Another early start today to pack brekkie in before catching our boat at 8:30
to Isla Del Sol. We fancied brekkie overlooking the lake, but the only
restaurant that was open had a poor selection so we made our apologies and
left. We headed back into town to a lovely restaurant where they had a great
choice, even bacon ! By now our time was limited and with the waitress doubling
as the chef progress on our food was slow, we feared we would miss our trip !
In the end we told the girl we had a tour to get to and she went into overdrive
for us. I think this was instigated by Trev´s impression of us having to run to
the boats. She proceeded to run around as if Trev had implied that that was
what she, rather than us, should do. After all of this we managed to get to the
boat on time. Onboard we got chatting to 3 American girls opposite and very
soon we were underway. The boat hardly went at break neck speed though and we
soon realised why it would take us 2 hours to get to the North end of the
Island. After what seemed like an eternity we docked in a lovely little bay and
hopped off the boat into a bit of bedlam. No-one seemed to know where to go to
start the walk. The guys on the boat weren´t interested in helping us either.
Eventually a local pointed us in the right direction. After a quick loo stop we
had a whistle stop tour of the museum - which was pretty rubbish to say the
least. Then it was off across the bay to begin the hot walk in the sun. We
passed a few donkeys and thought of Sal and Stu !
The walk to begin was quite tough - being at altitude again made it harder
work. The views of the bays and lake were superb though, even if the island was
a little barren. We had a meander around some ruins at the northern most point
and climbed up onto a ridge to get great views of the area. We then continued
the walk to the Southern end of the Island along the ridge. The path went
generally upwards, but was another of those walks with \"false ridges\". We
stopped for lunch when we finally reached the top, crackers and jam ! As we
were sitting there munching away an English chap told us it had taken him 3
hours to get there from the Southern end of the Island. This panicked us a bit
as we had less than 3 hours now until our boat left !
We continued on our merry way though enjoying the sunshine. The end of the
trail was about as clearly marked as the beginning. Finally though we found the
right path and headed down to the boats. We were about an hour early in the end
so sat and watched the hubbub going on around the boats. We also bumped into
Lorenzo and Frederic, two guys on our Atacama trip, so had a good catch up with
them. Then it was back onto the boat and back to Copacabana. We realised that
the guys opposite us on the way back had also been in the desert with us but
with a different tour operator. We had bumped into them on the first night, the
Canadian guy was a whizz with magic tricks and we had sat and watched him do
many. He was travelling with an Irish colleague, they were both in the medical
profession working in Dubai. Her brother and one of her friends from Ireland
were also travelling with them. It was St Patricks Day so they were hoping to
find some Guinness for that evening. Our natters with them helped to make the
return trip seem quicker. We said our farewells as we got off the boat
remembering a top tip for a restaurant that night, La Orilla. As we headed back
into town we bumped into Joyce and Oscar again and caught up with their
adventures. After a brief natter we set off to book our bus trip to Puno and
then to walk the 30 minute steep trail to the mirador that overlooks the lake
and the town. We wanted to sit and watch the sunset from there. We made the
mirador in plenty of time, despite a lot of puffing due to the thin air and my
cold. Unfortunately it was a cloudy evening so the sunset was a bit obscurred,
but it was great nonetheless. We made it back down before it got too dark
returning to our hostel to pick up our laundry, so at last we could have clean
trousers again, it was getting a bit nippy for shorts.
We then strolled down to La Orilla where we bumped into Joyce and Oscar again
as well as another lass who had been in the jungle with the other group we had
joined for the Anaconda hunting - a very sociable evening. I chose sweet and
sour pork to eat as I fancied some comfort food, but it wasn´t a patch on
Mums ! Trev had peppered steak with baked potatoes that was very good. Then it
was back up the hill to bed as we were exhausted and sun weary after our walks.
The next day we had planned a lie in as our bus wasn´t until 1:30pm. However,
we both woke early and after a lounge and a read, we cleaned our boots (filthy
from the jungle), showered and packed before heading down into town for brunch.
We managed to while away an hour or so here, once again bumping into Joyce and
Oscar. We chatted about meeting in Cusco for beers if everything worked out on
our travels. We then pottered off to look at the markets, take piccies of the
cathedral and pop to a pharmacy to get something to relieve my cold with.
Fortunately the guy at the pharmacy spoke good english and most of the drugs
were from America so the descriptions and dosages were in English as well. I
ended up with Sinutab equivalent, but the tablets were bright turquoise, so who
knows what they would do for me !
It was then time to get onto the bus for the trip to Puno in Peru, which meant
another border crossing. It was a short uneventful ride to the Bolivian border,
where we had to get out of the bus, fill in a form and get it and our passport
stamped. The guy liked my name, Camila (spelt slightly differently is a popular
name here). Then we had to walk to the Peru side of the border through a nice
archway for another stamp in the passport. We then had a couple of hours before
arriving in Puno. We had been given a flyer for a reasonable hostel in Puno
which included a free transfer from the bus station. We decided to take it and
headed off to find it with Damian, a chap from the hostel. The taxi stopped by
a road that was completely dug up and had aggregate piled all over it - it
didn´t look too classy. But the hostel itself was clean and had its own
bathroom, so we took it. Damian then told us he could arrange the trip to the
floating islands and Isla Taquile for us and our bus to Cusco should we need
it. We listened to what he had to say and managed to bargain him down on most
of it. Given other prices we had, it seemed reasonable so we booked it for the
following morning. We also booked the night bus to Cusco for that same evening,
giving us more time in Cusco to arrange the Inca Trail trip and relax.
After our wheeling and dealing we headed to the centre to get our digital
piccies put on a CD and to find somewhere nice to eat. We found a lovely
restaurant that had a live South American Band in it. The music was fab and
Trev and I tried Alpaca steak which was superb. It was then back to the hostel
to bed. During the night there was a cracking storm which started at midnight
and went on until 4am - didn´t let us get much sleep sadly.
The following day we were up and out to get the bus at 7am for our island trip.
On arrival at the port we met our guide for the day Enrique, a very nice chap,
very funny and liked to learn English. It seemed at first that we had managed
to get on a tour of old duffers, but they all seemed game for a laugh and there
was a young Australian couple and an Australian chap who were very friendly.
The Oz couple were cycling from Ecuador to Santiago so we had a good natter
with them. The Australian chap had married a Peruvian so gave us some good
local tips. Once again the boat wasn´t very speedy but within 30 minutes we
were approaching the floating islands. It was a great sight to see, even if it
was a little strange.
Our boat pulled up at a relatively small island to begin with and off we got.
It felt like we had just stepped into these peoples living room, a bit
uncomfortable to be honest. There were lots of locals sat next to their craft
stalls, almost in some ways as if they were exhibits. The children there must
have a very strange life as lots of odd looking people arrive by boat, take
pictures of them and leave.
Anyway, we were ushered into the primary school hut and proceeded to sit on
tiny chairs. Here we learnt a lot of history of the islands and the Uros people
and the government schemes to help these people. They now have solar panels for
electricity and by next year may even have internet. We also learnt how the
islands are made and tried some of the reeds that the people eat. It tasted a
bit like leeks but without such a strong taste to it. These reeds help the Uros
people to develop more red blood cells which enhances their breathing at
altitude and makes their skin much darker, meaning they can withstand the sun
more. After our chat we took some time to see the smoked fish that the
islanders use to trade in the markets for rice, fruit etc. We then climbed the
lookout tower to take some distant photos, we didn´t want to intrude on the
locals. We bought a few postcards and \"paddington\" a local craft which is in
the shape of a medicine man before boarding our boat again. I named the
medicine man \"Paddington\" after Trev. On this trip when he sleeps on boats and
planes, he has a habit of moving his mouth in the exact manner that Paddington
Bear does when he eats his marmalade sandwiches, for those of you that have
ever seen the animated version. (Trev - obviously I am delighted with this nickname
and the fact that my wife has seen fit to make it public)
The next stop was a larger floating island, which had a post office and
everything. We saw the locals hauling a large clump of new reeds up next to the
island, this was so that they could extend it. To make the reeds flat the
locals go out onto them and trample them down before laying other reeds on top
of them. It is a hazardous process and the locals often end up in the lake.
This island also had a pond in the middle of it and a cormorant tied up next to
it. Evidently the blood of the cormorant has great healing powers for those who
were sick, so this one was on standby !
It was then time to get back onto the boat to weave our way out through the
reed channels to Isla Taquile. This is a co-operative island and one with
very set traditional dress. The co-operative part means that families produced
goods to be sold in the markets. The price and number of that family is
attached to the good. When it is sold, the money goes back to the family that
produced it. Well at least some of it does, on occasions some goes to the mayor
and senior officials. The hats that the locals wear are significant as well.
For ladies large pompoms on their head blankets means that they are single,
smaller ones meant you were married. For men, a white and red wool hat means
single, whereas a solid red hat means you are married. The higher members of
society wear either a colourful wooly hat with ear flaps or a black trillbee
style hat. They often wear the colourful one underneath to keep warm.
When we got to the island we set off on the 40 min steepish walk to the plaza
at the top of the ridge in the main town. On the way up we saw lots of people
herding goats, sheep and cows, it was very agriculturally based here. Sadly we
also saw some children who looked very down in the mouth. We had been told to
take fruit to give any children who begged, and on our way up we came across
some. We slowed to get some fruit out and five children instantly crowded us.
Bananas were the first fruit out which went down reasonably well. But when the
apples came out they all cried \" Manzana Manzana \" and got very excited,
clearly they were the things to have !
At the main square we had a look around the markets before going with the group
to a local restaurant for a traditional lunch. We had a lovely soup and then
some local fish which was also delicious. After lunch Enrique told us about the
different hats and showed us a waist band that is made when a couple get
married. It is black and white striped, the white part being made of wool, the
black being the hair from the woman. It forms a protection for the man to stop
him hurting himself when he lifts heavy loads. After lunch we walked the final
part to the boats, down many steps. Then it was all aboard for our return trip.
On the way back we had a good natter with the other travellers and Enrique.
Initially we swapped travel stories and tips before teaching Enrique some rude
sayings in English - at his request. He went on to tell us about his wedding in
September. We asked if there was the similar tradition of taking 300 solles of
fruit, bread and beer to his in-laws for 3 consecutive weeks like the people of
Isla Taquile have to do before the bride says yes or no ! He will just have to
do this once and he and his fiance are planning to pay for their wedding
themselves.
We finally got back to our hotel in Puno at 6:30ish so had an hour before our
bus to Cusco. We grabbed a quick dinner of chicken and chips and waited for our
transfer to the bus station. At the bus station we clambered into the rather
claustrophobic downstairs compartment with our sleeping bags at the ready for a
cold night on the bus. Trev and I were across the aisle from one another so
couldn´t share tunes on this trip. Trev read and finished his book, but it was
too bouncy for me to do the same, so I popped into my sleeping bag, put my
tunes on and slept. It seemed like the bus was forever stopping - which kept
waking both Trev and I up. At one of the stops we awoke to find police with
fluorescent orange vests and flashlights stooping about near our bags - not the
most pleasant of ways to wake up to. We had no idea what they were searching
for, but later found out that they were after contraband goods being brought in
cheap from Bolivia and being sold for more in Peru. We saw the police get off
the bus with a bag, so assumed they had found something. It then took an
eternity before we got under way again.
The bus driver must have put his foot down though, because despite the delay we
arrived in Cusco at 4am on schedule. We were allowed to stay on the bus until
6am. Fortunately Trev and I managed to grab some more sleep before heading out
into the dawn. We were hassled in the bus station by people trying to get us to
stay at their hostel. In the end we got a taxi to the Plaza De Armas and
strolled around to find a good hostel close to the centre. We chose Sumac Wasi
in the end, a hostel set in an old style house with a private bathroom as by
now Trev and my guts were not that great !