The Wheels on the Bus

I was so tired last night I went to bed at about 9.30pm, after receiving a message at reception saying I had to be ready for 7.30am the following morning to start a trek I had booked.

I thought I’d had a decent sleep but woke with the most tremendous headache, like something was squeezing my brain either side. I was a bit worried as I normally don’t get headaches, but I’ve since learnt this was probably down to the altitude, and although the headache remained most of the day some painkillers and coca tea certainly helped – it was my first coca tea and tasted like a much nicer version of green tea.

At 7.30am I went down to the reception to meet for the first time the people on my trek. There are two English guys, an English girl and a Kiwi girl. Everyone is relaxed and friendly and I’ve had a great day hearing their stories – where they are from, where they are going to, and why they are here.

At 8am sharp the public bus arrived and off we set. We drove for a couple of hours and then boarded a very small unstable looking wooden boat to cross Lake Titicaca – which is so huge and beautiful! It’s the largest lake in South America by volume of water, and is often called often called the highest navigable lake in the world, with a surface elevation of 3,812 metres (12,507 ft). I can’t believe even as I write this that I am finally here after wanting to visit it for so long, and after all the wondrous tales I have heard that see the lake enveloped in mythology!

Life jackets were mandatory!

Once off the boat we continued the bus journey around Lake Titicaca, where in many places the way grew quite high and huge cliff drops fell away from the road. The scenery was amazing and the sky filled with huge grey and black clouds suspended over the vast charcoal blue water. We stopped for lunch in a small hotel in Copacabana and then continued on towards the border of Bolivia.

All along the road were small houses, many with fallen walls and no doors or windows, and piles of dirt or rubbish hugged the roadside. Stray dogs rummaged through the piles, sometimes alongside people. There were many small roadside stores selling various foods and goods, as well as cows, sheep, donkeys and llamas tethered in various places either grazing the earth or looking rather bored. One llama had managed to escape from his tether (I was happy for him) and was having a nap in the middle of the road as we approached. Soon we boarded a bigger coach to continue on our journey, with a group of other tourists.

Animals grazing at the side of the road

Copacabana, where we had lunch

At the Bolivia and Peru borders we had to visit two different offices to get our passports stamped – one to declare we were leaving Bolivia and, after walking through the boundary ‘gate’ we got our passports stamped in the second office to announce we were arriving in Peru.

The tour guide told us that only a week ago an Australian couple had been stopped crossing the borders and had been found in possession of a small amount of Marijuana (any illegal drugs are an extremely serious offence in Peru), and the girl had received 23 years and the guy 28 years in prison!

After a while on the road we changed back to a smaller minibus and finally reached our destination at 3.45pm: Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. The hotel was lovely and I was over the moon to find I had a big room with two double beds and amazing views over the city.

A plaque on the ground

The long road leading up to the borders

View of Puno from my room

After checking in we headed out to buy a present each of fruit and vegetables from the local market for the family we will be staying with tomorrow night at a homestay on one of the islands on Lake Titicaca.

We had a slow ramble back through Puno, taking in the sights of an election-related procession which was making its way around the main square – everywhere people danced in costume whilst some in plain clothes watched waving flags and cheering and singing. Loud firecrackers popped in the air and made me jump each time, the atmosphere was very exciting!

Puno is known as Peru’s folkloric capital and melds the two ancient Andean civilisations of the Aymara from the south and the Quechua from the north with colonial influences. The result is a rich diversity of high-spirited folkloric festivals, often hailed as the best in all of Peru.

By the time we got back to the hotel I was feeling out of breath again – definitely the altitude, I can’t be that unfit!