Quelqatani Puno

... we went through reminded me of earlier years travelling from Edinburgh to Fort William in Scotland, and in some parts of travelling through New Zealand. It was also noticeable that some of the towns we passed through seemed more affluent that we had seen in other parts of Peru. One of my interests is looking at soccer pitches. On this journey to Puno we passed some very interesting soccer pitches, some surrounded by walls and with barely a handful of houses to support. I tried to ...

... it off the ground LOL. So funny. There were some women cooking on small stoves, they were selling sticks of alpaca meat and potatoe, I ate the potato but not the meat, and bought my first Inca Cola. A Peruvian softThen some of the group played soccer with some kids, i don´t care for sports so i wasnt paying attention but i think our team lost. <br>Then we went back to our homes and met the rest of the family. We sat in the kitchen while the mom prepared dinner and ...

... at the dockside. The captain of the boat assigned us a family for the night. Although you go to Amantani with little knowledge about what will happen next, this is the way many tourists should visit the islands. For 25 soles (about 8 USD), we had meals and accomodations with a family of four (Romulo Yanrico, husband 34y/o; Silveria Bonda, wife 37y/o; Joel Yanarico, son 18 y/o; and darling little Abraham, son 7 y/o). They are a ...

... getting permission to marry. If the hat leaks then the man has to go away for another year to improve his skill in knitting :) <br><br>Unlike other communities where we have visited where the women wear hats to signal their relationship status, on this island it is the men. Its a beanie type hat with an extended end (think the shape of a santa claus hat) - the end goes to the back for married, to the left means he has a girlfriend, and to the ...

... from one country to the other as Bolivia forgot to change their date stamp (ha ha! - typical!)<br><br>Arrived in Puno about 10 and changed our clocks back one hour -we stupidly let a hawker take us to a hostal, but it looked fine, and it was cheap and near the plaza... so we checked in. The hawker then tried to sell us a tour to the islands, but we declined as I wanted to check around town... he persisted and told us all the agencies were closed as it was a national holiday ...

... that happens.From there we had to go back to the port and have a go on the pedallos, definatley not my idea. I just sat back and let Franchesca do all the work. Times up and we had a drink over the way and Franchesca wanted to go again, your on your own I said and away she went.<br>Had nice Alpacha steaks for dinner then Franchesca took over the play station while I finished my book. Off to Arequipa, the white city tomorrow.<br>

... what the view was like from up there as the sun was rising. normally that mountain is covered with clouds, but that day it was perfect. up there there is only a few rocks to sit on, and some that overlook machupichu. i dont understand how the incas did it, cause that is really really high up there. anyway i spent about 2 hours up there just taking it all in, and while there i met a group of travelers from all over and ended up spending the rest of the day ...

... some more. <br><br> <br><br> At one particular school in Puno (Peru) they were down on their knees and practically <br> begged us to come and work there. Pay was low for western standards, US$2.50 <br> an hour, but quite a lot compared to the local salaries, and they could offer <br> us 20 hours a week each. They also arranged free accommodation for us. We worked <br> there for a month and were lucky to catch the yearly Candelaria festival ...