Puno


Today was another very full day. Up at 6:45am, breakfast, and meet in the hotel lobby at 8:00am to start the tour.We took tuk-tuks from our hotel down to the harbour, a bit of a hair-raising experience as there is a lot of traffic. Our small group has a boat to our self for our tour of Lake Titikaka, so it was very comfortable. The lake is huge, so of course we only saw a small bit.Another beautiful sunny day, the weather gods are still smiling on us. The wind is cool though, and the sun is very strong so it's necessary to cover up. Puno bay is very shallow, and filled with reeds. There are lots of birds, and even a few animals. First stop was one of the floating islands or Uros. They are very touristy, but interesting. They showed us how the islands are made, and some of the structures like boats and houses that are also made of reeds. Then we were each invited into a house and encouraged (strongly!) to buy some of the handicrafts. I bought a lovely embroidered piece, not inexpensive, but obviously a lot of work. Then we went for a short ride in one of the reed boats, the oarsmen were certainly working hard!
Then it was about an hours ride out into the main body of the lake to Taquile Island. This was a beautiful island that looked very Mediterranean-like though we're at almost 4000 meters! The water is very blue, there are lovely beaches, terraces for agriculture, and lots of eucalyptus trees and flowers. This island is well known for their knitting and weaving. The men knit and the women weave. We walk around the island a bit (slowly because of the altitude) watch a demonstration of some of the crafts, hear about live on the island, and then see a dance in the colorful costumes. Of course they are selling their wares as well, I must say they are beautiful. I bought a tam and Karen bought a wool hat. I think we are all feeling the altitude a bit, several including me have head-aches. Back to the boat again to visit a settlement on the mainland that does home-stays. We have a delicious lunch with a fried bread, quinoa soup, fried trout with quinoa pilaf, potatoes and sweet potatoes. From there about 45 minutes in the boat to Puno harbour. A minibus takes us back to the hotel by a bit after 4pm in heavy, crazy, rush hour traffic.
We had a chance for a little down time. (for me a chance to work on the blog!)
At 7pm we meet to go out for dinner. We went to sort of a Bar/Restaurant that served snacks and small plates. I'm enjoying the Peruvian Red wine, tonight's was a Syrah. I had tequenos and a spinach empanada with it. On the way back to the hotel we came upon a group of young people with drums and pipes practicing their music.












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