Puno to Cusco - Pancakes & Parades

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The early morning previously stuffed up both our sleeping patterns so we were awake at 0555. We took advantage of the early start and wandered around the plazas taking photos whilst the majority of Peruvians were still asleep. I guess we must have looked pretty average as just when we started looking for breakfast a random local walked up and voluntarily told us in Spanglish where we could get a coffee - we hadn’t even asked!

His tip was a good one though as the place we found not only did real coffee but also a hell of a breakfast. Jo’s fruit pancake took up a full dinner plate and contained every banana picked in Ecuador this year - and it was only S5 (NZ$2.50). My omelette wasn’t too bad either.

Something I haven’t mentioned earlier in the blog was that some of my pics aren’t so good because it is so bright here in Peru. To get good exposure in the foreground, the background comes out super light. I mention it now because we decided it was as good a day as any to try to find a polarising filter. We must have asked ten people in Spanglish where we could get one but had no luck. The reason I bring this up is that we had a ball just wandering the streets outside of what would be considered the tourist area. We found the market that the locals use and, surprisingly enough, they don’t have Peruvian beanies or rugs - they sell stuff people need! On the wander we also passed by the football stadium and made it back down to the waterfront where our tour left from the previous day. Whist down there I picked up a Peruvian style jacket with Nazca designs on it for S40 (NZ$20) - I guess I’ve still got S80 in the bank after Jo's purchase on the Uros Islands!

On the way back from the docks we were approached by a local bloke who was the peddler of the local form of tuktuk. Basically it is a pedal bike and we were told it was S4 (NZ$2) to go back the 6 or so blocks to Plaza de Armas and our Hostel. That was a price we couldn’t pass up so we jumped on board.

Poor bastard hadn’t calculated weights or inclines very well…

About half way up I couldn’t handle his puffing any more and jumped out, leaving Jo and the bloke to make the rest of the journey together.

Once back at the Hostel we packed our bags and left them in storage so we could collect prior to our 2100 bus to Cusco. With a bit of time to spare and having seen a fair bit of Puno, we spent an hour or so in an internet cafe catching up on news from home (Helen Clarks bribes to students - where have I heard that before).

Next stop - or should I say stops was two of the lookouts over the city of Puno - Mirador el Condor and Mirador Puma - so called because of the massive statues of the animals at each point. From a distance Puno could be a European city, with the high mountains surrounding it and the lake looking not unlike the Med. We hired a cab and payed S30 (NZ$15) for the round trip from Plaza de Armas to Mirador el Condor to Mirador Puma with 20 minutes or so at each stop.

At 1400 we took a look around for some lunch and found a place a few streets off the main area called Restaurant Bahamas. The first good sign was that it was quite full with locals - the second was that they had trout for S13 (NZ$6.50). We had to wait a while for it to come out but what a meal! It was the biggest piece of trout I have had to date and came with salad, a fried egg, chips, a slab of meat of indeterminable origin, a fried banana (yes, a fried banana) and an orange. Jo’s steak was similarly garnished. They also had a Cusquena dark beer - 620mls for S4 (NZ$2). Whilst in the restaurant the owner put the TV on and there was some kind of festival going on with hundreds of people in costume dancing up a street. As we left we enquired as to whether the festival was taking place in Puno and were told yes. Just two blocks down the road we found it… the festival was live on TV from two blocks from the restaurant.

We spent a good two hours on the sidewalk watching the procession pass. There was masks, dancing, brass bands - you name it, it was in the parade. The streets were packed with enthusiastic locals and getting anywhere was nearly impossible. I snapped 120 or so pics and we fought our way back to the hostel. Our timing for this day in Puno couldn’t have been better!

To top things off out Tour Peru bus left 5 minutes early from Puno and I managed to sleep the whole way to Cusco.

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Photos

Plaza de Armas
Looking up to Mirador el Condor, Puno

My purchase
...and the face of someone who has just taken me for too much money