Blogs from Puno, Puno, Peru, South America - page 7

Carnival time - Puno The journey When we left Puno the first time just before Christmas to come to Cusco we both agreed that this was one place we had been to on our trip that we did not want to go back to. However, the draws of the infamous Puno carnival and a group trip with all the other Yanapaay volunteers meant that early one thursday morning we found ourselves getting a taxi to the bus station meeting everyone and getting our seats on the 8am bus to Puno. The first 3 hours of the journey is very picturesque as the bus snakes through the valley and up quite steep paths to flatter ground. The journey was going well and the sun had even started to shine which was a welcome change from the ... read more

Rano sme sa, po dlhom case, mohli konecne poriadne vyspat. Skoro celu noc prsalo a dazd bubnoval na vlnity kus laminatu ktory mame namiesto strechy, bolo to prijemne monotonne a uspavajuce. Po ranajkach sme sa vybrali pozriet si Puno a musime priznat ze sme velmi ocareni neboli, hlavne v porovnani s predchadzajucim krasnym kolonialnym Cuzcom. Nase prve kroky viedli k jazeru Titicaca, mozno to znie zaujimavo a exoticky, ale v skutocnosti sme videli zapachajuci pristav, spinavu vodu a par starsich osarpanych lodiek. Pomerne sklamany sme sa vybrali do stredu mesta a tu sme videli mnozstvo pochodujucich ludi v roznych uniformach a krojoch. Vraj takto pochoduju kazdu nedelu, mi si teda vieme predstavit aj lepsie travenie nedeli, ale co uz. Zvysok mesta posobil spinavo, nedostavane a schatrane. Po obede nas cakal vylet na uz spominane Sillustani, ide ... read more

So, we are back in civilisation again after spending last night on Amantani Is on Lake Titicaca. It was an amazing experience as we spent it with a host family.....but that's to come, lets start with leaving La Paz. After our ride on the Death Road and a nice sleep, we woke up for a quick brekky, before heading down to Rosita to meet our new guides, Sue and Mark. They work as a couple and have been for a few years, with Tucan Travel. Sue is Brazilian so can speak Spanish and Portuguese (huge help), and Mark is an Aussie!! :) We were on the road at 7:30am, and said goodbye to beautiful La Paz. We also had an extra on the truck, Juan, a guide to take us to Tiahuanaco, a pre-Inca ruins and ... read more

On the Road Again We were up and out of the hostel by midday the next day (love these check out times) and went a couple of blocks down the road to a nearby travel agency that was run by people who were friends with the owners of Pachamama hostel. We repaid our debt there and left a note saying thank you and promising to recommend them to anyone and everyone. So if you’re going to Cabanaconde, make sure you stay at Pachamama hostel. It’s warm, has good food and the friendliest staff in the world. Ever. We ate a lunch of rolls in the Plaza de Armas and were surprised to see a couple of condors flying overhead. We then headed north to a nearby park where we sat in the shade and felt a ... read more

Puno Day 1 Monday, August 9 ***I'm posting this one a bit late, since the hotel WiFi was down. August 10th is in the works. Here we were, content with our trip so far on Cruz Del Sur, and trouble raised its ugly head. Although the bus only left Lima 5 minutes late, we had so many stops and detours on our way to Arequipa that we ended up getting there an hour and a half late, at 8:35am today. Unfortunately (stating it mildly) the connecting bus to Puno left at 8:30am as scheduled, even though our bus stewardess had radioed them that we were running late. Five minutes! We got our refund for the Cruz Del Sur trip to Puno and my wife quickly located another bus line with a bus for Puno leaving at ... read more