Postcards from Peru: Puno and Uros Islands (6)

Peru: Itinerary (1)
Peru: Lima and coastal Peru (2)
Peru: Amazon (3)
Peru: Cusco (4)
Peru: Salkantay to Machu Picchu (5)
Peru: Impressions (7)

After Cusco, we spent the last few days of our trip in and around Lake Titicaca, near the town of Puno. During this time we took a train ride in the Andes, explored the floating islands of Uros and took part in some more festivals, this time in Puno.


Cusco to Puno

Taking a train from Cusco to Puno was a last minute addition to our plan. We had read about it as being a completely different kind of experience, an 11 hour train from Cusco, through the high altitude Andes, all the way till Puno, on the banks of Lake Titicaca. So we booked it, taking the risk of spending a whole day travelling this way when we could have just taken a shorter 2-3 hours flight.

Andean highlands

Anyway, there we were, boarding the PeruRail from Cusco at 6 am in the morning. We were met by a welcome party, a group of singers and dancers at the Cusco station early in the morning. And then we spent the next 10 to 11 hours on this luxury train, passing through some captivating places. It was a slow moving old style train which travelled leisurely, first along the Urubamba river and then through the open Andean countryside. The whole train only had seating options. For the first half of the ride, we sat in the dining car, snacking and eating, and the rest of our time was spent in the “entertainment car” where the singers and dancers were. And time just flew by.

The Observatory

I also spent a lot of my journey in the last carriage of the train, the Observatory. It was an open carriage from where you could see the world passing by. We saw the city of Cusco being left behind, then greenery all around along the Urubamba river, and then miles after miles of yellow and bare mountains full of grasslands, everywhere. We passed by small towns, villages, agricultural fields with llamas and alpacas running through them, farms with cows and sheep and so on. The alpacas are so cute, they just stand and stare, especially when the train was passing by. All around us were very high peaks, far off in the distance. It was such a pleasure to just stand and feel this scenery pass by, with the sun above and the wind blowing in your face.

When I wasn’t in the Observatory, we were being entertained. There was a band who were singing local songs. And two dancers who were dancing to these local songs from Puno and Cusco. They wore colourful costumes from different parts of Peru, changing five times during the journey! Their dance moves were the same though across the dances 😂. They were so energetic and lively, they got many of the passengers to dance too. The singers brought a lot of energy to the performances too. We loved the time here, and it was a struggle to choose between the performances and the stunning scenery outside. There was also a short fashion show with the train staff wearing and displaying dresses with local work.

La Raya pass

During the long journey, we had only one stop, at the La Raya pass, at a height of 4300 metres. We got off the train for a short while, and it felt like we had stepped into a different world. All around us were the high peaks of the Andes, standing majestically. The air was fresh, and thin. And there was no one around. Except the small artisan market set up there, with the locals bringing their handicrafts for the travellers to buy. I bought a small alpaca stuffed toy. And then when the train left, we saw all the artisans pack up their things and leave. It felt like this was the only activity of the day at this stop, when the one train on this track passed through and the locals came to sell their wares.

We continued on our journey after this one brief stop. Just before Puno, we passed through one of the bigger cities of the area, Juliaca. And saw a very interesting scene unfold there - Juliaca’s very own version of Hanoi’s train street. The train passed through Juliaca’s market. And we saw that part of the market included the train route too, people were selling their fruits and vegetables on the train tracks! When the train was to pass (apparently it's the only train that goes from here), they either moved their stuff aside, or just kept it in between the tracks!

Children all around were coming out to wave to the train and its passengers. And literally the second the train passed, everyone carried on with their lives, selling fruits and vegetables from the train tracks, and so on, as if nothing had happened. It felt like the train was running through the daily lives of the residents in that city.

Very soon after we reached Puno. It had got dark by then. So we took a taxi to the dock where our hosts from Uros islands came and met us. Then all of us sat in the boat with a man and his wife, and they took us into the lake, with no light to guide us! First there were grass reeds on the sides, and then the open dark lake. For a few minutes we were wondering what we were doing! Going off with strangers into the centre of this huge deep high altitude lake, in the dark! Anyways very soon we realised it was all ok 😄.

We were staying at the Uros Titicaca, the Best Lodge. At night we didn't really realise what kind of place it was. We got off the boat, and into a cute little room overlooking the lake. It was well decorated and warm. But we were too tired to explore it much. I also felt altitude sickness that day with some mild headache (as Puno is at an even higher altitude, 3800 m compared to Cusco at 3400 m), so we slept early by 9 pm itself.


Uros Islands

In the morning it turned out that we had booked our accommodation inside Lake Titicaca - the highest commercially navigable lake in the world! The lake is huge, about 200 kms long by 80 kms wide and lies both in Peru and Bolivia. There are some 36 islands on the lake, with Isla de Sol being a popular one, which is in Bolivia. We could see snow covered mountains far off in the horizon, apparently they were in Bolivia too. The lake has a lot of significance for the Incas - apparently the first Inca appeared from the lake itself.

Now the Uros Islands are something I hadn't read about when we booked our accommodation. And we were definitely surprised 😃. They are small floating islands made by communities of Uros people who had been pushed away from land by the Incas. The Uros lived on the lake to get away from the Incas, and to continue with their own way of living. So they developed a unique technique of using reed grass to build floating islands for themselves. And they live on them!!

They have built their own island colonies with grass reeds, where the islands act as land and the lake water acts as their roads. The islands are stable, they have hospitals, schools, football grounds, everything floating around on these grass islands they build themselves! When I read about it while in our Uros Lodge, I did have a few moments worrying about what would happen if they sank with our weight 😂. Anyways clearly they dont, given all the things built on them for generations, but it was still a worry which kept creeping in my thoughts.

Our floating Uros hotel

Also, the Uros people don’t just live on the islands, but now they also run their own hotels (which are basically 2-3 rooms per “hotel”) on these islands, each hotel run by a family. The family also live on the same island, in a small hut behind these hotel rooms, and serve as hosts for their guests.

Our hotel, the Uros Titicaca, the Best Lodge was a small island (and hotel), with 3 rooms. The rooms were very comfortable, and tastefully decorated. Especially with all the local colourful handicrafts, things we had been trying to buy the last few days. The amenities were very basic though, especially the toilets. And there was no hot water! The water was heated and kept in the room if we wanted to shower. The rooms had glass walls which were great during the day when the sun was out. But they got very cold at night as temperatures dropped to -5 degrees every night! Thankfully we had heaters which made it all bearable. Still it was very cold being on the lake at night.

But being on an island had limitations. We could get off only when the owner took us out on their boats. So we were restricted to our small island the whole time. I don’t think we did enough research before booking this place to stay for 4 nights 😂! We had no clue they were so remote and basic, if we knew we wouldn’t have booked them.

Our hosts lived behind our rooms, in small huts. They also had two dogs and sheep living with them on the same island. They managed the hotel between themselves, the man and his wife; cooked for us, served us meals in our rooms, booked tours for us, took us places in their boats and helped us with any of our requests. They felt so simple and humble, as if from a different world. Communicating with them was tough though, as they knew very less English.

Sunrise in Uros

The view outside of our rooms during the day was stunning. We had floating islands with small straw huts all around, and the lake was full of traditional yellow Uros boats ferrying tourists all day long. And there were sofas and seats outside our rooms, to lounge and enjoy the view around. We woke up at 6 am the first morning as the sun came out and our room had glass all around which lighted up very early. The sunrise over the lake was calming, with the sun rays coming out and all the huts slowly turning yellow. We spent the morning enjoying the feeling of living on a lake, watching all the small and big islands floating around, with tourists coming in, in the traditional Uros boat. It was such an idyllic moment, I think back to the feeling of that time quite often.

Then we decided to get off our small island. So we booked a tour to an Uros village and then to a faraway Inca island of Taquile. So our host dropped us to an island in the village which was a larger one where multiple families lived together. (Some families prefer to build their own single family islands, some prefer to stay together in groups of a few families). There were some 140 such islands around, and this specific one had 4 families living there. They told us about how they make new islands using grass reeds, how their culture is, how the families live on the island and how the straw huts look from inside.

Floating community

The reeds are a special kind of grass available on the lake, which they tie together to build a floating base of about two metres thick. And that is the foundation of the island! It felt a bit scary to see that we (and all the buildings) are standing on just two meters of grass! Every island had its own mayor. They also used solar panels to generate energy. The women on the island were all wearing colourful clothes, similar to what we had seen the dancers wear in the train to Puno.

Then we were taken on a traditional yellow Uros boat, on a tour around the village, and shown the floating schools, health posts and other community facilities. The boats have two storeys to sit, and have animal characters, mostly cats in the front. They had been used as the main mode of transport till the modern boats came about. But now of course tourists love them. I loved them too, they were so cute.

From a central stop, we all transferred in a big group onto a big boat which was then going to take us to the island of Taquile (also known as Huillanopampa), about 1.5 hours away. The first part of the journey was through reed grass, and then suddenly the lake opened up, a huge expanse of limitless blue. It was a long drive till there, and all we could see were the snow covered peaks of mountains in Bolivia. Close to Taquile, we passed by multiple small islands.

Taquile island

And then we landed at Taquile. It is the third largest island on the lake, and has only about 2000 inhabitants. Apparently the people on this island still live like they lived in olden Inca times, following similar culture and traditions. The island is protected and the textiles made on the island are recognised and protected too because of their unique method of weaving techniques. 

Taquile

We had a wonderful time exploring the island, its natural and cultural beauty. The day was a bit organised but still quite comfortable, with enough time to explore and do things outside of the plan. We first walked up to a local market where many of the locals were gathered. They were selling their handicrafts.

The men and the women wore traditional clothes. The embroidery design there was different, the hats worn by the men were different. Apparently men on this island learnt weaving very early in life and continued doing it their whole life. We also heard that the culture followed on the island was different from others. Including that the locals here have trial marriages - they see for a while if it works, and if it doesn't, then they move on. Just like live-in relationships elsewhere.

Dancing on Taquile

The locals put up a dance show for us, and it was so enjoyable, so graceful, so simple. Men and women in traditional clothes playing music and dancing around in circles. And interestingly, all the women dancing were more than 60 years in age! I was impressed by their agility and activity levels. And of course their dresses, they were so colourful and appealing.

Taquile

After the dance and shopping we walked around the island, up to a restaurant on the other side of the island. The views all around were just stunning, the island landscape, the green and brown vegetation on the island, the blue waters of Lake Titicaca below, and clear blue skies above. It was such an amazing experience walking around in such remote and natural surroundings. There was a beach and some small hotels on the island where tourists could stay if they got special permission. The houses in the village seemed quite nice and decently modern. And the main profession in this remote island was agriculture. I also chatted with the guide who shared a lot of stories about the culture here.

At the restaurant, we had a simple local made lunch, with a very tasty chutney. And with a stunning view of the island around. And very soon, it was time to head back. We reached our Uros lodge by 4 pm itself. We saw some boats visit our island, selling vegetables, fruits, toys and other daily needs. It was quite a different experience to buy from a floating market.

Sunset in Uros

Afterwards, we just lounged outside our room watching the sun go down on the floating islands. And it was quite a stunning sight. No pictures can capture the feeling of sitting on a lake, watching the sun go down. But as soon as the sun was gone, the temperature crashed. It got cold and windy very quickly, and so we got in, had our meals and slept off as there wasn't a lot to do after sunset.

The next morning we again saw the sunrise outside our huts, it was just magical. Watching the people go about their daily business at a height of 3800 m feels so crazy. It was so idyllic, I didn't want to leave. But then we decided that we would checkout today and leave early as living on the island felt quite limiting. Fortunately, the hosts were very nice and allowed us to do that. So we packed off and said goodbye to the island and were off. The hosts dropped us till the banks of the lake, from where we took a cab to Puno town. It was nice to be back in civilisation but it also feel too normal, too everyday, not as exotic as the last two days.


Puno

We checked into a “normal” hotel in Puno, the Hacienda Puno for the next two nights. It was a hotel made of bricks, on land, and with heating, a rooftop restaurant and all the modern amenities of life 😀. And life felt so normal after the last few surreal days. It had hot water, and we took a shower with hot water - it felt so good after two days of no hot water. I think this is when I realised that my days of rustic travel are over. There are some basic necessities that I feel I now always want.

Puno cathedral

Also by that time, I think we were getting tired of all the travels from the last two weeks, and since Puno was a small-ish town, with not a lot of things to do, we finally chilled a bit for the next two days. The first day we just walked about town. First we visited the Puno cathedral and the local square. And of course a festival was going on that day 😂. We first had lunch at a beautiful Cafe, the Casa del Corregidor. Then I sat in the sun for a few hours, enjoying the Morenada festival.

Morenada festival

Apparently they were celebrating 200 years of the Morenanda dance. There were thousands of people taking part in the procession. There would be a few band members in the front wearing Spanish clothes. And some women in Spanish costumes. Then rows of men in elaborate Morenada costumes played music using chains in their hands and danced around. After them would be rows of women in bright coloured costumes walking and dancing as they moved past the central square. And like that, different schools of Morenada were walking one by one through the square. 

I think there were thousands of people taking part, it looked like the entire city was there. Either performing or watching! Apparently the origin of this dance is based on depiction of slavery. The men wear dark masks depicting the slaves who used to work in the Peruvian mines. The chains used for the music depict the chains they were bound in. I wondered how will the dance continue with the political correctedness of today? Anyways no one seemed to mind it there. I sat there for a while but then it got too hot to be out, so I went back. But the locals continued celebrating till late at night.

Sunset in Puno

At night I went out for a short walk around the cathedral. It looked pretty, inside and out. And it was crowded! After that I almost thought I would climb up the mountain behind the town, to see the Jesus statue shining up above the hill, but I didn't. It would have been tough to hike at such a high altitude anyways. The sunset outside was pretty though. We then went for dinner to Machu Picchu pizzeria which had a tasty pizza, with a Peruvian twist to it. We slept early again by 9, though the town was partying all night, celebrating the end of the Morenada festival I guess.

Artificial lagoon on Lake Titicaca

The next day, we first walked to one of the local handicraft markets, which was near the port. It was a bit of a walk away, so we got to see the parts where people lived. We walked past houses, shops, free dental camps and so on. Most of the handicraft market was closed, so we didn't find much to buy there though. Then I went for a long walk around the lake and waterfront, just taking a roundabout route to see the city.

Puno

A part of Lake Titicaca had been cordoned off to make a small artificial lagoon, It had a few boats and some activities to do. It was nothing spectacular, bur the views of town from there were charming. Then I walked through the residential areas. I saw children playing volleyball, at this high altitude, where all we could do was just walk! Then I walked into the main market street which was very active. It was full of supermarkets and big shops, all crowded in the afternoon. I walked past an indoor covered market. It was nice to for once be not in the tourist hubs of the country, and felt so slow and natural. Then I walked through some very nice colourful squares and streets with old colonial buildings. They were full of cafes and handicraft shops. We had lunch at a restaurant called Tulipanas, which felt like it had some Dutch influence. But all in all, there wasn't a lot to see, just some things to experience. 

In the afternoon, we saw Miss Congeniality at the hotel (I think I also realised it's tough to travel for 3 weeks and be constantly active, you do need to take proper breaks in between). In the evening, we went out shopping and bought cushion covers finally in the designs we wanted. It also felt by then that we knew the city, because we had walked it all and could even recognise the places we were passing by. I did feel that day, that after the Uros islands, we should have just gone to Arequipa rather than waste our days in Puno as there wasn’t much to do there. At night, we had a quiet dinner at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel and I got ready to leave the country the next day.


In this part of the trip, the train ride from Puno to Cusco had been an unmatchable experience, and I would recommend that anytime. And I enjoyed staying on the Uros islands, though it wasn't very convenient. Puno as a city though, I would avoid.


Leaving Puno and Peru

I had two flights today, one from Juliaca to Lima and then onwards from Lima to Amsterdam. I had booked the local shuttle (called the community bus) that drops off people to Juliaca airport. (I was again amazed at the tourist infrastructure setup in the country). They picked me up from the hotel and drove us to the airport. The views outside started with Lake Titicaca views but then turned inland. We passed through unpainted houses again everywhere. Juliaca felt like a big city but slow. There was not much to write about it though. Also interestingly, the airport only had flights to Lima, nowhere else.

The flight to Lima was short. At Lima, I had a long layover, so I took a risk and took a cab to one of the closer neighbourhoods, Callao. I went to a restaurant on the waterfront, El Mirador. I had my last ceviche of the trip, while enjoying a good view overlooking the sea. The restaurant was right next to the Peru Naval School, so I could also see naval cadets training on the waterfront.

Callao waterfront

After lunch, I walked along the Callao waterfront. The beach was a pebble beach, and all along the water were palm trees, and large colourful seaside mansions behind them. It was a very scenic promenade, and so calming as there were very few people there. It was clearly a posh part of town, and I saw a different side to the city. Thinking to myself again, the rich in every country have the same life, clean, luxurious and grand. Only the not so rich have different lives in different countries.

Anyways, after this pitstop, I took the long flight back from Lima to Amsterdam, leaving behind this country so different from where I live. And thinking back of all the highlights of the trip, the Amazon, the Salkantay hike and the Uros islands. What an experience! And I can’t wait to be back!