The Andean Express

Our day was spent on the train, transiting from Puno to Cusco. The ride was just over 10 hours long and covered about 180 miles. It was no ordinary train. The guide book calls it "plush," and it is operated by the same company as the Orient Express. Upon boarding, my first impression was the Old West. The interior of the car looked right out of a John Wayne movie. We sat in parlor chairs, at a clothed table, with a small lamp, enormous window, and black and white photos on the walls. The interior is all wood. Even the bathroom is impressive. I road Amtrak this summer, from LA to Portland, and the American trains leave a lot to be desired. The bathroom in this train was nicer than the dining car on Amtrak. It was all wood, with a marble countertop, and lots of room. I'm only 5'5", and I could barely fit in the Amtrak bathroom.

We chugged out of Puno, slowly hugging the northern shore of Titicaca. We circled around the hills and onto the high plains. About two hours later we came into Juliaca. The train tracks dissect their market, so as the train approaches, they pull their wares from the track. Actually, not all of them. Things that will fit under the train are left between the tracks, saving the merchant from moving everything. As we passed, some of their goods were within a few inches of the train. The market was orderly, with different sections that went on for several blocks. There was food (and big batches of coca leaves), power tools, hand tools, books, bikes, tires, kitchen utensils, nuts, bolts, cell phones, and old motherboards. Once we passed, the market spilled back onto the track, and the shopping continued.
The train provides some activities, so you don't lose your head on the 10 hour trip. Before lunch, we had entertainment from a Puno-based band. They played traditional Peruvian music, and a dancer joined them every few songs. She would change her dress, and the band would play regional music, to which she performed the local dance. Later they offered more music and a fashion show, but we decided to stay seated and enjoy the view.

Lunch was great. First we started with a quinoa salad that included chopped cukes, onions, and corn. The main course was a quinoa encrusted chicken breast, with a side of the most amazing squash I have ever had. They followed up with a plain cheese cake and cup of coca tea.

The landscape changes slowly as you move from south to north. In the south, the rural people live in a very dry climate in mud brick homes of about 10x20 feet. Most don't have windows and subsist on farming. Few have sheep and even fewer have cattle. They grow basic crops from small plots sectioned off by rock walls. Things seemed to change once we got over the highest point. As we descended from 13,000+ feet, the air felt more humid, occasional green plants appeared, and the homes became bigger. Within a few hours, there was mechanized farm equipment, commercial irrigation, and nice (relative) homes made of finished, colored stucco. Many of these farms had exceptionally large plots and were certainly growing crops for market. Although we continued to see the ox and hand hoe, this was still an improvement over the south, where they turned the soil by hand with a makeshift shovel. Much of the last hours of the trip, we snaked alongside a wide river, something we hadn't seen in the south.

The trip was exhausting, even though all we did was sit. Occasionally we exerted ourselves by walking to the last car and taking photos from the open end. All we wanted to do was get some food and hit the rack. We grabbed a cab and went immediately to the tour company, where we had to pay the balance of our tour tomorrow and hike on the Inca Trail. That all seemed to go smoothly, until we had to take a cab to our hotel. The driver couldn't find the hotel, so I offered the address and phone number. He brushed me off and said it was OK. Apparently, men have problems asking for directions in all cultures. After he stopped and asked several people where the hotel was located, he finally accepted my offer to use the phone number I had. Can you imagine, it worked.Läs mer