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Published: January 11th 2010
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We left Cusco by bus, heading for Puno on Lake Titicaca. The scenery as we climbed out of the Cusco valley was spectacular, winding up through lush green agricultural fields up to the rocky snow covered peaks and to La Raya pass at 4,321 metres. Then across vast desolate and endless altiplano, topped with impossibly blue skies. The bus journey took rather longer than expected due to roadworks, but after a final climb, we suddenly had a view of the highest ‘navigable’ lake in the world, Lake Titicaca.
Puno, is quite a big town, although relatively in the middle of nowhere! We arrived in town to find a huge annual festival going on to celebrate the foundation of the town. There were dancers and marching bands everywhere and half the streets were closed, meaning the taxi had to drop us a couple of blocks from our hotel. It took us while and a few wrong turns, getting more and more frustrated and hot lugging all our gear to find the right street!
Puno seems to be a rather functional and industrial town, which is surprising given its spectacular lakeside setting. On walking down to the lake the following
day we were very surprised to see a very tacky looking ‘tourist’ lake with pedaloes and further along a very stagnant rubbish-filled shoreline.
We went to visit the Yavari, an old steam ship that was made in UK in 1862 and shipped here in pieces round Cape Horn to Arica on the coast (now in Chile) and then over the Andes by horse! This all took 6 years apparently!
We took a day trip on a boat out to the famous Reed Islands (or Uros), which are indeed floating islands made from reeds and anchored out in the lake, where Aymara people live as they have for hundreds of years - except that approximately 100 tourist boats arrive every day with a load of tourists to take pictures of the ‘cute’ reed houses and the people in their traditional dress. It was interesting to see, but you know you’re not seeing real life - it’s all staged for the tourists.
After the Reed Islands, another 2 hours on the boat took us to the beautiful island of Taquile, surrounded by deep blue seas and with views of the distant snow-covered peaks of the Andes. We had lunch
cooked by a local family in their house and sat out at a makeshift table looking out across the lake and enjoying the spectacular views. After lunch we had time for a wander around the town square and then walked to the other end of the island to get back on the boat for the trip home.
Our last day in Puno, was November 31st, Halloween of course and as we sat having dinner in a restaurant we watched hundreds of witches and devils parading past with their parents, eating ice creams and collecting buckets of sweets from the restaurants and bars. It was obviously a big family night out, and all very good natured and very well behaved!
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