Lakes and islands, bones and towers, and a phallus or two
Friday, July 15th, 20056 Jul – 15 Jul, 2005
We found ourselves in and around Lake Titicaca for some time.
A day trip to Lampa had us in the presence of bones dragged up from the catacombs below and decorating the walls of an aristocratic tomb. Not sure if anyone knows who the skulls and bones belong to. People who know us well realise that we seem to be frequently drawn to things like this, but this is the first time we have ever seen skeletons arranged in such a way, hanging from the walls.
We went out on to the magnificent Lake Titicaca, and spent the night on Isla Amantani. The trip out included a stop at the floating islands, made of reeds. We were pre-informed that the stop would be about 20 minutes, and we were disappointed that it would be so short. It really did turn out to be ample time! Let’s put it in perspective – if in Puno, I would recommend that you should go and visit them, but it is not a sight to go out of your way too far for. SOOO touristy. The islands themselves are fascinating, spongy underfoot. As the reeds rot away from underneath, they are replenished from the top. And they build reed houses on top, and use reed boats to get about. All this is great. But the inhabitants all lining up to sell you stuff, and the boats to take tourists about in, etc, can be a bit overwhelming.
Isla Taquile
On the other hand, our trip back to Bolivia (yes, we braved crossing the border again) and visiting the other side of the lake was a major trip highlight. Copacabana is a much nicer place than Puno, smaller, more personal, and lacking the industrial atmosphere. And then our 3 day Isla del Sol trek. Breathtaking! (And not just because of the altitude!) Half way through day one, somewhere between Copacabana and Isla del Sol, we met Dan and Ryan. Since our paces seemed to be somewhat similar, we ended up spending the next two and half days with them. Maybe they regretted meeting us as we somehow convinced them that the “faint trail” running around and over the cliff was in fact the correct path. While most think “faint trail” means it might be narrow or a bit overgrown in places, you may need to adjust your definition, as this “faint trail” essentially came down to picking your way through spaces between thorny shrubs while heading in the vaguely right direction. Of course, it occured to me at one point that just one goat scrambling through that sort of terrain would leave a “faint trail”. Thankfully the island isn’t that big, so we couldn’t go too far wrong. Ryan shot some video which he promised to send to us, and this will prove to any sceptics that you can set up a tent at 30 degrees on a rocky clifftop and survive the night! The view was definitely worth any concerns we had about ending up in the lake at some point during the night. Day two, along the island to the northern tip. Dan celebrated his 25th birthday this middle day. We don’t think that was quite how he foresaw the grand occasion. His birthday dinner was pasta with mushroom sauce (courtesy of instant packet soup) and we made up a weird orange soft drink (packet mix again) and dubbed it “birthday punch”. Poor bugger didn’t even have a mat to sleep on, and you can imagine how cold the ground gets at night at 4000m! But again, what a view. Down by the lakeshore, this time, and Dan had a sandy base beneath him instead of the rocks and gravel and thorns. Day 3, walking to the southern part of the island, we (me primarily) get in a fairly aggresive verbal exchange with two locals who extract fees from passing travellers for no return. And finally, we caught a boat back to Copacabana, where we celebrated Dan’s birthday properly. Overall, a magnificent hike with some fabulous and memorable views, as well as some interesting pre-Incan sites.
Alpaca, en-route to Isla del Sol.
Near our first nights campsite.
Second night’s spot, with hiking buddies Dan and Ryan.
Back in Peru, in Puno, a couple of local bus trips had us at the interestig funerary towers of Cutimbo and Sillustani. And the following day, the dubious fertility temple of Chucuito (which turned out to be a lovely town and worth visiting in its own right).
Llama foetuses. (Or should that be foetii??) - Cochabamba market.
Some like it hot. More familiar market items - Same market (Cochabamba), different section.
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Visited a rock wall with fossilised dinosaur footprints. Hundreds ... 
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Richard and Jo