In search of Paddington....: Puno

On the Thursday of my parent's first week in Peru we traveled from Arequipa to Puno. I had booked us on a tour and expected to get picked up in a tour bus but instead we were taken to Puno (6 hours away) in an executive car with just two other people, was a lovely ride down.

We stopped three times on the way, once for Coca Tea and twice to see some views. One place we stopped at was the second largest lake in Peru and it in this lake was many flamingos. On our way we also passed scores and scores of Llamas and Alpacas, never seen so many in my life before.

We arrived in Puno late in the evening so did not do much except have some dinner and the go to bed.

On the Friday we went on a tour to Lake Titacaca to see the floating islands. I imagined Lake Titacaca (the first largest lake in Peru) to just be a lake where we stood on the side and looked at it, but it wasn't like that. We go to the 'port' and got on a boat and were taken out a long way to see the floating islands. These islands are made of reeds and stand 14m from the seabed.

Lake Titacaca is so huge it borders Peru and Bolivia with Islands all over the lake and people still living in them. In the Peru side the people speak Quechan and on the Bolivian side they speak Aymaran. We visited one Island were we were giving a demonstration of how high above the seabed the islands are, and also giving a demonstration of how people live and eat on the islands. After that we were taken to another island on a reed boat. This was interesting as it was steered by a woman.

The second island was much bigger than the first one but like the first one it was very touristy and there were market stalls there for people to buy things. But even though the islands are very touristy, it was still interesting to see them and the boat ride there and back from Puno was very scenic and beautiful.

A Reed Boat

Reeds used for the islands and boats

A reed house

Woman steering the boar

View of Puno from Island

When we arrived back to Puno in the afternoon, Dad was not feeling very well so went to bed while Mum and I went out and had lunch and explored a bit of Puno. We saw the Cathedral and also a procession to celebrate Senor de los Milagros (this is celebrated all over Peru during the whole month of Peru). This was interesting to see as there is not much else in Puno.

On the Saturday we rose early to get to the train station as we were booked on the train to take us from Puno to Cusco. This journey took ten hours but it was well worth it for the scenery, absolutely amazing views. During one part we even went through the center of Juliaca in between market stalls, was a bit scary looking but am sure the locals are used to this happening.

While on the train we were treated to a lovely lunch, some typical Peruvian music and a fashion show featuring different typical Peruvian dress. Dad was in his element with all the scenery outside and his camera was constantly clicking away.