come here at all. Puno isn't a nice city, but at least we managed to find a nice hostel owned by an old couple who let us order pizza and watch Oliver Twist in the livingroom! The lake The next morning we were off into lake Titicaca. Our first stop was at the floating islands, which were very touristy. Nevertheless it was interesting to see how they build the islands with blocks of roots and strands of reeds from the lake. Next, we were dropped off at Amantani island, where a nice family rented us a room for the night. We joined them for lunch, which was at least 10 varieties of potatoes (yellow, orange, white, defrosted, dehydrated, etc). In the early evening ... read more
October 17th 2011
Tina Writes We were expecting prices to shoot up as soon as we entered Peru but were pleasantly surprised when we got a hostel for S40 (£9) per night. I say hostel but this was a lot more like a hotel room. It was decent enough and even had an Ethernet connection to the net, so we had a really good connection. It did get very cold in the room and I had to have a hot shower to heat up before I went to bed. It was the best shower I have had in South America, with actual hot water. It was difficult to get out. There had been some sort of concert and parade going on in the square nearby all day and when the parade passed our hotel it was rather noisy so ... read more
Lake Titicaca - Are there really any Flamingos here??
Published: September 19th 2011South America » Peru » Puno » Puno
September 18th 2011
Friday 9th September After a rather luxurious bus ride from Arequipa, we have landed in Puno, on Lake Titicaca. Room is comfortable and has fabulous pillows! Our first job as is the norm is to head in to the main square and get our bearings. For a change we have arrived early afternoon so we have plenty of time to look about what yet again is another lovely city. The streets bustle here with the local women garbed in multilayered dresses and bowler hats. Lots of cobbled streets as you get in closer which really adds lots of character. The cars as usual, are a pain in the arse. Shane says: Yeah piss cars off all together. Just make pedestrian paths around these beautiful squares. Quite by chance we hear a big band playing in the ... read more
