Floating Villages of Lago Titicaca
Trip Start
Jan 09, 2008
1
15
44
Trip End
May 15, 2008
Puno,
Peru
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The bus itself was about 6 and a half hours. It was an old bus, but i canīt really complain cause the bus system has been quite good to us. We arrived in Puno at 2:30 pm and talked this dude down to 20 soles per person (6.50 dolares) to stay at a Hotel in town. Surprisingly, this place Hotel Europa was probably the nicest place weīve stayed at for the entire trip. We then also bought a tour of the Uros islands in Lago Titicaca. These are native Andeans that have set up shop on these man made islands in the middle of Lake Titicaca. It was pretty cool because when you step onto the surface of these islands, it actually sinks and they have to add some new material to the island every so often
At Tower
. The people on the island sell a variety of hand made products, but now iīm very skeptical of all these products because everyone sells the same stuff. Plus, i donīt see how they have the time to make all those products, seeing that there are only a few people on each island. So handmade, may mean, part of it was handmade, like the border stitching or other embroideries. Just be wary of what you buy when you come here. The economy of the islands is a little surprising because they have everything on these islands. Telephone, electricity, a bar, restaurants, a hotel (of course made of huts), and other amenities. I doubt they have hot water, but i was definitely surprised with what they had. The richest dude on the island is a guy who paddles a water taxi, cause he charges 5 soles a person. Within 20 minutes, he has made more than a Journeyman Carpenter in one hour. Wow, i guess things may not seem as they are from a distance.
Well, at night here in Puno it gets cold, but it doesnīt stop people from having fun in Carnivale. Everyone is out to get people with this shaving cream substance. Luckily it doesnīt stain your jacket or smell like crap. it actually smells quite good and evaporates quickly. what you donīt want to get is water all over you. So after getting jacked too many times, it was time to fight back. Me and two English travellers (Ollie and Joe) took matters into our own hands. We started throwing water on people on the streets from our hotel rooms. Joe and Ollie had a good home base at the corner on the 3rd floor, so we jacked at least 20 people in the process. One girl took it the wrong way and starting throwing rocks at the window while we ducked for cover. One rock actually made it into the room. Sheez, luckily no one was hurt.
Anyways, life in Peru during Carnivale is pretty fun and wish we had something like this in the states because its pretty fun. i think we need to learn a little more from south america and start having festivals like this that everyone is involved from children to senior citizens. We are leaving for Copacabana, Bolivia tomorrow. Weīll see how the border crossing as well. Those are always interesting.
