Sillustani

Picked up at the respectable hour of 8.30am for a half day tour.

We stopped at a lookout to take in the view of the city. Puno is encircled on one side by steep hills and on the other by Lake Titicaca. The Peruvians use every bit of land they can to build on and the result is an amazing sight.  

 

We then headed 45 mins north to Sillustani and toured a pre Inca burial site, where the local indigenous group, the Colla people built tombs for their nobility. The Colla people had an influence extending 180 kms in every direction from this site. They were clever in using an special irrigation technique, not channels like the Inca which was in evidence by the shores of the lake nearby. Their methods meant that they could harvest twice a year, so they were able to double the production of food that they could use to barter with.

Sillusatni has both Colla and Incan tombs. It is situated on the shores of Lake Umayo which used to be a part of Lake Titicaca. A river still drains water from Lake Umayo into Lake Titicaca. 

 

 

On the way back to Puno, we stopped at a local farmhouse, where a family invited us in to look at their home. They had a menagerie of animals. Llamas, alpacas, pigs. Apparently the guinea pigs had recently been eaten by the dog!

She had made some cheese for us to taste which we had with boiled potatoes and she showed us how she grinds the grains to make flour on the milling stones. 

She also handspins the wool from the alpacas and makes rugs on a loom or knits scarves, beanies and gloves. I could not help but buy a pair of gloves, only costing 10 soles (which is about 4 dollars)

The afternoon was spent walking around Puno. Played cards with the Camerons in the afternoon and had a lovely dinner at one of the top restaurants in town. 

Looking forward to moving on......