Puno

Today we split our day in half. We spent the morning seeing a couple things in Puno and walking around the plazas, and spent the afternoon going on an excursion to Sillustani.

The cathedral this morning had a facade with intricate stone work outside. When you walked in, it was a different vibe and quite simple compared to some of the other cathedrals we've seen in Peru. The walls and ceilings were open gray brick. The sides of the aisles had simple Stations of the Cross and some white columns around different statues or pictures of Jesus. The main altar area has three sections and nice decorations and painting. The wooden floors were squeaky on my shoes and echoed in the quiet church.

We spent our afternoon going to Sillustani. It was an interesting bus ride to get there with a couple of unexpected stops. The first stop was at a viewpoint. It gave great views of Puno and the lake. The weird part was all the large animal statues dotted around. For example, we had to climb up some stairs between/underneath a puma's legs to get a higher view. About 20 minutes later, we stopped at some small clay houses and learned about the farm. Apparently they grow lots of different quinoas and potatoes. The guide showed us some edible clay that they mix with water to eat the potatoes with. He also showed us how they use rocks to traditionally grind their dehydrated potatoes and quinoa grains for soups and breads. Finally we made it to Sillustani, about 5 minutes down the road from the farm.

Sillustani is an old ceremonial burial ground. The structures on site include both Inca and pre-Inca. There are 90 chulpas in total on the site. Our guide took quite a long time to give explanations, but we did eventually just get to walk around and look at the structures. Some were very tall and cut into perfect blocks, and some were more rustic. Many of the Incan structures were not finished due to the Spaniards invading. The bodies were then buried under these towers in the fetal position always facing east towards the sun. We also had some pretty spectacular views from the top of the hill to a nearby island in the lake.

We left much later than the tour stated, which then delayed things in the evening with getting dinner and packing before our early bus tomorrow. The streets were also absolutely packed with kids and families out for Halloween dancing in the squares or trick or treating into the shops along the main street. It was a bit overwhelming! We had to cut up a couple blocks to be able to walk unimpeded. It was nice to see everyone out enjoying themselves, just better from afar! Czytaj więcej