Lake Titicaca and Puno

We got up very early to leave the hotel around 6. Alvaro met us at the hotel, and took us to the Inka Express bus station. There were only 9 people on the bus, two Poles, two French, two German, and one Taiwanese lady. The bus had a driver, a tour guide, and a host/hostess.

Our first stop was at a very elaborate small church in Andahuaylillas. They promote it as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas, but this is greatly overstated. There are somewhat primitive murals, including one showing the route to heaven and the route to hell, as well as drawings of the saints. This was built during the evangelization period by the Jesuits, and the drawings were intended to teach the gospel to people who did not speak Spanish and could not read or write. We were not allowed to take photos, so I pulled one from the web.

Our second stop was at the somewhat interesting ruins of Raqchi, very different from what we had seen in the highlands, generally ruins with stone bases and adobe brick above.

The landscape changed to pure altiplano, a wide valley with brown grass, surrounded by mountains, and sometimes a small village. It felt a lot like parts of Colorado, such as the San Luis Valley.

The top of the pass was rainy and blowing hard, 14,300 ft elevation. There were other more forgettable stops. We were glad to arrive in Puno. Our guide, Jorge, sent a driver to pick us up, and met us at the hotel. We took a short walk to La Casona for dinner, and went to bed early. Richard had not felt well, so the early bedtime was welcome.

We saw groups of people in various cemeteries along the way, apparently for the day of the dead celebration, which is a holiday in Peru.

On Saturday morning, Jorge and a driver picked us up, and we took the boat to the floating islands of Uros. We visited one of the floating islands, where the president of the ten person island demonstrated how the islands were made. He invited us into his house, which was very small, with solar lighting.

We bought an embroidered piece, ducks in a blue theme, and took a ride on a reed boat to one of the larger islands. Richard got to row the boat. It was a touristic, but nice experience.

Then we went on the island of Tequile. The hike had about a 500 ft gain in elevation, to the main village, on a good stone trail. We visited the textile cooperative, where Sandi bought a doubleweave belt. Their textiles had bright colors and was made of acrylic. We had lunch at a family restaurant, where they demonstrated a folkloric dance, and also their knitting, which is very fine and very fast, including a hooked needle to facilitate working with the fine fibers. The hike back to the boat was very steep, and we were the last ones on the boat.

Rather than go back to our hotel, we asked to be dropped off at the local cemetery for the Day of the Dead celebration, which was quite a spectacle. Many people were leaving flowers for their loved ones. We had been told that people would drink, eat, and sing what the deceased loved.

We met Victor and Angel, and drank some beer with them; they had already had quite a bit of beer. We also spoke to another family. Sandi was concerned that we were intruding, but we tried to be respectful, and of course asked for permission to take photos. I only took a few photos, trying not be the ugly American tourist. It was an experience. We took a taxi back to the hotel. As one of the locals said, the celebration in Peru is very similar to the celebration in Mexico.

We attended mass in the nearby St. John the Baptist church, where they have the image of the Virgin of Candelaria. In February, they have a huge fiesta in her honor. Puno claims to be the capital of folklore in Peru; we were told that the folks from Puno will have a big party for any possible occasion.