Puno, Lake Titicaca and a stay with a Quechan family

Literally had the worst bus experience by far getting to Puno from Arequipa. Eight hours with no air conditioning in intense heat on roads with switch back after swith back. After about ten minutes I nearly had to ask him to pull over and let me out, in the end I had to just fall asleep, raging that Ali had her Ipod to listen to to distract her and I had the annoying buzz of music coming out of her ear phones. The first thing I´d say to describe Puno is literally what a dump! You can really see the difference when entering a poorer economy. Shanty style houses dotting the mountains and roads on the way in and the actual town is not much nicer, though there is the odd architechtural gem and the main square is pleasant. Puno is bursting with people all hours in to the night and although not much to look at aesthetically it is a vibrant place to be.

We had a hotel booked here called Europa which was nice but on our second day had the main door windows smashed in. The main reason we were in Puno was to explore Lake Titicaca, so we booked an excursion for an overnight homestay with an indigenous Quechan family. The first day of the tour had us with a group of about 20 embarking on a 3hour boat ride to the Uros floating islands on the lake. Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. It was hard to imagine that we were at altitude when in a boat on lake so vast it looked like an ocean. We docked on one of the floating Uros islands made up of totora reeds which grow in the shallows of the lake. My first step nearly had me plummeting head over feet as the ground covered with reeds has a very bouncy sinking texture to it. We had a look at some of the locals houses and how they lived, clearly Id never survive there. The islands are connected via ropes to stop them from floating apart. There is a lot to be said for living in land! We also took a trip to another floating island via local double decker boat, also made up from totora reeds and plastic bottles. At one point one of the group volunteered to have a go at rowing, he ended up rowing right accoss to the other island, sweating the entire time and then had to pay for the pleasure of doing so. I was glad I never had that idea.

After Uros Islands we continued for several more hours (the lake is so vast) to the island of Amantani. It was here that we were to stay over night with a local family. Amantani has two mountain peaks, called Pachatata (Father Earth) and Pachamama (Mother Earth) with ancient ruins on the top of both peaks. The hillsides that rise up from the lake are terraced and planted with wheat, potatoes, and vegetables. Most of the small fields are worked by hand and the island is self sustainable. There are no cars and no hotels, all visits are home stays. There are a few small stores selling basic goods with a health clinic and school. Most families use candles or flashlights to see when it gets dark (we didnt bring one) and very few have electricity. All as I was thinnking was if Im staying in anything like the straw huts we saw on Uros Island I was getting the next boat out of here. The people speak Quechua here with Spanish as their second language. Ali and I found ourselves with a young woman called Sophia and her son (we never saw her husband) and we literally could offer no conversation. In Quechan the word for hello is about 10 sylables long and unlike any language ive ever heard. Just walking to her house was exhausting, over fields and walls, by the time we got there I was ready for a sleep, not the trek up pachatata that was organised after lunch. Our room was lovely complete with electric light, the toilet however was about a 5minute walk away in a field with a bucket of water at the ready to flush! A nightmare when trying to find in the dark. The families provide cooked meals for their guests, providing food that they would eat on a day to day basis. It is very rare that they eat meat and we were treated to soup for starters and grilled cheese with vegetables for main, followed my a mint tea. Again I ate the skin of these random vegetables, then afterwards watched Sophia throw away all the other skins. Honestly I need instructions for new foods.

After dinner we started hiking up pachamata to watch the sunset. At one point someone got a horse taxi to the top bringing back memories of a certain cousin of mine who did the same thing. I thought about it but I ripped her enough that I just couldnt justify it. On returning to the main square Sophia greeted us as did the other locals and we were all taken back to our families were we had a dinner very similar to our lunch before. Afterwards we were told we were having a traditional dance party just off the main square. We were dressed up in traditional clothing in order to participate. Sophia tied my waist belt so tight I couldnt even take in a full breath and I was supposed to dance in this! The men wore ponchos with self-made alpaca-hats whilst we were in brightly coloured skirts, white shirts, pattened waist belts and black shawls. The walk to the main square was strenuous enough, walking single file along the edges of terraces with only Sophias torch to guide us in front. There was a couple of times I nearly plummeted into the vegetation. The dance was excellent with a live band and beer on hand.

The following day we said our goodbyes using a variety of charades as my Quechan wasnt quite there yet, before travelling another hour on the lake to the other island of Taquile where we were to trek for hours before settling into a meal on one fo the uppermost terraces overlooking the ocean like lake. Eventually after abut 6hours getting back to the spendours of Puno we said our goodbyes but not before arranging a meal with a few people in the group, a chilian girl an Australian guy, a Colombian guy, a Cuban and 2 Japanese girls. Apparantly there was a really good alpaca restaurant in Puno and we definately needed to give that a taster.

Ali was feeling the effects of a couple of days at sea so to speak so she sat the meal out. I made my way to the meeting place at about 9pm just off the main square when a homeless guy started to grab at my back, I just ignored him and carried on, then another guy started trying to talk and dance with me. I have to say I was a little intimidated and was getting hassled a few more times up the street. For the first time in my life I was early for an event and this was my punishment. Just before it could have gotten scary my knight in shining armour came up (the Colombian guy Enrique) from our tour and took my arm. Nobody came anywhere near me after that. We were still early so went for coffee, being treated to a conversation were I speak limited Spanish and him limited English. Finally everyone arrived for dinner were we all ordered Alpaca. Probably the best meal Ive had in South America so far. When done well this is really nice and you totally get over the fact essentially you are eating a smaller version of a llama.

After dinner we had a few drinks in a local bar with myself and the Chilian girl trying to sort out if we woud be in LaPaz together at the same time to try guinea pig. Following my walk to the restaurant I had Enrique and the Cuban guy walk me home, definately seemed the safer bet. Next stop, Cusco and Inca.