Puno, Peru

Our time in Puno was enjoyable. Puno itself is a dirty place, but its proximity to Lake Titicaca bumps it up from downright gross. We took an overnight bus from Cusco and arrived at about 6am. The owner of the hostel where we stayed at in Cusco, Harry, arranged for us to stay in a decent hotel for a fraction of the advertised price. He also arranged for someone to meet us at the bus station and give us a ride to the hotel. The person who was supposed to meet us was a bit late, but eventually we made it to our room. After resting up for a few hours, we walked up to the main plaza in town, got an idea of where we were, and then walked down to the waterfront where day tours are sold for various island visits. We figured that going directly to the ticket vendors would result in the best deal. 

Lighthouse near dock.

We ended up buying tickets to visit the Uros people who live on small floating islands they build out of reeds and rope. The boat ride out was slow and pleasant, and we saw a lot of cool birds along the way. I especially liked one that was mostly black with a bright red spot on its forehead/beak.

*** Disclaimer: I found this picture on Google, but this is exactly how it looked when I saw it. Problem is I can't find a better picture and I don't know exactly what bird this is.. This is all "Black duck red beak spot titicaca" turned up: bird people, if you can figure this one out let me know! ***

The Uros people build their islands on a foundation made of the root balls of reeds. During certain times of the year apparently the root balls float to the surface and are collected, bound together with rope, and covered in many layers of reeds. Each island houses ~3 families, and each has its own president. The president of the island we visited explained that if two families don't like each other and cannot resolve their differences, they simply get out a large saw, cut the island in half, and anchor their new islands elsewhere. 

You can see the layers of reeds that have built up. About twice a month a new layer gets distributed across the surface of the "Islands".

http://youtu.be/ggHT6TjqnhM  <-- haha she thought I was taking her picture. 

That night we discovered an awesome restaurant that offered quality food at a cheaper than tourist-normal price, and they had pool tables! The food was so well presented and delicious that we went back the following night. We sat at the same table and essentially repeated our order: Alpaca loin, mashed potatoes, grilled veggies, appetizer, desert, and an alcoholic drink: $5.00. We split it all of course, as we have every meal on the trip so far. Our small stomachs have helped us save money eating out.

Our second day in Puno was mostly spent on a boat slowly cruising across Lago Titicaca. We first stopped to see the Uros again, because we didn't realize the tours to the further out islands also included this stop. Before too long we were back on the boat and headed toward Isla Tequile. 

Note: supplies for house building on roof if boat.

http://youtu.be/1eg2zi9Eplg

It took three hours each way to and from Isla Tequile, but it was well worth it. The view from the boat was superb, and the island was the least touristy of the islands available to visit. We saw the people who live on the island building houses and farming, and we enjoyed a delicious lunch of trout, rice, bread, and quinoa soup. We were only able to spend about 90 minutes on the island before we had to head back, but we had enough time to look around, eat, and take some great pictures.

The following morning we woke up early, caught our bus to Copacabana, and crossed the border into Bolivia. Another stamp in the passport, $135.00 cash gone (each), and nobody even bothered to check our yellow fever vaccines or bank statements that we went to the trouble of getting emailed to us and printed. Thank you Jason. 

We made it safely into Bolivia, and arrived in Copacabana in a torrential downpour.