Floating on reeds

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Peru - a new country (another one crossed off the list).

Our journey began with a painless border crossing and an easy ride to Puno, the staging post for the floating reed islands in Lake Titicaca.

We weren´t planning on staying long, but were persuaded by some Kiwis we met to stay an extra night and go visit the reknowned floating islands. This, it turns out, was a stop well worth making, and our half day trip was very rewarding.

We took a little launch out to the closest island (name???) where we had an interesting overview of the local history by our guide, seated as we were on a makeshift bench made of the reeds from which the rest of these amazing islands were fashioned.

Imagine, if you will, a series of islands in the middle of a lake constructed solely of marsh reeds, bundled together and floated on the water. In fact, the houses, the telephone box (yes) and the local boats are all put together using these reeds, and have been for many hundreds (or thousands) of years. This is truly a bizarre place, and the feeling is compounded by the eery squelch your feet make each time you take a step, especially knowing that you´re separated only by these reeds from 30ft or more of cold water.


Naturally, these peoples´lives have changed quite a bit since the tourists arrived, and much of their day consisted of selling tourist tat to the hordes shipped in through the day. We had a nice conversation with a young lad in his twenties who was steering the reed ship we took a spin in. He told us the unusual fact that once he & his future wife got married, they´d simply (!) construct a new piece of island and build a new house ontop! No estate agents here, you just do everything yourself.






Back to Puno we went, then, to catch Middlesborough getting thumped in the UEFA Cup. Following that, we had a pretty late night in the local rock bar...Puno has a decent nightlife, even if it all lies on the one main street. Otherwise, the place is a bit of a dump.

We left the next morning for the tourist mecca of Cusco on what was sold to us as a luxury, non-stopping coach...luckily for the guy who sold the ticket there is no Trades Descriptions Act in force in Peru. The bus (for it was no coach) smelt like it had been used to ferry wet dogs around in the heat, and stopped at every little town on the way. Men and women selling food, jumpers (!) and other items (see below) frequently boarded for 15mins then hopped off again. We even saw some squirming bags being loaded into the hold and also under several seats. My sister´s past life as a guinea pig breeder helped me identify the muffled squeaks from the seat behind me as the local favourite dish in transit. Nice.

To perhaps top it all, a vegetarian friend had the igmony of having a local lady open a bag on the edge of her seat and proceed to lift a leg (replete with trotter attached) of some animal out before chopping it up with a large blade. The smell was to die (or kill) for.

Of course, we arrived in Cusco two hours later than expected and in a very good mood!

Welcome to Peru!

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