Puno Hotels
|
  | |  |
World's highest train ride
Entry 62 of 79 | show all | print this entry |
|
This morning, my altitude sickness was worse than before. For breakfast, I drank only Mate de Coca, a local remedy to help with my headaches and constant coughs; and by the time we boarded our train I really was tormented by the pain, but Juliette barely shown any effects by the altitude.
The train to Puno was full. We were in the tourist economy class, and the comfort level was similar to that of Chinese first class trains. The seats were soft, 2 to a side and facing another pair of seats where a travelling couple were already feeling comfortable. We greeted each other just as the train started to move. They were in their early 20's, the guy, who had a easy going looking face, was from England; and the girl was from Australia, petit, well tanned, long brown hair and had a big city confidence. The couple was travelling through South America and they were almost going the same path as we were, so we shared some travel stories together. Juliette was fairly quiet as the three of us spoke in English, this was the first time she had heard me in fluent English conversation, and the mixture of my Canadian slang and their Aussie/English accents really confused her I think so she quietly read her book. I was actually glad to speak some English as I haven't done so since probably Belize. Occationally there were some awkward silences and I was self-conscious of my coughs that I tried to take a nap.
The train gradually climbed since we left Cusco. A river was beside our tracks, and as we climbed higher and higher, the river became narrower and narrower until it was just a stream flowing down from the distant hills. Our train also cut through a fertile farm land, where corn was the main crop, and as we were ascended to higher altitudes, cattle grazing replaced corn as the main agricultural output. As we passed through some small towns along the way, the image was almost identical to rural China. I could see the dirt brick houses with smoking chimneys, some with large propaganda letters printed on its sides; the children played ball on a dirt ground while clean laundry danced in the wind. I sat there staring out the window, ignoring the lunch was served by our lady of the train. In this momentary laps of time, the shadow of our train moved with the sun and my serenity was only interrupted by the occasional train whistle. I was in a perfect place, happy to be there, didn't want the journey to end.
By 2pm, we reached the highest point of our journey at almost 5000 meters above sea level, this was the highest train journey in the world and the highest point I've ever been in my life). We took a rest stop where many local merchants were selling crafts to tourists. There were a lot of souvenirs made from Llama furs, hats, boots, jackets.... I only bought a corn on the cob for lunch. Me and Juliette already bought some nice goods in Cusco; our matching Llama fur jackets, her (Inca) gold necklace to replace the one that was stolen in Panama, and my silver ring, which I fantasized to be "One ring to rule them all" in the LOTR. As I stood there surrounded by the Andean mountains breathing the thin air, the sun rays was strong enough to burn my skin to red clay, and the taste of the Inca corn was delicious.
After the stop, we descended toward Puno, by sunset we arrived at the shores of Lake Titicaca. After we got our luggage at the Puno station, we followed a local gentleman to a nearby hotel, it was a risky choice in the darkness of Puno, but we had no other choice but to trust him since it would have been more dangerous walking around looking for hotels at night. After a hot shower (we were glad the hotel was honest on that point), to satisfy our goggling stomachs we had some street food in the market, which Juliette was kinda grossed out, but fortunately we survived without any complications. For Juliette, finding a pack of Marlbourgh cigarettes was more of an adventure.
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries by panf007, from Peru or try a new search. |
| |
| Table of Contents |
| 62. | World's highest train ride - Puno, Peru Jan 27, 2002 (  1 ) |
|
|
|
|
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
8 votes 
This is a top pick!
