Greetings from Puno, on Lake Titicaca. Yes, go ahead and get your giggles out of your system now. Besides its immaturely funny name, Lake Titicaca is famous for being South America’s largest lake and, by most accounts, the highest navigable lake in the world.
Feeling like a VIP
I arrived here after a ten-hour “tourist bus” service that was more like a day tour. There are direct buses that only take six or seven hours, but most of them run overnight, and let’s face it, my latest birthday was just another reminder that I’m getting way too old for that ****. Heck, even sleeping in a hostel dorm bed is starting to wear a bit thin, especially given that two of my dormmates set their alarm for 3:30am to depart on their Machu Picchu hike. But I digress.
Anyway, I took a taxi to the bus terminal at around 6:30 this morning, and boarded a luxury tourist coach. The upside was, plenty of leg room, seats that recline, onboard service including free drinks, and an English-speaking guide. The bad news was, the bus was packed full of mostly older tourists of the sort that follow a guide around all day. I was horrified to realize I’d become one of those big-bus tour people who follows a guide with an umbrella around. They even issued me a lanyard badge, which wasn’t made any better by the fact that it said “VIP” in large letters. Cringe.
A church and some ruins
The bus made five tourist stops along the way. First, about an hour into our trip, we stopped off in the tiny town of Andahuaylillas to see their church. The church doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it’s all elaborately painted with gold leaf and frescos inside. You’ll have to take my word for it, though; no photos were allowed inside the church. The guide kept insisting that it’s famous and known as the “Sistine Chapel of America”, but I’m not convinced; I’ve been to the real Sistine Chapel, and this doesn’t quite compare.
I’d taken some tablets and was dozing on the bus, so I was feeling pretty groggy at that point. I stopped off at a coffee vendor in the main square across from the church and bought a cup of coffee, which helped wake me up. So did the coca leaf tea that they gave us on the bus.
A couple of hours later, we arrived at the most interesting stop of the day: the archaeological ruins of Raqch’i. A pre-Incan temple also used in Incan times, Raqch’i contained a number of lodging houses, a sacred enclosure, and the Temple of Wiracocha. It was also located in an agricultural area surrounded by corn and quinoa fields. We spent about an hour touring the ruins.
The road to Puno
We stopped for lunch at one of the typical tourist buffets that always ends up included in these types of tours. Nothing to write home about.
Then, we headed up into the mountains again, stopping off at the La Raya Pass to snap a few photos. At 4,335 meters above sea level, the pass is the highest point in the mountains there, and marks the border between the Cusco and Puno departments of Peru. I was a bit out of breath when we stopped at that altitude, but I didn’t feel sick the way I did last week in Colca Canyon, so hey, progress, right? It was foggy and a bit drizzly when we stopped, so the views and photos weren’t great. But whatever.
Our fifth and final stop on the way to Puno was at the tiny town of Pukara (not to be confused with Pokhara in Nepal, or Bukhara in Uzbekistan). Pukara has a small museum with some Incan artifacts, which I sped through, only listening to the guide with half an ear. I just can’t really get all that interested in museums. Plus, the guide’s laborious English made all the explanations drag on forever.
I left to go have a wander, and realized that Pukara exists primarily to make and sell tiny ceramic painted bulls to unsuspecting tourists. Every shop had a zillion of them, all identical. The bull is some sort of religiously important symbol in the local culture here, so there are bulls in all the decor, on the signs, even outside the churches. Hey, my sign is Taurus, so I ought to feel right at home there, right? Of course, that would assume that I had any belief whatsoever in astrology, which, nope.
The bus made its way through the city of Juliaca before arriving in Puno. Juliaca is a fast-growing border town, not particularly pretty, largely unfinished, and mostly associated with commerce and trade — both legal and illegal. It’s not really a tourist destination, though it does have an airport, so many people fly here to go to the lake. It being Sunday, the traffic wasn’t too bad in the city, and we saw plenty of people out in the main square with their families.
Puno, briefly
The bus pulled into the terminal in Puno at 5pm, right on schedule. The bus terminal is located right on the lakeshore, so I got a nice first glimpse of Lake Titicaca at sunset.
I caught a taxi to my hostel, which is actually really nice and cozy and will be perfect for the night. After a short rest, I went out with one of my dormmates from Argentina, and her friend from Germany, to walk up to the main square in search of a light bite of dinner. We snapped a few photos at the Plaza de Armas — there’s not a ton to see here in Puno — and then headed down the pedestrian street full of restaurants and shops and such.
We found a small restaurant that seated us on couches around a small table with a Jenga set nearby. How perfect was that? I had a sandwich and listened to the two girls’ stories about their five-day Salkantay trek. Some people are nuts, I tell ya.
After dinner, Then I picked up some water for the bus for tomorrow, and we headed back to the hostel. I paid for my room with my last remaining soles. I made use of the hot shower and fast WiFi — both excellent — and got organized for tomorrow. My dormmates all have to be up early, too, so they’ve all gone to sleep and I plan to shortly. At least it’ll be a quiet night.
I’m only in Puno as a transit stop. Most people who come here spend a day or two on the lake, visiting the floating islands and whatnot. Time being in short supply, I’ve opted to visit the lake from the Bolivia side instead, so I’ll be leaving tomorrow to catch a bus across the border. That means this is my last night in Peru. And as much as I’m looking forward to Bolivia, I’ve had an amazing time here in Peru and would most definitely recommend it highly as a travel destination to anyone who gets the chance to go.
Hasta luego, Peru, y gracias por el pescado.