We spent today exploring Puno and arranging a day trip for tomorrow to visit the floating islands on the lake. There isn't much to see in Puno but we wandered down to the port, which looked a bit like Southsea, complete with pedalos and small kiosks selling snacks and tourist tat! After a wander round we took a taxi to see the Yavari, an iron-hulled gunboat that used to patrol the waters of the lake for the Peruvian navy. She was built in England in 1861 and shipped, along with her sister ship the Yapura, in 2766 pieces to Arica in Chile. The pieces were then transported over the Andes by hand an mule, taking an incredible 6 years, before being reassembled on Lake Titicaca. Left neglected after she was decommissioned, she has now been restored by a charity and may soon be running cruises on the lake.
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| Yavari |
Day 33 - 7th January
Today we did a tour to the floating Uros Islands, around an hour from the Puno shore. The islands are made from totora reeds, which are cut from the lake bottom. The root sections form the base of the islands and are lashed together with rope to form a large floating platform, This is then covered with layers of the reeds, crossed over to form a kind of springy carpet. Usually one extended family lives on each island, with several small bedroom huts, a tee pee-like kitchen and a small garden. The island we visited also had a steel hut that served as a local kindergarten. The reeds at the base of the islands rot away rapidly, so are are replaced with a new layer on top every few weeks to ensure that the island stays dry and solid. The islands are anchored using large sticks pushed into the bottom of the lake to ensure they don't float away. The island visit was really interesting, especially learning about their construction, and it felt very strange walking across a large, springy layer of floating reeds!
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| Uros floating islands |
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| Uros islands |
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| Uru women waving us off |
After the Uros, we sailed on another few hours to Isla Taquile, a large natural island in the lake, famed for its weaving. Although the morning had been very wet, by the time we reached Taquile the sun had come out and the place resembled a Greek island, with steep slopes, green fields and bright blue water. We went for a lovely leisurely walk to the main town, where we had a tasty lunch and learnt about the local weaving traditions. Men on the island knit hats from the age of 7 to denote their social and marital status, with distinct ways of wearing your tassel if you're looking for a girlfriend. Young girls save their hair as it falls out with brushing or is cut, and give it to their fiancé when they get engaged. The men then use the hair to form the basis of a wide belt that they weave for the wedding day, and the women weave an elaborately decorated panel detailing their life together, that will be sewn to the man's half on the wedding day.
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| Harbour, Taquile |
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| Isla Taquile |
Day 34 - 8th January
Farewell Peru! Today we crossed the border into Bolivia, a very smooth and quick crossing, despite what the Lonely Planet and countless travel forums would have you believe! We just booked a bus ticket to Copacabana in Bolivia, got off the bus at the border, had our passport stamped, and got back on the bus again.
We checked into a hostel in Copacabana, a small town on the Bolivian side of lake Titicaca, and had lunch in the sun on our terrace overlooking the harbour - very relaxing. In the afternoon we took a walk round town and climbed a nearby hill, Cerro Calvario, to some beautiful views of the lake. It was a short but steep climb in blazing sun, and we were very glad of the ice-cream seller at the top!
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| At the top of Cerro Calvario |
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| Cerro Calvario |
Day 35 - 9th Januray
Today we had a time-zone fail and missed our day trip! Bolivia is one hour ahead of Peru, and while Jon had changed his watch, he forgot to change his mobile, which also serves as our alarm clock. Consequently, when we woke up at what we 7:30, our 8:30 boat to Isla del Sol was pulling out from the dock! So we spent another day chilling in Copacabana - it's a hard life!
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