Bolivia and Peru (7/20/99-8/3/99):
We spent a day in Cusco having our laundry done, sending e-mail, and catching up on news. With Charlotte, we hopped what was supposed to be a high-speed bus and were on our way to Puno. Reynaldo had sold us on this idea because it would get in several hours earlier than the first class train. You can only imagine our surprise and disappointment when we found ourselves on a tour bus that stopped at many of the attractions we had already seen and didn't arrive in Puno until the same time as the train. One good thing about this bus was that it stopped at Raqchi, a rather interesting Inca way station that exhibited tall adobe towers, numerous circular structures and a nice spring. When we arrived in Puno in darkness, a number of the hostals we had hoped to stay at were already full. A couple of friendly female "touts" helped us find a room, which was fine although a little more expensive than expected. However, we were glad to have a place and wandered out in search of dinner.
The next morning we were up early and on the street looking for cheaper and quieter accommodations. We found another hostal at half the price and arranged bus tickets to Bolivia and train tickets for several days later through one of our lady friends from the previous night. We also arranged an afternoon tour of the Sillistani ruin site, which was well worth seeing. While waiting for that tour, we walked down to the waterfront and toured an iron boat showcased in a recent Michael Palin series, then walked back through the Plaza del Armas, where there were more speeches, bands, and marching children in uniform. The parades never seemed to stop in this country. Our guide for Sillistani was good, his English understandable. We stopped for pictures of alpacas along the way and finally figured out how to distinguish them from llamas. Llamas have erect necks and tails. Alpacas have more cameloid necks and droop tails. Sillistani housed three pre-Inca civilizations in addition to the Inca. Highlights were tall, round Inca burial tombs and an assortment of other pre-Inca styles. It sits on the edge of a huge fresh water lake. The weather was overcast and windy while we walked around but luckily we had no rain. Our tour bus dropped us off in the square and we ran into the Hannons at dinner. After hearing about their 15 hours on the local train, we weren't quite as miffed about our bus experience. They all had colds but were having fun and doing well. Susan had alpaca for dinner this night as she had heard that it is low in cholesterol and wanted to sample it.
Charlotte and Susan were up early and out for coffee before the bus arrived to take us to Bolivia. The bus was a newer, spacious bus and the ride not bad at all. The drive was uneventful and we enjoyed much prettier views of Lake Titicaca. We half expected to be hassled at the border but again had no problems and weren't hit up for money. Upon arrival in Copacabana, we found the hostal recommended in the guidebook for $3 per person per night. It was pretty rudimentary and though the guidebook had also approved of the food, we thought it was pretty terrible. We walked down to the pier and Bob and Susan hiked to the top of a local peak to see the 14 Stations of the Cross, while Charlotte relaxed and read.
The next morning we reserved a different hotel closer to the Lake for a few nights later and took off on the tour boat for Isla del Sol. Rides across the Lake can be pretty spooky since the boats are old, slightly overloaded, and they carry no life vests but we arrived without incident. The hour and a half ride was smooth and the views spectacular. It was overcast when we first left the port but soon cleared into a beautiful day. The boat dropped us at the north end of the island and we went through the small village museum before making our way to the Inca ruin site of Chincana, a large labyrinth on a down-sloping ridge, which overlooked the lake. It featured many terraces and full size niches. In addition, there was a large slab surrounded by 12 rocks that was supposedly used for animal and human sacrifices. Later we walked to the intermediate village of Cha'lla to spend the night. The recommended hostal was under construction. None of the rooms were actually finished but they were clean and adequate. We had hard mattresses and pillows on the floor with a candle for light. Since there were no bathing facilities, Susan took a quick dip in the Lake. The water was warmer than expected but the air temperature was fairly cold. Mama cooked dinner for 12: 2 Brits, 1 Italian, 1 German, 2 Austrians, 3 Belgians, and the 3 of us. We had quinoa soup, French fires, cooked carrots, bread, and fried fish from the Lake. We saw the Southern Cross that evening even though the moon was almost full.
Up early, we headed for the south end of the island to view the ruins of Pilko Kaina, which have roofed, corbelled arches similar to those used by the Maya. The site also had large inset niches. On our way back we climbed the Escalera del Inca (Inca staircase). A natural spring emerges near the staircase and is channeled down along gardens to the shoreline. From our rooms, we enjoyed fantastic views of the snow-capped peaks of the Cordillera Real and the Isla de la Luna (Island of the Moon). We played a few games of cards while waiting for what turned out to be the worst meal of the trip. Since we were out of books to read and our candles were quickly disappearing, we retired early.
We hung out at the dock for a few hours waiting for our 10:30 AM boat to take us back to Copacabana. Upon our arrival we took turns in a shared shower which was heated by an electric showerhead heater. Many of hostals have this type of shower. The scariest part is turning off that electric switch as one emerges dripping. It worked wonderfully for Bob and Susan and would have worked great for Charlotte, but the workmen who were adding private bathrooms turned off the power when she was half done. Our upscale hotel was under construction as is much of Bolivia.
Sunburned from the hour and a half boat ride back, we sat on our private balcony watching the late afternoon sun sink into Lake Titicaca. After two and a half days on the Island of the Sun, we hit a food wall. Tired of French fires, noodles, and rice, we went down to the market and loaded up on fresh fruit, veggies, and bread. Bob munched his pound of peanuts in shells while downing Cuba Libres. Charlotte ate Pringles and cucumber sandwiches, while Susan planned where we would go for dinner. Our door to the adjacent balcony seemed to be a lock-it-once situation. We eventually had to reach the balcony by going out a window when the lock failed. It was somewhat faster once we got used to the idea and we were reasonably secure with the window locked.
In the city square that afternoon, we encountered yet another marching band with dancers. We don't know what the occasion was but it was fun to watch the ladies in their sparkly layers of skirts and felt bowler hats, jitterbugging down the street in front of a brass band. We stopped in at the local expresso bar and book exchange to trade some pocket books. They had one computer with an Internet connection but for $5 per hour we thought we could wait another more day. Internet charges were $1.00 per hour in Puno, pretty cheap for a 56K connection.
Our last morning in Bolivia, Bob watched the packs while Susan and Charlotte set out to shop before the bus came. Tourist goods like T-shirts were expensive as they were imported from Peru. However they found some antique blankets that they couldn't pass up and Susan bought a bulky knit alpaca sweater. How to carry our accumulating treasures was becoming a problem. Back in Puno, we found ourselves without hotel reservations for August 28th, Peruvian Independence Day. So off we went to the islands. Our first stop on one of the floating reed islands of Uros was quite fascinating. The large reed boats used by the islanders had heads with dragon-like faces on one end. The squishy reed tierra was anything but firma and reminded us of walking on a full waterbed. There are over 40 floating islands on Lake Titicaca and only a few of them allow tourist visitation. Charlotte took a 10 -15 minute ride in one of the reed boats and met us at the next island stop. Both floating islands we visited were quite commercialized but still entertaining. After leaving them, we had a three-hour ride to Isla Amantani, where we spent the night.
The village ladies in their colorful felt skirts and embroidered wool blouses and shawls were awaiting us on the rock pier. Bruno, our guide, assigned us to different households in groups of three or four and we followed our respective hostesses home. We suspect that our silent hostess spoke primarily Quechua. She showed us to our room, which consisted of three pallets and a table, and after a few minutes the man of the house arrived to greet us. He spoke Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, and some English, though he spoke to us only in Spanish. He chatted with us for about a half-hour, until his wife brought our lunch of "muna" tea, quinoa soup, and fried julienne potatoes with rice. By the time we finished our lunch it was time to meet the guide at the village communal building to hike up to the highest point of the island. There are actually two high points known as Pachamama and Pachatata. We didn't completely understand the significance but the sunset views were breathtaking. Unfortunately, Susan's camera malfunctioned so we don't have any pictures. The hike up was a puffer and Bob was really hobbling, having smashed his heel the previous night sliding down the weird bathroom steps of our hotel room in the dark.
As soon as the sun set, Bruno led us down a different route to the village plaza and cooperative handicraft store. Some of the handicrafts looked wonderful but by then it was too dark to examine them thoroughly, so we didn't buy anything. Our 8-year-old host Abtun met us at the square and led us back to the family house. We couldn't have found it without him and in fact we talked to two young Irish gals who got lost that night and didn't find their family house for several hours and then only with the help of some of the locals. Dinner was close to a carbon copy of lunch but with barley added to the quinoa soup. There was a fiesta with ethnic music and dancing in the communal building later that evening but we chose to stay in our room. We think our host family was relieved not to have to accompany us to the fiesta. We worked on Susan's camera for several hours but to no avail. As Colin Fletcher said on his Grand Canyon trek, we were now free from the “tyranny of the camera” and we had only to guard our 8 rolls of shot film against possible theft.
It was cold that night but we had plenty of blankets. The family started stirring about 5:30 AM and we started packing our things a little while later. About 7:00 AM our breakfast arrived in the form of muna tea and buñuelos, an entree similar to donut holes. Bob decided to never drink another cup of muna tea in his lifetime. It is brewed from an herb that grows wild in the area and has a medicinal taste that we found indescribable. Charlotte and Susan would really have preferred coffee but they didn't suffer headaches from the lack of caffeine so maybe that tea does have something to it. The people of Isla Amantani are primarily vegetarian, which went a long way towards explaining why the village ladies were so much more petite and shapely than a lot of the Quechua ladies on the mainland. Quinoa, which grows well at elevation, is the mainstay of their nutrition. At 7:15 AM our hostess accompanied us back down to the pier to see us off. Next stop: Isla Taquile.
Between 12,000 and 13,000 feet above sea level, Lake Titcaca is the highest navigable lake in the world. Just when we thought we were acclimated, we would attempt a hill and be brought back to reality. When we stopped in at Taquile, Bob elected to stay with the boat to rest his badly bruised heel, while Charlotte and Susan trudged over the top of the island to the village. It was a festival day on the island and brightly outfitted Quechua dancers from the peninsula whirled around the square in tune to two fellows playing something like ukeleles and two older women singing in high pitched voices. The handiworks for sale around the square were of fine quality but we resisted the temptation as our bags are already stretched to the limit. While we were walking, the boat moved around to a different harbor and we descended 528 stone steps to meet it. Bob finished reading Charlotte's book while we were gone. We were running out of books again and couldn’t find an English language book exchange in Puno.
The night train from Puno was quite an experience. We were told to be at the station by 7:30 PM for the 8:00 PM train. Luckily, we arrived early, especially since it actually left at 7:40 PM. The pullman class was not quite as luxurious as we had expected, though it was heated and they passed out comfortable blankets. Our car was primarily filled with tourists, so we didn’t have to worry about watching our stuff. Sleeping was close to impossible as the seats reclined but there wasn’t enough space to stretch out fully. Much of the trip was across the altiplano at over 14,000 feet making breathing difficult, even at rest. It would have been really neat to see the mountainous countryside but for some reason the Peruvian government prefers night runs for this connection.
We were a little apprehensive about the Arrequipa train station but we quickly found a taxi and were soon in a hostal a few city blocks north of the Plaza. The views of the snow-capped volcanoes from our rooftop patio were gorgeous. We walked down to the plaza and arranged our flights to Lima, bought a few T-shirts, and toured the convent of Santo Domingo. Actually Bob was hobbling rather than walking. His enthusiasm for exploration had declined as a result of his heel problem. The convent is also called the Monasterio Misterioso. It covers a whole city block and construction began in 1580. Built by a wealthy widow, it was run like a country club for nuns until the pope sent in a strict Dominican sister to clean it up. Twenty nuns still live within its walls. That afternoon we took a three-hour tour that visited some of the colonial parts of the city. We visited an old hacienda and a still functioning water driven flour mill.
Our rooms had TV so we watched some Spanish sub-titled American movies. We were tired from the all night train ride so watching movies and catching some zzz’s was fine with everyone. Charlotte and Susan later found the local market. Both thought it was one of the nicest they had seen, even though the neighborhood was heavily policed and had armored vehicles with water cannon parked curbside. Susan took the gimp back later to cash some travelers checks. He liked it so much he was thinking of buying property next to the market until Susan pointed out the police at every corner who were holding their sidearms in their hands rather than in their holsters. Arrequipa was not a good place to travel a few years ago. Revolutionaries and dead bodies were too plentiful.
We left for Lima in the late afternoon and experienced an uneventful flight. Rather than go into the city to find accommodations, we read the night away at the airport and checked in for our 8:00 AM Delta flight early the next morning. The Lima airport is quite safe and many excellent places can be found to catch a few hours sleep if you don’t mind the hard floors or bench seats. While there are lots of police around, no one ever hassles you to sit up straight or get off the floor. We learned that domestic flights are very cheap in Peru. Every airline has specials that are about one half the rate you would pay a US travel agent for the same connection. Taking the train sounded glamorous but you don’t see much if it travels at night. A low cost plane ride is probably a better use of valuable touring time.
We had a great time and are now eager to explore more of Bolivia.
