Yuvari, There She Blows!

Whilst in Puno we visited one of the oldest steam ships in the world, which is moored just outside Puno. The boat was commissioned by the Peruvian government as a vessel for Lake Titicaca and was built in Britain, then shipped in pieces to Arica in northern Chile, then transported by mule, over the Andes to Lake Titicaca. Each piece of the ship had to be made into small pieces not over 400lbs as they needed to be carried by the mules. They built the ship in four months, cut into over 2,700 pieces and then transported. It took six years in total to get all the pieces to Lake Titicaca! The ship was found in the 1980´s and restored to it´s formed glory and is now a working ship and museum on the lake.

The engine was pretty cool and Stu loved it. The fixtures and fittings are, where possible, the original features and it is loved today by a very passionate crew.

The Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca

After we left the Isla del Sol, we went to the Peruvian side of the lake. We stayed in the town of Puno, which sits just on the lake side protected by two penisulas about 20kms apart. This allows the lake to be perfectly still and allows lots of reeds to grow. From these, the indigineous people have made reed islands which float on the lake. Originally these people built the islands to flee the Incas, and have remained there ever since. There are a number of islands with different communities and families, and the Uros Islands, which we visited had a total of 4,000 people living on these islands. Each island has about four houses on it which seem to support one extended family. The houses have wooden frames with reeds that form the outer cover. The floor is reeds, the furniture is reeds, the transport is reeds and well, pretty much everything is made from reeds. These days the islanders have solar panels and watch all the Latin America soap operas, only coming outside to greet the tourists and try and sell their wares, which range from postcards to stuffed birds and fish (umm, interesting).

We were a little disappointed with these islands as they seemed very fake, only there to exploit the tourists, or perhaps that´s the other way round. Regardless, it wasn´t the best morning we had. Shame. The town of Puno wasn´t that great either. They had really commercialised the lakeside in a bad way and unfortunately, weren´t putting much money to cleaning the lake and surrounding area. The lake was full of green algae and plastic bottles and the edge of the lake was being used a site for ´spoil´, a term for surplus rubble and soil from building sites, which they seems to laying at the edge of the lake. Unfortunately, this was attracting rubbish from the local people who also seemed to have a total disregard for the potential beauty of the lake. It was a stark contrast to the Bolvian side.

Funnily enough, we met plenty of people who said don´t bother with the Peruvian side of the lake as its not as nice as the Bolivian side, but we still felt we had to go to Puno and the Islands and see for ourselves. There are some islands further out which aren´t quite so commerical and where you can stay with the islanders for overnight or for a couple of days, but we simply didn´t have the time.

We quickly left Puno the following day for Cuzco and the Sacred Valley.

Isla del Sol - the Prettiest Place on Earth

We arrived at on Saturday at Copacabana, a small town on the edge of Lake Titicaca and promptly left for the nearby island of Isla del Sol, the place where the Inca empire was borne and a very scared place for Incas. After a ropey hour and a half on a small boat we arrived at the Island. I wasn´t feeling too great and really wanted to stay in Copacabana after hearing good reports of the town, but Stu was keen to get straight to the island - I have to say this was the best move yet. As you arrive at the island you first see a gentle waterfall down a steep hill - this is the natural spring trickling down the hillside that has been cultivated into pretty garden terraces. Next to the stream is a stone staircase and the only route up to the village at the south side of the island. The trickling water simply complements the tranquility you feel when you first arrive - it really is lovely. There are no cars and no roads on this island and all the inhabitants live a very traditional lifestyle mainly farming or looking after the tourists.

We were greeted by a handful of touts all demanding our attention and trying to sell the rooms in their hostals. We seemed to get attached to one young man, who we followed up the stairwell. Halfway up, we needed a rest - we were at 3,500m, the staircase was extremely steep (and about 50 steep steps), we were carrying our huge, heavy backpacks and our lungs just couldn´t cope. The lovely young lad, kindly offered to take my backpack and I gladly gave it to him, thinking the hostel was at the top of the stairs. Twenty five minutes later, we were still going up the hill and we didn´t seem to be near the hostel. The young lad kept saying "arriba, arriba", roughly translated "to the top" and soon after we were found the hostel, absolutely exhausted and a little guilty after he carried my rucksack virtually all the way - there was no way we couldn´t stay at this hostal now! We were glad to have finally made it and were rewarded with a really pretty house and the most amazing views across Lake Titicaca. It was mid afternoon, so we sat down on the terrace, literally overhanging the steep hill, and enjoyed a cold beer as the sun set over the hills in the distance and an eerie mist set in (see photo above).

This really is the best place we´ve been so far. The views from the hills are truely magnificent and the village is somewhat unspoilt by commercialism driven by tourism. There are plenty of hostels and restaurants, but there is little or no sales pressure and the place was generally quiet. This seems the Bolivian way, but we were also blessed with being here before the high-season. That night we went to a restaurant across the road and the owner had to keep nipping out to buy the various elements he had promised to cook us. We all tucked into trout from the lake, washed down with a few more beers.

The next day we walked to the other north side of island to the Titicaca Rock and a special site of Inca ruins. This was a reasonably tough 3 hours with a few hills to challenge you at altitude, but since the trail is at the top of the hill, incredible views are provided either side. These are either across the lake to Peru and Bolivia (depending what side you´re looking at) or down into small coves with clearest, blue water lapping white sandy shores. The local people are dotted around the cultivated hillsides looking after their small flocks of sheep and few donkeys. There are plenty of eucalyptus trees and the landscape kind of reminded me of Mediterranean island, although Isla del Sol is a touch more special due to the mysticism from the Inca ruins.

After walking round the ruins and understanding most of what the guide was saying (our Spanish is improving), we walked the 40 minutes to the northern village, had some lunch and caught the boat back to the south side, and again, sat on our terrace in awe of the view in front of us.