Puno...eh

There seems to be a lot of "est" in Peru. Deepest canyon, the most pristine rainforest, largest high-altitude lake, Lake Titicaca next to Puno. As a town nestled atop a hill 3800m above sea level and next to a large lake, Puno is a freezing destination. And it did NOT help that my budget hostel had no heating, no insulation, and worst of all, no hot shower. I knew this was going to be a short visit. Hell, on the 2nd night, I had to resort to sleeping with all of my clothes on and holding a large bottle filled with hot water.

Most people generally make a stop in Puno to visit the 3 islands on Lake Titicaca. I did a tour of 2 of them - Isla Uros and Isla Taquile. The first is the famed floating islands. But unlike the legit floating islands in Cambodia, where people actually live and are self-sustained, the people on Uros are just for show. All they do is wait for tourists to come and show their merchandise that could be bought anywhere in Peru. The Isla Taquile was much more worthwhile, as a UNESCO World Heritage site should be. These islanders live by fishing and agriculture, but their claim to fame is their textile weaving, which apparently is on par with the best in the world. It was a true pleasure to watch the men and women neatly and precisely weave with 5 needles.









Aside from the islands and the cheap food, Puno serves as a hop on, hop off point for Cusco or Bolivia. For me, I was headed northward - to the capital of the Incas, Cusco!

- Ryoji