Travels in Peru (Puno on Lake Titicaca)

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The Andean Explorer arrived in Puno around 6:00pm and our hotel arranged for a pickup for us at the train station. The next morning, we took a tour to the Uros Islands out on Lake Titicaca, the highest navgible lake in the world. It was a short ride by van to the boat landing. Then we took a boat through the polluted waters of the lake to one of the Uros Islands. These islands are called the floating islands and are made of reeds. The people living on these islands have to keep replacing the reeds as they dry out. We listened to the guide tell about the Uros and their history and then each group of tourists toured a home. They had an array of souveniers which the tourists could purchase. Then we got in one of their reed boats for a trip to another island. This trip costs us ten soles each. They have certainly learned something about economics and business.

That afternoon, a van picked us up and took us out to see the Sillustani. These are ruins which are located about half an hour outside of town and are spread out over a large area. They are not as spectacular as Machu Picchu or any of the ruins in the Sacred Valley, however they are worth seeing. After the guide gave his talk, we had time to wander around the place and take photos. Following this, we treked back down to where the tour buses were located and looked at the usual variety of goods that the locals had for sale.

The next morning, we took a taxi out to the Yavari, a ship, 165 feet in length, docked on Lake Titicaca. There are other ships and vessels on the lake, but what makes this one so unusual is that it wasn´t built here. It was built in England around 1862 and, then, carefully disassembled and placed in packing cases. It was placed upon another ship, the Mayola, and transported to the port of Arica, Peru. Then it was taken by train across the Atacama Desert to Tacna, a distance of 37 miles. Following this, it took six years to get the parts across the mountains to Lake Titicaca by mule. Then it was reassembled and placed in service on the lake. It began its existance as a steam vessel and was powered by dried llama dung. In 1914, it was converted to diesel power and has remained so ever since.

On the morning we departed from Puno, the hotel arranged a ride for us to the airport at Juliaca. We had a Lan Peru flight to Lima. After a night in Lima, we boarded an early morning flight on Copa Airline to Panama. A change of planes there put us on a Continental Airlines flight back to the U.S.

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