Next stop after Arequipa was Puno. Puno itself has the reputation of being a bit of a dump, however its location on the shores of Lake Titikaka make it the place from which to visit the floating islands of the indigenous tribes that live on these manmade islands.
Rather than fly we decided to check out how good the buses are and were very pleasantly surprised. We booked the Executivo (tourist class) bus for 75 Soles each (US $22) on the upper level. The lower level with seats that recline nearly flat was only 95 Soles (US $ 28). As it was daytime we wanted to see the countryside so where better than the upper level.
Checking luggage in at the Arequipa station was bedlam! The people who had just arrived from Puno were collecting their luggage through the same counter with a fair bit of jostling going on. So we waited till the chaos was over, handed over our bags and went to Cruz Del Sur’s own (rather luxurious) waiting room.
Riding in Style
A glamorous young lady later checked us off her list and invited us aboard. Our seats were surprisingly comfortable and could recline to an amazing 140 degrees. We also had leg rests, cup holders and most amazingly of all ….. our own hostess. Yep, our glam young lady served hot and cold drinks and even a light lunch. It sure beat most economy airline service.
The highlight of the trip was the stunning scenery that we passed through, varying from sweeping pasture, deserted valleys, rivers through craggy valleys and snow topped mountains.
Sadly every town we passed through, including Puno was far from photogenic; buildings are often made from a rough clay brick and usually unfinished. Walls are not plastered or painted and rebar juts from every rooftop. Combine this with a dry arid countryside, garish signs and diesel belching vehicles and you get some idea of modern day Peruvian towns.
The outskirts of Puno only served to reinforce what we had read about the town, however we were pleasantly surprised to see that the centre of town was quite picturesque, with its Spanish colonial architecture around the church in the central square.
Lake Titikaka
After carefully researching the different tour operators I chose one that had a good reputation as we didn’t want the tacky tours that we had heard about. Sounded like a good plan, however what we didn’t know is that the tour operators work together and lump all their bookings together. So we were met at our hotel (Terra Viva Puno Plaza – which was wonderful) and escorted to the square where we were loaded onto a large coach for the drive down to the dock.
The rafts of boats radiating out from the dock, gave us instant flashbacks to the docks near Philae Temple (the temple of Isis) in Aswan, Egypt. Like there the tourism industry has spawned a plethora of vessels of all shapes and sizes. All we could do was pray that the ‘fast’ boat that we had booked was not the one next to us on the dock. It looked like one more person on board would send it to the bottom. Thankfully not, ours was the fourth one over and to get to it we had to cross the first three.
Once onboard we grabbed a seat and enjoyed a few tunes from a very enterprising Peruvian with pan pipes and a charming smile. He then collected his tips and hopped over to the next boat to do the same. Luckily for us our boat was far from full, making a manageable group of 15, not 40. Our guide gave us a briefing in Spanish, English and a little Kuechua (the indigenous tongue of the people we were about to meet) and we were off.
Lake Titikaka (pronounced Lake Titcaca) is sacred because of the belief that the centre of the cosmos and that the sun, the moon, the stars and the whole of civilization was created here.
Uros Island
The Uros people originally lived on the shores of the island and only started building their floating islands as a defense mechanism as they could cast off from shore leaving their enemies behind. According to our guide it was “to protect themselves from the Spanish tax collectors”.
We were greeted by four girls and ladies all in traditional full, layered skirts, embroidered blouses, long plaited hair and yet another type of hat. The main difference between many of Peru’s indigenous group’s traditional dress is the hats. These vary from small bowler type hats, heavily embroidered big brimmed hats and ones that appear to be a flat disc, secured by means of an embroidered chin strap.
Stepping off a gently rocking boat onto a floating raft of reeds is an experience in itself. The island gives a little with each step due to its makeup and one inner section of the island was definitely moving of its own volition.
We were seated on benches made of reed, on an island of reeds, surrounded by houses made of reeds, and yes it was bizarre. Our guide and our hosts explained how the islands are built. Squares of the reed root bed are cut free during the summer (dry season) then transported to where the new island is to be anchored. Each square is impaled with a wooden stick and the tops of the sticks are tied together. Once all the squares are tied together the whole raft is anchored to the bottom. Then cut reeds are spread all over the surface, with each layer being laid in a cross hatch pattern. As the bottom layers break down, more reeds are laid on top. Surprisingly enough each island can last up to 30 years.
We were all then invited (an additional 10 Soles) to hop on the ornate reed boat for a tour around the island. As the islands are mostly tied together we ended up going out for a tootle around and then back in again. Once back ashore the sales pitch was on.
In our absence an array of weaving, woollens, carving, jewellery and kitschy souvenirs had been laid out and each lady was inviting us to view her home and then look at her stuff. We briefly glimpsed inside one hut to see a bed platform of reeds, covered in blankets, from the walls hung a few clothes and a few utensils. In can get quite cool here in their winter months and you can see why rheumatism is a problem.
The islanders were charming, friendly and happy to see us (and happier to see our $$’s) however it was all a little fake. The ladies finished up by singing us a song in Kuechua, then one in Spanish, then to our horror the final song they sang for us was ‘Row, row your boat’, what???
Taquile Island
Relived to be away, we scrambled back aboard for the 45 km ride to the more solid island of Taquile. Rising to a height of 238 meters, with a population of about 2200 people Taquile was delightful. There are no vehicles and everyone (some heavily burdened) scrambles up and down the stairs that connect the main town and the shore.
The locals may be able to run up and down these steps; however we are at 3812 meters altitude so our guide allowed everyone to make their own way up to a prearranged meeting point. Once all assembled we headed off for lunch.
Lunch was in a delightful shady compound and comprised of quinoa soup, and grilled lake trout and vegetables served by a local family and washed down with coca tea. Wonderful!
We then got to know a little more about the islands inhabitants and their customs. The most unusual of which is that it is here that the men–not the women–do the knitting and weaving and create beautiful, elaborate designs which are used for toque style hats, waistbands and bags. As with the ladies the hats tell their own story. If a man’s hat has blank white sections it means he is still single with the married men’s caps being solidly embroidered.
Lunch was finished off with more singing and dancing (audience participation essential) accompanied by flutes and a small round guitar like instrument. After thanking our hosts we were allowed some free time to explore, so headed up (slowly) to the main square where it seems the whole community had turned out for a communal lunch to celebrate the successful completion of repairs to the church roof.
The Taquile experience was to us the highlight of the trip! If we had known in advance exactly what we were going to be subjected to, we would have just gone to Taquile instead.
Loved your blog. We have travelled by bus in South Anerica in Chille & Brazil but haven’t been treated that royally! The floating islands are fascinating, up here in Mexico the Aztecs originally built them, from what I have read, to increase their agricultural yield yet here you speak of housing as a primary purpose. Very interesting 🙂
Thank you Dave. There are many more options and different levels of bus service these days. We were still very surprised at the service though. And yes these particular islands are living platforms, nothing is grown on them at all. The Uros people now support themselves through tourism although I think originally they farmed around the shores.
It was fun to read about a place so far away from where Heather and I have been recently. Thanks for taking us to a distant place. Great content and also style.