Another uneventful (how nice!) bus trip took us into Peru and Puno... that's our 6th country on this trip!

Puno isn't quite as nice as Copacabana but was pleasant enough none the less. Being a little lazy we simply booked a 2 day tour of the floating islands, Isla Amantani and Isla Tanquile rather than try and bargain for ferry tickets, the homestay on the island etc ourselves. Seemed to work out reasonably well though judging by some of the other travellers we chatted to. The floating reed islands were interesting to see and I can't imagine you'd find anything similar anywhere else in the world. The other two islands were similar to Isla del Sol (terraces, inca ruins and inca paths) so nice places to visit for a few hours. We stayed on Isla Amantani with a local family and got to walk up Pachamama and Pachatata (yep, we did them both.... not like those other lazybones in the group :-P) to see the sunset. Next morning the boat took us to Isla Taquile where we had a demonstation of the ladies weaving and men knitting hats (are you jealous, Jem?)

Day 1    Arrived in Peru without any hassle at the border with Boliva, apparently its a strict border. Arrive at the city of Puno on the shores of lake Titticata. Got checked into a pretty decent hotel and spent the rest of the evening in a resteraunt and bar.

Day 2   Had a 7 am start to head to the port to get a boat out to an island called Amantanni. Its a three hour trip and on the way we stopped at the floating reed islands. These islands are man made from reads laid on top of eachother and fastened to the bottom of the lake by rope. Pretty basic living conditions with mostly one roomed huts. After we arrive at the island and meet our ´foster families`for the night. These are families we stay with for the night. Lots of pointing at lunch and dinner time to communicate! All get dressed up for a local dance after (check out the photos) and get thrown around the dance floor by our new foster family!

Day 3 : Early start again as we leave the island of of Amantanni and head back to Puno. Head out for a group meal, pub then club as its one of the lads birthday. All donated 10 sols for an exotic dancer for the occasion!

Under construction

Cuzco - Puno - Copacabana

The next day we travel overland to Puno, a city that is on the side of the Lake Titicaca, after a journey of about four hours we arrived at Puno, where we stayed at the "Hotel Imperial", which is located at one block from the train station, a hotel advisable to stay in this city.

First we went to walk through Puno and then to dinner and to relax, because in the next day we would return to Bolivia together with our Brazilian friend collector and our Canadian friend would return to Lima and Canada.

The next day before the return, we trip by boat in the Lake Titicaca to know the floating islands of the “Urus” the habitants of this region of the Lake.

Floating Islands are built on the basis of “Totora”, a floor of the lake which also serves to build rafts to navigate in the lake.

Later we take a taxi that took us to the border with Bolivia in the localities called Yunguyo and Kazani and crossed the border to took another taxi that would take us to Copacabana to rest and visit the Temple which is a famous site of pilgrimage.

In Spanish:

Cuzco - Puno – Copacabana

Al día siguiente retornamos por tierra a Puno, ciudad que queda a las orillas del lago Titicaca, después de un viaje de unas cuatro horas llegamos a Puno donde nos alojamos en el “Hotel Imperial” que queda a una cuadra de la estación ferroviaria, un hotel aconsejable para permanecer en esta ciudad.

Primero fuimos a pasear por Puno y posteriormente a cenar para descansar ya que al día siguiente retornaríamos a Bolivia junto con nuestro amigo coleccionista brasilero ya que nuestro amigo canadiense retornaría a Lima y después a Canadá.

Al día siguiente antes de los viajes de retorno fuimos en lancha por el Lago Titicaca a conocer las Islas flotantes de los Urus los habitantes de esta región del Lago.

Las Islas flotantes están construidas en base a Totora, una planta del lago que también sirve para la construcción de balsas para navegar en el lago.

Posteriormente contratamos un taxi que nos llevo hasta la frontera con Bolivia en las localidades de Yunguyo y Kazani donde cruzamos la frontera y tomamos otro taxi que nos llevaría a Copacabana para pasear y visitar su Templo que es un sitio de peregrinaje muy conocido.

At around 12 I headed to the bus terminal where I was shown into a private waiting room by an old man who I first treated quite suspiciously when he wanted to see my ticket , and led me out of the general waiting room.  The bus was uneventful and I tried to get as much sleep as I could, and arrived in Puno at 7am.  I grabbed a cab to my hostal and the driver helped me carry my bags to the hostal door, even though he was parked on the other side of the street.  I was just telling myself I should trust people more as I tend to be very cold and suspicious of everyone when this guy robbed me of my change and never came back with my 7 soles he owed me!  What a dick!  I should have followed him back to his car I guess, but had let my guard down.   7 soles is only about 2.30 USD so I'm not that upset, its just more annoying than anything.  However, as a firm believer in Karma I´m sure something equally as annoying is on the way to him, perhaps a badly stubbed toe, or maybe he´ll eat soup that's too hot and scald the roof of his mouth into a painful blister.  It´ll serve him right!

            As soon as I was in the hostal I jumped into a tour that was just heading off for Uros and Taquile Island.  Here also I was charged more for my tour than others I met later, and he tried to overcharge me for my room by 10 soles but I caught him.  I am absolutely fed up with the constant overcharging, begging and souvenir pushing, as it really makes you feel like a walking dollar sign rather than a person, and is quite depressing.  However, tis the life of a tourist I guess. 

The Island tour, incidentally, was also chock full of begging children and hidden costs, even more so than the canyon tour.  It was a lovely tour besides that though, my group was all young people and quite a few Irish, whose group I immediately melted into as I always seem to do.  Uros is a fascinating phenomenon, man made with reeds and mud, and an incredible feat of engineering if you think about it:  these people wove an entire island and built their houses on it with just some local reeds.  The boat ride to Taquile was quite long but sunny and pleasant, and we rode on top of the boat admiring the deep blue waters of Lake Titicaca.  At one stage someone pointed to the sun and we all looked up to see 2 circular rainbows ringing around it.  I had never seen that before, and didn´t even know it existed! It was quite a magical thing to see.  Taquile Island is a “real” island as opposed to a reed one, and it reminded me quite a bit of Sherkin Island in Ireland, instantly causing waves of homesickness.  We wandered around the island only briefly as the boat ride to and fro is so long, and stopped to have lunch of fried fresh trout.  Once in the center square a swarm of girls no older than 5 rushed our group and tied handmade bracelets on our arms, demanding soles for their gifts.  I know its good for their economy, this influx of tourists, but I can´t help feeling saddened by such a blatant display of money grubbing from such a young group of children.  We were soon on the boat back, which I spent most of my time trying to sleep unsuccessfully, as it had clouded over and was too cold for me on top. 

Once back at the hostal I was ecstatic to discover I had hot water, so took a scalding shower and milled around my private room (it was more of a hotel than a hostal, as all places in Puno seem to be).  Not feeling up for a meal in any of the cheap chicken places that were overabundant, I opted instead to buy a few empanadas, a banana and some break and had dinner in the comfort of my bed, reading a book. 

We were up early to get our bus to Lake Titicaca, across the Peruvian border and on to Puno. After some tearful goodbyes to Chad and Michelle we got our coach to Lake Titicaca with stunning views all around. We drove along the shores of the lake, to a ferry crossing where we got off the bus. We took a water taxi across whilst the coach went across on a barge, looking as if it was about to sink at any moment.  We were in Bellavista. Lake Titicaca (the world’s highest navigable lake I'm obliged to point out) is at 3800m high, and it was pretty chilly.

Our next stop was Copacabana, a quaint town on the shores of Titicaca with a huge Cathedral painted bright white and very little else. We had lunch there and headed toward the border. We were checked out of Bolivia about 20 minutes later, after which we had to take all our bags and walk across a strange, 100 metre long no-man’s-land before being welcomed into Peru at immigration. The border crossing was fine, but we were a bit upset with the boring stamp in the passport, especially alongside the colourful ones in Chile and Bolivia!

We had just enough time for an ice cream (always enough time where Em’s concerned) before getting back on the bus to head to Puno.

Puno isn’t much to write home about. The outer streets are clearly quite poor amd run-down but the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral are quite picturesque and the main, pedestrianised street was lively and well-developed. The striking thing about Puno (and Peru in general) is how much better set-up for tourism it is than Bolivia. Everyone seems to be selling tours and we were approached all the time. Apart from the odd beggar and eager restauranteur, you can go about our business untroubled in Bolivia. Not so in Peru. We were swarmed by the shoe-shine kids, who made a tidy sum of cash from us lot. And once they smelled blood, all the kids in town seemed to grab a cloth and some polish and harangue us.

Ysabel had already sorted us out with somewhere to eat, and I tried my first typical Peruvian dish, Alpaca steak. It wasn’t too bad, quite tasty but a bit tougher than I was expecting. And of course, we were in Cusquena country.

a city in southeastern Peru , located on the shore of Lake Titicaca , the world's highest navigable lake, at 3,860 m (12,421 ft) above sea level

We went to Lake Titicaca from Cuzco. Stayed a night in the Hostel and the next day took the boat ride out to the reed island. An artificial island where everything is made of reeds. We spent that night on a homestay with the Santiago family who were really nice, i bet they get sick of eating loads of different kinds of potatoes though. We started a big game of football with the locals then had to walk up a big ass hill to watch the sunset, this turned out to be worth it though it was pretty awesome. Lake Titicaca was ridiculously blue especially in the morning. That night we had a claas night in the rock bar in puno with all the others from the trip, most of them were from america. However we ended up in what was very possibly a gay club because many peruvian men were buying us drinks. We can thank aka for taking us there on the advice of a random policia. Missed our bus to La Paz in the morining obviously so had another day in Puno, then off to Bolivia...

Vandaag een tocht gemaakt met de boot over ´Lake Titicaca´. Het hoogstgelegen meer ter wereld (ten minste waar grotere schepen op varen). Het meer heeft een omtrek van 3.800 vierkante km en is deels bezit van Peru en deels bezit van Bolivia. De bootjes gaan niet zo snel en er was een redelijke afstand te overbruggen, met andere woorden weer vroeg uit ons nest! (voor de zoveelste dag zegt Zwa).

Eerst naar ´Los Uros´, de beroemde drijvende eilandjes van riet. Al decennia lang leeft hier een bevolking van ca. 2000 mensen op drijvende eilandjes in het meer. Ze zijn nagenoeg zelfvoorzienend met scholen, winkeltjes, een ziekenhuis en kerk. Toerisme is tegenwoordig de grootste inkomstenbron en dat was te merken. Toch bijzonder om te zien hoe ze dit voor elkaar krijgen. Eenmaal van de boot op een eilandje gestapt, merk je inderdaad dat het eilandje drijft! Bij elke stap gaat het op en neer. Natuurlijk moesten we ook een tochtje op de rieten boot maken naar de overkant. Een leuke en relaxte ervaring. Vervolgens was het ongeveer 3 uren varen naar het eiland Taquila. Vanaf dit eiland kun je Bolivia zien liggen. Hier was het een hele stevige klim over een rotspad. We werden (net als de honderden andere toeristen...) bij een familie uitgenodigd in de tuin om daar hun volksdans te zien en een goede lunch te nuttigen. De thee van cocabladeren of minttakjes mochten ook niet ontbreken. Vanzelfsprekend werd Zwa uitgenodigd voor de volksdans en dacht Peter veilig te zijn met de filmcamera in zijn hand. Niets was minder waar, uiteindelijk stonden we beiden te zwieren (voorzover ons dat lukte als stijve Hollanders). Na de lunch weer verder klimmen naar het centrale plein. Opvallend was dat bijna iedereen stond/zat te breien, inclusief de mannen, zelfs lopend over het pad. Er stond bij het plein een groot gebouw met gebreide koopwaar met de naam ´Knitted women´, onder het bord stond een oude man te breien...

We moesten vervolgens verder de berg op om uiteindelijk aan de andere kant weer af te dalen. We besloten om op tijd richting de haven te lopen. We bleken een van de eerste te zijn. Daardoor konden we des te meer genieten van de rust en ook zoveel mogelijk foto´s maken en filmen zonder hordes toeristen in het vizier. Onderweg kwamen we heel wat van de plaatselijke bevolking tegen. Dit rotspaadje is hun hoofdweg en alles moet getild worden. Ook leuk om hier weer te zien is hun eigen klederdracht die afwijkt van wat we tot nu toe gezien hadden en de mensen blijven trouw aan hun traditie van kleding. Na de afdaling een beetje uitpuffen en daarna een lange bootreis van 3 uren onder het ´genot´ van house muziek uit de begin jaren ´90. Geen gehoor...

Morgen hopen we met de bus om ca. 07.30 te vertrekken richting Bolivia, Copacobana om precies te zijn. In die buurt hopen we de rest van het weekend door te brengen.

Vandaag een rit van ca. 380 km. van Cuzco naar Puno. Dit keer doen we het nog toeristischer dan anders. Een busrit met gids en af en toe dus in hordes langs de mooie bezienswaardigheden. Dit bleek absoluut de moeite waard en maakt afstanden overbruggen nog aantrekkelijker. Onderweg genoten van mooi uitzicht en af en toe even de oogjes dicht. Onze eerste stop was in een klein dorp waar een bijzondere kerk stond. Gebouwd in 1572. Hier was weer es te zien hoe missionarissen te werk moeten gaan om ´zieltjes te winnen´. De Inca´s hadden nog niet zo´n hoge pet op van de Jezuieten en daarna de Dominicanen. Dus de zon werd ook maar verwerkt in het altaar omdat de Inca´s die aanbidden. De geestelijken vertelden dat de zielen van de Inca´s al in de kerk aanwezig waren en dat konden ze zelf komen bekijken. En ja, toen ze in de vele spiegeltjes van het altaar keken zagen ze zowaar hun zielen terug. Dat was nog eens missionair werken...Verder was het overal weer 24-karaats goud door de kerk heen, misselijkmakend wederom.

De volgende stop was in Raqchi. De tempel van Wiracocha was hier gebouwd door de Inca´s. Wiracocha was de belangrijkste god van de Inca´s en daarom was ook deze tempel de belangrijkste nederzetting, eigenlijk valt Machu Picchu in die zin hierbij in het niet. Meest kenmermerkend is de 12 meter hoge muur die centraal stond in de tempel. Hier woonden ca. 700 mensen binnen de vesting. Er was een 3 meter hoge en 2 meter dikke muur om de stad heen gebouwd (soort van chinese muur dus ook hier!). 

Dit maakt hongerig, dus tijd voor een lunch. Vervolgens weer een uurtje rijden tot aan La Raya waar het hoogste punt van de weg van Cuzco naar Puno zich bevindt, op ca 4.300 meter. Hier werd gepoogd om de gebruikelijke kleurrijke souvenirs aan de man/vrouw te brengen. Hierna was het een heel eind rijden door de hoogvlaktes van de Andes. 

Als laatste stop het dorpje van Pacara. Dit is bekend om de (vruchtbaarheids)stiertjes die op veel plekken in Peru op de daken zijn geplaatst. Het waren vroeger lama´s, maar ook dit moest natuurlijk onder invloed van de Spanjaarden veranderen. Grappig is wel dat bijna niemand in dit stadje deze stiertjes op het dak heeft staan omdat ze aluminium daken hebben, terwijl het alleen op dakpannen moet... Verder was er een archeologisch museum met overblijfselen van de lokale pre-Inca cultuur: de Pacara-cultuur. Zij hielden zich onder andere bezig met het offeren van mensen en kinderen als er zich grote rampen hadden voorgedaan...

Vervolgens op weg naar het eindstation van vandaag: Puno. Puno ligt aan het meer van Titicaca. Dit is het grootste hoogst gelegen meer ter wereld: op 3.800 meter boven de zeespiegel. Het kan hier dus best frisjes zijn! Morgen gaan we een 1-daagse toer doen over het meer en bezoeken we eilandjes.    

 At 8 o'clock Bolivian time (it was 7 in Peru) I arrived at my destination in Puno. It had taken me 14 hours to travel the distance that is usually covered by a 6-hour bus journey. It had cost me a small fortune - in fact, I had spent more than 20 times the amount of a normal bus fee. But I have to say it was worth every cent. I would not have wanted to miss this experience for the world. This is real travelling - when I got up in the morning I did not have a clue whether I'd reach Puno or not, which could have impacted and jeopardised the remainder of my journey in Peru. It was sheer luck, stubbornness and persistence that got me to Puno in the end and I am quite certain that I am the only person to have travelled from La Paz to Puno on this day.

This day was by far the most memorable day of all my travels.

As agreed I sent an e-mail to David that we had arrived safely in Copacabana/Puno. David sent me a message back that the way back with the taxi had been a nightmare. They had spent hours waiting at a blockade with an angy mob standing in the road, burning tyres and throwing rocks. In the end they were led through though and made it safely back to La Paz. The taxi driver got the inner tube of his flat tyre fixed and all ended well for them.

I bumped into Olav a week later in the museum in Cuzco. It was my last day in Cuzco before heading back to Lima and then home. He'd just arrived and still had to go and visit Cuzco and the rest. We chatted for about an hour about the great experience we had together travelling from La Paz to Copacabana and went our own separate ways after that.

  We drove to Puno today arriving late afternoon.  Lake Titicaca borders the town.  Our elevation here is 12565 feet so we will be able to start getting use to the higher elevations in preperation for our hiking the Inca Trail.  When we arrived we were lucky to see a highschool marching contest on the town square.  Each high school wore beautifull uniforms with many of the marchers having large mask covering their heads.  Reminded me of New Oreleans.

  The next morning we took a bicycle taxi ride to the lake were we boarded a boat that took us to Taquile Island where we were going to spend the night and eat dinner with a local family.  We arrived and after a  1/2 mile or so walk-all uphill, we arrived in a small village were we ate lunch and did some siteseeing.  After that we were introduced to our host and they escorted us to the house we  would be staying in--one couple to each house.

The houses were small but each house had a spare bedroom with its own entrence with two beds with lots of blankets as can get cold at this elevation.  There was a small building seperate from the main house where the kitchen was and where we ate.  No indoor plumbing so was an outhouse not far from the  house.  Must have had a septic tank as no bad oder-Used a bucket of water to flush it.  They did have electricity.  Everthing was quite rustic but was clean and the family was very nice.  They did not speak but a few words of English and we spoke even fewer words of Spanish but after period of time with a lot of trial and error and a lot of using our hands it was surprisings how well we communicated.  On the possibility that our family would have children we brought some small gifts for a child(we were luckey in that they had a 7 year old son) and gave them to him at dinner along with some canned food our guide had suggested would be welcomed by the family.

After dinner our hostess gave us native dress to wear and took us to a dance at the community center.  Native music and dancing made for a fun night

Next morning after breakfast we left to go back to Puno stopping on the way to visit the floating Islands of Uros.  These are Islands that the natives live on that are actually made of layers of reeds.  As the reeds down closest and in the water rot they keep putting new layers on top.  This is done continuously.  Eventually an Island decays away but they keep making new ones.  They even make boats from the reeds which last about 6 mo. before they finally decay and sink--Boats are being mad at all times.  We were told that people have been living on Islands like this for hundreds of years.  Orginally they were trying to get away from the Inca Indians.

  Tomorrow we will leave for Cuzco

We left early morning, exhausted from the previous night. We flew to Juliaca from Lima since there are no airports in Puno, this was for about $80 one way. Again, with a local airline, I think it was starperu, we heard it was bad but we didn't really have any problems with them at the time. We arranged for someone to pick us up from the Juliaca airport to our hotel in Puno, it cost about $5 per person, the ride was abour 45 minutes and you could feel the sickness of the altitude already pounding your head. When we started getting closer to Puno, the view was just spectacular, I gotta say, that lake it's soooo beatiful. We arrive at the Misky Wasi hotel, it was clean, nice and simple $20 for a double, breakfast incl. we paid right there,  not bad. After we settle in we went for a walk and to picked up our train tickets (cusco-aguas calientes-cusco), we bought this ahead of time, because it was inti raymi time, in cusco this event last a week and it's bigger than christmas, so we wanted to make sure we'll have those tickets since we heard they could sold out.
Puno is a tiny, safe town, by the main plaza there are tons of places to eat, from pizza to mexican and tour guides to choose from, prices are really good, too. We stopped at a pharmacy to get soroche pills, to help with the headache and nausea from the altitude. The walk was the longest of my life, I felt everything was in slow motion, I couldn't walk to fast, the altitude was really messing me up but we made it to the agency. We got really bad news there, it turned out people had been protesting and warning of blocking the roads day we were suppouse to leave. That was really bad for us, because if we stayed longer than we were suppouse to we'll miss our train to machu picchu and the $80 inti raymi tickets! So what to do? went back to the hotel, and left to cusco that same night, the ride was a bit scary, they were starting to burn tires on the opposite road, so you go figure. I was so mad I din't get to see the lake closer or take a ride on the totora boats! but whatever, I'm going back next year!

Peru is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, and to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty, which included most of its South American colonies. After achieving independence in 1821, Peru has undergone periods of political unrest and fiscal crisis as well as periods of stability and economic upswing.

Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions. Its geography varies from the arid plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the Andes mountains and the tropical forests of the Amazon Basin. It is a developing country with a medium Human Development Index score and a poverty level around 45%. Its main economic activities include agriculture, fishing, mining, and manufacturing of products such as textiles.

The Peruvian population, estimated at 28 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua and other native languages. This mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music.

The word Peru is derived from Birú, the name of a local ruler who lived near the Bay of San Miguel, Panama, in the early 16th century. When his possessions were visited by Spanish explorers in 1522, they were the southernmost part of the New World yet known to Europeans. Thus, when Francisco Pizarro explored the regions farther south, they came to be designated Birú or Peru. The Spanish Crown gave the name legal status with the 1529 Capitulación de Toledo, which designated the newly encountered Inca Empire as the province of Peru. Under Spanish rule, the country adopted the denomination Viceroyalty of Peru, which became Republic of Peru after independence.

The earliest evidence of human presence in Peruvian territory has been dated to approximately 11,000 years BCE. The oldest known complex society in Peru, the Norte Chico civilization, flourished along the coast of the Pacific Ocean between 3000 and 1800 BCE. These early developments were followed by archaeological cultures such as Chavin, Paracas, Mochica, Nazca, Wari, and Chimu. In the 15th century, the Incas emerged as a powerful state which, in the span of a century, formed the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. Andean societies were based on agriculture, using techniques such as irrigation and terracing; camelid husbandry and fishing were also important. Organization relied on reciprocity and redistribution because these societies had no notion of market or money.

In 1532, a group of conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro defeated Inca Emperor Atahualpa and imposed Spanish rule. Ten years later, the Spanish Crown established the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included most of its South American colonies. Viceroy Francisco de Toledo reorganized the country in the 1570s with silver mining as its main economic activity and Indian forced labor as its primary workforce. Peruvian bullion provided revenue for the Spanish Crown and fueled a complex trade network that extended as far as Europe and the Philippines. However, by the 18th century, declining silver production and economic diversification greatly diminished royal income. In response, the Crown enacted the Bourbon Reforms, a series of edicts that increased taxes and partitioned the Viceroyalty of Peru. The new laws provoked Túpac Amaru II's rebellion and other revolts, all of which were defeated.

In the early 19th century, while most of South America was swept by wars of independence, Peru remained a royalist stronghold. As the elite hesitated between emancipation and loyalty to the Spanish Monarchy, independence was achieved only after the military campaigns of José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar. During the early years of the Republic, endemic struggles for power between military leaders caused political instability. National identity was forged during this period, as Bolivarian projects for a Latin American Confederation foundered and a union with Bolivia proved ephemeral. Between the 1840s and 1860s, Peru enjoyed stability under the presidency of Ramón Castilla due to increased state revenues from guano exports. However, by the 1870s, these resources had been squandered, the country was heavily indebted, and political in-fighting was again on the rise.

Peru was defeated by Chile in the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific, losing the provinces of Arica and Tarapacá in the treaties of Ancón and Lima. Internal struggles after the war were followed by a period of stability under the Civilista Party, which lasted until the onset of the authoritarian regime of Augusto B. Leguía. The Great Depression caused the downfall of Leguía, renewed political turmoil, and the emergence of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA). The rivalry between this organization and a coalition of the elite and the military defined Peruvian politics for the following three decades.

In 1968, the Armed Forces, led by General Juan Velasco Alvarado, staged a coup against the president Fernando Belaunde. The new regime undertook radical reforms aimed at fostering development but failed to gain widespread support. In 1975, Velasco was forcefully replaced as president by General Francisco Morales Bermúdez, who paralyzed reforms and oversaw the reestablishment of democracy. During the 1980s, Peru faced a considerable external debt, ever-growing inflation, a surge in drug trafficking, and massive political violence. Under the presidency of Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000), the country started to recover; however, accusations of authoritarianism, corruption, and human rights violations forced his resignation after the controversial 2000 elections. Since the end of the Fujimori regime, Peru has tried to fight corruption while sustaining economic growth; the current president is Alan García.

At around 12:00 we tipped Gonçalo, said goodbye and got on our Bus with our new Peruvian guide and headed to our next destination – Puno. Puno is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake, at 3,860 m (12,421 ft) above sea level. It is also the capital and largest city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province. The city was established in 1668 by viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro as capital of the province of Paucarcolla with the name San Juan Bautista de Puno. The name was later changed to San Carlos de Puno, in honor of king Charles II of Spain. The city boasts several churches dating back from the colonial period, they were built to service the Spanish population and evangelize the natives.

Today, Puno is an important agricultural and livestock region; particularly of South American camelids (llamas and alpacas) which graze on its immense plateaus and plains. Many homes in Puno, much like surrounding cities, are half-

finished. This is done so that the inhabitants do not have to pay taxes. Much of the city economy relies on the black market, fueled by cheap goods smuggled in from Bolivia. Puno has been designated to become a Special Economic Zone or "Zona Económica" by Peru's president, Alan Garcia. Puno is served by the Inca Manco Capac International Airport in nearby Juliaca.

Puno is known as the folkloric capital of Peru due to its wealth of artistic and cultural expressions, particularly dance. They are most notable during the celebrations of the Feast of the "Virgen de la Candelaria" and the Regional Competition of Autochthonous Dances. Puno's access to Lake Titicaca is surrounded by 41 floating islands. To this day, the Uros people maintain and live on these man-made islands, depending on the lake for their survival and are a large tourist destination.

We had lunch on the bus (some basic sandwiches) and during our 3 hour drive passed several notable towns like Pomata, which has the most impressive architectural treasures and holds “mestizo” type paintings from the XVII and XVIII century.  Next was Juli, which holds most of the Jesuit Missions legacy, with four spectacular churches, then the ancient towns of Acora and Plateria, both popular for their reed boat building yards.  Chucuito was the next stop, with some ruins of pre-Colombian times, before our final destination, the Peruvian port of Puno at 15:00. After check-in at La Hacienda Hotel, we departed the harbor to the Los Uros Islands for a visit.

The Uros is the name of a group of pre-Incan people who live on 42 self-fashioned floating man-made islets located in Lake Titicaca off Puno, Peru. The Uros use the totora plant to make boats (balsas mats) of bundled dried reeds as well as to make the islands themselves. Around 3,000 descendants of the Uros are alive today, although only a few hundred still live on and maintain the islands; most have moved to the mainland. The Uros also bury their dead on the mainland in special cemeteries.

The purpose of the island settlements was originally defensive, and if a threat arose they could be moved. The largest island retains a watchtower almost entirely constructed of reeds. The Uros traded with the Aymara tribe on the mainland, interbreeding with them and eventually abandoning the Uro language for that of the Aymara. About 500 years ago they lost their original language. When this pre-Incan civilization was conquered by the Incans, they had to pay taxes to them, and often were made slaves.

The islets are made of totora reeds, which grow in the lake. The dense roots that the plants develop support the islands. They are anchored with ropes attached to sticks driven into the bottom of the lake. The reeds at the bottoms of the islands rot away fairly quickly, so new reeds are added to the top constantly. This is especially important in the rainy season when the reeds rot a lot faster. The islands last about 30 years. Much of the Uros' diet and medicine also revolve around these reeds. When a reed is pulled, the white bottom is often eaten for iodine. This prevents goiter. This white part of the reed is called the chullo. Like the Andean people of Peru rely on the Coca Leaf for relief from a harsh climate and hunger, the Uros people rely on the Totora reeds in the same way. When in pain, the reed is wrapped around the place in pain to absorb it. They also make a reed flower tea.

The larger islands house about 10 families, while smaller ones, only about 30 meters wide, house only two or three. There are about 2 or 3 children per family currently. Local residents fish ispi, carachi and catfish. There are 2 types of fish foreign to the lake which was recently introduced. Trout was introduced from Canada in 1940 and the kingfish was introduced from Argentina. They also hunt birds such as seagulls, ducks and flamingos and graze their cattle on the islets. They also run crafts stalls aimed at the numerous tourists who land on ten of the islands each year. They barter totora reeds on the mainland in Puno to get products they need like quinoa or other foods. Food is cooked with fires placed on piles of stones. To relieve themselves, tiny 'outhouse' islands are near the main islands. The ground root absorbs the waste. The Uros do not reject modern technology: some boats have motors, some houses have solar panels to run appliances such as TV, and the main island is home to an Uros-run FM radio station, which plays music for several hours a day. Early schooling is done on several islands, including a traditional school and a school run by a Christian church. Older children and university students attend school on the mainland, often in nearby Puno.

During our visit of one of these small islands we were received by the leader who explained their way of life and we had the opportunity to ask several questions. We also had the chance to try on their traditional close and even played around a bit by dancing while they watched laughing at our craziness. We bought some of their traditional pottery and textiles and left for a quick visit of another island.

We returned to the Hotel where we would spend the night and after about 20 minutes left for dinner. We had made reservations at a Restaurant which specialized in Cuy. Cuy is roasted Guinea Pig eaten regularly as a traditional South American dish. It tasted a bit like rabbit, but I felt like I was eating a large rat. Daniel was all too happy to eat the rest…. strange food is his specialty. We walked around Puno, exchanged some dollars and returned to the Hotel.

Had some breakfast and then we (7 plus guide) walked into town and to the Virgin de la Candelaria Church and the little chapel of candles.  I didn’t climb to Calvary, but walked around the town and then went back to Hotel Rosario del Lago for lunch.  Shortly after 1 we were put into taxis and went to catch the bus to Puno.  The bus left about 1:30. 

Copa is very close to the border with Peru, so we had to leave the bus, migrate out of Bolivia, walk across the border and then go through immigration in Peru.  One girl decided to go to the toilet and the bus driver didn’t want to wait and tried to leave without her.  She is always late, and this was no exception.

I really enjoyed the bus trip to Puno, looking at the changing scenery.  I had the best seat again, this time on the right side on top of the wheel, so I even had a sort of footrest.  The bus was less than half full, nearly everyone English speaking and between 20 and 30; backpackers.  As far as I could see, everyone but me went to sleep.  Reminded me of Judy’s bus trip through Liechtenstein with Jeanette. 

Not long before we reached Puno a non-English speaking (as usual) man, who had been in the front with the driver, asked me where I was going, where I was staying and then did I have a reservation.  He came back later with a pamphlet and told me about a visit to the Uros people who live on the floating reed islands.  There was a visit by boat and I could come, I could be picked up at the hotel at 4.  I was actually interested in going, so it was fortuitous that he was on the bus (well there’s probably someone on every bus into Puno).  But I was very confused, as there didn’t seem to be enough time.  It was a while before I realized that Puno must be a different time zone from Bolivia.  So I had just found another hour.  I told the man that I had to go to the bank.  No problem, I could pay afterwards.  I had to pick up my train tickets.  No problem, he would go to the train station with me after the boat trip.  He tells me how much the train ticket is.  Yes, I know.  I already have a ticket.  I paid for it in Australia.  Where am I staying in Cusco?  With a family.  I realize that he’s in charge of organizing accommodation, trips etc, possibly gets a cut when he introduces someone.

Anyway, when we arrived at Puno he came with me and took my suitcase.  I got some money out of the ATM at the terminal and then he got into a taxi with me.  By then it was 4 pm Puno time and we were running late.  He was in a hurry, but I had to walk calmly.  We got down to the wharf and he put me into a cart while he ran ahead.  Got onto the boat about 4:20 and there were about 15 backpackers already there; probably been waiting since 4.  After me two or three more people arrived and then we left for the islands.  There was a guide who gave an interesting explanation of the floating reed islands and after about half an hour we arrived there.  It is mainly a tourist attraction now, but it is interesting to see how the people lived in the past.  We were shown how the islands were made.  The reed roots are cut in large blocks, tied together, many more reeds are cut and placed on top and always need replenishment.  The reed roots float in water.  The islands are anchored so that they won’t float away and end up in Bolivia; we are on the Peruvian side of Titicaca.

After the boat trip the man comes with me in a taxi, we drop off some other people and then go to the train station.  It is closed.  I really wanted to pick up the tickets tonight because there has been a lot of confusion about them.  I paid just before I left Australia, but Peru Rail didn’t seem to know whether they had received the money.  So I didn’t want to come in the morning and find that there were problems.  There were two men behind the gate.  They were very polite but I would have to come back at 7 am.  The train leaves at 8.  Reluctantly, and very slowly, I get back into the taxi.  Then I am beckoned back to the gate again.  Slowly I get out and go back to the gate.  What is my name?  Eril Atkinson, de Australia I add.  Then they open the gate and I am asked to come in.  A man ushers me into his office.  I ask if he is Gregorio?  Si.  This is the man with whom I have corresponded via email recently, regarding the payment of the ticket.  He has not only my ticket for Puno (Andean Explorer USD143), but my return ticket from Cusco/Machu Picchu/Cusco on the Hiram Bingham (USD588).  He also gives me a fancy bag with Orient Express on it.  I nearly don’t take it as I wouldn’t use it.  But I decide to take it anyway.  I thank him profusely; I’ll sleep better tonight knowing that I have the two tickets.

A taxi takes the man, that’s right, his name is Jesus, and I back to the Casona Plaza.  Jesus has been admiring the bag.  I ask whether he would like it as a tip.  Yes he would.  I pay him NS44, AUD16 for the trip.  He’s happy and so am I.

The room at the hotel is just OK.  No heating so I ask for a heater.  A tiny oil heater is put in the room.  I have dinner in the restaurant.  Between 40 and 49NS, AUD15 to 18, for a glass of red wine, trout with potato chips and a not very nice pancake with cold sliced bananas inside and unwanted chocolate syrup on the top.  The hotel has wifi so I send Wednesday’s blog.