Puno
Trip Start
May 07, 2008
1
73
90
Trip End
Jan 06, 2009
Puno,
Peru
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Well, again at some ungodly hour, we left our Hotel in Cuzco for the final time and were collected and transported to the train station. This time we were going to Puno which involved a slightly longer 8 hour train journey. Puno is a port on the banks of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at nearly 4000 metres. The journey length didn't bother us though as we were regaled with visions of a train journey resembling The Orient Express for a fraction of the cost. Fine by us!
The train was in fact run by The Orient Express and was decked out just like it which was amazing for the low cost fare! Linen table cloths, flowery squishy seats, tiny lamps with jingling beads on, curtains, carpets...it was going to be great. No sooner had we set off with the lamp shade beads jingling with the rhythmic movement of the train then we were asked what we would like to eat and drink for lunch. Then, about an hour later, we were invited to go forth into the Observation Carriage where there would be free Pisco Sours, traditional music and a fashion show
House built by reeds
. Another fashion show? Oh god! More Littlewoods cardigans and stripey shirts! But Pisco Sours?? EXCELLENT!!!David and I managed to tear ourselves away from our swallowing seats and Nintendo games and headed for the Observation Carriage. I needed the loo. The nearest one to our carriage was locked and someone was taking FOREVER in there so I headed up to the Observation Carriage to use that loo instead. There were 2 of the female crew in there having a gossip with the door open. When I popped my head in, they rushed out and said "please, go in, go in". So I did, thanks! However, the sink area was piled high with plastic-wrapped pashminas, dresses, gloves, jumpers and jewellery so I couldn't wash my hands without putting the collection of Littlewoods on the dirty floor and then the flaming toilet wouldn't flush!!! I pressed, pulled and wiggled the metal stick but it wouldn't flaming flush. So I opened the door and explained this to the two female crew still gossiping outside the door. One of them came in and tried to show me with broken Peruvian-English how to flush the loo..thankfully I had only done a pee but still it was flipping embarrassing!! Next thing I know, these two Peruvian waifs are striding up and down before me in the Observation Carriage wearing their Littlewoods Collections and tossing their long Peruvian hair to Natalie Imbruglia warbling away and all I could think was "they've seen my pee pee!"
The Observation Carriage was really great actually
Floating children!
. It was one long carriage separated into two sections: the front section with a bar and several seats and the back section which was all glass and a windowless back where you could stand at the metal barrier and let the wind whip through your hair as you watched the tracks whiz away from under you and the Peru countryside swish past you like a blurred watercolour painting. Just before the fashion show, a Peruvian 4-man band went crackers with their maracas and drums as everyone clapped along and wiggled their arms in support. Good entertainment indeed. About an hour later, the train stopped in the middle of absolutely nowhere. But in the middle of absolutely nowhere was a market where you could buy souvenirs and .....well, Peruvian tat basically. We were invited to go and shop but to return to the train in 10mins and a big horn would blow just in case we weren't clock-watching. Sure enough the big horn did blow which you could probably hear from Space and passengers returned carrying furry rugs, Peruvian hats, alpaca jumpers and wooden ornaments. David and I opted to stay on the train. I couldn't be trusted to return empty handed and our suitcases were bulging at the zips already. Husbands!...spoil all my fun.....
Several Pisco Sours later, they served up lunch. This was a spectacle in itself. All waiting staff were dressed in black and whites and serving lunch was like an Army Drill. To every table in the carriage a waiter and a waitress was appointed
Reed boat
. There they stood next to your table all facing in one direction, heads high, shoulders back, all holding the plate with your main course on. At a precise time only communicated by secret code, all waiting staff turned at exactly the same time to put the plate on the table. Then at exactly the same time, all staff turned and strided out of the carriage like clockwork dolls marching. They were like soldiers marching in front of the Queen!!! Only there were no feathers, horses or tactless Princes! Bizarre. Still, the food was delicious, washed down with more Pisco Sours and coffees. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing cards, playing Nintendo or sleeping. There was a brief interlude where the Peruvian band came waltzing through the carriages banging their drums and strumming their banjos and a woman twirled around in Peruvian dress but it was so fast everyone thought it was a dream so instantly resumed their snoring and nodding-dog positions soon after.
When we got to Puno, we were immediately met by our guide and taken to our Hotel. This was only a short drive away and the Hotel seemed nice enough. No need to elaborate. Move on....
The next day, we were collected and dropped off at the harbour for our boat trip. We thought we were going on a 'ski boat'. We had no idea what a ski boat was but had visions of some James Bond scuba-sea-frothing-handbrake-turns type affair. Our itinerary didn't elaborate too much on this. Sadly, we were escorted onto a small bobbing fishing boat where the crew spoke no English nor did the other 6 passengers
Floating Island of reeds
. We knew then we must have been 'sold' to another tour and were ready for a heated debate and a demand to change tours as there was no point us being on a flaming tour boat where no one spoke English! Fortunately, 'Richard' the Peruvian-English tour guide introduced himself to us. And then on the Mic, asked if anyone else spoke English... half the hands in the boat shot up... turned out the majority were English speaking. Our first stop was an hour away. These were the floating islands of the Uros. About 500 years ago the Uros lived on the banks of Lake Titicaca, but then the Incas came with violence on their minds. The Uros, a peaceful lot, decided they didn't want to fight and wanted a peaceful life. They did the only sensible thing: they put all their worldly belongings onto their reed boats. Including their reed houses. Then they set sail for the centre of the lake. No-one knows how long they lived on the boats before they discovered that the reed roots floated if they were pulled up, but once they had found this out there was no stopping them. Before long they had make entire floating islands out of the reeds, big enough for villages to be set up on. Everything being made from the reeds. The reeds rule their life, they make every conceivable thing out of them as well as eating them. It is really quite incredible.
We pulled up alongside one of these islands. It had about six or seven buildings and an observation tower. Everything was made of the reeds
Uros Islands
. We jumped down onto the surface of the island, made of reeds, covered in reeds, and found how wonderful a surface it made. It was springy and soft and probably the safest place for children to grow up without hurting themselves... (David: If they avoid falling off the island and drowning that is!)We were invited to sit in a circle on some soft reed benches while the 'King' of our particular island gave us a really interesting lecture on how the islands are made. It didn't take long to appreciate the advantages of island life: If you really got on with someone you could literally move your house so they were door to door; Alternatively, if you fell out with them, you could spin the reed houses round so they were back to back; or if someone needed some extra accommodation for a party, you could bung a reed house on a boat and float it over to their island. Or if you really badly fell out with your in-laws, the solution was simple: Cut the reed island in half and drift off into the sunset. (David: Of all the places we've been in the World, this was the most fascinating and unique culture I've seen. Totally foreign, both futuristic and ancient at the same time. Fantastic.)
We ended the tour of the Uros with a reed boat cruise across to another floating island while our tour boat went off ahead to meet us. This reed boat was a double decker affair and was a fantastically peaceful way to experience the smallest slice of Uros life. So peaceful and quiet in the sparkling waters of Lake Titicaca and the super clear rarefied air rendering everything into crystallised focus: you could see for miles, haze free.
Next, back onto the tour boat for another journey
Walking up steep hills is NOT funny anymore!
. This was a 2-hour boat ride away. Most of us fell asleep during the journey. There was nothing to see except sea. There was no commentary and more significantly, the odour of petrol from the engine at the back was sending us all into a coma! Who needs soporifics....?After this 2-hour sleep, we arrived at Taquile where we would have lunch. Taquile is another island off of Lake Titicaca and was the last island to be conquered by the Spanish and for some reason they forbade traditional Peruvian dress to be worn so Spanish Peasant dress was adopted and is still worn today. Only about 1500 people live on this island. The highest point of the island is at 4,000 metres but thankfully we didn't get that high. To get to where we would have lunch involved a walk. A steep walk up a rocky path with the view behind us of the ocean and surrounding land that was absolutely stunning but this walk was a killer because it was so flaming steep. Most of us could only manage 5mins before we had to rest, doubled over, gasping while clutching onto the stone walls for support. After about half an hour's climbing, we got to the small stone-built house where we would have lunch. We all sat down at one long long bench outside of the house where we were given delicious vegetable soup and then salmon or chicken with rice. It was delicious. Followed by a Peruvian dance involving bells, ribbons, masks and musicians twanging their banjos. Good show. The toilet was not so good though
Lunchtime entertainment
. It was like a horse's stable with a wooden door, no lock, an ordinary toilet bowl but no flush so once you finished you had to step outside of your 'stable', fill the plastic bucket up with water from the terracotta urn nearby and then return to your 'stable' to flush the water down the pan. There was no sink or anything to wash your hands. Primitive was the name of the game here. Like being in India all over again. Thankfully I had my bottle of hand sanitizer with me! Taquile was like a Mediterranean island, it was beautiful. We could have been in Cyprus! It was also was like going back 500 years because there was nothing modern, everything was so primitive and nothing seemed to have changed since. Quite beautiful. (David: We say primitive, but not at all basic. The food was fantastic, and looked no different to modern food... the paths were well maintained... It's difficult to describe. Other than to say that when you see archeological sites it's all too easy to project the decay of them back into the past. But of course, they didn't live in decay, they lived in brand new homes and used pristine crockery etc.) Also what was quite odd was there were lots of little children running and wandering about which was lovely but when you said "hola" to them they all whispered back and ran and hid as if they were afraid to talk to you. Must have been my eyebrows meeting in the middle! (David: The tradition of being seen and not heard alive and strong.)
After this, involved another walk up, up, up to the Island's main square where we could mill around for a little and watch the ocean before we had to head back to the boat
Will you still love me darling, if I buy this?!
. This involved a long walk through the village which was mostly up hill and a killer of a walk, before descending down rocky stone steps. This trip was turning into flaming Fit Camp rather than a honeymoon! Back on the boat we discovered our day trip was over. It was only about 3pm but we now had about 3 hours to get back to the harbour. So basically, what we saw today was fascinating and exciting and beautiful but most of it was taken up with being on a boat! Hmmmm.....
Again, petrol fumes sent us all into a coma for several hours............and then we were back at the harbour.
The next day, our final day in Puno, our tour guide took us, on the way to the airport, to a typical Peruvian residence. It consisted of several houses, each serving a different function: bedroom, kitchen, workroom etc. As alpacas wandered about, so they showed us typical foods they consumed. One dish looked like the mud mask I put on my face. They called it 'Land' but it was basically earth from the ground, mixed with spring water and then they used it as a kind of mayonnaise with food. It was grey and grim-looking. (David: I guess it provided certain minerals that were lacking in the rest of their diet.) We didn't try this although we were invited to! (David: Not because it was mud, but because it'd been mixed with water from an unknown source. Could have been through a few alpacas as far as we knew) We did try some of their potatoes though which were delicious and some nuts
Village girl
. We were shown their bedroom which was a basic bed and a table. All the houses were built out of mud and stones and straw. Then we were shown primitive tools they made for toiling the earth for growing produce and garments they wove. I bought some really nice gloves. It was really interesting. (David: One of the women gave us a sling shot demonstration... you do not want to be on the end of that. Interesting in that it represents another duplicate technology advance. Interesting how cultures at opposite ends of the planet developed similar technologies... I reckon this woman's skills could have given Goliath a run for his money as well as David.)Finally, our guide took us to Silistrani. This is a revered area. Ancient pre-inca cultures in the area built massive towers of rough stone to house their dead. When the Incas came along, they copied the practice for some reason. Although their towers were made with worked and finished stone. What is particularly interesting about this area is that there are no finished Inca towers. Some are pretty close, but not quite finished. All are at different stages of completion. This is because the Spanish turned up, and the Incas all had to down tools and go and fight them. And they have literally downed tools. You can see exactly how they made the towers, there are stones all lined up at the base of the towers, marked and ordered. There are stone ramps in place with tower stones halfway up them, ready to be placed in position. There are processions of stones, that were making their way to a mustering point. (David: One interesting thing was that you see that the Inca engineers would roughly finish a stone, with lots of rope attachment points. And then when it was put in place they would hammer those bits off and finish the stone while it was in place.)
After this we were taken to the airport. From here we would return to Lima where we would be seeing the infamous Nazcar Lines before jetting off to Los Angeles. YEAH!!!
Love, us xxxxxxxxx
