Cusco, Puno, and Lake Titicaca

After recovering from the hike and the odd celebratory drink in cusco for a day we hit the road for Puno and Lake Titicaca on a tourist bus ....... Local bus six hours, tourist bus nine with plenty of gringo stops and not even a 1980´s van Damme flick to pass the time. Worst bus ride ever!!!. At our designated feed trough, you were even charged for $1 for milk with coffee.

Our main purpose to utilise the harbour of Titicaca severly limited our exposure to the small city of Puno. A couple of gringo restaurants, bycicle taxi´s.... and oh yeah, Beth seems to think I am responsible for hangovers of the tour guide and a fellow travellor´s ?!?!?!?

Straddling Peru and Boliva 3,812m above sea level, Lake Titicaca is the largest lake above 3,000 metres covering 8,372 km². With two distinct ethnic groups, Quecha and Amayra, with multiple cultures over the 42+ islands, it has much to offer. Attracted in part by the name and the famed Uros people who reside in floating islands constructed with reeds, we departed on a overnight trip to visit several islands and a homestay.

Our first stop on Taquile and the last on one of the Uros Islands, although touristy and annoyingly so on the latter, still presented interseting insights into their cultures. The men of Quechan Taquile both farm and knit with all dressing according to their social position and marital status. Initially constructed to flee the constant fighting on the mainland, the Uros islands hold over 3000 Aymara on over 41 floating reed islands forming the Uros Islands. Each housing up to 10 families on each.

But not all was lost.... We arrived at Amantaní island for the homestay with expectations of a slice of local life, a family without English or Spanish, and a game of football (soccer). Disembarking, we ascended another 300 metres with Olga, the hostess with the mostess, welcoming us into her two story mudbrick home with introductions to her family of five. Fortunatly, Spanish was known and we conversed on the favourites.... Football, Kangaroo´s, the weather, and work. Misinterpriting Olga´s after dinner request to change in our party clothes, we headed up stairs and waited for her to escort us to the fiesta. I´ll let the picture tell the story of what she actually said.



Cerveza´s, music, dancing with our hosts to fifteen minute songs were the theme of the fiesta and all who partook enjoyed a memorably experience.

Random Thoughts
= I´ve had ¨Copa Copacabana¨ stuck my head for the past week, as the famed city, which is neither north or hotter than habana, inhabit the shores.
= Bolivia maintain an active Navy in Lake Titicaca despite it´s landlocked status.
= Residents of the Lake pay no taxes leaving one to suspect the government wants to retain the locals as the tourist attraction removing any reasons for economic migration.
= A few games of football were enjoyed on Amantani, which at the altitude, is not easy. Holding up the defense whilst my Spanish and Scottish team mates scored goal after goal the competition was flattened.