Pretty Peru

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Peru
Isles Flotantes
Hopped off the bus at the border and lined up at immigration, along with the chickens pecking the ground around our feet. Sailed through with no probs and bought some yummy bread looking thing from a lady selling homebaked goodies from a basket she was carrying. Got back on the bus to the town of Puno, to take a boat tour to some floating islands. There are hundreds of these islands all made completely out of reeds - the ground, the houses, the boats, the lookout towers. And don't let those squishy reeds get in the way of a good soccer game between friends. If people in the community have a fight and can't resolve the problem, they just cut the island in half and drift away from each other.

Cuzco
Caught a night bus to Cuzco and arrived without the bus being held up, as warned. If getting harrassed by people trying to sell you things is your idea of a good time, then Cuzco's your town. We had a bet on how many times we could be approached while eating breakfast at a cafe on the street front. Joe was the closest with his guess of 23 (in one hour). If you were lucky you would just get caught chatting to police officers who wanted to practice their English.

Machu Pichu
The only way to get to Machu Pichu is to take the train. The train from Cuzco cost about $70 for tourists but only $10 for locals. So to cut back on costs we spent a few hours on local buses with our knees crammed up around our chins to get to a train station a bit closer that would only cost $40. We stayed the night in the nearest town, Aguas Caliente, and got to the ruins for sunrise, a mission well worthwhile to avoid all the tourists who would be arriving in a few hours time. The site is really well preserved, clean and full of Llama's. If you're up for some adventure, try taking the alternate trail. And what's a world famous archaeological site without a stray dog or two?

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