From Cuzco I traveled 6 hours southeast to the town of Puno. Puno is known as the folkloric capital of Peru because of it’s years of dedication to the arts, particularly dance, and like most South American cities I have traveled to there are an abundance of handcrafts for sale just about everywhere. The town itself is nothing special and I only stayed there for a day.
Puno is located on Lake Titicaca which is the largest lake in South America and at 12,500 feet one of the highest in the world. The main reason tourists go to Puno is to tour the Floating Islands. The islands are made of plants, mud, and bits of drift wood. The Uro people have lived on the islands for generations and originally the islands mobility made them useful if threat arose. Tours of the islands are generally not well received by tourists. I have yet to meet one that said they enjoyed it. Most of the people on all the islands pressure you into buying crafts or just giving them money, and since they are the guides of your boat you have little choice.
Between the even higher altitude and very cold weather I didn’t explore much of the city. I went to the main plaza and surrounding area and even tried some Chinese food for the first time since being down here. For 5 soles ($2) I had a huge plate of mostly chicken, rice, sautéed veggies, and cut up hot dogs. Not what I was expecting but anything is great for $2. The rest of the day was spent hanging around the hostel talking with two Australian girls who were planning their trip to Machu Picchu and an American who ended up accompanying me West the following day. I took a 6 hour bus to Arequipa and then a 10 hour bus to my destination, Nazca.
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