It has obviously been a while since I wrote here, but I didn't want to leave it that way and I want to finish the part about this particular trip before I start writing about the next adventures... so here we go! :)
We went back to Puno, and were supposed to leave the next morning to go to Cuzco, and from there on to Machu Picchu, but something got in the way... you guys remember in the last post I mentioned the food and something called Oca? Well, apparently that did not sit well in Mene's stomach, and even after a visit to Colors (where we knew we could get good and healthy food), he still didn't feel 100% well. So we decided to stay in Puno one extra day, and go to Cuzco the morning after that. I ran to the bus station and managed to change our tickets, and we spent the day chilling, writing and hanging out... :)
Showing posts with label Puno. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Puno. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Lake Titicaca II-- Island tour
We got up early for our tour of the islands (and after having slept for like 12hrs!) and we were pretty excited about the boat ride on the lake, and the islands, staying with a family, etc...
I think on this one the pictures speak for themselves, so I'll shut up and post pictures... :)
The boat ride was pretty nice, and we meet a quite french family with 2 kids, and became good friends... :)
Uros is the first island, which is actually an artificial floating island, built with roots and reeds that they cut and cover the blocks of roots to make a "floor." Out of the same reeds, they build their houses, boats, and they even eat them! The entire island must be around 300sq. meters, and these people live here, year round...
After Uros, we went to Amantani, one of the biggest islands on the lake, and where we would be hosted by a local family and spend the night.
That's our home in Amantani, with our host Carmen...
That afternoon we hiked to the top of the mountain, to the Pacha Mama temple (or ruins actually) and watched the sunset... beautiful!
And that's our dinner... it wasn't the culinary experience of my life, but it was Ok... A soup made with quinoa and other vegetables, which included Oca, a potato-looking thing that will be mentioned later... :)
That evening after dinner, they had prepared a party for us, with folkloric dances, and they actually dressed us up with their colorful traditional outfits... we danced like crazy, and went home exhausted, only to get up early the next morning and head to Taquile.
Taquile was pretty, but kind of a disappointment actually. It was a tourist trap, with everything geared towards the tourists, and the prices reflecting that (5 soles, or almost 2 dollars for a bar of chocolate, which should cost 1 sol at the most!!) But since it was our last stop, after lunch we headed back to Puno, and couldn't wait to make our way to Colors, for desert and coffee again... :)
Next stop: Cuzco and Macchu Picchu!!
I think on this one the pictures speak for themselves, so I'll shut up and post pictures... :)
The boat ride was pretty nice, and we meet a quite french family with 2 kids, and became good friends... :)
Uros is the first island, which is actually an artificial floating island, built with roots and reeds that they cut and cover the blocks of roots to make a "floor." Out of the same reeds, they build their houses, boats, and they even eat them! The entire island must be around 300sq. meters, and these people live here, year round...
After Uros, we went to Amantani, one of the biggest islands on the lake, and where we would be hosted by a local family and spend the night.
That's our home in Amantani, with our host Carmen...
That afternoon we hiked to the top of the mountain, to the Pacha Mama temple (or ruins actually) and watched the sunset... beautiful!
And that's our dinner... it wasn't the culinary experience of my life, but it was Ok... A soup made with quinoa and other vegetables, which included Oca, a potato-looking thing that will be mentioned later... :)
That evening after dinner, they had prepared a party for us, with folkloric dances, and they actually dressed us up with their colorful traditional outfits... we danced like crazy, and went home exhausted, only to get up early the next morning and head to Taquile.
Taquile was pretty, but kind of a disappointment actually. It was a tourist trap, with everything geared towards the tourists, and the prices reflecting that (5 soles, or almost 2 dollars for a bar of chocolate, which should cost 1 sol at the most!!) But since it was our last stop, after lunch we headed back to Puno, and couldn't wait to make our way to Colors, for desert and coffee again... :)
Next stop: Cuzco and Macchu Picchu!!
Puno, Peru
Puno is an interesting town; 90% of it is not touristic at all, and the result is you only see Peruvians going to and fro with their normal activities.
And then there's the 10%, which mainly consist of Parque Pinos and the adjoining pedestrian street, Calle Lima (or Jiron Lima, since that's the word they use for street instead of Calle, and had us quite confused at first), which is saturated with tourists...
We arrived around 11am, found a reasonably priced hotel (which wasn't easy!) and went out for internet, food, and to try and book our tour of the lake's islands, hopefully for the next day.
In the afternoon, after having lunch at this local restaurant (Sayani) and eating Alpaca and drinking purple corn juice (Chicha Morada), we also found a magical, wonderful Oasis in the middle of Puno... scratch that! In the middle of Peru! We found this cafe/restaurant/lounge bar place called Colors, with incredible desserts and coffee and food! What's more: the chef was Greek! No joke!
And here's the dessert:
The plan was to come back to Colors for dinner, but we ended up crashing, and they were coming to pick us up early the next morning for our 2-day tour of the islands, so that was that...
And then there's the 10%, which mainly consist of Parque Pinos and the adjoining pedestrian street, Calle Lima (or Jiron Lima, since that's the word they use for street instead of Calle, and had us quite confused at first), which is saturated with tourists...
We arrived around 11am, found a reasonably priced hotel (which wasn't easy!) and went out for internet, food, and to try and book our tour of the lake's islands, hopefully for the next day.
In the afternoon, after having lunch at this local restaurant (Sayani) and eating Alpaca and drinking purple corn juice (Chicha Morada), we also found a magical, wonderful Oasis in the middle of Puno... scratch that! In the middle of Peru! We found this cafe/restaurant/lounge bar place called Colors, with incredible desserts and coffee and food! What's more: the chef was Greek! No joke!
And here's the dessert:
The plan was to come back to Colors for dinner, but we ended up crashing, and they were coming to pick us up early the next morning for our 2-day tour of the islands, so that was that...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
RSS Feed (xml)