After discusions and discusions we came to a conclusion on where to go during free travel: Lake Titikaka, the biggest lake in South America. To get there we reserved a posh bus from Cuzco to Puno that served Coca-Cola and coca tea, had a buffet lunch and stopped at a church, Incan ruins and a museum. Each stop had local women that sold artisan crafts to the gringo tourists visiting in their tour buses. We arrived in Puno in the afternoon and stayed at the Dunque Inn, a comfortable budget option for the frugal traveler. The rooftop had a spectacular view of the orange lights of the city, and the reflection of the nearly full moon on the deep blue waters of the lake.
The morning brought us in a combi to the rural town of Ccotos on the Capachica península, jutting out into the lake. There we met the hospitible Alfonso and his family. We had initially expected something of a guesthouse, but we quickly found out that we would be staying in homestays. Everyone in the small pueblo was more than friendly to us. Apparently the town of Ccotos is not a popular tourist destination, but with the view of the lake, the alpine sun and the surrounding houses, farm fields, livestock and beaches, we felt ourselves to be more than comfortable. We ate our meals at Alfonso´s dining room and found his family´s cooking to be quite tasty. The fish that was served was freshly caught from the waters of the lake. During the day the weather was hot and sunny, but at night it became frigid and windy, and had a tendency to rain. However, on a midnight trip to the bathroom, the clouds cleared up and it was possible to see the glowing aura of the full moon hanging in the sky.
While staying at Ccotos we took a short trip over to Isla Ticonata, which was about 10 minutes away by tiny wooden motor boats. The sky was grey and cloudy and there was a slight bit of wind coming in off of the lake. The island hosted a small community that lived in cylindrical huts with pointy thatched roofs. The island also had a musuem housing mummies found there. Most of us were too busy with exploring, romping around and hanging out with the flock of sheep to go visit, but those that went said it was really interesting.
Leaving Ccotos, we took a combi back to Puno were we rode on wooden boats through the green reeds and cold weather to the floating reed island of Uros. On our particular island lived five different families and our lodgings were hosted by Victor and Christina. Though the price to stay there was a bit expensive by our standards, we found the accomodations to be to our liking. It was easy to forget that we were standing on a bunch of floating reeds in Lake Titikaka. Almost everything on the island was made of reeds, including the walls of our rooms, the ground that we walked on, and just about anything else that could be built with them. The food there was presented very nicely in accordance with the price we were paying to stay there, and for the most part was tasty too. The island harvested its own lake trout, but everything else had to be imported from main land.
Out in the middle of the lake it became very chilly at night. However, up in the little lookout tower on the edge of Uros it was possible to see the other floating island communities and the lights from Puno off in the distance with speckles of stars in the sky. Apparently our island was the biggest floating island, but even then it wasn’t very big. A lot of other reed islands with reed houses were scattered over a distance around ours. In the morning the group went on a short fishing trip, but mostly everyone just laid out on the boat and relaxed. The sun was very intense reflecting off of the water, and it was very easy to become sunburnt in just a short amount of time. Afterwards, we were given the chance to dress up in traditional colorful clothing for taking pictures. Despues de lunch we took the same boats back to shore, but not before the women of the island sang us goodbye songs in Ketchwa, Spanish, English and French, with coordinated dances. It was very sweet of them. In return we sang the chorus to Wagon Wheel per usual, and also the theme song to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Though perhaps our singing ability wasn’t as practiced as theirs, they enjoyed it nonetheless.
Getting back to Puno at the boat dock along the side of the road that smelled like sulfur, we found that our combi was running late. When they arrived they said that the price was 8 soles per person, even though the price they gave us on the phone was 5. After a bout of arguing, they finally lowered to 6. From Puno we drove the the town of Juliaca, which may be one of the ugliest places in the world. Every building has metal rebar sticking out the top, there are almost no plants, there’s a lot of garbage everywhere and it just sprawls out over concrete and dust. Luckily we only stayed long enough to transfer combis, buy snacks and to meet Jonny, our reference at our next destination, Escallani. Upon arrival there, we were greeted by the community wearing traditional embroidered vests, hats, and dresses, and an absolutely incredible view of the lake, with Bolivia’s tallest mountain, Nevado Sajama, visible on the far side of the lake. They played flute, drum and guitar as we walked up a hill in a procession to the guesthouse / homestay. We participated in a ceremony that involved making wishes on coca leaves, putting them in a glass of wine, and pouring it on the base of a cactus that would guard the wishes. Later, before dinner, they had us dress up in traditional hats, ponchos and dresses and we proceeded to all dance in a circle around a fire in the courtyard between the dining area and the rooms. With the music, the fire-light made by lighter fluid, and everyone dancing around, the mood was fantastic and everyone was overjoyed by the occasion. Dinner was excellent (though the soup could have used more salt).
The next day involved helping plant seeds, visiting the beach and the lookout point over the lake (stupendous, to say the least), and a soccer and volleyball game. The guys from our group and the guys from the town played soccer against each other, bet over a bottle of Coca-Cola. It was close, but the Escallani guys won in the end. The girls of the group and the women from the town played volleyball, and even though there wasn’t a net everyone had a great time. Everyone from the town enjoyed watching the other gender play sports.
In the morning we ate our last meal at Lake Titikaka, packed our bags and were ready to depart. There was a miscommunication about price for room and board there, with us beleiving it would be 15 soles with meals included, and them charging 85 soles per person instead. After some discussion and some frustration about going over our free travel budget, the price was settled on 80 soles.
We took a combi back to Juliaca, and then hopped on a bus going back to Cuzco. The views out of the window were amazing and mountainous, and after awhile the rain began to pour down. When we arrived back in Cuszo, we found a city under downpour and drizzle, and would have been soaked ourselves if not for waterproof rainjackets and pack covers. A lot of us felt exhausted and worn out by the time we returned to Hostal Girasoles (i.e yours truly). After a day of rest and shopping in Cuzco, we begin our trek to Machu Piccu.
Until the next and final blog post, Chau!
-Daniel Stone