Puno/Lake Titicaca

Puno

We had heard mixed reviews about Puno, the town that sits at the edge of Lake Titicaca, and couldn`t decide whether or not this was a town to visit. However, if you wish to visit the floating islands of Uros, this is the place to start that journey. We reluctantly left our lovely hostel one afternoon for the shortish ( 6 hours) bus ride to Puno. Humph, not only did it take us a very slow plodding one hour to finally leave Arequipa, thereby appreciating its sheer size, but 3 hours into our journey we stopped. For a Very Long Time. Turns out there was an accident on this very narrow winding road which created nothing short of chaos and a huge tailback. We finally arrived almost 3 hours late to yet another of Marlon`s Houses. When you find something good, why change? Marlon said he had a place in Puno, so that`s where we stayed. Equally good. No bath however, but still perfect. We had planned to spend the next day, our 13th Wedding Anniversary, on Lake Titicaca, but a 9 hour bus journey had tired out these bunnies, so instead we spent our special day wandering around Puno, and eating a quiet lunch at the towns oldest cafe postponing our trip to the Lake until the following day.

Why Puno is described as feeling unsafe, or gritty, another term we had heard, is unknown to us. Puno is just your average small town, nothing special, nothing to write home about, and odd to us, not a town with a lake side path however. Personally I think Puno is missing a trick there. All I can say honestly about Puno is, expect a town, and you will get a town. No frills, no smart plazas, just a nice little town.

Lake Titicaca/ Uros floating islands

Marlon (again, he of hostel name) was also a tour operator, and arranged for these three bunnies, a two day Lake Titicaca Island tour, perhaps it is a good job my bunny ears, big as they are, were a little deaf to the trips intricacies as I may never have gone, but I am so glad we did. Picked up from the hostel at 8am we were driven to the port and there boarded our smallish riverboatish type cruiser boaty thing, along with around 15 other travellers. The day started well, the Lake beautifully calm, a gentle breeze, all was well. We landed at the Uros Islands, hmmmm, local they may be, and yes they do float, but do they now exist purely for the tourist trade, or are they still a genuine source of local habitation? We had passed very many floating islands, but if you look into any tour shop window or on booking.com, you will note that these islands contain picture perfect little bungalows, with terraces, bathrooms, and views onto the Lake. So local habitation or tourist destination? I admit I fell briefly for the lure of one of these rooms, but nothing about it felt `right`. They are undoubtedly lovely, but very expensive comparatively. I chose to cancel in favour of experiencing something a little more authentic. Uros Islands. We landed at one these tiny islands, which contained 3 or 4 little reed houses, an arena of reed seats on which we sat, surrounded by a small array of locally produced handicrafts set out on gorgeous eye catching table cloths. We listened to a short talk by the village elder, translated by our guide, about how they make the islands, the houses, the textiles. We were then invited to board a large reed boat for a short punted ride amongst the reeds, where our `punter` (boat captain, pusher alonger....) pointed out some birds eggs. hmmm....Fair enough we are in the middle of a ruddy great lake, but birds eggs?? As a tourist I would have been happy just to enjoy the ride, sat on the floor of this large handmade reed boat, without the need to see birds eggs. Once back on the floating island we were invited to spend 15 mins of free time to peruse the local handicrafts. They are undoubtably lovely, and well crafted, but it is also very difficult to just look and walk away. To appease our guilt we purchased a small boat, a reminder of our yellow reed boat punted lake ride. From the Uros Islands we motored on to the next island, Amantani, another one and half hours away. As we pulled up at the harbour wall, I waited for the ladder to appear, or steps, or plank...nope. We quite literally had to climb from boat deck to dock side. Absolutely no problem if you are tall, agile, nimble or athletic, but Mrs Bunny here took one look at that wall and had a vision of being stuck on the darn boat! Being hauled up by two handsome Peruvian men whilst your bunny hubby shoulder hoisted me up, was not fun. Still, at least I`m on terra firma at last. The group were met by our local hosts for the night, and we were all allocated a family. Leeta, was to be our host (apologies if the name is misspelt) and we, and another family from Peru, were designated to be her guests. For a lovely lady of ample girth, Leeta fair shifted up that hill, followed puffing and panting by her 6 guests. Whilst the altitude of Lake Titicaca is comparative to the altitude of Cusco, the position of the Lake, makes the air even thinner, and oxygen even more precious here on the island. After a breathless uphill route march of around 20 mins, we arrived at Leeta`s house and shown our rooms. Perfect. Simple, local, and with a view to die for. The Peruvian family with whom we were paired were delightful. Santiago, the nineteen year old son was an absolute joy. He spoke perfect English, was well educated, well travelled, and knowledgeable about many unusual topics, from the monarchy,(ours) to Downton Abbey, Harry Potter and James Bond films, we had quite a laugh, all while he translated to his mum and younger sister. (They had their own room, just to clarify) We were served a satisfying local lunch of vegetable soup, and a plate of potato, roots, and other veggies, and a block of what appeared to be egg, but alas for Mrs Bunny, turned out to be fried haloumi cheese. Mr Cheese Face Bunny, and even little bunny both waffled their little bunny noses in appreciation. After lunch we walked once more down the path to the village square, where we met the other members of our boat, to start the climb to the viewpoint, the Pachamama monument (aka rock pile) and sunset. Already suffering from the altitude, this bunny had no desire to climb yet another big hill, the views of the lake from the square where I sat were perfectly adequate thank you very much. After sunset, the group descended, and once again we climbed to our hosts house. Our evening meal was much the same, except this time with the addition of rice to the other carb laden items on our plates. Once replete, we were offered the chance to dress in local attire and attend the `party` in the square. Super touristic though it felt, we happily donned these gorgeous local outfits, the ladies in skirts, blouses, waistbands, and head shawls, the men in simple ponchos and woolly beanie hat, and headed once more into the village. The party, a gathering of tourists in the bar with music supplied via a mobile spotify was a bit of a laugh. Not wishing to diss the mentality of certain travellers, ones from a certain country do leave a lot to be desired with their secular attitude and lack of (ho hum) personality.... If the cap fits, wear it, though you probably don`t realise that I`m referring to You! We retired to bed at 10pm, in preparation for an early morning start.

Day Two. Started at 6.30 with a call to breakfast. Pancakes! With jam, tea, no milk of course and coffee. Then at 7.30 our final climb back down the hill to the port and that boat. Oh what a contrast to the calm lake of the day before. The Lake was so choppy, and the ride to the next island was an hour of sheer panic and hell. I think I mentioned in my post about Galapagos, that bunnies and boats don`t mix, and once more this rang true. I don`t think Mrs Bunny has ever felt so upset, or unwell or scared as on that particular boat. That small boat rocked and rolled like an aged drag queen for over an hour as we crossed the lake to Taquile island. Needless to say on landing, this green wild eyed motion induced vertigo suffering bunny fell off that boat, and promptly vowed to never get on a stupid boat ever again! Mrs Bunny and her utterly adorable and protective Mr Bunny had no choice but to insist the tour group set off as planned on their trip, where as these two bunnies would stay put on the harbour side and wait for their return. Oh the hardship.... We sat and watched as the group trudged slowly up yet another long steep hill, from the comfort of a park bench, in the sun, with a cushion for comfort, the best view of the Lake Titicaca, a cold drink,( water for one, beer for the other.) Darn, it was tragic, and such a shame we couldn`t join them. Oh dear, what a pity, never mind, the disappointment lasting a whole 32.5 seconds. For 2 hours, we had to sit there in blissful contentment, until once more the group returned. From what we were told, we missed an over enthusiastic discussion about marriage, much to the chagrin of little bunny, a village square of limited interest, and a meal of scrambled egg or trout. Here`s to Vertigo!! The hours of peaceful relaxation had also transferred to the Lake which in turn had turned calm once for the long, rather tedious, two and half hours return to Puno.

I wouldn`t discourage anyone from doing this 2 Island, 2 day trip on Lake Titicaca, yes it is super touristic, but it really is excellent. Just be aware that the hikes are challenging, the paths are steep, and the altitude sucks !

Lake Titicaca ends our time in Peru. We have had the most wonderful adventures here, the country in amazing, the history incredible, the ambience of the Incan Empire resonating in our hearts. This country should be on every persons bucket list, and time should be spent here to do it justice. We could easily have spent many more weeks or even months here discovering its rich history, but time marches on, as we prepare for yet another country, and more discoveries.