Puno and the Lake Titicaca by Kev

15.11.2025. After one of our best bus trips ever yesterday, we had a bit of a sleep in. A little after that we went out for some breakfast. Found a place not far from the apartment and ordered. Andrew, true to himself, wanted to order the most expensive thing on the menu. After being told no he settled for something more reasonably priced, and huge. He had soup to start, then steak with rice and vegetables. Followed by a small bowl of fruit. He almost finished the lot, I don't know where he puts it all. After that we did a supply run. Once back at the apartment we all blogged a bit. Later in the day we went out for a walk around. Saw a wedding, we think, followed by a funeral. We then walked down to have a look at the lake. Which lake you ask? Why lake Titicaca of course. I remember thinking that was a funny name when I was young. Who knew one day I'd be looking at it. It's the largest lake in South America, being around 8,300 square kilometres. It is around 3,800 metres above sea level and has the border between Peru and Bolivia running through it. There is a bit of a nice walkway around the part where Puno is. You can see mountains all around and we think we can see Bolivia way, way over. Unfortunately, I can also see the influence of people. Rubbish in the grass and reeds near the walkway. Smelly water runoff from the town. Once again Peru reminds me so much of India. Not just the tuktuks, but what seems like a total disregard for the environment around them. As in India, the people here use what they have available to them to survive. That means everything is put in plastic as there is no alternative. As always, a developing country's problem, and if the government doesn't do something to help this, it's not going to get better. I have read of protests against the government here, young people wanting a better life for all Peruvians. We saw a very small protest while in Lima. That protest was just a few people and was shut down almost as soon as it started. How lucky we are to be able to peacefully protest, where others are silenced. The lake and its surroundings, when you look past all that I just spoke about, is truly magnificent. Later, we walked back towards the big square in the middle and saw another wedding we think, happening at the same church. Busy Saturday it seems. Back to the apartment, dinner and boardgames.
16.11.2025. Today, for something different, we're visiting a cathedral. Nice architecture, carved stuff all over the place and some paintings. We had a walk around the outside as well. It's funny to see where plants take root. There were flowers growing on the outside of the cathedral, between the stones. I dunno how they grow there without dirt, but somehow nature manages. We then decided to do a small hike up a hill to see a big condor statue. Turned out to be a buttload of steps. I thought we were gonna lose Emma on the way. Finally, we got to the top. The view from the top was worth the struggle up the steps. You don't realise how much you appreciate oxygen until there's only half the amount available to you. We wandered back down, then found a little place to sit and have a drink. Afterwards, we walked through some streets between two big plaza's, looking for some postcards. Found some, but didn't really like what we found, so none were purchased. We did however find a couple small souvenirs Mel liked, that could possibly be packed into the backpacks, we'll see. Being 4klms closer to the edge of the atmosphere means that the sun is stronger here. When it comes out, you can really feel it. Which is funny because it's still around 20°c. We've had a couple sunburns so far, as we leave the apartment with jumpers on, then when it warms up we forget to put sunblock on. This may be a lesson we never learn. Anyway, we'd had enough walking so we headed back and got the kids to blog some more. Blogging has definitely become one of their favourite pastimes, as we rarely hear any complaints from them. You don't believe me do you? I wouldn't either. That's it for today.
17.11.2025. Today we have a day tour booked to see the lake. Picked up from our apartment at about 7:20, we headed to a pier. After some confusion, we boarded a boat. A little while later we headed out, while our tour guide talked to everyone over the PA system. I could barely hear him, and understood even less. Shortly after we stopped at Uros, a floating village on the lake. Several families help to build and maintain their little island, which are made from the reeds and undergrowth from the lake. 3-3.5m thick in places, they replace the top layer of reeds once a month during the dry and 2-3 times during the wet season. The island we stopped on had 5 or 6 small houses built in them. We got a presentation on how they look after the island, it was fascinating. Andrew really liked walking around and looking at the “anchors” and ropes to hold them in place. One guy dropped a rock with a rope attached, through a hole in the island to show us how deep it was, 14m. We then hopped onto a traditional boat, made from the reeds, and paddled over to another, bigger island. Andrew even had a go at paddling. The bigger island was a tourist trap, with lots of souvenirs for sale. Andrew found something he really liked and since he never asks for anything, we said yes. Dunno where we're gonna put it in the backpack. Back onto the boat and off to an island. We had a walk through a small village and saw how the people here live and farm. We had a very quick visit to a small museum then hopped back on the boat to head to our third stop for the day, where we would get lunch. After lunch the kids and I went down to a small beach near the jetty and they had a bit of a play in the water, which was, I'm told, very cold. After that we got back on the boat and headed back to Puno. We got dropped back to the apartment and packed. We're off again tomorrow. Another bus trip yay!
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