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......

Lake Titicaca

Up early again!!!! Arrgh, are we having a holiday??......

At least I had a very good night's sleep though which made up for the previous night

 

Picked up at 7.30am for the transfer to Puno Pier, which is about 15 min walk away from our hotel.

There we boarded our boat, yes, we were the only ones on the boat apart from the captain and tour guide.

 Felt like rock stars!!!

At least we could sit where we wanted to, when we wanted to! and move around the boat at our leisure!

We sailed out of the bay through some channels of reed out to the Uros Isalnds which are located only 5 km from the shore.

It took approx 45 mins and we had to pass through a tollway, albeit one on water....

 

 

 

The Uros reed islands are inhabited by Indians who practice traditional living.

We got off on one of the islands and spent about 1 hour with a family. The man (father) told us how the islands are constructed using the reeds. He then showed us around his patch, saw inside their houses, their outdoor kitchen and were shown some of their handicraft work.

He then took us for a short ride on a boat, also made of reeds - amazing! 

 

 We boarded the boat again and headed out through more reeds out into Puno Bay towards Taquile Island.

The boat ride was very slow, but leisurely and took 2 and 1/2 hours. All I could think of during the cruise out was Rod Stewart's song - "Sailing"! The last 30 mins or so after we passed through the heads were a bit bumpy, but neither of us was seasick.

 

 

 

We arrived at Taquile Island just before 12 noon. The island is only 7km long and about 1.5km wide. There are approx 1200 inhabitants. They self-govern and speak Quechua only. We hiked up to the main square and had lunch overlooking the lake. Looking across the lake towards Bolivia, it was a truly magnificent vista.

We had quinoa soup, then fresh trout and chips. Even in Peru the seagulls know when it is fish and chips time! After lunch we strolled for 45 mins around to another port where we were picked up by the boat.

 

The trip back was less bumpy initially as we had the wind behind us. A thunderstorm rolled in over Puno and we had a lightning show to spice things up. The wind increased and although it was a little choppy, we still had a comfortable trip back into Port. We got in at 5pm, so it was a long day.

Minor panic back at the hotel as we could not find our train tickets for the next stage of our trip to Cuzco, but a few phone calls to the local tourist operator and a couple of hours later, we had a faxed copy of the tickets. Phew!!

Crossing the Andean Plateau, Colca to Puno

Felt like I hardly slept last night. Up early again, breakfast at 5.45 am and on the road by 6.30.
Today is a 6 hour drive across the alti-plano to Puno.
We retraced our tracks back to the Stone Forest in the National Park,after stopping again at the high pass, Patapampa The climb out of the Colca valley did not seem as steep going up as compared to the descent.
We headed towards Puno, stopping at a lookout to view the Laguna Lagunillas, a
large lake fed from mountain river runoff.

We continued on until a turn off to Lampa. At the turn off there was asmall village with numerous eucalypts planted down its Main Street,quite a sight in the middle of the Andean plateau. Apparently eucalypts
were introduced to Peru about 120 years ago as a replacement for native Peruvian trees which had been deforested. Cypress and pines were also introduced at the same time. Little did they know of the
destructive root system of eucalypts which contributed to crop losses over the ensuing years.

A scene reminiscent of a small railway town in country SA

Driving through desolate and remote farming communities. a dusty gravel road of approx 25 kms led us to Lampa. Lampa is known for its Church of Inglesia de Santiago Apostol. We toured the church which had some creepy catacombs, but the highlight was a huge domed tomb of marble topped by a copy of
Michaelangelo's Pieta and lined with skeletons.

 

Lampa is also known as the "Pink City" because of the pink coloured clay used for bricks

We had lunch in the car enroute through Juliaca to Puno and arrived there on schedule at 2.30. We farewelled Elfer and Alfonso who had been magnificent company as tour guide and driver.
Even though the car journey had been tiring, we went out for a walk. We strolled down to the Plaza de Armas where Jack had an icecream, and sampled the local specialty, Quesa Helados or Cheese icecream, yes, that's right. We also found a shop along the main shopping and restaurant strip which sold Johnnie Walker for $18 a bottle - a very happy Jack!!! Happy Hour pisco sours whilst people watching at the local Mall, then pizza for dinner.

The Secret Ruins of Chimpa

Hatched a plan last night with the Camerons to do a half day hike to some lesser-known, rarely visited ruins off the tourist trail.
One of their guides from Colca Trek had told them about the ruins which were located about 8 km from Madrigal. Our tour guide agreed to drive us there and provide a local guide. The Camerons organised a second vehicle and we left at 6.30 am. We travelled through Lari and arrived at Madrigal at 8.15 where we picked up the local guide and bundled ourselves into one vehicle and travelled out to the trailhead.

Cathedral at Madrigal

The trailhead

Mountain stream

Onwards and upwards.....

Icy cold snow melt waters - trust me!

 No time to warm up, the trail headed uphill steadily, so much so that I started to feel a little exercise-induced asthma come on. After stopping for some puffs of the inhaler, I continued on without any further trouble, albeit slower than the rest. I have found that at altitude that I can walk without too much huffing and puffing if I just slow down my normal walking pace at a slow but steady rhythm - the Peruvian Plod. We stopped several times at lookouts and reached the top after 90 mins. Sublime views from the lookout where the canyon ends and the river valley begins. The ruins were pre-Inca and in good original condition.

Great views on the way up

The ruins come into view

We had to climb the narrow staircase to the lookout

But the views were worth it

Magnificent canyon - double the depth of the Grand Canyon USA and second deepest canyon in the world

Looking south across the canyon with town of Pinchollo on the left

The Cameron brothers

This site is rarely visited, but should definitely be put on the tourist trail. Our tour guide had heard of the ruins but this was his first visit and he was anxious to report back to the tour operator about how impressed he was. We spent about 30 mins up at the summit before descending.

Queen Victoria sitting on her throne!

With the peasants worshipping at her feet!

After returning to the lodge, Jack had ice-cream lunch for the second day running and we had another dip in the hot springs. Jack then went to the day spa, having booked himself in for a Swedish massage. Something got lost in translation and he ended up having a energising and revitalising leg massage, which actually helped his sore knee.
A few rounds of cards followed by dinner and then more cards, then bed.

Rest Day? To the Waterfall and beyond......

Decided to do a short hike this morning with Simon and Andrew to the pre-inca ruins of Oyu Oyu.

They are located not far from the lodge, just up the road.
The ruins have been partly restored but there are some which are untouched and in original condition. Quite an extensive area. 

Oyu Oyu site in foreground with the town of Yanque in the distance

We explored them for 20 mins and then headed up into the hills to a well known waterfall , the source of which is El Mismi, the same mountain from where the source of the Amazon is. From the track, there are only limited views, so we decided to bush bash up to get a better vantage spot. This was difficult as the hill was very steep and had a lot of loose gravel and stone. We clambered up and got a great view, not only of the waterfall, but of the valley below.

What a climb, but what a view!

Having detoured already, we ditched the original walk plan and continued around the contours of this mountain and picked up a trail.We headed westwards, keeping the town of Yanque below in our sights. We really wanted to climb to a higher spot, so we bush bashed a little more to a false summit which had a old pre-inca wall. We sheltered there out of the cold wind for a snack and drink stop. Simon's altimeter was showing 3880m.Magnificent views. Not enough time to head any higher! 

 

At 4000m and loving it!

After photos were taken, we then descended, homeward bound. So much for a gentle 2 hour walk, 3.5 hours instead!! Great hike to stretch the legs after yesterday's excursion!

The afternoon was spent in the hot springs at the lodge followed by cards in the bar area- a new card game taught to the Camerons by an Irishman at their hotel in Pinchollo several nights before. 

Buffet dinner and bed!