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The trip from Arequipa to Puno was interesting but in a negative way. Five and a half hours in a bus isn’t something to look forward to even if they do serve you a sandwich and show you two movies along the way. Only great views can save the day. The views on this trip could only be described as depressing ... even if they were educational.
I didn’t realize that the south of Peru is mostly alti-plano, that is a high plateau. By high I mean over 12,000 feet ... so high and dry that practically nothing grows. The area around Arequipa was mountainous and dry. Here for miles and hours it was flat and lifeless ... no people; no vicuna; sometimes no plants; nothing. I knew great areas of Bolivia were like this, but I thought Peru was green like all the pictures of Machuu Picchu that I had seen.
Just as I thought it couldn’t get any worse, we entered Juliaca. The southern approach was the site of a major building boom ... and it looked like a bomb had gone boom. Reinforcing bars stuck out of the roof of every building. Red bricks sat in red dust. The red dirt and rock road had an unfinished divider whose concrete curbs were covered in red dust. There were drooping wires and piles of construction materials ... and not a tree, shrub or blade of grass anywhere. People had scarves over their faces to keep out the blowing dust. This place would make prefect set for a movie set in a time after a nuclear holocaust.We turned a corner on to a half paved street that led to the horrible future the newer street had to look forward to. The rest of the way into Puno I sat in stunned silence.
Your first view of Puno is from a mountain top high above the city ... and the city sits at 12,600 feet. Too many switch backs later through barrios after barrios you reach the lake front bus station. Only later in your cab do you realize to whole central city is series of one lane, one way streets. It was quaint but not clean.
The trip was made better by talking to Maria a young Peruvian industrial engineer. She was the only non-office female employee working with a thousand men at mine two hours north of Juliaca. She was an incredibly happy girl who had found a few guys who treated her as a little sister in need of protection rather than a female target.
You go to Puno because it sits on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake. Puno will be remembered well because of a great dinner and evening with New Zealander Nick and Germans Mijra, and Hoglar.
The next day was spent on the lake. It was a nice day. The sun was bright and the lake calm. The floating islands ( floating on reed mats ) were interesting even though they could easily be classified as tourist traps.
Two hours further out on the water we docked at Isla Taquile, a tiny dot on the huge lake. We had to climb almost straight up 1500 feet for our lunch ... a then further up for yet another chance to buy souvenirs. Thank goodness the trip down the other side of the island was a long gradual slope ... with beautiful sea views.
On the way back I played trivia with question taken out of a Lonely Planets travel guide with three Brits. I never answered a question right but then neither did anyone else. Much as in horseshoes, close was good enough. I ended up spending the evening with them too. I saw Nick on the street. Everybody is pretty much doing the same trip, just with one of dozens of different tour companies.
The trip over to Cuzco was to take ten and a half hours. Five stops and a luxury bus or not, this surely wasn’t anything to look forward to. Turns out I was wrong. It was one of the most comfortable and interesting bus rides I have ever taken.
The first stop as at Pukara a tiny village with a large church with a dark but impressive interior. The museum next to it contained a few stone remnants of what had been major Inca city which had been swept off the earth by the conquering Spaniards.
The next stop was at the highest point of this day's trip, 14,222 feet ... not too high to discourage vendors to set up selling more of the same stuff. I do have to admit that I never tire of the colorful stacks of wool scarves. They make a beautiful commercial display of which I usually take a picture.Along the way I sat with Elsbie and Jasper, a Dutch sister and brother who seemed to travel well together. I had both lunch and supper with them.
At Raqchi we saw the ruins of a major Inca temple and distribution center. It was there that the ticket gatekeeper was wearing a hat which said on it ’70 anos’. Do you know why I had to have it? With my limited Spanish I was able to pull off a trade for my Alaska hat. That was fun.
Our last stop was at a third small village, Andahuaylillas. It had an incredible church whose interior was covered in gold leaf and frescos. A major restoration job was underway. We got to see frescos being redone and gold leaf being applied. Unfortunately they didn’t allow picture taking which is something I don’t understand. If you saw pictures of the place I’ll bet you would want to go there.
We arrived in Cuzco just before sunset. By the time I checked into my hotel and hit the streets, it was dark ... but Cuzco is ready for tourists day or night.
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