Lake Titicaca
Day 188 Sun 6/3 Arequipa/ Puno
In my ignorance, I had signed up for a 6 hour bus ride in a bus with no toilets. The bus was fairly crowded and I was next to a woman who managed to wedge about 15% of herself into my seat and then conveniently fell asleep before I could protest. The bus journey started with an impressive display of sales by a sweet merchant, who enchanted myself and my fellow passengers with stories and jokes. “Do you know the difference between”.. questions earned you a sweet if you answered correctly. Of course, at the end you paid for the sweets you won!
The lack of the toilet onboard necessiated a stop in the middle of nowhere. There was no cover available for anyone, but we all trudged out to commune with nature and relieve the pressure building up in our kidneys. There are many times I am happy that I am a male, this being one of them. Though of course, if I were a woman, maybe I would have been smarter and not taken the bloody bus!
Arrived in Puno to find a fairly ugly town, with nobody on the streets. Yes, it was a Sunday, but didnt they get the notice? Damu is in town; entertain him! I walked around for a bit and then headed back to my empty hostel which had the one solo inhabitant – I. The number of people working there exceeded the number of guests. I had an entire floor, a couple of computers and a TV, all to myself. If that doesnt make a chap feel self-important, I am not sure what will.
Day 189 Mon 7/3 Puno/ Uros/ Amantani
Signed up for a 2 day tour of the islands on Lake Titicaca. The night we would spend with a family in Amantani. The tour group consisted of about 20 people; I am the youngest of a group of 4 people assigned to the same family. I couldnt believe it; it has to be the first time on this 6 month trip that I hang out with folks older than I!
The first stop was Uros, a floating island made from reeds, where the Uros people have been living for ages! I asked myself the question why, but of course, some questions have no answer. I struggle at times to understand why people cling on to customs and habits, when more comfortable alternatives exist. Is culture that important? Isnt culture really what we define it to be? Uros was pretty interesting, but boy, I found myself not warming to the part of the tour as everyone tried to sell us something. I could understand why, but it made me uncomfortable and I ran away from the people to wander around. I can skip lessons in culture sometimes, especially when it is really a ploy to wheedle some money off me…
The next stop was a long 3 hour journey in the boat. It is a small boat and I think I could have swimmed faster than the boat. The kerosene fumes drove me to the top, where I, along with a few brave souls, battled the cold wind and enjoyed the scenery. WHile I as unimpressed with Puno, the 3 hours on the boat helped me understand why people come to Puno.
We arrived at Amantani in time for lunch and were split into groups to be entrusted to a family each. Amantani makes money out of agriculture and tourism. The people host tourists and it works on a rotation system so that everyone benefits from the tourists. Such a pleasant way of making sure everyone got a fair share of the pie. There is no police on the island. The islanders live by the motto : “Ama Suwa , Ama Llulla, Ama Qella”; “don’t steal, don’t lie and don’t be lazy”.
I had bougt a kilo of rice as a present to give my host family. The Zacharias family consisted of the couple and two children, along with the grandparents, Zachariah’s parents. Lunch was delicious and the people very friendly. The folks in Amantani made up for th Uros people, in my opinion. Amantani is picturesque and after lunch, I took a walk. Th group re-convened later in the evening and then walked up to the top of the hill, where there are the temples dedicated to Pachamama (mother earth) and Pachatata (the masculine). Amazing views of the lake along with the mountains of Bolivia. Lake Titicaca is shared by both Peru and Bolivia. Sunset was beautiful and I enjoyed myself!
Back home for dinner and then it was a night for music and dance. The folks dressed us up in their clothes and we all danced. Or rather, the islanders taught us how to do it. It was great seeing 50 – 60 year old women putting us to shame by their energy. I danced all night and was tired by the end of the night. The music also should get special mention.
Day 190 Tue 8/3 Taquile/ Puno/ bus
I slept well, but my sleep was punctuated by the sound of heavy rainfall, which died out by the morning. We said our goodbyes, after a pleasant breakfast, to head out to Taquile. However, the rainfall made the lake really violent and the waves made it extremely uncomofortable and a couple of folks were sick, and a few of us looked fairly green. The trip to Tquile was the worst sensation I had in any kind of transportation and i was glad it only took an hour. The rain and the kersone fumes added to the misery of the waves!
Tasquile was a short 3 hour visit. We walked around the island, met some people and had a delicious meal. Picturesque island and the people friendly, but not too different from Amantani, though the people are different and have differet customs and culture.
Off to Taquile, violent waves.
Another 3 hour trip in the boat back to Puno. However, the waves had died down and it was, while boring, a non-eventful journey back. I head out to the station to buy a ticket to Cusco, to find that about 5 other folks from my tour had the same idea. We would all be headed on the same bus. Spent the evening with fellow tour members, chatting and having a meal.
The bus left at 9:30pm and was a lot more comfortable than my last trip.
Tags: Travel
Damu